Christian Life and Divine Presence
Sermon Series: Philippians
The world is full of people, institutions, and events. Everything around us is constantly communicating something. While we cannot hear everything that is communicated because of our limitedness, we also cannot ignore everything. We will invariably consume content in any form. Everyone has their preferred medium for consuming information, content, and even propaganda. Everyone has a way of determining the words and actions of people. We are always discerning.
Some people think or claim they are immune to external influence, but they forget they are human and therefore not impassable, unimpressionable, or sovereign. We are all affected by the content we consume. Others may presume the antidote to poor consumption is to consume nothing. They cut off from the world. Both are extreme behaviours. We need to acknowledge that we are human. That is, we take in information, news, entertainment, history, story, myth, etc. and process it in some way, shaping ourselves.
Does the Bible have anything to say to us about how we are to process these inputs? Yes and no. The Bible does not contain a manual for processing all the information you come across, but it does teach us how to process the world and all its events in general.
In Philippians 4:8–9, Paul instructs us not only on what ought to occupy our minds but also on what ought to characterise our lives.
Our passage has two commands and a promise. Command one: Think about these things. Command two: Practice these things. Promise: The God of peace will be with you. It teaches that Christians must be thoughtful, reflective people who imitate and are discipled by exemplary, thoughtful, reflective Christians. That is, Christians must think carefully and live faithfully, learning from the teaching and example of godly Christians.
Let us pray.
Christians must think carefully and live faithfully, learning from the teaching and example of godly Christians. This sermon has two parts: thoughtfulness and imitation. In medieval times, thoughtfulness was divided into two aspects of life: the contemplative life and the active life.
Thoughtfulness
The instruction to thoughtfulness and imitation does not appear in random order. This is Paul’s final point of exhortation. The order matters, as we will see in a bit.
But first let us look at what we are to think about. According to v. 8, we are to think about the eight categories listed. At the outset, I submit that the eight categories are not meant to be exhaustive but rather a teaching tool; they show us the kinds of things to think about. Here is how I would translate this verse. Finally bothers, whatever (as many things as) is true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, commendable… if anything is virtuous, if anything is worthy of praise… ponder these things.
At the outset, Paul exhorted them to be of one mind (Phil 1:27). Moreover, he says that the enemies of the cross of Christ are earth-minded (Phil 3:18–19). But our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20). In Colossians, the similar exhortation is even more straightforwardly said. “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col 3:1–2). So, Christians do their best not to think too much about the things of Earth.
You see… Paul has said that mature Christians set their minds on the goal, the prize of the upward call of God in Christ (Phil 3:15), not on earthly things. In this place and in Colossians, the Greek word used is φρονέω. It means to “direct your ultimate attention and affection to something.”[1] Whatever you set your mind on orients your life.
In Philippians, Paul’s decision whether to go to be with the Lord or to be with the Philippians, Paul’s regard for what is gain and what is loss, Paul’s trust in Jesus for his righteousness, Paul’s exhortation to live in agreement with one another, and Paul’s exhortation to not be anxious are all to do with how to live on Earth. Paul says to look to heaven to know how to live on Earth. Not just look, but set your mind on heaven and know how to live on Earth. If you set your mind on Earth, you will neither have heaven nor know how to live on Earth.
When Paul comes to Philippians 4:8, he does not say set your mind on these things, but instead ponder over these things. The Greek word is λογίζομαι. It has to do with thinking and engaging, pondering and practising. So then, “we are to set our minds on things above and consider what is good and lovely in things below.”[2]
We need to ask what is going on with having our minds do these two things. If we had set our minds on things of Earth, we would be idolaters and ungrateful to God. But if we set our minds on Jesus, we get to ponder over the things of Earth, evaluate them in the light of Jesus, recognise Jesus’s all-surpassing worth, treat things of Earth as rubbish if they come in the way of having Jesus or as of some value if they enhance knowing Jesus and thereby magnify the glory of God in and through the things of Earth. Either there can be idolatry and ingratitude or joy and gratitude for these things of Earth when we rightly ponder them with minds set on heaven.
So, Paul calls us to think about things that are true, honourable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise. The problem with genuine Christians today is not that they are not setting their minds on things above, but that they are not pondering on things of Earth. They are so heavenly minded that they are not of any earthly good.
