(Wrote this devotional as a homework assignment for theology classes here in Scotland.)
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me-practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Phillipians 4: 8 & 9
A few years ago I nannied my friends toddler, Abel while she taught at Masterworks Festival. Abel is a really smart kid and like his Mom is very artistic and creative. One of those summer evenings I was pushing him in his stroller and he was attempting to sing the “A B C’s”. He knew the tune and many of the letters but though he sang with confidence he’d sometimes get the letters the wrong way round. I would gently give him the right letter when he confidently sang the wrong one (I’m not big on correcting kids speech or song but the alphabet seemed a good thing to edit). Able would take the proper letter and course correct. We went over the start of the alphabet several times on that walk, Abel always singing it and often starting over. As he repeated the song and took correction it reminded me how true this is for my walk with God. If I step away from the source of God’s word it is very easy to start singing a song that I think is what the Bible says. I need to be constantly going back to the original song to learn how the alphabet truly goes. I need to be constantly singing scripture to myself to remember what the Lord has truly said.
Our Thoughts Matter
In Philippians 4: 8 & 9 Paul expounds on this idea, that what we rehearse effects what song our lives sing. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Philippi while he was in prison for spreading the gospel, the good news of Jesus. Here in chapter 4 verse 8 we’re coming towards the close of the letter and Paul in the middle of exhortation, gives the believers a list of qualities and says, “Think about these things.”
Why is Paul telling the believers how to think? Paul could have said speak truly, act honourably, dealjustly, gain praiseworthiness, etc., and indeed, in verse 9 Paul will move to instruction on how to live, but here he says think on these things. Why? Why is Paul concerned for how the Philippians think?
In Philippians 4: 8 & 9 Paul expounds on this idea, that what we rehearse effects what song our lives sing. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Philippi while he was in prison for spreading the gospel, the good news of Jesus. Here in chapter 4 verse 8 we’re coming towards the close of the letter and Paul in the middle of exhortation, gives the believers a list of qualities and says, “Think about these things.”
Why is Paul telling the believers how to think? Paul could have said speak truly, act honourably, dealjustly, gain praiseworthiness, etc., and indeed, in verse 9 Paul will move to instruction on how to live, but here he says think on these things. Why? Why is Paul concerned for how the Philippians think?
This is not the first or only time in scripture that Paul places importance on what people think about. A quick glance over the surrounding epistles will find exhortations to be “renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Ephesians 4: 23), “set your minds on things that are above” (Colossians 3:2), and “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” ( Romans 12:2). In 2 Corinthians 10:8 Paul speaks of the knowledge of God and tells the Corinthians to take every thought captive.
We see from these verses that not only does Paul care how believers think, he calls them to be active not passive in directing their thoughts. Set your minds, renew your minds, take thoughts captive. These are strong action words, not wimpy ones, and they address our thought lives. Paul knows that what we think about matters. Elsewhere he says that without Christ people are darkened in their understanding (Eph 4:18), futile in their thinking (Romans 1:21), and unable to understand the things of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14). Paul knows that what we think about matters, he compels his audience to actively engage their thoughts.
We see from these verses that not only does Paul care how believers think, he calls them to be active not passive in directing their thoughts. Set your minds, renew your minds, take thoughts captive. These are strong action words, not wimpy ones, and they address our thought lives. Paul knows that what we think about matters. Elsewhere he says that without Christ people are darkened in their understanding (Eph 4:18), futile in their thinking (Romans 1:21), and unable to understand the things of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14). Paul knows that what we think about matters, he compels his audience to actively engage their thoughts.
Jesus tells us in the gospels that it is out of the overflow of our hearts that our mouths speak and that where our treasure is our heart will be. Later, in James, we learn that the tongue is like the rudder of a ship, a tiny mechanism steering a massive vessel and able to direct safe passage or utter destruction. Where our hearts dwell is what we are going to be thinking on. Paul cares what we think about because what we dwell on is going to direct where we go.
I like to stretch after running and in one of my favourite routines the instructor says that where you set your gaze your body is going to follow. Where we set our thoughts is where our lives are going to follow.
I like to stretch after running and in one of my favourite routines the instructor says that where you set your gaze your body is going to follow. Where we set our thoughts is where our lives are going to follow.
In light of this Paul entreats the believers to set their minds and to renew their thinking. So, what do we set our minds on? What do we renew our minds with? Thankfully Paul doesn’t just leave us with an exhortation and no beneficial instruction so let’s look at what Paul tells us to think about.
Paul gives us a list of qualities for what to set our minds on.
