I’ve often said that a person’s reputation is the story of their character. The outward behavior of a person’s life says a lot about the inner workings of what has shaped a person’s heart and mind.
As we come to the end of Paul’s letter to the Philippian church, it has become crystal clear what the apostle Paul’s reputation was, what the Philippian church’s reputation was, and what kind of dangerous (character-shaping, reputation-building) thoughts, affections and behaviors existed both within and outside the Philippian church.
All throughout this letter, the apostle Paul has continuously dug into what was shaping the character (affections, thoughts and behaviors) of the Philippian church. Would the Philippians be shaped by their identity as Roman citizens or their identity as Heaven’s citizens? Would the Philippians be shaped by the ideology of Rome or the theology of the gospel of the cross of Christ? What would shape the Philippians’ character? What would the Philippians’ reputation be?
Would the Philippian church be known to possess the reputation of self-centered, pride-filled, complaining, arguing, disagreeing, divisive people who dressed up their sin in the cheap lipstick of religious language and nationalistic ideology? Or would the Philippian church be known to possess the reputation of having the mind of Christ as they worked out their own salvation in Christ while standing firm in the joy of Christ as they lived their lives in a manner that was worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ as citizens of Heaven?
What will the church, God’s people, be known for? This is a question that has continuously been asked throughout the centuries and it’s a question that still needs to be asked today with some serious attention given to the anti-Christ messages being proclaimed both inside and outside the church. What will we, God’s people, be known for?
#1: WILL WE BE KNOWN FOR SHARING IN SUFFERING? (VSS. 14 – 16)
People who share in the suffering of others are generous people. The apostle Paul commends the Philippians for their generosity when he praises them for sharing in his suffering. In verses 14 – 16 he says “it was kind of you (you did well) to share in my trouble (my sufferings). And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel (at the beginning of Paul’s ministry), when I left Macedonia (to do ministry in Corinth), no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving (time, talent and treasure), except you only. Even in Thessalonica (another place where Paul engaged in gospel ministry) you sent me help (investing time, talent and treasure) for my needs once and again.”
The Philippian believers had the reputation for being a generous church that shared in the suffering of others. This reputation told the story of the character (thoughts, affections and behaviors) of a church that was being shaped by the gospel of the cross of Christ as citizens of heaven rather than the ideology of Roman citizenship. Rather than working to build or to preserve the great Roman empire, they were working to build a heavenly kingdom that was free of the trappings of this earth.
The word that Paul uses for “share” and “partnership” in verses 14 – 15 means to have active participation or fellowship or friendship in something, and friendship (between Paul and the Philippians) was something that was fortified by the acts of giving and receiving as the Philippians funded Paul’s ministry despite their great poverty (2 Cor. 11:9) therefore their extraordinarily generous hearts were on display through their active sharing in Paul’s troubles and suffering (2 Cor. 8:3 – 5).2
Believers today can be known for having the very same reputation as they enter into the generous act of sharing in the suffering of others. We can do this by giving our time, talent and treasure to the work of ministry, to those in great need and to those social causes that promote the well-being, safety and care of all humans who have been created in the image of God. People who share in the suffering of others are generous people. Will we be known for sharing in suffering?
#2: WILL WE BE KNOWN FOR GIVING SACRIFICIALLY? (VSS. 17 – 18)
People who give sacrificially are generous people. Paul continues to commend the Philippians for their generosity when he praises them for their sacrificial giving. In verses 17 – 18 he says that it’s “not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.” The Philippians were known for their generosity because they gave sacrificially.
The word that Paul uses here for “increases” in verse 17, is a word that signifies the continual spiritual multiplication that happens in the life of a generous believer; Paul’s commendation of the Philippians’ sacrificial giving was stated with an eye towards the spiritual interest that was compounding in the Philippians’ eternal bank accounts (Ex. Matt. 6:19 – 20, 19:21; Rom. 12:1).3 Sacrificial and generous Christians are a sweet smell unto the Lord; especially sweet when compared to the bitter aroma of the self-centered, pride-filled, complaining, arguing, disagreeing and divisive reputations that characterize many groups of believers today.
