Welcome to week 3 of “Reimagine,” exploring Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi.
Some quick background: Paul was in prison at a pretty horrible point in his life. He thought he could even die there. But then he got this amazing care package from his Philippian friends, and this letter was his response to their generosity.
But he’s not just writing to say ‘thank you,’ he’s also giving them wisdom and advice about how to carry the torch forward after he’s gone. Essentially he’s passing the baton to the next generation of Christ-followers in Philippi.
Now, the reason we’re exploring this specific book of the Bible now is because Paul’s advice for them is also full of wisdom for us.
As we kick off the two-year Reimagine Initiative - committing in new ways to the people in our lives who don’t know Jesus (our “ones”), and making some creative investments in our physical space as a church - these words can guide us along the way.
Because we are also a new generation carrying the torch forward from those who came before.
So, we’ve talked about how Paul opens his letter. Last week we looked at how the church in Philippi began. Today, we’re going to focus on the reason Paul wrote this letter - responding to the care package they sent him in prison.
What we’ll see is that this passage can challenge and encourage us as we consider what it means to generous with our own gifts and resources today. So, please turn with me to Philippians 4:10, Page ______. While you’re turning there, let’s pray.
I CAN DO ALL THINGS
Philippians 4:10-14
How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.
We’ll stop here for a moment.
One thing you are going to notice in the passage for today is that Paul never actually says the words “thank you.” Which is weird, because the Philippian church has given him this incredible care package. They sent Epaphroditus across the sea to bring it.
This was a big deal for them. The least Paul could do is say a quick “thank you,” right?
And it gets even weirder, because look at verse 11. It’s like he’s saying, “I’m so happy you’re concerned about me… but I was never in need. I didn’t even really need your gift.” What?!?
Is Paul being completely ungrateful here? His friends in Philippi go to all these great lengths for him, and he’s like, “Meh.” What’s going on?
Well, here’s where it’s so helpful to remember that the Bible is a “foreign artifact.” What I mean is that it was written in a completely different time in a completely different culture than our own.
What might strike us today as Paul being ungrateful is actually the exact opposite when we understand his original cultural context. So let’s talk about that context because I think it will help us understand what Paul is getting at here.
Ok. The first thing we have to understand is that the ancient Greco-Roman world was a very honor-based society. There was a strict social hierarchy and things like giving or receiving gifts said a lot about your relationships.
For one thing, if you gave someone something back then, it was expected that they would then reciprocate. They’d give you a gift or service in return (usually something even bigger than you gave them).
And then, guess what. You’d be on the hook to respond with an even grander gift to show your gratitude in response. You didn’t say “thank you.” You one-upped them.
This expectation of mutuality was all over the ancient world, and you can even find examples of this in very honor-based cultures today, like Japan.
Ok, but why does it seem like Paul is downplaying his need for their gift here? “Not that I was ever in need…”
Well, because Paul wants them to understand how he sees the nature of their relationship. And again, this has a lot to do with Ancient Greek culture.
Aristotle, the Greek Philosopher, taught that in an honor-based culture of mutuality and reciprocity there were essentially three kinds of friendship you can have:
The Three Levels of Friendship (Aristotle)
“Good” (highest)
“Pleasant”
“Useful” (lowest)
“Useful” friendships were basically all about what you can get out of each other. It’s all a quid pro quo. Aristotle thought this was the lowest level of friendship because even evil people could take advantage of one another like this for their own selfish gain.
“Pleasant” friendships were a bit better because they were built on enjoying each other’s company. You might be friends with someone because they’re really funny and they make you laugh. It’s not a transaction.
But, in a way it’s still about what you’re getting out of the relationship. It’s about your joy or your benefit. So we’re still a little self-serving.
However, “Good” friendships (Aristotle also calls them “friendships of virtue”), are all about desiring what’s best for the other. Doing things that build up your friend, even if you get nothing in return.
Good friendships are the ones that last because you’re focused on the other, not yourself. It’s kind of a pre-Jesus form of what we call “self-giving love.”