They have a war-like mentality about evangelism, prayer, salvation, church-planting, discipling, etc. That is a good gift. May that only increase. But they do not have a piece of heaven that they can point to and say, “This is a taste of heaven here on Earth.” We can get so caught up in the mission that we forget why it exists. The mission exists so that there will be worshippers of God, who love God and enjoy God in all his fullness. Heaven is not God and nothing else. First, it is heaven, a new Earth, people, celebration, singing, joy, the marriage supper. We can forget all that when we are here because we do not talk about it; we do not read about it; we do not sing about it. Sometimes, we need to learn to pause to remember the garden and hope for the new Heavens and the new Earth.
You see, we are busy battling sin and unbelief here on Earth, fighting for our joy and hope in Christ, yet not knowing what that looks like. It is no wonder that the enemy’s weapon of choice is fear. One very wise father rabbit once said to his daughter, “All of life is a battle against fear. We fight it on one front, and it sneaks around to our flank.”[3]
Shortly after this conversation, the daughter and her brother get orphaned. These two rabbits must flee, and all that they can take with them is each other. Confused and terrified, they are running away from a pack of evil wolves, and they have no idea where to go. As they run, they are unknowingly pursued by friends as well as foes. When their friends reach and rescue them, they are taken not only to a place of safety but to a whole new way of life and a whole new family.
Before our story begins, the rabbit king of Natalia, King Jupiter Goodson, has been betrayed and killed by a consortium of wolves, birds of prey, and traitorous rabbits. At the invitation of a small group of traitorous rabbits, Morbin Blackhawk, leader of the Lords of Prey, combined forces with King Farlock and his pack of wolves to kill King Jupiter, and to also devour, enslave, and torture all of rabbit-kind.
When Uncle Wilfred and Smalls rescue Heather and Picket, the brother and sister rabbits, from the wolf attack, they lead them to a hidden retreat called Cloud Mountain. It is here that the brother and sister learn the awful history of their family, the tragic history of their people, and make the decision to take their place in the battle against the evil that is mounting against rabbit-kind.
The two rabbits are hurting, angry, and ready for revenge. However, at Cloud Mountain, they are confused by the various practices of the rabbits. The sister discovers all sorts of artisans and craftsmen at work on things that have nothing to do with the war, or so she thought.
She meets a wise lady, Maggie Weaver, who helps Heather make sense of this strange behaviour. Let me read the end section of Chapter 25 from S.D. Smith’s The Green Ember:
“Since the awful day King Jupiter fell and the Great Wood was lost to tyranny, our world has been wounded to its heart. No greater peril has existed for us since Whitson Mariner’s trekkers first came to this place. There are secret citadels, though only a few, which have kept alive a hope of invading and retaking the Great Wood. I wish them well, and part of my sewing and mending goes to support them. But there’s another kind of mending that must be done. This place is full of farmers, artists, carpenters, midwives, cooks, poets, healers, singers, smiths, weavers—workers of all kinds. We’re all doing our part.” “But what good will all that do?” Heather asked. “Shouldn’t everyone fight for the Great Wood—for King Jupiter’s cause?” “Sure we should,” Mrs. Weaver said. “In a sense. Some must bear arms and that is their calling. But this,” she motioned back to the mountain behind her, “this is a place dedicated to the reasons why some must fight. Here we anticipate the Mended Wood, the Great Wood healed. Those painters are seeing what is not yet but we hope will be. They are really seeing, but it’s a different kind of sight. They anticipate the Mended Wood. So do all in this community, in our various ways. “We sing about it. We paint it. We make crutches and soups and have gardens and weddings and babies. This is a place out of time. A window into the past and the future world. We are heralds, you see, my dear, saying what will surely come. And we prepare with all our might, to be ready when once again we are free.”[4]
The story reminds us that we must think not only about what we are fighting, but why we are fighting. We must live with hope. When Adam fell, we lost paradise. The world plunged into sin and chaos. Jesus came into this world to save sinners and to bring us into the new heavens and new Earth. We look forward to that great day—when the woods will be mended. There will be no sickness, sorrow, pain, sin, vices, or death in the Mended Wood. We can join in the story of the rabbits and say, “It will not be so in the Mended Wood!”