“Whatever is true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, of excellence, worthy of praise.”
This list brings to mind Psalm 19 where speaking of God’s Word the Psalmist says;
“Whatever is true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, of excellence, worthy of praise.”
This list brings to mind Psalm 19 where speaking of God’s Word the Psalmist says;
“The law of the Lord Is perfect, reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.”
Whatever else Paul may mean for the believers to dwell on with this set of criteria, God’s Word most certainly fits it in perfection. In other epistles Paul talks of how not to live, of how we lived in the flesh before we had the Spirit, and it is the negative of this list. In Ephesians 5:19 and Col 3:16 he lists the life of the flesh and as the antidote he gives rehearsing the gospel.
We will not go wrong with dwelling on God’s Word as it is all of the things on Pauls list here. This is both a helpful direction and offers immense freedom. The scripture is rich with the ups and downs of existence, the reality of our fallen nature, and the hope of the gospel. Paul is not advocating rose coloured glasses and a denial of reality. Paul wrote this from prison. Paul knows reality. And he also knows that his circumstances are not the whole of reality. He’s asking us to look circumstance in the face and tell ourselves what is true.
While we could spend our thoughts in the gospel and only find it richer and deeper every day, in this verse Paul doesn’t explicitly say ‘the scripture’. We will never go wrong there, it is the perfect place to go, yet we are also allowed the fruits of literature, art, thought, culture, conversation that are not directly gospel. In these things Paul’s description of where to dwell in the mind can be a good check for where our thoughts are dwelling. We can ask is this true, or lovely, or____ ? Again when we do this we remember that scripture describes many facets of life and is not all cotton candy and unicorns. The question becomes does this resonate with the gospel? Can I get to the gospel from here? Does this speak to what is true? Is this beneficial?
Before we move on, it seems notable that this list comes after the mention of a disagreement between two women of the church (Phil 4:2-3). In 1 Thessalonians Paul says to “admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak and be patient with them all.” He isn’t denying that we are going to see negative things in our brothers and sisters but advocating patience and loving care. 1 Peter tells us that love covers a multitude of sins and Proverbs tells us not to repeat the secrets of others and to be very careful in our words.
Could it be that Paul wants us to apply this list in how we think of one another as well? Could this list help to check our own thoughts in bitterness, resentment, criticism and gossip? As someone who is hyper-critical, I’m convicted that this passage may push me to see the best in my brothers and sisters. To look for and dwell on what is true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, of excellence, worthy of praise.
Our Thoughts Direct Our Lives
We’ve seen that what we think about matters, that we are to engage actively in our thoughts, and that rehearsing the gospel to ourselves will always steer our thoughts right. Now we look to verse 9 where Paul entreats his audience to imitate him. This initially seems a departure from the verse we’ve just spent so much time in but on examination we may see that these two wee verses become a cycle. Let’s look at how our thoughts shape how we live.
Paul tells the Philippians to practice the things they have learned, received, heard from and seen in him. At first this seems odd- Paul has said in Galatians that it isn’t about him, so why is he setting himself up as an example? Paul is not calling the believers here to be ‘little Pauls’, but rather is telling them to imitate him as he imitates Christ. We see this very clearly in Chapter 2 where Paul entreats the Philippians to have the mind of Christ, to serve humbly as he did. In Chapter 3 Paul has already shown us that he knows his righteousness is in Christ and not his own zeal, work, and heritage. He also notes that he has not attained perfection but is running towards the prize in Christ. Paul calls his audience to imitate him and put into practice what they’ve seen and heard from him because he is imitating Jesus, holding out Jesus, running towards Jesus. Paul throughout this letter is exalting Jesus and in asking the church to imitate him he exhorts them to do the same. This is not divorced from what we’ve read in verse 8, it’s fuelled by it.
Before we move on, it seems notable that this list comes after the mention of a disagreement between two women of the church (Phil 4:2-3). In 1 Thessalonians Paul says to “admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak and be patient with them all.” He isn’t denying that we are going to see negative things in our brothers and sisters but advocating patience and loving care. 1 Peter tells us that love covers a multitude of sins and Proverbs tells us not to repeat the secrets of others and to be very careful in our words.
Could it be that Paul wants us to apply this list in how we think of one another as well? Could this list help to check our own thoughts in bitterness, resentment, criticism and gossip? As someone who is hyper-critical, I’m convicted that this passage may push me to see the best in my brothers and sisters. To look for and dwell on what is true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, of excellence, worthy of praise.