So, let’s bring it back to Paul. I think he has these three levels of friendship in mind. In verse 10 he says, “I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again.” He’s grateful for their gift. But, he makes it very clear in verse 11 that this was not just some quid pro quo.
Which is why he says, “I didn’t even need your gift and yet you sent it anyway. Ours is a good friendship, the best kind of friendship, because we care for each other with no thought of what we’ll get in return.”
He wants them to understand that he sees their gift not as an obligation but as an overflow of their love.
Verse 13. “I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. So I’m good. I don’t need anything. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. I don’t see your gift as reciprocity. I see it as something far more profound. Our friendship is good. Not just useful.”
Again, this is not the way our modern, American minds tend to work. To us, it’s like, “Just say ‘thank you’!” But in Paul’s ancient context, that’s exactly what he’s doing.
THE ONLY ONES WHO HELPED
So, with that cultural context in mind, let’s keep reading.
Philippians 4:15-17
As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once. I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness.
Last week we looked at Acts 16 to see how the Church in Philippi was born, and what we saw was the incredible generosity of that community. Lydia, the purple cloth merchant, who is aggressively hospitable, the jailer who washes his own prisoners’ wounds, etc.
Well in verse 15 we get a glimpse of what happened after Paul left Philippi. That generosity continued. They kept sending him money and support as he did his work elsewhere.
In another of Paul’s letters which he wrote to the church in Corinth, he describes it this way:
2 Corinthians 8:1-3
Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will.
The picture Paul is painting here is of a community that gives out of abundance and freedom, not out of guilt or obligation. Again, they are good friends to him; not just useful ones.
Now, in verse 17, Paul reiterates that none of this about honor-based mutuality. “I don’t say this because I want a gift from you.” In other words, “I’m not just heaping praise on you so I can keep riding the gravy train.”
No. He says, “I want you to receive a reward for your kindness.” Literally, what he says in the Greek is, “I desire the fruit/profit that accumulates to your account.”
What does that mean? What account is Paul talking about here? Well, let’s keep reading and we’ll find an answer.
A SWEET SMELLING SACRIFICE
Philippians 4:18-19
At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Here we get an answer to what Paul was talking about in verse 17. The “profit that accumulates to your account.” The reward for their kindness. He says “your gifts are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God.”
Paul is using the imagery of the sacrificial system at the temple here. Israelites would make sacrifices to God of things very valuable to them. Often the very best animals in their flocks.
As they burned these offerings on the altar, the smoke would rise up to the heavens and the smell would be pleasing to God. Not because God needed these sacrifices for food like a lot of the other religions of the time, but because he was pleased at the generosity on display. At the self-sacrifice.
The one making the offering was honoring God by freely giving away something of deep value to him or herself. A sweet-smelling sacrifice.
And that, according to Paul, is exactly what the Philippians were doing. Again, they weren’t giving out of obligation or guilt. They weren’t giving out of some kind of honor-based quid pro quo.
No. Their gifts were an overflow of love and generosity that demonstrated their surrender and trust in God.
They were not investing in the things of this earth. By supporting their dear friend Paul in his work of ministry, they were investing in the things of heaven.
Which is why Paul says in verse 17 that he wants the fruit of their gift to accrue in their account. Their heavenly account. He’s echoing the teachings of Jesus.
Matthew 6:19-21
Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
To be clear: this not about some kind of afterlife reward. It’s not about getting a bigger mansion in the New Creation.
It’s about investing your resources - your heart - in the things God cares about. Making meaningful sacrifices to spread his kingdom on the earth, as it is in heaven.
And trusting, as Paul says in verse 19, that “this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”
This is a posture of trust. The Philippians give generously to Paul without expecting anything in return. Paul pours out his life in ministry for them without demanding a reward. It’s selfless. Why? Because they are good friends, not just useful ones.
Ah, but it’s not just a two-way relationship. It’s a three-way relationship. Because when they sacrifice for one another, they’re actually storing up treasures in heaven. The fruit of their gifts is accruing to their divine account.
