Lesson for May 3, 2020

The Book of Philippians

Chapter 4:14-23

“Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” The church at Philippi was the main financial supporter of Paul and his team on their missionary journeys. In order to properly understand giving you must first understand dispensations. A dispensation is a period of time in which God deals with mankind in a certain way to administer His policies. Each dispensation, therefore, has unique characteristics, as well as certain similar functions. Such is the case with giving. In the dispensation in which we live, called the Age of Grace or the Church Age, giving is both different and the same as in the Age of Israel (Old Testament).

Giving is not tithing. Failure to distinguish between dispensations indicates a person does not know God’s Word and has failed to recognize the differences between the Age of Israel and the Church Age. Giving has always been a legitimate function for the believer, but tithing was only for Israel in the Old Testament. (Leviticus 27:30-34; Malachi 3:10) The tithe was a form of taxation for Jewish believers and unbelievers alike. The word tithe means “a tenth.” There were several tithes that were levied upon the Jewish citizen: maintenance of the Levites (priests), for national feasts and sacrifices, and for the poor. (Numbers 18:21,24; Deuteronomy 14:22-29; Malachi 3:8-12)

Giving went beyond the requirement to pay a tithe (tax) because it involved the free will of the giver. Properly motivated giving involves a willingness to honor God with the provisions He has given to us.  Unlike the tithe, which was a violation of the law if not obeyed, giving was voluntary. When properly motivated by a desire to bring glory to God, the believer voluntarily gave over and above the required tithe. In the Church Age we have no such tithing requirement. We no longer have a Levitical Priesthood; all believers are priests. National feasts and sacrifice worship have ceased, and the local church is supposed to take care of its poor. Grace giving by the believer, with the proper mental attitude, will reflect God’s “grace giving” toward him. In other words, the believer with the right mental attitude will use the blessings that God has bestowed upon him to support God’s work. (II Corinthians 9:7) II Corinthians 8-9 gives us a list of principles with regard to our responsibility of supporting the ministry.

Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers to follow the example of the Philippian believers in their attitude of giving. The Corinthians were wealthy, and Paul issued a challenge to them to complete the gracious work of the collection for the saints in Jerusalem, which they had previously begun. Paul was not so much concerned about the amount of the gifts as he was about the spiritual growth and mental attitude of the believers in Corinth. It was the spirit of giving exhibited by the that Philippian believers Paul wanted to impart to the Corinthians. It is this spirit of giving that becomes a reflection of what is resident in the soul.

Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. One of the sure signs of understanding doctrine is to translate doctrine into grace action. The Philippians not only knew the doctrine of giving but they understood it and believed it. Therefore, they applied the doctrine of giving with the result that they were the only local church contributing to Paul’s financial support at one of the critical times of his ministry. Grace action (application) in the Royal Family of God originates from the doctrine that is understood and believed. The Philippians demonstrated by their grace giving demonstrated their understanding of doctrine. They were ready to follow Paul from super-grace to ultra-super-grace.

The Greek word for seek (the gift) is “epizeteo,”which means to seek after, to solicit or to desire. It indicates what was apparently going on, which was slander from some that Paul was using the Gospel to solicit money and to become rich. Of course, Paul denied these accusations and explained his true motives of preaching the Gospel. Paul provided the need of the Philippians — the Gospel and Bible doctrine. As a result of their spiritual growth, they were properly motivated, and God prospered them. So while the believers provided the needs of Paul from their material prosperity, Paul provided their needs from his spiritual prosperity. Everyone has different prosperities. Pastors with spiritual prosperity provide doctrine for the spiritual prosperity congregation. As a result of the doctrine of giving being understood and properly applied, the congregation becomes part of the logistical support of the pastor and missionaries through their financial support.

I seek for the profit which increases to your account. The Greek word for profit is “karpos,” which means fruit. The fruit of an advancing believer is divine production, which is its meaning in this context. Only divine production is rewardable and credited to your account by God. Paul did not need the generous gift from the Philippians, God would have provided for him. It was the believers who gave that needed what Paul had – Bible doctrine. These believers were spiritually mature enough to understand the doctrine of giving and knew by supporting Paul and his missionary team they would be able to continue their work. The grace giving by these believers in Philippi was divine rewardable production (which increases to your account).