The contemplative life has a purpose. We contemplate the greatest treasure, Jesus. We also contemplate all his created gifts so we can remember what life was like before it was wrecked and what it will be like when it is no longer broken.
Either we can live life in despair, only looking to fight sin, or we can live life with hope, fighting sin, singing joyfully, telling stories of conversion and hope, missionary tales, imaginative literature that ignites our desire for the renewal of all things. We need Christians who are not just preachers, evangelists, counsellors. We also need Christians who write stories, compose songs, build websites, design and build church buildings, work with wood, iron, and brick… Christians who marry, have babies and raise them to hope for the renewal of all things.
The contemplative life is connected with the active life. If we cannot contemplate, if our holy imagination is not stirred, then one of the dangers is that this life will feel like suffering. How can we say, like Paul, suffering yet always rejoicing, unless we have learned to contemplate good, lovely, commendable excellences? The active life is in a circular relationship with the contemplative life. The better your contemplation, the better your activity. The better your activity, the better your contemplation.
Many Christians are not even fighting. They simply live in this world as the world does. They study hard to get a job, work hard to pay for their kids to study hard so that they can get a job to work hard to pay for their kids to study hard so that they can get a job to… You get the picture. This is an active life, but it is not the life that God calls us to. We are to contemplate God, his gifts, and his promises. We are to do all we can to love Jesus the most and all his gifts in proportionate regard to him, to prepare ourselves for his great day (Phil 1:9–11). The reason for such a life is in Paul’s prayer for the Philippians: “so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.”
We must train ourselves to ponder on the claims of this world. Is it true? Is it holy? Is it worthy of honour? Do we have the frame of mind and the attitude of heart to love what God loves and hate what God hates? The contemplative life enables us to live well before God.
Imitation
Now let us turn our attention to the second part: imitating mature Christians. Paul asked the Philippians to imitate his life, paying attention to what they have been taught, heard, and seen in him.
We know from Paul’s life that he did all he could for the joy of the Philippians. This included the way he lived, spoke, taught, and prayed for them. In order to grow in thoughtful Christian living, it will be prudent for us to imitate those who are ahead of us or excel in thoughtful Christian living.
As Christians, we are to seek to mature so that we are examples of the contemplative and active life. Two caveats. An exemplary Christian is not one who is living the good life—enjoying art, literature, politics, etc. First, an exemplary Christian is one who enjoys God’s gift in proportionate regard, loving Christ above all and everything else under Christ to increase his love for Christ. Second, what are God’s gifts and what are not is not determined by arbitrary subjective feelings. Rather, these must be learned by discernment developed through the careful study of God’s word.
Conclusion
Friends, as I conclude this sermon, let me offer a few areas of counsel.
First, you may feel like you have spent your whole life in the world’s rat race and have not really lived the contemplative life this text teaches. Your active life is busy in a direction that you are not proud of. It is not too late to fire up holy desires to grow in contemplation. Start with devotional Bible reading. Pray and ask God to give you holy desires. Ask that your days would not be spent only in earning a living. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Second, a call to enjoy God’s gift should not feel like an additional burden on your lives. Our lives lived in anticipation of the promised eternal life should not look like drudgery but like celebration. We get to sing, pray, play, read, paint, tell stories, laugh, marry, have children, and a host of other joys.
Third, our services should look both at the cross and beyond the great white throne. We should look back to know for certain that we are not fighting a losing battle. We should look forward to know that we are not living a joyful life under Christ as a coping mechanism in a broken world. Our joyful life is not a coping mechanism but hope-filled anticipation of the Mended Wood.
Finally, let us remember God’s promise. As we ponder these things and practice these things, the God of peace will be with us.
Rigney, Joe. The Things of Earth. Crossway, 2015.
Smith, S. D. The Green Ember. Story Warren Books, 2015.
[1] Joe Rigney, The Things of Earth (Crossway, 2015), 101.
[2] Rigney, The Things of Earth, 103.
[3] S. D. Smith, The Green Ember (Story Warren Books, 2015), loc. 206.
[4] Smith, The Green Ember, 219–20.