Philippians 4:1-4 “Reconciliation Through Rejoicing in The Lord”

Federal Headship and the Call to Philippians 4

Is the doctrine known as Federal Headship, and it's a marvelous doctrine, something I would encourage each one of us to look more and more into today after the service. But today, we're gonna be in Philippians chapter four, verses one through four today, so please turn your way there, make ready your mind to hear the word of God for this morning.

I'm gonna go ahead and begin with a word of prayer. Lord God, I would ask today, Lord, that we all would look at this word and rejoice, Lord. God, I would ask and say that again, that we would rejoice always, Lord, that we would see ourselves as undeserving members that are written in your book of life, Lord.

God, we thank you for possessing this pen that has written our names there, Lord. God, I would ask today that we would just be joyful and thankful to be a part of your church, Lord, part of your body, part of your bride, and Lord, that we would love one another alongside of these things, Lord.

Let this word be read in a way that glorifies you today. Keep my tongue from going an ounce beyond what your scripture says, Lord, and I would ask these things in your name, that man of sorrow as we song today, Lord, amen.

Brothers and sisters, let us go ahead and read this verse for today, verses one through four from Philippians chapter four. As we continue to venture through this wonderful book of Philippians. Therefore, my brothers, longed and loved, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

I urge Iodia and I urge Synthicae to think the same way in the Lord. Indeed, I ask you always for ask you also genuine companion. Help these women who have contended together alongside of me in the gospel, with also Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. Let us pray before we look more in depth at this verse. Lord God, I would again just echo what was said before and what has been seen here in this text, Lord.

God help each one of us rejoice in you. Not just some of the times, not just one day a week, but that we would rejoice in you always, Lord. God, that our joy would be anchored upon the truth that we are written in your book, Lord.

God, again, tell us today to rejoice. We say this in your name, amen. So to establish context before we look here again in verse one, we need to remember what has come before. We are in this new chapter, which again, when we read the book, any book in the Bible, we have to remember that it was first written without chapter breaks, without verse divisions.

They're helpful for us, but sometimes we can forget that this would have been a continuous letter for the people to read together. So we need to remember what has come before, what context are we in. Paul is writing this to the church of Philippi while in prison.

He has said in the previous chapter for ourselves this continuous line of thought that after here in Philippians chapter two, he says that we are to be humble with one another and emulate what Christ has done for us on the cross by becoming flesh, dying for us, saving us, that he has the name that is above all names in doing such.

And then in chapter three, we see the importance of why Paul would say, beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of mutilation. He's saying that beware of anything that eliminates what Christ has done on the cross for us.

Beware of anything that would add to the righteousness that is found in Christ, because by doing such, you have actually made Christ die needlessly for you. You've said that it wasn't enough for Christ to have died for us.

He's saying beware of works-based salvation as well as legalism that would take away your freedom in Christ. Beware of that. Do not allow the man or the woman to come into the church and say, be circumcised today.

That's what Paul is saying, beware of that. And then he says that we actually have confidence in nothing of ourselves, no removal of the flesh, no stopping us from doing X, Y, and Z things. We don't put any confidence in our flesh, but all those things are actually nothing but rubbish for us in the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus.

And then after that, he then says, continue to press on towards the goal, which is Christ Jesus, living by the same standard which you were first called. And so what was the first standard we were first called in?

That we are undeserving sinners saved by grace. That's the same standard that we walk in continually, that we seek after the goal, which is the end to be with Christ. And I would also say that it is important to remember in light of what verses one through four will be speaking about, verse 18 of chapter three, for many walk of whom I often told you and now tell you even crying as enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their stomach and glory is in their shame, who set their thoughts on earthly things.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly await for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so Paul has now said, I'm so sorrowful, I'm crying over these people who have actually soullied and stepped upon the very blood of Christ that are actually enemies against Christ.

He cries over them, he cries upon what they have done to Christ who was supposedly their Lord and savior just last week or whatever timeframe this was in. But also the reason that we have to make note of this is that Paul is going to speak of two individuals right now in this text, Iodia and Synthicae, who are not enemies of the cross, but he has concern over these two individuals.

And so we'll discuss these things as we come to it, but it's important to remember that in the previous chapter. So therefore, my brothers, that's how Paul begins this text for us this morning. Therefore, my brothers, again, I wanna remind us that Paul continually uses family language when he refers to the bride of Christ.

