The Philippian believers are commanded in Phil. 4 to “stand firm in the Lord” in the way Paul has described for them in Phil. 3.
Philippians: Shine Like Stars – DAY 79
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DAY 79/MONDAY
Philippians 4:1
Stand Firm
“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!”
Philippians 4:1 (NIV)
Hey, hey! We’ve made it to Philippians 4. However, since 4:1 starts with the word “therefore,” we need to begin by looking back at Ch. 3.
What’s the “therefore” there for?
“But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.
4:1Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!”
Philippians 3:20-4:1 (NIV)
Paul tells the Philippian believers to stand firm “in this way.” What way? Well, let’s review what 3:20-21 tell us.
- Our citizenship is in heaven.
- We eagerly await a Savior from there.
- Our Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ.
- The Lord Jesus has power that enables Him to bring everything under His control.
- By this same power, Jesus will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.
What do these facts have to do with us standing firm?
Our citizenship is in heaven.
We can stand firm because our citizenship is in heaven. Since we belong to an eternal kingdom, we can live with the confidence that no matter what happens here on earth, in this world, in this universe, we will live forever as part of a never-ending kingdom. Here’s a description of that kingdom from Revelation:
“Then I (the apostle John) saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death,” or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away…’
And…
“5He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”
6He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be My children…’
But, wait… there’s more!
“22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Revelation 21:1-7,22-27 (NIV)
These are descriptions of the future that awaits those of us who have trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins. Wow! Newness & light & God’s very presence forever! No tears, death, mourning, crying, or pain; no darkness, loneliness, impurity, shame, deceit — only victory for the children of God!
We can stand firm because our citizenship is in heaven.
We eagerly await a Savior from there.
We can stand firm because we eagerly await a Savior from heaven. We have hope that Jesus is coming back because He has told us so in His Word. Look again to Revelation:
“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Revelation 22:12 (NIV)
Now, to John’s gospel:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. 2My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”
John 14:1-3 (NIV)
And, last but not least, Mark’s gospel:
“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27And He will send His angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens…
32But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.”
Mark 13:26-27,32-33 (NIV)
Jesus is coming back! He will reward us and take us to heaven where He has prepared a place just for us! He will come in the clouds with great power & glory, sending out His angels and gathering us, taking us to be with Him, that we may be where He is… forever.
We can stand firm because we eagerly await a Savior from heaven.
Our Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ.
We can stand firm because our Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ. As Peter said,
“Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:11-12 (NIV)
In a letter to the Thessalonians, Paul wrote:
“For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.”
I Thessalonians 5:9-10 (NIV)
And to Titus, Paul wrote:
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.”
Titus 2:11-14 (NIV)
In the letter addressed to the Hebrew believers:
“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.”
Hebrews 9:27-29 (NIV)
And back to Revelation:
“And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.'”
Revelation 7:10 (NIV)
We can stand firm because our Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus has power!
We can stand firm because the Lord Jesus has power that enables Him to bring everything under His control. If Jesus loves us (He does), and He has the power to control everything (He does), then what have we to fear?
The letter to the Hebrew believers tells us:
“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15Only in this way could He set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.”
Hebrews 2:14-15 (NLT)
Paul wrote about Jesus’ power in letters to the Corinthian & Colossian believers.
“But He (Jesus) said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.'”
II Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.”
Colossians 1:15-18 (NIV)
We can stand firm because the Lord Jesus has power that enables Him to bring everything under His control.
Jesus will transform our bodies.
We can stand firm because Jesus will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. Whatever happens to our physical bodies in this world will only be temporary. We don’t have to back down from living out a bold faith because of what is happening, has happened, or may happen to our bodies!
Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers about this, too.
“For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God Himself and not by human hands. 2We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. 4While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5God Himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee He has given us His Holy Spirit.
6So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please Him. 10For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.”
II Corinthians 5:1-10 (NLT)
Those of us who have put our faith in Jesus as our Savior & trust Him as our Lord look forward to brand-spanking-new, perfect, everlasting bodies that will never fail or fade. II Corinthians 5:10 should be further motivation to stand firm in the Lord — one day we will stand right in front of Him and answer for each & every thing we have or haven’t done while in this temporary body.
We can stand firm because Jesus will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.
Stand Firm
“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!”
Philippians 4:1 (NIV)
We can stand firm because…
- our citizenship is in heaven.
- we eagerly await a Savior from heaven.
- our Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ.
- the Lord Jesus has power that enables Him to bring everything under His control.
- Jesus will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.
DAY 79/MONDAY Prayer
Father God,
Thank You for Your Word.
We are grateful to be reminded of reasons we can stand firm in You no matter what happens, no matter what we face!
As Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers, Lord, may we be on our guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong; and do everything in love (I Corinthians 16:13-14).
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
DAY 79: The Philippian believers are commanded to "stand firm in the Lord" in the way Paul has described for them.