Philippians 4:8-9
Whatever Is True
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.
9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Berean Standard Bible
He said finally once already, back at the start of chapter 3, and the letter kept going for a good while after it. He is in no hurry to put the pen down. What he gives them now is a list.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable
Taken one at a time, most of those are not religious words. Lovely is not a religious word. Admirable is not a religious word. He is not handing them a set of doctrines to go over and check, and then he asks for something he could have asked in several easier ways: think on these things. Not agree with them, and not believe them. Think about them, on purpose, the way you turn an object over in your hands to see the whole of it.
Where the list sits matters as much as what is on it. A few sentences earlier he had told them to be anxious for nothing and to present their requests to God. Now he tells them where their attention should go. First what to hand over, then what to think about, in that order, and he is the one naming the contents of both.
Then the harder sentence, and this one is about him.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Learned, received, heard, seen. The last of those four is the exposed one. He is inviting them to check the teaching against the man who taught it, and he had been in their city, and they had watched him there, including when it went very badly for him. He offers that as evidence rather than standing on his words alone.
Putting something into practice is a matter of doing it rather than admiring it. And then he closes with peace, which he had already promised them a few lines before. Earlier it was the peace of God standing guard over their hearts and minds. Here it is the God of peace himself, with them, which is protection in the first case and company in the second.
How We Know
Verse 9 appeals to what this church had seen in Paul, and the account of what they saw is written elsewhere.
Acts 16:23 has Paul and Silas struck with many blows at Philippi and thrown into prison, with the jailer ordered to guard them securely. Acts 16:25 has them praying and singing hymns to God about midnight, with the other prisoners listening.
So a letter telling that church to rejoice always, and then pointing at his own conduct as the pattern, is pointing at something that happened in their own town, in front of them and then inside their jail.
Questions
1 What sorts of words did Paul put on his list?
AnswerTrue, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, and then anything excellent or praiseworthy. Several of those are not religious words at all. Lovely and admirable are ordinary words about what is good to look at. He is not naming doctrines to review, he is naming what to let a mind rest on.
2 What have you been going over and over in your head this week? What does Paul put right after telling them not to be anxious?
AnswerA list of things to think on. First he tells them to present their requests to God, and then he tells them where to point their attention instead. He does not leave them holding only the thing they were told to stop doing.
3 What is Paul willing to be measured against?
AnswerHimself. Whatever they learned, received, heard from him or saw in him, they are to put into practice. The last of those is the exposed one. They had watched him in their own city, and he offers that as evidence instead of standing on his words alone.
4 Peace turns up twice, once a few lines back and once at the end here. What is different about the two?
AnswerThe first is the peace of God standing guard over hearts and minds. The second is the God of peace himself being with them. One is protection and the other is company, and the second gives them the giver rather than the gift.
What This Means for Us
And the God of peace will be with you. That is the last thing in the passage, and it is not a wage paid for getting the list right. It is company. A few lines earlier the peace of God was posted as a guard over their hearts and minds, and here it is the God of peace himself, with them, which hands them the giver rather than the gift.
Think on these things is an instruction about attention, and attention is the one thing most of us give away without ever deciding to. We rehearse the argument we are going to have. We rehearse the worst outcome. Nobody assigned us either of those, and God has now assigned us something else.
So pick one true thing, one honorable thing and one lovely thing out of today and name them to each other. Not as a gratitude exercise, and not in order to feel better about the week. Do it because the God of peace has said he will be with the people who put this into practice, and looking where he says to look is one of the ways a house keeps company with him.
Prayer
Father, our minds go where they want and we usually follow. Thank you that you gave us something better to look at rather than only telling us to stop looking. Fill this home with what is true and lovely and worth admiring, and be the God of peace who is with us and not only near us. Amen.