And this is important to remember that when we look to one another in our own church, or we look to those that are going to a different church down the street in another city, in another town, in another state, these are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul is writing this to a distant church saying brothers, it's his family, he loves them, he sees them, these Gentiles and these Jews that have come to have faith in Christ, these individuals that have inherited the promise that is through the seed Jesus, he calls them brothers.

Again, that would be a remarkable statement from a identifying Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Jew of the Jews, that here he is saying that the Gentile believers of Philippi, they're my brothers, they're my sisters in Christ.

That's remarkable to remember this. Therefore, my brothers, loved and longed for. Paul possesses, while he's in some terrible situations and imprisoned in the second time for Paul's life, he possesses a type of love for the bride of Christ that should be present in each one of our lives.

Loved and longed for, I long to be with you, church. I long to be able to worship with you. I long to be able to fellowship with you. I long to be in the presence with you and to tell you of the mysteries of Christ.

I long for this, church, I long for this. But Paul also loves this church very, very deeply. He longs for her, this church, while he himself is in prison. You should think in the same manner that Paul would also love every individual Christian as well, that even today, Paul's love would be existing if he was still alive with us today.

He would love those that are in Christ Jesus. He says, loved and longed for. And he says, my joy and crown, my joy and crown. Joy has been found in this local body of the church of Philippi here by Paul.

He says that my joy is in you. It's something that I enjoy being with you. And the reality of this is that I hope when we come to church that we see that we have joy in the things that we do, not because of the actions that we do them in, but because we're united in Christ together, that we are one in Christ Jesus, that we're a part of his body, we're each individual members of his body.

And so we think about that for our own church. What kind of joy do we have in our body? We have a lot of joy in our body. I hope you heard today, hearing the songs that are sung today. Do we not hear the little ones shouting with joy, the wonderfulness that was the second song there or the first song that we sung?

That's joy in the local body, the catechism that we read this morning with the kids. That's joy in the local body. That should be our joy is raising these kids up in Christ. Not only this, when I was studying about this, I was reminded of brother Don and the baptism that we had for him almost a year ago now.

I rejoice in that. My joy is in seeing somebody become more and more like Christ. This is soon to happen to another individual in our church. Lydia has talked with us about wanting to be baptized. That's our joy as a church is walking with individuals and ordaining elders.

That's another joy. Zach going on a mission trip, having the gospel proclaimed over and over and over at all that we do. VBS, evangelism, counseling with those within our church and so much more. Brothers and sisters, what I'm trying to get at is when we come to church, we should look around and find so much joy in doing things for the glory of God.

Not because they're the actions that they're being done in, but because they're being done as one in Christ Jesus, that we are one in the Lord. Why is this so important for Paul to recognize? This is my joy.

This is my crown. In this way, we stand firm. In this way, and that's why we're reading this today. In this way, this is how we as brothers and sisters in Christ at Valley Baptist, this is how we stand firm in the Lord.

Would it be beneficial today if Paul, let's go back 2000 years ago, would it have been beneficial for Paul in prison to have the Debbie Downer type of personality about himself while in prison? Or like the Eeyore of Winnie the Pooh type of personality there in prison?

Woe is me. Woe is me. Can life get any worse? I just don't know what I'm gonna do today or tomorrow. I'm just so brokenhearted and I can't think of any joy that I might have right now. Would we read something like that and be encouraged by something like that for us today, 2000 years later?

No. But what is Paul doing in here? I have joy. I love you. I long for you in the worst of conditions for myself. What does that look like for us today? When you were persecuted, when you suffer, when bad things happen, today is the day to be joyful.

And this does not say that we can't be mourning or we can't have times to be sad, but this shouldn't be the means of the consistent pattern in the Christian's life is that of sorrow. Even when we look in the book of Ecclesiastes, when it says there's times to mourn, there's times for these joys, there's times for all these things, the consistent pattern for the Christian should be finding joy in Christ.

Even Paul himself is here finding joy in Christ. I wanna read, I was tempted to read multiple chapters on this topic today, but let us just read one of these chapters. Ephesians chapter four, would you turn with me to Ephesians chapter four for today?

Ephesians chapter four. Would it be beneficial? And the reason that we're going to Ephesians chapter four is would it be beneficial for Paul or any member of the body of Christ to live a life that is consisting of sorrows nonstop continually as Eeyore would be for us?

