00:00:00:12 – 00:00:19:03
Clint Loveall
Hey, everybody. Welcome back. Thanks for being back with us as we get close to finishing up our work here in Philippians. We’ll be with you. All of this week, we think, though we may, talk about something to do later in the week as we just really have a couple of days probably here in this book left.

00:00:19:03 – 00:00:49:17
Clint Loveall
We are jumping in today at verse 15. And really at this point in the letter, chapter four, verse 15, and at this point in the letter, Paul is largely done with his theological writing. He’s just doing some relational stuff. Though it is interesting. Because it is mostly, not something he has done in other letters in, in this particular case.

00:00:49:17 – 00:01:12:18
Clint Loveall
So, I’ll just read a few verses here, then we’ll come back. We can talk our way through them. You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone. For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once.

00:01:12:23 – 00:01:39:29
Clint Loveall
Now, not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account. I have been paid in full and have more than enough. I am fully satisfied now that I have received from a Paradise the gifts you sent. A fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

00:01:39:34 – 00:01:59:46
Clint Loveall
To our God the Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. So ostensibly, this is Paul thanking a congregation. They’ve been supporting him. It sounds like they’ve done that more than once. Paul is, genuine. Generally.

00:01:59:51 – 00:02:38:24
Clint Loveall
Reluctant. We know that he received from churches now and then. But he claims and he claims in other places in his writing that Philippi was the church most involved in that, and the only church that had supported him consistently. Whereas in other instances he he writes that he wasn’t willing to take donations from other churches. Part of this, I think, shows, or at least we we think that it might show us, specialness to the, relationship that he has with the Philippian church.

00:02:38:29 – 00:03:13:03
Clint Loveall
Part of it is that Paul seems to have a drive to be pretty self-sufficient, and he’s in a he’s in an interesting place here, Michael. I, I do think he wants to show genuine gratitude. I also think he he wants to say don’t feel compelled, I’m not asking, etc., etc.. And so, it’s it’s interesting to watch Paul here try to walk both sides of that line.

00:03:13:08 – 00:03:40:17
Michael Gewecke
There’s as Paul often does, there’s a functional layer to this section of the letter. There’s also a theological layer, a teaching layer. And I think all of those are valid. I think Paul functions at those levels just naturally. And I do think you’re right, Clint, that one of the things that maybe modern readers of the Bible as being included is that we may find some of the practical aspects of this less interesting.

00:03:40:26 – 00:04:00:32
Michael Gewecke
Yeah, because we are not innately aware of what Paul’s need is. But you gotta remember, you know, just a couple verses before where we are today, here we have these famous words and any and all circumstances. I’ve learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, having plenty, being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

00:04:00:45 – 00:04:20:22
Michael Gewecke
In any case, was kind of you to share my distress. And then we lead right into what that sharing looked like. It was, at some level, a meaningful level, if not the whole level of financial support, a financial giving and so while we are not in a position where Paul is still alive, Paul still needs that kind of support.

00:04:20:22 – 00:05:00:18
Michael Gewecke
What we see in the past is that Paul relied upon the Philippian church to provide support, even while he was doing mission in another place. And and that kind of seeding of the gospel, the kind of, hey, we’re going to support you, Paul, as you go. Share that still lives in the Christian church. It’s still embedded in the imagination of God’s people that are calling, is to not just provide financial and structural support for the ministries that are happening within our circle, but that at some level, we as Christians do bear a kind of responsibility to support mission that extends outside of our circle.

00:05:00:18 – 00:05:22:39
Michael Gewecke
It’s that outward push. So I think you see embedded here, and the Philippian church had the capacity. They had the ability to support Paul as he was going and doing that frontier kind of gospel work. And I think what we see in this letters, general overall tone, is a kind of affection partnership, a true camaraderie that Paul has with them.

00:05:22:39 – 00:05:38:47
Michael Gewecke
And no doubt that’s connected to the fact that there’s a giving in to receiving on both sides of it. So I all of that. So that’s a lot of words, Clint. Just to say, I do think the practical nature of this letter, maybe it’s lost on us, but I do think it’s meaningful. I still think we see it in the church.

00:05:39:01 – 00:05:43:10
Michael Gewecke
But don’t miss that. There’s some theological level to this. Also.

