29) (last) Strength in Suffering Series
When my son was young, he took the role of watching after his twin sisters very seriously. He was quite dependable. So much so, that once, when I asked him to bring something to me while I was changing his sister’s diaper, I was surprised when he didn’t immediately respond. I turned to check on him and saw that he was carrying a bunch of items in his arms. He looked up at me apologetically and explained, “I’m full of hands.” That has become a phrase in our house, and it’s evolved to mean that we have a lot of things going on. Reading the following passage from Paul, it seems he was “full of hands,” too.
“But I have all things, and abound: I am filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that came from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God.”
Philippians 4:18
Paul is lacking his freedom and faces the daily shame of being a prisoner simply for choosing to speak the good news. He lives with the knowledge that he could be sentenced to die horribly for applying to Caesar for judgment. Yet, he has everything he needs. His life and his heart are full and abounding. There are riches in Christ, guaranteed riches, that never run short. They continue to be poured out and one never stops being full. When Paul says, “I am filled,” he is stating that the container is holding everything it can all the way to the tip-tip top. That is what Christ provides, and it is not a physical possession but a spiritual one. Being full in the spiritual sense is not felt by the senses. For this reason, it’s easy to take that filling-full for granted, even while you know you are very blessed. Do you remember what it was like before Christ filled your life and made you a new woman? There is a void that people who are lost and without faith live with daily, and it is an empty and cold hunger. They try to fill it with all sorts of things, like fame, wealth, alcohol and drugs, work, lovelife, etc. No matter what they try, their lives continue to be empty. God created that spiritual hunger and that instinct to be full of Him. And there are no substitutes. David discusses this filling satisfaction, when he says of Jehovah, “For he satisfieth the longing soul, And the hungry soul he filleth with good” (Psalm 107:9). Nothing compares with the satisfaction God gives.
“And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now unto our God and Father be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Philippians 4:19-20
Paul is emphasizing that God can supply anything we need, and He will supply for our needs abundantly. God made Adam by breathing into his nostrils the breath of life. The picture our Heavenly Creator uses in Genesis 2:7 expresses how He is the only one who can supply what His creation needs. There is no middleman. The Bible doesn’t say, “God used an angel to give man life.” At the very beginning of it all, God breathes His pure goodness—for life can only come from His goodness—into His first, “very good” human being. This is what relationship with God was like in the beginning. When God Himself sacrificed His own body and blood to give us life again, that picture in Genesis 2:7 returned. Paul talks of that second life-giving operation, where God participates in our rebirth into His Son (Colossians 2:11-13). Just as He was all man needed at the beginning, He is all we need at the end. He brings closure; he ties up all the loose ends so that we can rest in Him.
Though we are spiritually whole in Christ, there are physical needs that God meets, too. Our physical bodies are slowly dying, and though we live on in spirit and grow in Christ, we need help to keep these deteriorating bodies going. Paul reminds his brothers and sisters that these physical things weigh on us, and what we need to keep going will be provided by God. Our Heavenly Father is not limited to the spiritual sphere; His richness flows into all parts of our lives. What we need emotionally, mentally, socially, physically, personally, etc. are all aspects God can fill full. His life and blessings are just what we crave. Paul is reminding you to believe and know that you live in your Father’s love, dear sister. His goodness, mercy, and compassion spreads over your tired and weary human existence and renews you continually.
How does He have such an unending supply of aid and assistance? Caretakers tire and suffer sleepless nights just taking care of one person. It is the force of God’s nature—His glory. It is endless. His glory is neverending. We count on His power get us through when our strength is brief and fleeting.
“Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren that are with me salute you. All the saints salute you, especially they that are of Caesar’s household.”
Philippians 4:21-22
The picture of a salute reminds me so much of a soldier, but the word, used three times, is the picture of an embrace, to draw someone in. Paul uses this term to salute or greet, and so do other New Testament writers. This embracing of our Christian family is an open avowal that those who are in Christ are never alone. Paul says, “I pull you into an embrace. The Christians here are pulling you into their embrace.” Paul is expressing how there is family with him. They all surround him and they surround each other. They are all being hugged together in God’s love and care. Some of Paul’s family there even belong to Caesar’s house, serving the emperor of Rome while giving their lives to Christ each day. God’s glory abounds through the holy ones who serve Him, and they serve by caring for the other saints.
Paul reaches out through this letter and reminds us that we are all one in Christ. The service and the circumstances are different for each person, but each member is just as loved and just as valued in Christ. We have the responsibility of embracing each other in this Eternal Kingdom. Through the eyes of faith, we see our oneness. Though we are separated by distance, imprisoned by circumstances we can’t help, in pain and isolation, and awaiting eternity, we are one in Christ. Even though we don’t personally know each other, we are still family. No one is alone in their suffering when they are suffering in Christ.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”
Philippians 4:23
When a Christian cannot stand up in spirit, Christ is there to lift her up. He grants you His grace—that is, His divine help when you can’t help yourself. Let Christ lift you up, dear sister. Let His endless power keep you through the hardships and help you, in body and in spirit, through all you will go through in this life. Let your suffering be your strength in God.