God Supplies Every Need and He IS Rich (Phil. 4:19-23)

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God Supplies Every Need and He IS Rich (Phil. 4:19-23)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on November 19, 2023

 A man needed his pants ironed. His wife, as she ironed the pants for him, burned the pants. These pants were brand-new pants that he was looking forward to wearing. Her husband started to get mad but stopped to think before reacting and said, “Lord, thank You that my leg wasn’t in those pants.” There is always a reason to give thanks. (“Be anxious for nothing, but in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.”)433,[1]

Today, we are wrapping up Philippians.

My theme today is:

God supplies every need and He is rich.

  1. First, we see that God supplies (Phil. 4:19).
    1. Philippians 4:19 (ESV)
    2. 19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
    3. Why does this passage begin with “and”?
    4. We have to look at the context.
    5. In the previous verses, Paul talked about how the Philippians had provided for him.
    6. In verse 18, Phil. 4:18, he says he has received full payment and is well supplied.
    7. So, the “and” links this passage with the previous section. Paul tells them that he is well supplied, and then Paul continues with verse 19 about God supplying every need of theirs.
    8. We are wrapping up Philippians.
    9. Now, “who” provides for the needs?
    10. The Lord.
    11. He says, “My God.”
    12. God is the actor.
    13. What needs does the Lord take care of?
    14. Romans 8:35-37 begins with “who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” The answer is no one and nothing.
    15. Then Paul lists things: tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword and others.
    16. God supplies for our needs in these circumstances.
    17. Remember just 13 verses earlier in Phil. 4:6-7 Paul said not to be anxious but to pray with thanksgiving.
    18. It is like now he is saying God will provide for those needs. Don’t worry. Pray. Be thankful.
    19. How does God provide for every need?
    20. Paul says, “According to His riches in glory, in Christ Jesus.”
    21. God provides in Jesus.
    22. God provides from His riches.
    23. The Lord is rich.
    24. The Lord is not limited.
    25. Romans 11:33–36 (NASB95)
    26. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? 35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?
    27. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
    28. Romans 11:35 is quoting Job 35:7 and 41:11.
    29. The Lord is rich, and He provides.
  2. Paul now speaks glory back to God.
    1. We have a doxology (Phil. 4:20).
    2. Philippians 4:20 (ESV)
    3. 20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
    4. Now, Paul inserts a doxology.
    5. Doxology is based on the word “doxa” which means glory, and logos which means to speak. “To speak glory back to God.”
    6. This is to God, “our” Father.
    7. He is positioning himself with the church, not above the church.
    8. God is our Father; He is our caregiver.
    9. Paul just talked about needs and reminded them that the Lord is our Father.
  3. Now, we see greetings (Phil. 4:21-22).
    1. Philippians 4:21–22 (ESV)
    2. 21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. 22 All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.
    3. This is a typical closing for Paul.
    4. The greeting is “in Christ Jesus.”
    5. We are bound together in Christ.
    6. Paul calls them “saints.” This means “holy ones.”
    7. He includes “every” saint.
    8. MacArthur: Instead of using the collective “all,” Paul used the individualistic “every” to declare that each saint was worthy of his concern.[3]
    9. Paul also includes the brothers who are with him greeting them.
    10. MacArthur: They certainly included Timothy and Epaphroditus (2:19, 25). Others who were preaching the gospel in Rome were present (1:14). It is possible that Tychicus, Aristarchus, Onesimus, and Jesus Justus were also there (Col 4:7, 9–11).[4]
    11. Paul references Caesar’s household: A significant number of people, not limited to Caesar’s family, which would include courtiers, princes, judges, cooks, food-tasters, musicians, custodians, builders, stablemen, soldiers, accountants. Within that large group, Paul had in mind those who, through the proclamation of the gospel by members of the church at Rome, had been saved prior to his coming. Newly added to their number were those led to Christ by Paul himself, including those soldiers who were chained to him while he was a prisoner (1:13).[5]
    12. Isn’t this exciting? The citadel of Rome has the gospel.
  4. Benediction (Phil. 4:23).
    1. Philippians 4:23 (ESV)
    2. 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
    3. Paul ends every one of his letters with “grace be with you,” and he begins every one of his letters with “grace to you.” There are no exceptions. All 13 letters (see Phil. 1:2).
    4. Piper suggests the reason is that as he begins to write a letter and walks through the letter grace is going to them as they listen. Then as the letter ends, they go back into the world, and grace goes with them.[8]
    5. Witherington III shares: …benedictions are also not a regular feature of ancient letters; rather they reflect the practice of these letters of Paul being presented in an oral fashion as an address to the gathered assembly in the context of a worship service, hence the final benediction once the address is over. This discourse was meant to be heard in the order in which we find it, and it has a cumulative effect.[9]
  5.  Applications:
    1. Do we know that God provides? Can we trust Him to be our provider (verse 19)?
    2. Do we know that He provides our needs, not our wants? We may have to do without.
    3. Do we see that Paul writes God will provide “every” need?
    4. Are we going to the Lord with our needs?
    5. What need are we holding back from asking the Lord for? I mean real needs.
    6. The Lord always answers prayers based on what we would ask if we knew what He knows.
    7. Do we realize how rich the Lord is? He owns it all. He owns us.
    8. Do we worship God as we ask for needs? Paul did that with verse 20.
    9. Do we need to remember that God is our Father? He loves us.
    10. Do we value the body of Christ? Paul includes everyone as he greets them.

The sun is a light twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. All year long, all decade long, all century long, the sun just keeps on shining. The problem, however, is that the earth gets dark. How can there be all that light and the earth still gets dark? It’s because the earth turns. The earth gets dark because the earth is spinning on its axis. Therefore the side that faces the sun gets light and the side that is facing away does not.

If there is darkness in your life, it’s not because God, the Father of Lights, is turning; it’s because you are turning. He is the Father of Lights and in Him there is no shadow. There is no darkness in Him. Because God is faithful, He’s consistent. Just like the sun, He is always shining and in His light, there is no shifting or moving shadow. We just have to make sure we are turned toward Him.384,[10]

[1] Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 144.

68 See the famous Res Gestae column 6 in Sherk, The Roman Empire, p. 50; on the use of “Father” language in Roman Imperial propaganda see B. Witherington, Conflict and Community in Corinth (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), pp. 295–98.

69 See rightly Fee, Philippians, p. 17 and Flemming, Philippians, p. 235.

[2] Ben Witherington III, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Company, 2011), 281.

[3] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Php 4:21.

[4] Ibid, Php 4:21.

[5] Ibid, Php 4:22.

8 Horsley, NewDocs 2, p. 28.

9 See Flemming, Philippians, p. 253.

10 Thurston, Philippians and Philemon, p. 162.

[6] Ben Witherington III, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Company, 2011), 284.

[7] Ben Witherington III, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Company, 2011), 283.

[8] Piper, John, Look at the Book, May 5, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHJE0_LtEx8

[9] Ben Witherington III, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Company, 2011), 282.

[10] Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 128.

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