We will finish Philippians tonight, looking at three things in Paul’s last four verses. As in nearly all of Paul’s letters, he finishes here with some very loving words. Even when he writes to rebuke churches, the last drops in the glass are almost always sweet. But in this case, there wasn’t much rebuke for the Philippians – just exhortation followed by expressions of love. And that love is kept within the context of His adoration of the Lord.
So Paul says three things in closing. And three points always make for good divisions for sermons.
First, there are Paul’s words of PRAISE to GOD.
“Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Just as this is the conclusion and summary of this epistle, this should be the summary and conclusion of our lives. “NOW unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Last Sunday I pointed out during our first lesson in Exodus that the first word in the first chapter was “now.” And that “now” is much like this “now.” It marks something new – a new series, a new lesson. And in this context, it initiates the last paragraph of the letter. But in both books, the new is built on the old – on previous lessons and information already learned.
When Paul here says, “Now unto God…” he is wrapping up his letter, while still thinking of verse 19. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Our glory to God the Father is based on His riches in glory by Christ Jesus which have preceded us. So there is a distinction here. The glory which is FOUND in our Saviour is not the same glory which is DUE to our Saviour. Even though it is the same Greek word. The glory which is found in the Trinity is not the same kind of glory which we owe and express to Him. Verse 19 speaks of every glorious thing found in Christ, much of which He uses to enrich us. Verse 20 speaks of the praise which we owe to him for those bountiful perfections and gifts.
It is the glory of the Lord to give, and to give and to give. We don’t worship and love a stingy God. Jehovah gives to both His elect and the non-elect. “He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.” “The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all His works” – Matthew 5 and Psalm 145. Just think about that. The Lord has been giving to wicked men, and blessing them, since the very early days of creation. The wicked are often rich and powerful, like Pharaoh in Egypt, and it is God who ordained and permitted it. But even the famine which brought Israel into Egypt was a blessing, because it brought additional blessings into the country, through the elevation of Joseph. And in regard to that famine – the rules and dynamics of the weather; the fertility of the soil; the reproduction of food animals, are all miraculous and kind gifts from God. Later, even the law of Moses was a gift, because it clarified earlier revelations the Lord made of Himself. But of course, salvation is the greatest gift of them all. But it is not a gift given randomly, like hundred dollar bills dropped from a helicopter. Salvation is not a coat thrown over every cold shoulder. Verse 19 may not be referring to the gracious gift of forgiveness and eternal life, but this gracious supply it flows out of it toward those for whom God has placed his special love. ”He that spared not his own son but gave him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?”
And now with these things in mind, “unto God and OUR FATHER be glory for ever and ever.” Here is one point of theology which sets Christianity apart from all the other major religions of the world. Hindus and Muslims don’t worship their spiritual father; many of them worship a spiritual dictator. They may fear their god, but it is not the awe and “fear of the Lord,” which God’s people have for their father. Ancient Greek, Roman and Asian religions had multitudes and various levels of deities, but they didn’t have a Heavenly Father per se. And even within Christendom, many professing Christians worship like the ancients, honoring a spiritual mother. I recently heard some jokes using female pronouns to speak of God – “the Lord God, she did this and that….” But my Bible speaks of Jehovah as “God our FATHER.” The Lord is filled with paternal love for his children – souls who are totally dependent upon Him. He loves and protects his children because they are incapable of protecting themselves, but not like a she-bear. He is the Father who feeds, clothes and covers. Yes, He is described even as suckling His children, but it is still as our Father. In fact, this Father is the source of the spiritual life of those children. We “have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but we have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
I hope you also see here a hint toward the eternality of our relationship to this paternal God. “Now unto God and our Father be glory for EVER and EVER. Amen.” If Jehovah is your Father today, then He will be your Father in glory for eternity. He will never cease to be your Father; He will never disown or disinherit any of His children. Literally, we will have the privilege of calling Him “Father” through upcoming ages and ages. And we will have reason to constantly praise Him, as long as successive epochs unfold.
Before leaving verse 20, notice Paul’s exclamation mark – “AMEN.” “Amen” is one of those ubiquitous Bible words that we often overlook or ignore. In the three volume set of Joseph Kinghorn’s life and works, one of his better know sermons was described and then transcribed. That English Baptist was invited to a certain meeting and asked to preach a message on the word “amen.” In his introduction, he said he was perturbed with the assignment, but he chose to make the best of it. In his preparation he got more and more excited about it. It turned out to be a really good message; one which perhaps I should digest and regurgitate for you. “Amen” means far more than its literal definition. “So be it,” doesn’t begin to express the emphasis the word contains. And that is what we should keep in mind. It is all about EMPHASIS. “Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. AMEN” – GLORY to God!