Would this be beneficial to the bride of Christ? There's two chapters I wanna read today again, Ephesians chapter four, first Corinthians chapter 12 was another chapter I wanted to read, but let us look here in Ephesians chapter four and we'll skip around a little bit to try to make things go by a little bit faster when reading this chapter, but let us read this.

Therefore, I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being diligent to keep the unity of the spirit and bond of peace.

There is one body, one spirit, just as we are called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us, he get, but each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Therefore, it says when he ascended on high, we're gonna skip these verses. This one would be a portion that I would love to preach on another day, but let us look down here at verse 11. And he himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and some as teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of service.

I want you to realize that these positions, these early church things like apostles or these current church things like pastors and teachers for us today, they are given to the bride of Christ. They are to be seen as a gift for the equipping of the saints for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ.

Paul was given to us as a means to build us up as the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of faith and of the full knowledge of the son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the statue, which belongs to the fullness of Christ, so that we no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every kind of wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by the craftiness and the deceitful scheming.

But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head that is Christ, from whom the whole body being joined and held together by every joint supplies according to the properly measured working of each individual part causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

I would love to read the rest of this chapter today, but let us go back to Philippians chapter four as time permits. The reason that we read this, and in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, just to give you a summation, talks about in there that we're all one in Christ Jesus, but we are many members and that the foot should not be upset that they are the foot or the hand be upset that they're the hand or the ear be upset that they're the ear, but see that Christ has called us all to different members of that body.

And it's all working together to build up this bride of Christ that you and I are a part of. The reason that I hope that this, the reason that we've reminded us of with context today, again, is that this only magnifies the evil works of legalism in the church as that only wants to participate to find common ground in the act of supposed righteous acts instead of being found in the righteous lamb.

When we are reminded that we're all made one in Lord Jesus through grace, in faith in Christ, that's our unity. It's Christ. Our unity isn't found in circumcision. Our unity isn't found in X, Y, or Z things.

Our unity is found in Christ and he is building her up in the way that he wants her to be. And this is important for us to remember because this next verse is about two individuals in the early church who are causing contention in the church.

They're causing disunity, fighting, in-house fighting within the church. How many of us are a part of families? And all of us should raise our hands, right? We all come from a family of some kind or another.

Many of us would probably most likely have siblings. Was there many times in your life growing up that there was fighting? And I see Marcus and Rick, was there times that you guys butted heads and fought?

Carl and Patty, was that disunity or was that unity in the household when that was taking place? Probably a little bit more of the disunity side. And it's frustrating, right? Rick would build a house of Legos and Marcus would say, nope, I don't like the first block you use and he'd come over and kick it down.

I don't know if that happened. I'm assuming that something like that happened, right? It's frustrating. It's frustrating. What happens if Carl gave the command for Rick to build that Lego house and Marcus is doing that?

That's frustrating. It's aggravating. Listen to the words of Paul when he's talking about these two individuals that are destroying the house of God here in the church of Philippi. I urge Eodia. I urge Synthecae to think the same way in the Lord.

Who are these two individuals? They're two early church ladies in the church that we don't have a lot of context on what's going on. We don't get any context really. It's only speculation on what's going on, the fighting, in-house fighting that's going on, the disunity that's there.

It's only speculation. I was reading several commentaries trying to understand this passage a little bit better and each one was saying essentially that it's only mere speculation on what's going on. However, to end up in a letter written by Paul, was it something little or was it something big most likely?

Probably something big. Paul doesn't just write a letter for little things. He writes letters for big things. He writes a letter for obvious transgressions against God. Again, we don't have context, right?

We can't say Eodia was right or Synthecae was right or they were both wrong or they were both right. We can't say those things. We just don't know exactly what was going on. A lot of people were speculating in those commentaries.

Maybe it was that one of them was holding onto legalism because that's what the previous chapter has or maybe one was saying that they were called by grace at first and then they are now called the X, Y, and Z things, the standard that was talked about in the previous chapter.

We don't know. We just don't. Paul doesn't elaborate on those things. Two women fighting in the early church. That's what we have here. There's a reason why Paul in 1 Timothy 2 chapter 11 verse 12 says this, a woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness, but I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.

Paul in prison has heard the women. Have these women remained quiet? No. Paul sees the disunity why he himself is behind bars. Why does chapter two get written that with all humility, knowing that we are in Christ, that this is how we appear without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights to the world.