And here’s the thing, money is not the only thing that is needed to have the reputation of a generous church that shares in suffering and gives sacrificially. Time and talent are needed as well. Time and talent spent listening, praying, serving, and providing for the needs of others who are suffering is also a requirement.
Let’s not forget that the Philippians sent Epaphroditus on a lengthy road trip to jail with gifts for the apostle Paul; their giving and receiving and sharing in his trouble were backed up by their sacrificial, physical presence in Epaphroditus and it was pleasing to God.
When I spend time speaking with or listening to folks who work in our hospitals, retirement homes and educational institutions right now, I hear people (actual people with faces who have been created in the image of God) speaking about the sobering reality (I say sobering reality because to characterize them as giving into some kind of demonic fear is to devalue their experiences and dehumanize them as people) but when I hear them speak about the sobering reality of what they are experiencing right now in 2020, my heart breaks and I want to invest sacrificially in their wellbeing.
Gone are the arguments about the percentages of deaths vs. recoveries. Gone are the arguments around the legitimacy of safety protocols. Gone is the desire to politicize what they are experiencing. My heart wants to enter into what they are experiencing. My heart wants to share in their sufferings and give myself sacrificially to help them, to come alongside them and to serve them in any way possible; even if it costs me some comfort and perceived rights.
I believe this is just one way I can live like Jesus while giving myself sacrificially for the good of others around me. And the reality is, as a believer and a pastor, I want to invite and encourage other believers to join me in following Jesus this way too. People who give sacrificially are generous people. Will we be known for our sacrificial giving?
#3: WILL WE BE KNOWN FOR TRUSTING IN GOD ALONE? (VSS. 19)
People who trust in God alone are generous people. As Paul continues to commend the Philippians for their generosity, he proclaims his trust in God alone when he says, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).
This promise of God’s supply is for generous Christians like the Philippians and cannot be claimed by those who live for their own self-preserving, self-establishing, self-expressing, self-promoting way of life.4
The reality that Paul is pointing to here is that God will meet any and every material and spiritual need that is created in the life of a believer as a result of their generosity because God’s generous supply for his children is based upon his own limitless supply as the Creator God of the entire universe; God doesn’t give “out” of his riches ($100 out of his $1,000), he gives blank checks of grace “according to” his incalculable wealth in the glory of Jesus Christ crucified, risen and returning; for the begrudging giver there is no such hope.5
A begrudging giver has trusted in something other than God alone just as the self-centered, pride-filled (my rights before your needs), complaining, arguing, disagreeing and divisive person has no hope in God (regardless of their religious jargon) because this person’s trust is being placed in the sin of self-sufficiency, self-preservation, self-advancement and self-expression.
It is good to be reminded here that the true marks of a believer can be summed up in Romans 12 and Galatians 5 where the reputation, the story of the character of a true believer is wrapped in the spiritual fruit-filled fabric of godliness with selflessness at its core. The denial of self is the direct outcome of total and complete trust in God alone.
Trusting in God alone enables the kind of selfless and sacrificial generosity that the world around us lacks because when you and I trust in God alone then we fear only God alone. This is the kind of generosity that characterized many in the early church (Acts 2 and 4) as they trusted in God alone for their material and spiritual needs though the opposite was obviously true of Ananias and Saphira who died in their sin despite their cheap religious language (Acts 5).
The kind of godly generosity that we see today is the kind of God-trusting/fearing generosity that motivates a person to purchase face shields so that people can gather in large groups safely; motivates another person to donate a piano to a church in need; motivates another person to come alongside a pregnant teen without judgment; motivates believers to begin supporting the ministry of their church; motivates others to put together holiday meal boxes for people in need. People who trust in God alone are generous people. Will we be known for trusting in God alone?
