Living in Supernatural Peace and Joy

June 21, 2024 Cathy

Within the book of Philippians, there are so many gems of how we should cherish our salvation and our walk with the Lord.

As it starts in Philippians one: This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and deacons.

Paul is thankful and in prayer for his fellow believers who are sharing the gospel of Jesus. This is a great reminder to us that when the true gospel is shared, some people are not going to agree or like it. However, it should be a great privilege and joy for us to do the same as Paul did.

If we could totally give our life to Christ and make Him our main priority is what we are encouraged to do throughout the entire book of Philippians.

Ps. This is only an outline, more is discussed and shared on the podcast

May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.
For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.
May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past.
And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.
For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.
Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.
I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.
Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies.
This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.
For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.
We are in this struggle together.
You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.

In Philippians two Paul is encouraging the people of Philippi and us to have the attitude of Christ. He goes into how Jesus lived and set an example for us on how we should live:

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

He goes on to say that we should shine brightly for Jesus without complaining or arguing regardless of what is thrown at us, because Jesus paid everything for us.

Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ?
Any comfort from his love?
Any fellowship together in the Spirit?
Are your hearts tender and compassionate?

Since what God offers is so much more in quantity and quality than anything the world has to offer, we should value our lives in Christ more than this physical life and this physical world.

Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
Don’t be selfish.
Don’t try to impress others.
Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
Don’t look out only for your own interests.
But take an interest in others, too.
Work hard to show the results of your salvation.
Obeying God with deep reverence and fear.

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Do everything without complaining and arguing so that no one can criticize you.
Live clean, innocent lives as children of God.
Shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.
But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God.
And I want all of you to share that joy.
Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.

Going on into Philippians 3 we learn about the priceless value of knowing Jesus and that we should always press on toward the goal. As we say here also stand firm on God’s Word. We are also reminded that when we try to do things in our own effort it will be unfruitful and a waste of time. There is nothing that we could have done or can do to be worthy of the grace God has given us. It is all based on who Jesus is and what He has done on our behalf. Everything in this world is worthless compared to Jesus.

Remember when Paul wrote this he was in prison and many times mentioned that everything was a light affliction. Yet, these following verses mention rejoicing and joy more than any other writings of Paul. It is a reminder to us that true joy is not dependent on circumstances.

This is a command to rejoice. The word rejoice is a verb; that means it is something we do. Joy is a noun; a noun is something we have. We are to rejoice regardless of how we feel because the truth is that in our born-again spirit, we always have joy!

Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.
Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved.
For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised.
We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us.
We put no confidence in human effort
Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.
I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.

For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.
I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection.
But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead
I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things.

If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you.

But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.
Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine and learn from those who follow our example.
But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.
And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.
He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

In Philippians four Paul continues to give words of encouragement and again reminds us to have joy, and most importantly how to keep our thoughts on Jesus. He also talks about the supernatural peace that only we have as believers.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord.
Always be full of joy in the Lord.
I say it again rejoice!
Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do.
Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
Don’t worry about anything.
Instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need.
Thank him for all he has done.

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.

His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing.
Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.
Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me everything you heard from me and saw me doing.
Then the God of peace will be with you.

Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.

I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything.
I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.
For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
At the moment I have all I need—and more!
And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Like always because it’s the Word of God such powerful life lessons to help us walk even closer to Jesus, enhance our relationship with the Father, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us into this supernatural life of peace and joy.