This verse comes from Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi and is found right in the middle of the letter. Paul commands the readers to rejoice in the Lord. He will repeat this command later, in verse 4:4.
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
After commanding them to rejoice in the Lord, Paul writes that it is not tedious (okneros, reluctant, tardy) for him to write these same things. So apparently there is some repetition going on, Paul had communicated these things to them before, either in person or in writing. And he repeats them in the same letter. But he is not reluctant to repeat the instructions. As any teacher knows, important lessons need to be repeated often because people generally do not grasp things right away.
Paul sais that there is safety for his hearers in the repeated instructions. The word for safe is 'asphales', which comes from ‘a’ (negative) and ‘spallo’, which means to cast down or to trip up. So the instructions from Paul can help the hearers to not be tripped up.
So let's look at the instruction, the one that got repeated later in the letter. "My brethren, rejoice in the Lord." So Paul is writing this to his brethren in the faith. Not everyone can simply rejoice in the Lord. It is a privilege that is reserved for those who are part of God’s people, those who have a relationship with Him. We will come back to this.
The word for rejoice is ‘chairo’, and in the strict sense, it means to rejoice or to be glad. In the broader sense, it means to be well or to thrive. It means to have a deep sense of joy, which goes beyond just feeling happy. Happy is more of an emotional state caused by temporary circumstances. But Christians can always be joyful, independent of external circumstances. Note that Paul in 4:4 commands us to be always joyful. And remember, this is the same Paul who had lots of conflict and opposition in his life, who spent many nights in prison, got flogged and stoned and rejected almost everywhere he went. So how can one rejoice in the midst of so many trials and sufferings? The secret is in the next little phrase.
We don’t just rejoice, but we rejoice in the Lord. The word for in is ‘en’, and ‘en’ Christ or ‘en’ the Lord is best translated as ‘in union with Christ/the Lord’. It is only when we are in a close relationship with Christ that we can rejoice always. It is only when we look at life from Christ’s perspective that we can have a deep and fulfilling joy, regardless of our external circumstances.
So how is it that our intimate relationship with Christ is a never-ending source of joy? This is the question that my favorite pastor during my teenage years (Ds Hans Stolk, who is now with the Lord) would pose in almost every sermon. He was very good in pointing out how desperate and challenging life can be, and the answer was always Christ. Its Christ who saved us, and its Christ who has given us incredible promises that give hope for the future. Its Christ in us who gives us grace to deal with the challenges, and its Christ who will reward us if we are able to overcome those challenges (with his help). This goes deeper than just being thankful for Christ having saved (justified) us. Our past salvation, being rescued from the hell (the lake of fire), is a done deal. It only takes faith in Jesus to receive this free gift. As Jesus himself said:
John 10:10b I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Being saved means that we have life. Having the more abundant life is additional and results in being joyful always. So how do you get this more abundant life? Not by believing that Jesus died for your sins, but by believing that Jesus is the coming King, who will rule over the entire earth and will reward those Christian servants who have been good, and faithful, and have done His will. It is only when we do God’s will that we can feel God’s joy flowing through us, because only then do we know that the creator of everything is pleased with us. Paul wrote about this principle earlier in the letter:
Philippians 2: 12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
You see, this is not the salvation that Christ gave us when He died on the cross, but the salvation that we have to work out for ourselves, by being obedient. God will give us all we need to do it, but we still have to do it. And then we will rejoice in Him, always, to the end of the age. Godspeed!
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