#4: WILL WE BE KNOWN FOR A WORSHIPFUL PRESENCE? (VSS. 20)
People with a truly worshipful presence are generous people. The apostle Paul concludes his commendation of the Philippian’s for their generous reputations with a short doxology (expression of praise) to the Lord when he exclaims, “To our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Phil. 4:20).
The reality here is that Paul’s previous proclamation of theology, God is our Provider in Christ Jesus, leads to an exclamation of doxology, praise to the King of Kings, as he enters the posture of a worshipful presence; God’s generous provision in Christ is meant to produce our worship-filled presence in the spaces and the places that we inhabit.6
Worship is not about the building or the music or the gathering or the clothing or the style or the feeling; worship is about the continued discipline of laying oneself down at the foot of the cross where God’s mercy and grace was embodied in the person and the work of Jesus Christ on behalf of rebellious sinners who would become children of the King.
When Christians worship God in Spirit and in truth in light of God’s mercy every day of the week, in everything they do, by asking if this particular thought or affection or behavior will please God and then acting accordingly, then and only then will the church be known for a worshipful presence in the community because people with a truly worshipful presence are radically generous people who mimic the radical generosity of their Savior on a cross. Will we be known for a worshipful presence?
APPLICATION AND CONCLUSION…
It is true that a person’s reputation is the story of their character and the outward behavior of a person’s life says a lot about the inner workings of what has shaped that person’s heart and mind. We must wrestle with the truth that a church who shares in the suffering of others, gives sacrificially, trusts in God alone and possesses a worshipful presence, has a reputation of being a generous church whose character has been shaped, not by the ideology of this world, dressed up in cheap lipstick of religious language, but has been shaped instead by the theology of the gospel of the cross of Christ.
In the context of the major issues that Paul has addressed throughout this book, it appears that Christians who do not share in suffering, do not give sacrificially, do not trust in God alone and do not possess a worshipful presence are not a sweet aroma to the Lord (Phil 4:14 – 20) because they are known for possessing the self-centered, pride-filled, complaining, argumentative, disagreeable, divisive reputation (Phil. 2:3 – 4, 14 – 15; 4:2 – 3) that sometimes accompanies those within the church.
This kind of reputation tells the story of a person’s character (thoughts, affections and behaviors) that has been shaped by the ideologies of the world that have been dressed up in the cheap lipstick of religious language.
On the other hand, just sticking with the context of this book, in light of the major remedies that Paul proposes throughout the book, it appears that when a group of believers puts on the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5 – 8), works out their own salvation in Christ (Phil. 2:12 – 13), and stands firm in the joy of Christ (Phil 4:1, 4 – 7), while striving to live their lives in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ as citizens of heaven (Phil. 1:27), then that church possesses the reputation of generosity that is characterized by sharing in the suffering of others, giving sacrificially, trusting in God alone and occupying a worshipful presence in their community (Phil. 4:14 – 20).
This kind of reputation tells the story of a person’s character (thoughts, affections and behaviors) that has been shaped by the theology of the gospel of the cross of Jesus Christ.
This kind of church is happy to take her place at the foot of a bloody cross in the doorway of an empty tomb while holding onto the hope of Heaven; for in the shadow of that bloody cross is where true believers find that all forms of self-centeredness, pride, complaining, arguing, disagreements and division are anti-Christ because the way of Christ is generosity as he shared in our suffering at the cross, gave sacrificially at the cross, trusted in God alone at the cross and completed the ultimate act of worship at the cross.
My friends… will this be our reputation? Will this be the story of what shapes our character; our thoughts, our affections and our behaviors? Will we put on the mind of Christ as we work out our salvation in Christ while standing firm in the joy of Christ? Will we live our lives in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ as citizens of heaven? Will we be generous people who share in the suffering of others, give sacrificially, trust in God alone, and possess a worshipful presence? Will we be known this way?
1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references in this paper are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).
2 R. Kent Hughes, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon: The Fellowship of the Gospel and the Supremacy of Christ (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, ESV Edition, 2013), 192 – 193.
3 Ibid., 194 – 195.
4 Ibid., 195.
5 Ibid., 196.
6 Ibid., 197.