Wednesday AM Bible Study; June 4, 2025 from Philippians 4:14-17

Theme: Graciously receiving the Christian service of others adds to their eternal blessedness before Christ—thus serving them.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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The apostle Paul’s New Testament letter to the Philippian Christians was ultimately intended by him to be a ‘thank you’ note. The true ‘thank you’ part of the letter came at the end; and he wrote to thank them for a large financial gift they sent to meet his needs while he was in prison. But he assured them that he wasn’t thinking of the gift itself. He explained that he was content in Christ while he suffered in prison—affirming to them, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).

So; what was he most truly and ultimately thankful for? He went on to tell them;

Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress.

Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account (Philippians 4:14-17).

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The significance of this passage impressed itself on me long ago … and in a very unexpected way.

Early in my ministry, I was meeting regularly with a dear older man named Carl—the father of a woman who attended our church. Carl was 92 years old; but he was very sharp-witted and good-humored. He truly loved the Lord; and I truly enjoyed chatting with him.

As Carl grew older, he needed to move into his daughter’s home, and she had to take care of him. And so, one day, as we were sitting in the living room chatting, his daughter walked in and out of the room to take care of things he needed or bring things to him. And when she stepped out of the room, I could tell that he was deeply frustrated. I asked why; and he told me, “Pastor; I just don’t like it that she has to take care of me so much. I’m such a bother.” I tried to assure him that she loved him and was glad to take care of him. But it was still very hard for this good man to accept having to be taken care of by his own daughter like that.

And then a thought came to me. It was a rather bold thing for me to say to a man so much older than me. “But, Carl,” I said, “maybe you should think differently about this. Aren’t you really serving her by letting her serve you?”  He looked at me confused and asked what I meant.

“Well,” I told him, “you can’t really get up and do anything for her in return. And so, if she serves you, it has to be out of her love for you and her love for the Lord Jesus. And since you can’t do anything in return for all that she’s doing for you, it’ll have to be the Lord Jesus who repays her. And if it’s the Lord Jesus that repays her for serving you, wouldn’t the way that He rewards her be eternal?—and glorious?—and far greater in heavenly terms than anything you could ever do for her on earth? In fact, when you think about it, you’re performing a greater service to her in letting her serve you out of love for the Lord Jesus—and in a way that only He could reward her for—than you could ever perform to her by taking care of yourself and not having a need that she would have to serve in the first place!”

He rubbed his forehead; and said, “Can you say all that again?” I wasn’t sure I could. But I tried. And as I did, I could see his face lighting up. “You know something?” he said. “You’re right! I never thought of that!” We prayed about it afterward. And to the best of my knowledge, he never complained again about being served by his daughter.

Now; when I got back in the car and started to drive home, I began to think about what a great way this was of looking at the service of others. And I certainly felt that what I told Carl was true. I even felt strongly that it was from the Lord. But I struggled with the question of whether or not it was biblical. And by the time I drove home, I believe the Lord brought this morning’s passage to mind … especially verse 17, where Paul wrote to the Philippians and told them, “Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account.”

It may be that we—by personal disposition—have a hard time being on the receiving end of someone else’s service. We may prefer to think of ourselves as someone who serves others. Paul himself was careful not to take advantage of others in ministry—and always as a means of protecting his integrity in the ministry of the gospel. In 2 Thessalonians 3:7-10, he wrote;

For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat (2 Thessalonians 3:7-10).

And yet, when it came to these dear Philippian believers, he exhibited humility and a reverent spirit in allowing himself to be served by them. And this was because he wanted them to be able to be encouraged by the thought of the eternal rewards of their faithful service that only the Lord Jesus could give them. There’s nothing really very humble about refusing to be served if it’s the Lord who generously rewards the server. In fact, it’s really a very terribly selfish thing to do—to rob someone else of the eternal blessings of service because we don’t want to be ‘needy’. But if our attitude is right, being served by others in the love of Jesus can be a cause of great joy.

In this morning’s passage, Paul sets a great example for us. As this passage shows us, graciously receiving the Christian service of others adds to their eternal blessedness before Christ—thus serving them.

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So then; how did Paul exhibit this gracious spirit toward the Philippian believers? First, we see that he had …

1. A SACRED VIEW OF WHAT OTHERS DID FOR HIM.

In verses 10-13, after receiving this gift from the Philippian believers, he told them,

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (vv. 10-13).

He valued the gift—but not for the sake of the gift itself. He affirmed to these Philippian believers that, if the gift had never come, he’d still have been absolutely content in his spirit. His contentment didn’t rest in the things that he had, but rather in the Lord Jesus who had him.