Our Thoughts Direct Our Lives
We’ve seen that what we think about matters, that we are to engage actively in our thoughts, and that rehearsing the gospel to ourselves will always steer our thoughts right. Now we look to verse 9 where Paul entreats his audience to imitate him. This initially seems a departure from the verse we’ve just spent so much time in but on examination we may see that these two wee verses become a cycle. Let’s look at how our thoughts shape how we live.
Paul tells the Philippians to practice the things they have learned, received, heard from and seen in him. At first this seems odd- Paul has said in Galatians that it isn’t about him, so why is he setting himself up as an example? Paul is not calling the believers here to be ‘little Pauls’, but rather is telling them to imitate him as he imitates Christ. We see this very clearly in Chapter 2 where Paul entreats the Philippians to have the mind of Christ, to serve humbly as he did. In Chapter 3 Paul has already shown us that he knows his righteousness is in Christ and not his own zeal, work, and heritage. He also notes that he has not attained perfection but is running towards the prize in Christ. Paul calls his audience to imitate him and put into practice what they’ve seen and heard from him because he is imitating Jesus, holding out Jesus, running towards Jesus. Paul throughout this letter is exalting Jesus and in asking the church to imitate him he exhorts them to do the same. This is not divorced from what we’ve read in verse 8, it’s fuelled by it.
Let’s use this letter alone as an example of what the Philippians would have learned, received, heard and seen in Paul and how it connects to what we’ve discussed before.
1) Exhort, encourage, pray for other believers/the church.
First, in writing this letter Paul is exhorting, encouraging and praying for the church at Philippi. What is he exhorting them in? The gospel! What is he encouraging them towards? Living in light of the gospel. What is he praying for them? That they will grow in the knowledge of God and be filled with the fruit of righteousness which is only possible because of the gospel.
2) Rejoice!
Next, Paul REJOICES continuously in this letter, rejoices in prison, trusting God in his circumstances. Paul has reason to rejoice and believe God is faithful because he is trusting in the gospel.
3) Evangelise & minister where you’ve been placed
Paul also preaches and evangelizes to those right in his immediate circumstances. We see this in 1:12-14, and these are prison circumstances. And what is he preaching? The gospel.
Paul also preaches and evangelizes to those right in his immediate circumstances. We see this in 1:12-14, and these are prison circumstances. And what is he preaching? The gospel.
4) Press On
Paul presses on in life and ministry for the gospel.
Paul presses on in life and ministry for the gospel.
5) Practice what Jesus Does
Paul points to Jesus and says ‘Live like this’ – practice what Paul does because he is practicing what Jesus does.
Paul points to Jesus and says ‘Live like this’ – practice what Paul does because he is practicing what Jesus does.
6) Rehearse the Gospel
And through all of these things we see Paul do, through the whole letter what else does he do? He explicitly recounts the gospel.
And through all of these things we see Paul do, through the whole letter what else does he do? He explicitly recounts the gospel.
“Put into practice what you see in me.”
These verses are not divorced, they come full circle.
Everything that Paul does is a fruit of the Spirit springing from the gospel. Paul could not exhort, encourage, preach, evangelise, press on towards, hold out and rejoice in what he does not know. Paul is SOAKING in the gospel and it is pouring out of his life, his words, his thoughts, his heart.
If we are to imitate Paul, we will rehearse the gospel.
If we rehearse, preach and dwell in the gospel, we will be ‘thinking on such things’ as Paul lays out. Where our hearts are, there our treasure will be. Out of the abundance of our hearts our mouths will speak. Setting our minds on the things of the Spirit with the help of the Spirit will bear the fruit of the Spirit. Praise God! We see Paul bearing fruit in the Spirit as he dwells richly in the gospel. We do not conjure these works; the Spirit of God grows them in us as we trust and dwell in God’s word.
If we rehearse, preach and dwell in the gospel, we will be ‘thinking on such things’ as Paul lays out. Where our hearts are, there our treasure will be. Out of the abundance of our hearts our mouths will speak. Setting our minds on the things of the Spirit with the help of the Spirit will bear the fruit of the Spirit. Praise God! We see Paul bearing fruit in the Spirit as he dwells richly in the gospel. We do not conjure these works; the Spirit of God grows them in us as we trust and dwell in God’s word.
Application
Paul says, “Practice what you see in me” so let’s look more specifically at how we as modern-day Christians can apply what Paul has written here.
Paul says, “Practice what you see in me” so let’s look more specifically at how we as modern-day Christians can apply what Paul has written here.
First, we need to get active with our thoughts and preach the gospel to ourselves. In his devotional New Morning Mercies, Paul Tripp taps into why engaging your thoughts is important.