00:05:43:15 – 00:06:22:08
Clint Loveall
I, I think this is maybe colored for people I don’t know my age and younger. We have seen throughout our lifetime a steady string of examples of people taking from churches, of pastors abusing people’s giving, manipulating people, the scandals of embezzling and things like that. And so I think there is maybe a knee jerk sense in which we get a little suspicious of any kind of appeal to financial support.

00:06:22:08 – 00:06:57:05
Clint Loveall
Having said that, in every church a pastor is supported and in most churches, hopefully beyond the church, missionaries are supported. Causes or supported ministries are supported. And so we we see that this is really embedded into the fabric of Christian service. Christian mission, Christian evangelism, and there again, I think that’s helpful when Paul says, you know, I don’t need it, but thank you.

00:06:57:05 – 00:07:40:21
Clint Loveall
And you and I as pastors, have both been in the position of receiving kindness from people and and not wanting to say no, but also being reluctant to think, I hope nobody thinks they have to do that or feels compelled to do that. Certainly not wanting to ask for those things. And it is interesting, again, not to repeat myself, but to watch Paul navigate that where he simultaneously, I think, is deeply grateful for this history of support that he receives from Philippi, but also a willingness to say, But I’m okay, and I have enough.

00:07:40:26 – 00:08:09:45
Clint Loveall
And it is not something I’m compelling you to do. And then, very interestingly, as you mentioned, theology, Michael, he says that this is a credit not to him, but a credit to them in pleasing God that their support of him is a fragrant offering to God, that their generosity is seen as an extension of their faith. And and I think that’s important.

00:08:09:45 – 00:08:44:33
Clint Loveall
And I know we’re we’re probably leaving the text here. And we’re fortunate to live in an era where there are some tools that people can use to check out charities and to try to be very conscientious with their giving. But it is it is a nice idea that when we give with good intention that we are doing something God honoring, that ultimately it it is in that idea of how can we help, how can we support.

00:08:44:38 – 00:09:12:19
Clint Loveall
And clearly, again, we live in an era where you have to be careful because there are people that take advantage of things, but when there’s a national disaster or when there’s a tornado, when there are opportunities for us that God is honored in, in that effort, in that outreach, when God’s people are mobilized to give in order to help kingdom things be done, God is honored in that.

00:09:12:19 – 00:09:31:12
Clint Loveall
And again, I realize in the history of the church, those kind of sentiments have been abused and misused, but at their root, they are good and they are pure and when God’s people respond, God is pleased with that.

00:09:31:17 – 00:10:10:17
Michael Gewecke
This is an example of one of those text, Clint, where I do think people have done some unfortunate twisting of the theological meeting and, you know, and I think a good example of that here is verse 17 specifically, not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account. And I think it would be a grave error to read that as if Paul is establishing some kind of theological counting system, that if you take one thing from here and you put it there, that it’s going to accrue and an account, that’s not the the sense if you read this whole section and it keeps going and you referenced it here

00:10:10:17 – 00:10:33:33
Michael Gewecke
ahead, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God and and that in is the connection to the Christ, to him that that Christ him became for us the whole model of this whole life that Jesus Christ gave up. He sacrificed all these things. So then who proved himself faithful? Will God the Father, who raised Jesus up, and all the things that followed.

00:10:33:37 – 00:11:01:16
Michael Gewecke
So the way that one gets to exaltation, as Paul frames it in the beginning of this letter, is through the willingness to let go and the sacrifice that comes on our side. And so what he’s saying when you get here is not that one financial transaction into the church or into a minister is going to accrue in some kind of interest compounding way.

00:11:01:21 – 00:11:22:42
Michael Gewecke
Instead, this is to say, when you’re willing to be the person who sacrifices, when you’re willing the person to be the person who goes without some things for the sake of someone else having it, that that is putting yourself in the very way, the very path of Jesus Christ. And if that is the case, then what you’re going to discover is your needs are fully satisfied.

00:11:22:44 – 00:11:39:57
Michael Gewecke
Once again, if you let go, if you go down, then what you’re going to discover is that God is going to take you up and that taking up. Of course, Clint is way more than the consumerist kind of. I have a lot of stuff, and I’ve acquired a lot of privilege and power that that’s not been in this letter.

00:11:40:04 – 00:12:01:51
Michael Gewecke
What has been this letter is that in Jesus Christ, all things are taken care of, that in Jesus Christ we can be fully satisfied. In Jesus Christ. We can discover even in the loss that God’s ability to exalt. That’s the pattern of this letter. I think some people take words like this. They read them literally. They make a kind of theology.