At this point in chapter four, does Paul see a concern growing in this local church, the church of Philippi? Yeah, he sees the disunity there. He's heard of it while he himself is in prison. Question for us, church, and let's think about in this day, 2000 years ago, for these two women that are fighting in the church, do we want this church or our church or any church for that matter to be in disunity?

No. None of us want this. But women talking will cause this. It will. Do you want visitors to never come back? If somebody comes into the church of Philippi at this time, they grew up as a Jewish individual, now they walk into this church and they are never gonna come back because they didn't see disunity.

Women, keep on talking, this will happen. Do you want pastors that cannot last longer in a church for more than a few months? Women, keep on talking. Do you want members of our church who have had repeated experiences of a church, of other churches that have had hypocrisy to leave our body?

Do we want that to happen over and over again? Women, keep on talking. Women, do you wanna be at odds with each other? Do you wanna have disunity in the local body today with one another? I hope you say no, but if you do, then women, keep on talking.

I've heard over and over and over again at the women's Bible studies that have been reported to me from different women that there's been a constant theme that's been going on in there. But in the example of Eve, was it Satan that brought the fruit to Adam for him to eat so we would all fall in him?

No, it was a woman, not Satan that brought it to Adam. Women, if you wanna see others hurt, fall and be destroyed, this will be done every time the woman carries the fruit and makes decisions on behalf of men.

This goes against created order in the church. And it's dangerous. Now, I'm not saying that women cannot talk to each other. I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is that if a woman or women are backbiting, seeking out accusations, fault-finding and gossiping, it is not, and I will repeat this, it is not building up the bride of Christ.

Paul will hear about it in prison. Your neighbors will see it down the street. This is a truth that happened 2 ,000 years ago in the early church, the ones that saw Christ walking, the ones that saw Christ crucified, this happened.

Do not think that 2 ,000 years ago that we are above such a thing. How is this to be resolved between these two, Iodia and Synthicae? It is to remember the responsibility that you and what they have in the church.

It is to have the same type of humble thinking that was found in Christ Jesus. Submission, for both of these women to have been saved by the most precious thing in the world, which is the blood of Christ.

Paul is saying, Iodia and Synthicae, stop it. Because what you're doing right now is having lasting effects that you don't even know about. You're hurting the bride of Christ. How dare you? Stop it. Iodia and Synthicae, stop it.

I urge you, these two women, to think the same way in the Lord. What was the same way that he just talked about? My joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. Verse three, indeed, I ask you, genuine companion.

What is this now speaking of? So this Iodia and Synthicae in the Greek are two feminine names. They're two women names in this text. Indeed, I also ask you, now who is Paul now reaching out to? Genuine companion.

This is a masculine word in this. It's most likely reaching out to their husbands. Now it does, again, does not say in the context if this companion, if it's just one of them had a husband, or if both of them had a husband, or if one passed away and the other one was still living, or if one's a Jew and one's a, it doesn't say those things, but Paul is referencing a companion of these women.

I urge you also, genuine companion, help these women. You might have said, Brayden, that was a sharp thing to say about the women earlier. Let me be sharp to the husbands in here as well. Husbands, do you wanna see the bride of Christ be famish and effeminate?

Then don't be the head of your wife. Do you want gossip to lead the dinner table? Then don't be the head of your wife. Do you want the church to suffer under an unbiblical ecclesiology? Then continue to let your wife lead you and your household.

The sharpness is double-edged in this way. These were individuals that used to contend together for the faith. Listen to that again. These are two individuals, two ladies, who were with Paul, contending alongside of him for the sake of the gospel.

Over time, most likely, some sort of wrongdoing or emotion, whatever it might have been, has now come between these two ladies here in this early church. I ask you, husbands, help your wives. Because your wives, there's no reason for Paul to think that any of these people, any of these ladies, any of these two ladies that's being talked about are actually enemies of the cross.

Paul doesn't see any reason to say that. He just says that it needs to stop. Stop it. Men, be the head of the wife. Be the head of your household. Just as Christ Jesus is the head of the church, men must be head of the household.

And then not only does it end there in this verse, but it says also, Clement. Now, who is this that it's speaking of in this text? Clement, this Clement that's most likely mentioned in here is Clement of Rome, an early church leader, and is most likely along some other men that was listed in this book already in chapter two, where he says, go back with Timothy, and another gentleman that I cannot pronounce his name so well, but it's another elder in the church.