But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. Paul had been supplied to the maximum with a grace gift which would carry him for some time. Once Paul lacked, now he is full, and the results mean that he will be carried financially for perhaps the rest of his life. The fragrant aroma was a way of expressing the quality of their grace giving as a memory Paul would never forget. The acceptable sacrifice of a grace oriented, “well-pleasing to God” offering meant that is rewardable divine production based on their motivation from spiritual maturity.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. The Greek word for supply is “pleroo,” which means in this context to fill up a deficiency. Paul had a deficiency. He was not deficient in doctrine, but he was short on money. Paul was pointing out a principle in connection with the Philippians’ giving. They were now wealthy because they had increased capacity through their spiritual advance to super-grace and God under the principle of logistical grace had provided material prosperity. So, Paul was saying that God used their wonderful prosperity in super-grace status to bless Paul on the road from super-grace to ultra-super-grace. That’s why he says, “my God will supply.” God will provide not only the money but the continual doctrinal teaching so that any problem of lack of funds will always be solved. The wealth of God is infinite, unlimited.

In Christ Jesus refers to the Royal Family of God in union with Christ as the means of receiving God’s resources of wealth. It gives the believer the right as a child of God to tap the eternal riches their Heavenly Father. Because the royal family is in union with Christ, they possess the potential of spiritual maturity, which provides spiritual and material assets to make an acceptable offering to God.

Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”  The very designation “our Father” is a reminder of logistical grace and its source. All glory belongs to God. The more doctrine we receive the more we realize that God to be glorified, forever.

The brethren who are with me greet you. Attitude toward Bible doctrine divides all Church Age believers into two groups – positive or negative. Former friends and close associates often become separated from you in the Christian life. Those positive toward doctrine are moving in one direction; the people who are negative are moving in another. Doctrine is often a divider of family, friends and loved ones. The viewpoint of a spiritually mature believer and that of a reversionist are not compatible. Both in the advance to spiritual maturity and the advance to ultra-super-grace, occupation with Christ is the issue. Eventually other super-grace believers will form the nucleus of a social life (if required) as the believer advances in the Christian life.

All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household refers to the fact that at this time in Rome there were a large number of advancing believers. Remember that Paul was under house arrest in Rome when writing this letter to the Philippians. Obviously, Paul and his team had led a number of people in the household of Caesar (where he was housed) to Christ and sent greetings from them.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit refers to the human spirits of the believers in Philippi. At the moment of salvation, every believer becomes indwelt by Jesus Christ, for a specific purpose. Christ indwells the believer in order to make evident His glory in us. This is accomplished in the life of the spiritually maturing believer as he exhibits the character of Jesus Christ. Our objective as Christians is to allow God the Father to glorify His Son by pouring out fantastic blessings on us. As we move through the spiritual life on our way to spiritual maturity our capacity to receive blessing from God increases. This increase in capacity sets up the potential of glorifying Christ. As the indwelling Christ, He provides encouragement, motivation and confidence. (John 14:18-21; Ephesians 3:14-21; Colossians 1:27)

Christ’s indwelling serves as a great encouragement for every believer. Knowing that we have the same destiny as our Savior should give each of us a relaxed mental attitude about the present and the future. Christ was tempted by Satan and remained sinless by utilizing the power of the Holy Spirit. It was this life, tested and proved by Christ, that became our example for the proper execution of the Christian Way of Life. Christ now indwells the believer in order to bring glory to Himself (the onlyhuman being Who deserves it). (John 14:18-21)

By an act of our free will, we too can bring glory to Christ. By allowing the Holy Spirit to produce the character of Jesus Christ in our lives, God is glorified. Jesus is the standard to which we should aspire as believers. There is no place for discouragement to the Christian who is executing the Christian Way of Life. God has given us all the necessary tools to be successful. Our success as Christians means that Christ will be glorified.