Philippians 4:10-13 - Paul's Secret to Contentment

From Tom’s Sunday morning lesson, August 16, 2020, Tidewater Region Worship Service (via Zoom since our Lawnchair Service was rained out 🙁 )

Over the last few months, the Hampton Roads Church has been teaching Sunday lessons through the book of Philippians. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi while in prison in Rome. It was a church where, during his first visit, he also spent time in a jail, and where he converted the jailer and his family.

Rejoicing Always

Even though he was in prison, Paul writes over and over again to the Philippians about rejoicing:

In Philippians 1:4, he prays for them with joy,
In 1:18, he rejoices that Christ is being proclaimed, even by those who oppose him while he’s in chains,
in 2:2, he asks them to make his joy complete by being unified,
in 2:18, he calls them to rejoice with him and not grumble or complain,
in 3:1, he tells them to rejoice in the Lord despite false teachers trying to discourage them,
in 4:4, he writes “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” even though there is conflict in the church with the sisters Euodia and Syntyche, then finally
in 4:10-13, he rejoices in their expression of concern for him.

Why were they concerned? They knew the challenges Paul had faced and wanted to support him while he awaited trial in Rome.

Facing Challenges

How do you deal with difficulties and challenges? Do you find it difficult to rejoice in this challenging year? 2020 has been a social distancing, mask-wearing, COVID-fighting, injustice-protesting, election-anticipating, economy-faltering, and life-disrupting year!

¹⁰I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹²I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:10-13 New International Version

In verse 10, Paul thanks them for their concern for him. Later in his letter, he thanks them for gifts they sent previously. By “at last” he isn’t complaining; instead, he acknowledges that now, after some time has passed, he is grateful that they were able to get their message of concern to him. In fact, he wants to make it clear to them that he’s not looking for anything else from them but instead that he has learned to be content in his circumstances. Paul had experienced challenges in many ways, but in verses 12-13, he shares a secret with them: the secret of being content in all circumstances. Spoiler alert: he relied on Jesus to provide his strength.

After leaving Phillipi on his first visit there, which was many years before writing his letter to them, Paul endured many trials and challenges. He mentions some of the things he went through in his second letter to the Corinthian church:

²⁴Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. ²⁵Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, ²⁶I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. ²⁷I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. ²⁸Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.
2 Corinthians 11:24-28 New International Version

Wow! Paul endured incredible hardship as he served the Lord on his missionary journeys, and at the time of writing the letter to the Philippians, he was in prison. Look at how he ends his list: with the pressure of his concern for all the churches. Feeling pressure and concern doesn’t seem to compare with being shipwrecked or beaten. However, sometimes we feel challenges internally that are different but just as difficult as those that affect us externally.

All of us are going through different challenges, many of them new ones due to the pandemic, social unrest, and economic difficulties of this year. Have you lost your job? Maybe you lost a loved one or someone you know has become sick with COVID-19 or otherwise? Maybe you’re feeling loneliness and depression from being in quarantine and social distancing? All challenges aren’t equal, and we need to be sensitive to those going through difficulties that may be different from what we’re going through.

Even with his challenges, Paul speaks of knowing how to be content whether hungry or well-fed. What was his secret?

We can react in a variety of ways to challenging circumstances, but let’s look at three common ways: complaining, complacency, and contentment.

Complaining

Earlier in his letter, Paul talks about grumbling and complaining:

Do everything without grumbling or complaining,
Philippians 2:14 New International Version 1984

Oh how we love to teach this verse to our children! But what about us? Oh, we love to complain!

Mary will tell you that I’m a very skilled complainer, so let me offer a few tips on how to do it right. The key to good complaining is to tell others a convincing argument for how you’ve been treated unfairly or how something is truly and unarguably a bad situation that no one could possibly like, then wait for them to agree with you.

For example, most of my complaints start with something like “you won’t believe what somebody did to me”. I then share my story of how I was treated unfairly – the guy who cut me off in traffic, or how I wasn’t able to get my way in some situation… the list is long.

Fortunately, Mary knows the best way to deal with a complainer: ignore him. Or just acknowledge that life can be unfair, but never, ever agree with the complaint. The complainer is just looking for justification for being a complainer!

Complaining is a very ineffective way to deal with challenges. By complaining, we’re interpreting Philippians 4:13 as “I can’t do anything because God didn’t give me the strength to deal with this unfairness!”

Complacency

Complacency is feeling like we can’t do anything about our challenges, so we’re driven to inaction, we’re not engaged. Dictionary.com defines complacency as “self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.”

For example, COVID-19 is keeping us from meeting together physically as a church, so we need to have a lot of virtual meetings: Zoom worship services, midweeks, bible talks, discipleship times with our brothers and sisters. Complacency is telling ourselves it’s not that important to be involved and engaged, and that we can’t do anything about the situation, so we’ll just be satisfied with doing our own thing. I mean, who will notice if we’re there or not?

I was concerned that I would become complacent when COVID started disrupting our lives in mid-March, so I invited brothers to join me at 8 am every workday to read a scripture, discuss it, and pray. We started with Psalm 119, then we studied other psalms, then the parables and prayers of Jesus, and now we’re discussing the book of Hebrews. The “haverim” discussion group has kept me from becoming complacent by focusing on the word of God and on building my relationships with this special group of my brothers in Christ.