The Second thing that we note in these closing verses is Paul’s final “ALOHA” to his friends.
“Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.” Notice that Paul doesn’t isolate anyone for particular praise or reference. He does this from time to time in the closing words of some of his other epistles. And in this case he has already mentioned a few people. But now he makes an emphatic greeting to everyone – from himself and an unnamed group of friends.
And in this, the end of this letter reaches full circle to grasp the beginning of this letter. “Salute every SAINT in Christ Jesus… all the SAINTS salute you…” And how did the letter begin? “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the SAINTS in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi…” The people receiving this letter were “saints,” and they are “in Christ.”
So many people in our world today are misinformed about saints. Saints are not some special breed of Christian that church hierarchy vote into sainthood. Catholicism and other religions look at saints from one incorrect position. But then much of the rest of the world looks from the other direction – “Well, of course I drink, gamble, curse and use amphetamines; I ain’t no saint.” In contrast to these, the Bible teaches that all the Father’s children are saints – every one of them. Some saints are as godly as the Lord intends for them to be, but other saints are sometimes sinful and unclean.
A saint is not a faultless human-hybrid. But our sins and our failures in saintliness shouldn’t make us think that God could not possibly be our Father. Because we are saints “in Christ Jesus.” HE completes us; He is our righteousness, when we aren’t a righteous as we should be. I’m not making excuses, or suggesting that it is okay to be less than what the Lord wants you to be. Our sanctification – our saintification – is supposed to be an ever developing characteristic of our lives. Our sanctification is an ever-growing increase of the Saviour in us. It is only as we abide in the vine – Christ – that we have any success at displaying the characteristics of saints. But saints we are never-the-less, by the decree of God and the position that we have in our Saviour.
Another name which the Bible has for us, is that we are “brethren.” We are brothers and sisters in Christ – with God as our eternal Father. Like the wide variety of brethren among Jacob’s family, we come from an even more bread spectrum. Just think about the circumstances surrounding this epistle. There was Paul, a Jew, in a Roman prison, surrounded for the most part by Roman Christians. They were sending their greetings to Greek Christians, along with a few saved heathens. There were slaves and former slaves who were also among the brethren. And there was perhaps a former demon possessed woman and a jail-keeper, worshiping along side some of the people who perhaps had been in prison with Paul in Philippi – prisoners. But they were all now brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus.
Let no one say that in the abyss of wicked societies like that in Rome or this one in the United States… Let no one say that there is no point in talking about saints, or behaving like a saint of God. Let no one say that it is impossible to live like a saint as we are slogging through the slime of modern wickedness. It might be strange to find doves in a pig sty, but it happens now and then.
Finally, Paul prays for CONTINUING GRACE.
God, our Heavenly Father, deserves our unending glory and praise, because He gives unendingly. And He gives because He is gracious. Grace is love exercising itself, not to its equals, but to the helpless and the undeserving. Verse 23 is a prayer that the Lord would continue to bestow His love toward the Philippians. It doesn’t imply any doubt that the Lord would do that. But it shows where Paul’s heart is pointed: “I want the Lord’s unending blessing on you all.”
The gifts of this grace are manifold and multifaceted. They are made up of all the things that man can need or receive. And they come from our multi-titled Savior. He Jesus, our elder brother. He is Christ the anointed one, the Messiah, the Son of God. And He is our Lord, Jehovah, Sovereign over all creation. The God of all grace is the God of all things: He has the keys to the store houses of Egypt. He dams up and then releases the waters of life, governing the electricity it produces.
This wish and prayer of Paul is the highest expression of human friendship possible. Spock in Star Trek blessed people saying, “May you live long and prosper.” An Irishman might say, “May the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face,” but sometimes that is not what we need. And the Jewish priest might quote Numbers 6 – “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” Paul, the Jewish Christian condenses that for us, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!” That is the highest desire that anyone can have for anyone else. Our human love always has its limitations, but there is no limit to the love of God. Our ability to bless someone has its weaknesses, but the grace of God is infinite and omnipotent. So let your blessing be about the Lord’s grace upon your friends.
It is no accident that most of Paul’s letters end in just about this same way. “May God’s grace continue to be poured out upon you.” We need that continuing grace. Just as we cannot breathe enough oxygen at this moment to supply our needs for the 9:00 hour tonight. And the grace that we enjoyed this afternoon at 5:00 is not enough for our needs at 8:00. We need the divine gift of constant grace. And the graciousness of God keeps His grace showering down upon us in an unending stream. Even the last word of the last book of the entire Bible is: “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, amen.