Last year I looked at the Top 10 Most Shared Bible Verses from 2013 in their context. They have recently posted their 2014 list and to my surprise there are ten new most shared verses, so I figured I’d look at these ten popular verses in their context again this year. Today we will look Philippians 4:8, which is the fourth most shared verse of 2014.
The Verse:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8 ESV)
The Context:
The apostle Paul wrote Philippians from a prison. This church held a special place in his heart as they were the first church he founded in Europe. Likewise, Paul held a special place in the heart of the Philippian church, as they had helped him throughout his ministry.
The letter to the Philippians is a missionaries thank-you note. Paul needs to thank them for their gift and to commend Epaphroditus to them. He was sent as a gift but because of his illness things did not work out quite like they had hoped. But Paul doesn’t want to send him back like a defective item from Wal-Mart, and so he writes them to show his delight in Ephaphroditus’ work.
Also, Paul has been informed that the church at Philippi is laboring through a bit of disunity. He was sending Ephaphroditus back—and later Timothy—as models of those who have the mind of Christ. This is what the church at Philippi needs. If they are going to grow as a church and be rescued from disunity then they’ll need to develop the mind of Christ.
As Paul closes his letter he gives a few final exhortations to sum it all up. This is what purpose Philippians 4:8 serves. It is a summary of the focus of mind the Philippians must embrace.
The Meaning:
Consider the life of Paul as he writes this letter to the Philippians. He has been wrongly accused. There are hints that some have abandoned him. From all outward appearances his thriving ministry is put on a hold while he wastes away in a Roman prison. His circumstances aren’t the greatest.
The same could likely be said about the Philippians. There are hints that persecution is beginning to hit their community. They are discouraged by Paul’s imprisonment and the gift that they had hoped to give didn’t bless him how they had hoped. All of this is compounded by the problem of disunity.
You and I could likely give our own list of circumstances which are not matching up to our dream for our life. In these times it is tempting to focus on the wrong things. That temptation would have been real for Paul and the Philippians as well. And so Paul admonishes them to focus on that which is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise.
I believe D.A. Carson gets to the heart of this verse when he says:
…Paul puts things in the most concrete way. Think about true things, Paul insists, not about the false. Think about noble things, not the base. Think about whatever is right; do not dwell on the wrong…Think about whatever is pure, not the sleazy. Think about the lovely, not the disgusting. Think about the admirable, not the despicable. Whatever is excellent, think about it.
This is not some escapist demand to avoid the harsh realities of our fallen world. The sad fact is that many people dwell on dirt without grasping that it is dirt. The wise Christian will see plenty of dirt in the world, but will recognize it as dirt, precisely because everything that is clean has captured his or her mind. (Basics for Believers, 116)
In order for disunity to thrive wrong thinking must be in place. Paul knows this and he knows that the solution is for those at Philippi to adopt the mind of Christ. Rather than focusing on differences of opinion, or rumors, or other unity robbing things we are to focus on that which is known and which leads to worship.
Conclusion:
I think some might highlight this verse because they have adopted some sort of power of positive thinking. While there is much to be said for positive thinking what God is calling us to is not an unrealistic view of things. No, we are to focus on Christ the truly lovely One. We have been given His mind. And because of this we are able to see beauty from ashes and crowns from crosses.
Great idea for a series, and great post, Mike. I wonder if it’s also helpful to look at the immediate context of 4:2ff. and connect 4:8 to the situation with Euodia and Syntyche as well as the unity of the church in general. As they are urged to be of the same mind in the Lord, and as Clement and others are urged to help them to agree, do you not think the commands following are connected to that and part of this particular ongoing strife? I think there’s a lot to 4:4-9 in terms of conflict resolution in the church. We ought to make it a point to think on the things God approves and to focus on, encourage, and promote them in the lives of our fellow believers. What a difference it would make if we thought on those things in regard to those with whom we have conflict!