Their gifts rise up to God as a sweet-smelling sacrifice. And even though they’re not expecting anything in return, it’s God who will pour out his abundance in response.
According to Paul, When the Philippians freely invest in the things of God, God will invest in them.
“This same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs…”
YOUR GIFT
So there you have it. That’s how Paul thinks about the Philippians’ generosity. That’s what he wants them to continue growing in as he passes the baton to the next generation.
“You have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. Keep that spirit of self-giving love and generosity alive even after I’m gone…”
Now, I realize that all this talk about ancient cultural reciprocity and Aristotle and temple sacrifices can get a little heady. So why don’t we take just a moment to try and land the plane and make all of this relevant to our own context.
I mean, let’s get insanely practical. We’re in the middle of the Reimagine Initiative which involves some projects around our building which cost money.
In just a couple weeks, on March 9, we’re all going to share what we feel led to give financially to help make those projects happen.
What can we learn from this passage to help guide us as we each pray about those decisions? Well, I think there are three main takeaways. First,
Your gift is not an obligation.
As we just saw, Paul goes to great lengths to make it clear that he does not see the care package of the Philippians as some kind of quid pro quo. Right?
Their gift, to Paul, came not out of guilt or honor-based obligation. It came out of abundance and love.
So as you pray about what you and your family feel led to contribute to Reimagine, don’t give because you think we need it. Don’t give out of obligation.
And don’t give out of some kind of payment for services rendered. “Well, Grace has given me some great church services, so I guess I’ll chip in to help pay for it.”
No no no… If you choose to give to Reimagine, let it come from a place of overflowing love. God is going to meet our needs as a church. So don’t give because you feel guilty. Give because you want to share in the joy of what He’s doing here.
Your gift is not an obligation. Which leads to the second takeaway. If you do give, know that,
Your gift is pleasing to God.
Again, in verse 18 Paul calls the care package of the Philippians a “sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God.”
The very nature of sacrifice is that you’re offering something of value to God as a reflection of what’s in your heart. Here’s what’s cool about that:
If you believe that the projects we want to do are honoring to God - opening our building to the community, making our kids area safer, being good stewards of our infrastructure - if you agree that this is what God is calling this generation of Grace Church to do, then when you give, you’re not giving to Grace.
You’re giving to God. You’re making a sacrifice to invest in the things he cares about. You’re storing your treasures in heaven, not on earth.
Your gift (whatever the amount) - when it’s given freely, and not out of obligation, is a sacrifice that is pleasing to God. Finally,
Your gift is an act of trust.
In verse 19, Paul says, “this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches.”
Within this simple statement is a pretty provocative belief that shows up all over the Bible: The idea that God meets us in our sacrifice, and pours out his abundance in response.
Remember it’s that three-way relationship where we take care of each other out of self-giving love, while God takes care of us.
Now to be clear: this is not a health and wealth prosperity gospel. This is not a promise that if you give $1000, God will give you $10,000 in return. No! You might not ever get that money back in your account.
But, as Paul says, you are investing in a different account, and God will supply all your needs through Christ Jesus because of it.
Sure, I suppose it’s possible that the money could come right back to you, but it could also look like the Holy Spirit helping to change what you think you need in the first place. Developing contentment in your heart.
It might look like God being even more abundantly present for you in the good times and the bad. It might look like his Spirit fostering deeper relationships with other Christ-followers who will walk with you through the hard times so you’re not alone.
I can’t say how God will respond to your generosity - how he’ll meet your needs - but I can say with confidence from my own life experience that he absolutely will. As you invest in the purposes of God, God will invest in you.
The question is, do you trust him enough to try it?
Your gift is an act of trust. Will you give God an opportunity to show you how deep his well of abundance goes?
—
When I look back on the last 34 years of Grace Church, I am in awe of how God has taken our humble offerings, the generosity of thousands of people over decades, and he has turned all of it into lives transformed.
Into the healing of the broken places of our world. I don’t know exactly what lies ahead for this church family, but like Paul,
Philippians 1:6
I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
How amazing it is that our gifts can create the space for that to happen…