“No one is more influential in your life than you are, because no one talks to you more than you do. We never stop talking to ourselves. We are in a constant state of conversation with ourselves about God, others, ourselves, meaning and purpose, identity and such. The things you say to you about you, God, and life are profoundly important because they form and shape the way you then respond to the things that God has put on your plate.”
Similarly, Martyn Lloyd Jones similarly tells us to stop listening to ourselves and start talking to ourselves. When you are aware of your thoughts going off track you have to get active with them. You cannot push the dark out of a room, you have to turn the light on. Preach the gospel to yourself. Take Paul’s call to strong action seriously.
“No one is more influential in your life than you are, because no one talks to you more than you do. We never stop talking to ourselves. We are in a constant state of conversation with ourselves about God, others, ourselves, meaning and purpose, identity and such. The things you say to you about you, God, and life are profoundly important because they form and shape the way you then respond to the things that God has put on your plate.”
Similarly, Martyn Lloyd Jones similarly tells us to stop listening to ourselves and start talking to ourselves. When you are aware of your thoughts going off track you have to get active with them. You cannot push the dark out of a room, you have to turn the light on. Preach the gospel to yourself. Take Paul’s call to strong action seriously.
Often this will look like being aware of and identifying what we’re thinking. It may mean putting on the brakes if our thoughts are swirling in unhelpful directions. It means tracing those thoughts to what we are grasping for and then speaking the truth of the gospel into that with specificity.
In order to do this, we need to be building up the storehouses of our minds to beeline to. We need to know what to reach for when swirling thoughts start or when we’re in a state of apathy.
In order to do this, we need to be building up the storehouses of our minds to beeline to. We need to know what to reach for when swirling thoughts start or when we’re in a state of apathy.
Lastly, we live like Paul and move this practice outward. Living like Paul we soak in the gospel and speak it to others. We point to Jesus, rejoice in Jesus. Trust God where he has placed us. Talk about the gospel wherever he has placed us. We rehearse the gospel to ourselves and to one another.
Practically this looks like reading the Word, talking about the Word, memorizing the Word, speaking and encouraging the Word to one another through conversation, text, email, message, phone calls, prayers.
To apply these things to our lives is simple but it takes intention. It is simple but when applied it is profound.
Gospel thought and speech and the fruit of our lives are inextricably tied because if we’re soaking in the gospel these things: rejoicing in all things, evangelising, pouring out the gospel in our lives; these things are possible. And if we aren’t soaking in the gospel, they are not going to happen.
Practically this looks like reading the Word, talking about the Word, memorizing the Word, speaking and encouraging the Word to one another through conversation, text, email, message, phone calls, prayers.
To apply these things to our lives is simple but it takes intention. It is simple but when applied it is profound.
Gospel thought and speech and the fruit of our lives are inextricably tied because if we’re soaking in the gospel these things: rejoicing in all things, evangelising, pouring out the gospel in our lives; these things are possible. And if we aren’t soaking in the gospel, they are not going to happen.
At the start I told you about Abel and how his learning the ABC’s taught me the importance of going back and back to the source in my own life, how easy it is to get off course and not know realise you’re singing the wrong song. Another thing about Abel is that he sang other songs that summer too and being a very clever kid, he would ask me to sing something and then he would try singing something else at the same time. I didn’t understand the first time, and joined in his new tune, assuming we’d changed songs. He’d stop me, ask for the song again, and again started singing a different one a little after I’d begun. After this happening a couple of times I realized he wasn’t being fickle, he was being clever and trying to bring rounds, harmony and diversity to what we were singing.
You can’t get to rounds, harmony and finding the intricacies of a song if you don’t know it first.
We can’t sing harmonies if we don’t know the song.
We can’t attempt rounds if we have no idea of the lyrics.
You can’t get to rounds, harmony and finding the intricacies of a song if you don’t know it first.
We can’t sing harmonies if we don’t know the song.
We can’t attempt rounds if we have no idea of the lyrics.
We can’t hope for the intricacies, joyful new discoveries, and fruits of gospel living if we aren’t rehearsing the gospel.
We can only do this if we are always rooted in the song.
As we rehearse the gospel to ourselves and one another it will not disappoint and we will discover intricacies, rhythms, harmonies together, our lives making up a beautiful song, rooted in the source.
We can only do this if we are always rooted in the song.
As we rehearse the gospel to ourselves and one another it will not disappoint and we will discover intricacies, rhythms, harmonies together, our lives making up a beautiful song, rooted in the source.
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