00:12:01:51 – 00:12:09:45
Michael Gewecke
That objective is, is what Paul’s trying to do here, which is relational. And I think we need to be careful to not do that.

00:12:09:50 – 00:12:29:58
Clint Loveall
I think two things are helpful there. One is to know that the word Paul uses in verse 12 of chapter four when he says, I know what it is to have little. That is the word humbled from the Christ, him that that is, that’s the same word. And so I know what it is to have little and be content.

00:12:29:58 – 00:12:58:08
Clint Loveall
And when Paul uses a word like satisfied here, I think he far more has in mind the work in the believer that creates contentment than the idea of the promise that through Jesus we get more. Yeah, clearly he has just spent five verses telling these folks, it is great for you to care about me, but I, I can get by on anything because of Jesus.

00:12:58:08 – 00:13:22:52
Clint Loveall
I can do well with much. I can do well with little hungry for it. I know the secret to contentment because I trust Jesus Christ. That, I think, is what satisfaction looks like for Paul. And I think to somehow try to turn this into some sort of material promise where if you do good things, you get a lot more back in return.

00:13:22:57 – 00:13:37:18
Clint Loveall
I think that cuts squarely against the grain of the verses that precede this. And I think, you know, clearly, from our perspective at least, that’s the exact way, wrong way to read a text like this.

00:13:37:22 – 00:14:14:19
Michael Gewecke
It is important I think, to just slow down and see. And this is firmly devotional reading of the text. I just want to be clear about that. Paul’s not writing to say this explicitly, but I think it’s implicit in it. One of the tasks of Christian life, Clint, is that we have to learn and practice being givers. But Paul is demonstrating here that one of the tasks of Christian life is also to practice receiving, to receive with gratitude, to receive graciously, to receive in such a way that God can still yet be glorified in the good intentions of the giver.

00:14:14:24 – 00:14:46:17
Michael Gewecke
And I think we’ve all struggled with those at some point in our life, both to give and to receive. I think many of us, even into adulthood, where we’ve learned some of the gifts of giving, still struggle to be those who receive. And I think if that is you, I think I would say that it’s me in many places that this is a humbling, fruitful, meaningful scriptural reminder that if all Christians are called to give, if we’re called to be a giving people, then at some point, numerically, those gifts are going to land on you.

00:14:46:17 – 00:15:05:30
Michael Gewecke
At some point, people are going to bless you, and it is an opportunity to practice the spiritual gift of of giving God glory for the gift and the goodness of others, because God is surely in that. Paul is doing that in a really subtle way here. He says, listen, I didn’t need it, but glory be to God.

00:15:05:34 – 00:15:31:18
Clint Loveall
Yeah, I, I think it’s not uncommon in the faith that some of the greatest givers are the worst receivers. I think for many, receiving is more difficult. And so, again, for Paul to show both genuine contentment and genuine gratitude is a I think it’s a good lesson for us. I think it’s a nice snapshot.

00:15:31:22 – 00:15:42:16
Michael Gewecke
Not a text you might look at and say, wow, there’s a lot there. Let’s, let’s dig in. But I think once you start digging into that surface a little bit, you’re going to find that there’s actually a lot.

00:15:42:21 – 00:16:15:04
Clint Loveall
You know what’s interesting, Michael? These the beginnings and the ends of letters. We tend to think of Paul doing theology right, preaching, teaching Christ. But it is interesting when you get a chance to dig into the relational stuff that tends to be on the front end and the back end of a letter. There is some stuff in there that I think is very human, very ordinary, not particularly theology, theological, though there’s theology in it.

00:16:15:09 – 00:16:19:01
Clint Loveall
I think sometimes it’s kind of fun to look at those and see where they take you.

00:16:19:06 – 00:16:38:31
Michael Gewecke
It’s a good summary for today. We’ll have one more conversation here. With just a little bit of text left. I hope that you’ll join us for that. And then we’ll have the journey that extends beyond. So glad to have you all here today. This has been interesting, challenging, encouraging. Like the videos that others can find it certainly subscribe so you don’t miss this and studies like it.

00:16:38:36 – 00:16:39:21
Michael Gewecke
See you all tomorrow.

00:16:39:25 – 00:16:40:01
Clint Loveall
Thanks for running.