Another elder in the church. Clement, elder of the church, go back with these other elders in the church and help them with this. Why would Paul allude to this? Why would Paul say the leaders of the church are to help these two women who are in chaos with each other, what should this tell us about?

I want to read two verses from our last Bible study that we looked at. Remember those who lead you, who spoke the word of God to you and considering the results of their conduct, imitate their faith. Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.

Let them do this with joy and not grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. Clement hears the words of the women. Paul has heard the words of the women. Clement knows about this. Is he not to give advice as an elder?

Or maybe even more importantly, is the advice of the elder to be heard and submitted to? Yes, it is. Brothers and sisters, the sharpness that was given to the women earlier in this text and the sharpness that was given to the men that failed to lead their house is also given to the elders as well.

Elders, Elder Rick and Elder Ron and myself in this church, listen up. Elders, do you want your church to be led astray by every false teacher there is in the world? If you were to say yes, then don't teach the word of God.

Do you want the church to do what's right in their own eyes or what's right in the eyes of God? If you want that, then don't oversee the church. Do you want mutilation and every evil workers of this world to come into the church and kill the very sheep of God that you've been called to be the shepherd over?

Then be a hireling and not a shepherd of God. It's that simple. If you want that to happen, be those things and it will. The sharpness, again, is double-edged to everyone in this church, everyone in the Church of Philippi here.

Beloved Valley Baptist, the Church of the United States has become deluded with false thinkings of every kind. We've come to view pastors more as politicians that can be swayed with money rather than a man that has been gifted to teach you the very word of God boldly, truthfully, and unapologetically.

We've come to see the elders as men that can be hired and fired at every supposed offense rather than a man that will dedicate us, marry us, and even bury us. We've come to see the pastor as that he is ours to be told what to say, act, and teach rather than being patient and letting wisdom vindicate her by her truth through a man that is called of God.

Are the words of Clement to be heard by these two women?

Yes, they are.

Iodia and Synthicae, stop it. You're causing disunity. Now, why? Let's read this again. Indeed, I ask you also, genuine companion, help these women who have contended together alongside me in the gospel, their brothers, their sisters in Christ is what Paul is saying, which also Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life.

Brothers and sisters, do you not have joy today in church? Has sorrow taken you over? Then listen to the words of scripture and be exhorted by your lowly shepherd here behind the pulpit today. Your name is written where it ought not to be, and it is written there with the very blood of the most precious being in the world, Jesus Christ.

It is in this book of life that the book of the greatest hope for all new covenant members, and I beg you, act as such and find joy instead of offense. Your name is written in the book of life. Iodia and Synthicae, why?

You're hurting instead of building up. You're kicking down instead of rejoicing. Iodia and Synthicae, stop it. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. Does Paul say rejoice only on Tuesdays?

Rejoice only on Saturdays? Rejoice when you're out of prison, only when you're out of prison. Rejoice only when things are easy. Rejoice only when you, no. Rejoice always. Why? Your name is written where it ought not to be written.

That should give you all satisfying needs to rejoice in the Lord. This should cause us to be happy at every corner that we go through in life, because our name is written in the very book of God, the very book of life.

We read it today with the children for catechism. Adam transgressed the law, and what was the promise given to them for the breaking of that covenant of works? Death. Why is someone's name written in the book of life who is only deserving of death?

It's because Jesus Christ, the head of the bride, the shepherd of the sheep, has lived a perfect life, has died in our place, and has rose again from the grave. He has defeated the very wage that you and I are deserving of, and because of such, he has written your name in this book.

Find joy. There is no occasion, let me say that again, there is no occasion that should trump that reality of knowing Christ Jesus. Let us pray. Lord, I thank you for this text. I thank you for the book of Philippians, Lord.

I thank you for what you've called us to be, Lord, and that is to be united in the building up of your bride, united as building up the body. Lord, I would ask today that we would find joy, that our joy would not be because it's raining or that it's sunny outside, that our joy wouldn't be because of anything else, Lord, than because you have done something that we cannot.

Lord, you have revealed these things to us. Lord, I thank you for the grace, the undeserving grace that each one of us taste in, Lord. God, I would ask today that you would be glorified in each one of our lives, that we would just continue to seek the kingdom that we are undeserving of, the kingdom that is to come.

Lord, I thank you again, and I say these things in your holy name, Jesus Christ, amen. Brothers and sisters, would you please stand with me as we sing the hymn of praise to our Lord Jesus Christ.