Complacency, like complaining, is an ineffective way to face challenges. It causes us to interpret Philippians 4:13 as “I can’t do anything about it, so I won’t even ask God for strength”.

Contentment

The word Paul uses for “content” in 4:13, autarkes, is a Greek word used by the Stoics, and it’s the only time we find it in the New Testament. He also uses another word here that’s only used once in the Bible: memyeamai, which means mystical or secret, as in an initiation into a secret society.

Stoics felt that they had found a mystical power to deal with life’s challenges. It was a philosophy of self-reliance and a calm acceptance of whatever came their way. It’s a little different than complacency; it’s more like pride. For example, if I lose my job, or I have a medical issue or whatever life challenge comes my way, if I’m content like a Stoic, I would never reach out for help, or let anyone know that I have a need.

I often feel like I don’t need help, just let me handle it myself. Then I run into an obstacle: the job is too big, or I don’t know how to do it right, or I’m too fearful to face it on my own. That’s when I realize I can’t be content like a Stoic and rely only on myself with a calm acceptance. If I do, I won’t resolve the issue or get things done.

By looking for contentment through the Stoic philosophy of self-reliance, we’ll end up interpreting Philippians 4:13 as “I can do all things; I have the strength to do it myself”!

Completeness

Complaining, complacency, and contentment aren’t the only options for dealing with challenges. Paul tells us that he found a way to be truly content no matter what the circumstances. It’s through godly contentment, so let’s call this fourth option “completeness”.

In the older version of the NIV (1984 edition), Philippians 4:13 read: “I can do all things through him who gives me strength” (emphasis added). This has become a bumper sticker or wall art, a slogan often abbreviated to: “I can do all things”. Is this what Paul meant by his “secret to being content”? Could Paul really do “all things”? If so, why didn’t he keep the ships from wrecking or run fast enough to get away from the crowds that pelted him with stones (see 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 above)? The Bible says he was prevented by the Spirit from entering into Asia to preach, which happened to lead him after a vision of a man of Macedonia to Philippi (but that’s another story). If he could do “all things”, why couldn’t he preach anywhere?

The new version of the NIV says “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (emphasis added). It interprets Paul’s words as saying not that he could do “all things” but that he could endure good and bad situations in his life by looking to the one who gives him strength… let’s look at the words used in the passage for “do” and “strength”.

Using the definitions from the NIV Word Study Bible, the Greek words in Philippians 4:13 for “do” and “strength” are:

“do”, ischyo – “to have power or strength”
“strength”, endynamoo – “to empower, strengthen”
Verse 13 could possibly be reworded as “I have strength because Christ strengthens me” or “I have power because He empowers me”.

This is similar to what Paul wrote to the Ephesian church:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Ephesians 6:10

He tells them to be “strong” (endynamoo) in the Lord and in his mighty “power” (ishys) using basically the same two words as in Philippians 4:13. He then tells them to “put on the full armor of God” so that they can take their stand and face the challenges ahead.

Like the Ephesians, we need to stand firm against the challenges of today, and against the challenges yet to come – we need to put on the full armor of God! If we give our challenges to God through Jesus, we not only put on the full armor, but we have the complete power God gives us with His Holy Spirit.

Earlier in his letter to the Ephesians, he wrote to them about God’s power through Christ:

18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Ephesians 1:18-23 New International Version

Paul writes that we have the same power that God used to raise Jesus from the dead and that He gave Jesus all authority and power over all things. With the power of the Holy Spirit in those of us who have repented, confessed, and been baptized, what challenge is too great for us? We need to live our lives in confidence that we have the complete power and strength of Christ!

Godly Contentment

Paul had a secret for being content: God provided all the strength ad power that he needed for any situation, hardship, or challenge. We also share this secret for how to deal with our challenges:

not complaining that God hasn’t given you enough,
not being complacent that you don’t need to act and be engaged,
not being content like a Stoic and relying on your own strength,
but being complete, living in confidence that we have the power of the resurrected Jesus in our lives!

If you’ve never given your life to Jesus, repented, and been baptized, you don’t have the complete power of Jesus in your life. You need to reach out and ask someone with that power to share how to become a true disciple of Jesus.

For those who are baptized disciples, you have the power of the resurrected Christ, so use the gifts God has given you in all circumstances. You are strong in all things through God, who empowers and strengthens you!

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
PHilippians 4:13 (NIV)

Note on studying the original Biblical languages:

I have not studied Koine Greek or Hebrew formally, so I use tools with Strong’s numbers and Greek dictionaries to look up words used in the Old and New Testaments. A warning and advice: take care to not interpret scripture based on alternate meanings of individual Greek words. Greek and Hebrew were languages with very different alphabets, grammar, and syntax than the English language, and many Greek and Hebrew words have multiple meanings. A good way to approach your study of the Word is to read multiple translations of the passage and consider the interpretation technique used by the translators. Some English translations are “word for word” (for example the ESV and KJV version), others are “thought for thought” (NIV and CSB), and others are “paraphrases” (NLT and The Message). An article with a good chart and summaries of various translations is here. (Note that I am not familiar with the authors of that site and their opinions are theirs alone and don’t necessarily align with those of myself or my fellowship of churches.) The translators of the various English versions are scholars of the languages and have put careful thought and review into their word choices. Through considering various versions and the context of the passage, a non-scholar “unschooled and ordinary” (Act 4:13) reader of the Bible can study the word of God and apply the scriptures responsibly and effectively.