But he didn’t want his brothers and sisters to misunderstand. He certainly wasn’t being ungrateful. He wasn’t saying that he didn’t value the things that they had done for him. In verse 14, he told them, “Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress” (v. 14). The word that he used for “well” refers to something done ‘rightly’ or ‘fittingly’. It was absolutely appropriate for them to have responded to the impulse that the Lord had laid upon their heart to help Paul in his need. It was something that they did in the name of the Lord—and, therefore, was something very sacred. We’re given a hint of how truly ‘sacred’ a thing Paul thought the generosity of the Philippian believers was from reading what he told another group of believers in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5. Philippi was a chief city of Macedonia; and he wrote,

Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God (2 Corinthians 8:1-5).

Because they served Jesus Christ in sending the gift they sent to him, he called the gift from the Philippians “a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God” (v. 18). And that’s something we need to do. Like Paul, we need to have a sacred view of the service that others render to us—treating it like a sacrifice made unto the Lord.

But more than just viewing it as a gift that was given unto the Lord for him, Paul saw it as a service performed for the support and spread of the kingdom of Jesus Christ; so another example that he sets for us in receiving a gift is …

2. GRATITUDE FOR SINCERE PARTNERSHIP IN THE GOSPEL.

In verses 15-16, he wrote, “Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities.” The background for this event is given to us in Acts 17:1-15.

After the missionaries Paul and Silas had left Philippi, and were working their way through the regions of Macedonia, they came to the city of Thessalonica. They had preached the gospel there for only three weeks, and it had a tremendous impact. But many unbelieving Jewish people opposed the gospel. It caused a great uproar in the city, and the missionaries had to leave. Then they went to the nearby city of Berea; and we’re told that these Bereans were “more fair-minded” than the people of Thessalonica because they searched the Scriptures to see if what Paul was telling them was true.  But the unbelieving opposition became so strong there also that Paul had to leave again. These repeated trials must have cost the apostle Paul a great deal in terms of time, energy, and resources. By the time he wrote this letter, the trials had also even cost him his liberty. But the believers in Philippi shared in this ministry with him and sent aid to him again and again.

The reason that they did this was because they viewed themselves as partners together with Paul in the great cause of the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And Paul viewed them as partners as well—gratefully recognizing their giving as an expression of that partnership. He told them at the beginning of this letter;

just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace (Philippians 1:7).

Paul didn’t see the service that the Philippians rendered to his need as simply being for himself. It did, of course, benefit from it, and it did bring relief to him. But he had a much higher view of their service to him than just that. He saw their gift as a sacrifice rendered by them in the common cause of the spread of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Because of their faithful service to him, the work could go on, and others could hear about the Lord Jesus.

We may not be on the mission field or in vocational ministry as Paul was. But if we’re followers of Jesus, we always represent Him in this world. And how we receive the service of others on our behalf can greatly advance the cause of the gospel. As Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians 9:10-15;

Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:10-15).

Like Paul, we should learn to recognize and appreciate the ways that the services that others render to us impact the greater cause of our partnership together in the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Finally, notice how—in all this—Paul exemplified …

3. CONFIDENCE THAT JESUS WOULD REWARD THE SERVICE OF OTHERS.

Paul summed it up in those wonderful words, “Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account” (v. 17). He willingly, gladly, warmly, humbly received their sacrifice of service to him because he was looking ahead to the blessing that the Lord Jesus would pour out upon them.

Do you remember what the Lord Jesus said would happen on the great Day of Judgment? The righteous would be gathered at the right hand of the King; and He would turn to them and say,

‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ (Matthew 25:34-40).

And think of it! If it would mean that the eternal blessings of the kingdom—from the very hand of Jesus Himself—were being poured out on the faithful ones who serve us in our need, then it is a very honorable thing indeed to be hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison! We truly render an eternal service of love to others by humbly letting them serve us in the name of Jesus.  As it says in Hebrews 6:10;

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister (Hebrews 6:10).

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Now, obviously, this isn’t about taking advantage of people. None of us would ever think that we can bless other people by hypocritically presenting ourselves as perpetually needy. God wouldn’t honor such a hypocritical attitude as that.

But when the need is truly there by the hand of God, and when God sends another brother or sister to lovingly meet that need in the name of Jesus, may God help us to think rightly about it. In the light of eternity, our need truly is a gift to someone else. Let’s think rightly about the sacredness of their efforts to meet our need in Jesus’ name, and learn to esteem it accordingly. Let’s view it gratefully as an act of partnership in the greater cause of Christ in this world—as something that God uses to expand the cause of His kingdom. And let’s receive that act of service with a genuine desire to see Jesus eternally reward the one who serves us.

If we’re careful to have those attitudes when others serve us in Christ, we’ll be performing an even greater and more eternal service toward them than they perform to us.

AE