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Standing Firm in Godly Affections Fuels Unity
Philippians 4:1-9
Eve lived by her emotions. God had given a perfect garden where every fruit bearing tree for food was very good. Everything was very good, created in God’s wisdom. But no. She wouldn’t limit herself to what was very good. When she saw the forbidden fruit, it was pleasant to the eyes, it was also good for food, but what attracted her most was that it was able to make her wise. She wanted it, to be like God, when Satan said God shortchanged her. So she gave into temptation, into her fleshly passions and desires.
This battle still wages on. The Christian’s greatest battle is not external but internal. It’s the battle for the heart and mind. It’s fighting the flesh and walking in the Spirit. To accept that what God has given and limited is very good and to reject our sinful desires. But our flesh and spirit are weak. We aren’t spiritually mature. And that infantile giving in to our passions causes problems - at home, at work, at church. We don’t resist temptation or deny self - but give in to temptation and feed self. We live by passions. We get discouraged, act on discouragement, give way to grief, anger, and we complain. We make decisions on gut feel. We’re Eve. Instead, we must pursue godly affections. Why? Because godly affections lead to godly reactions. That’s why Paul begins in verse 1 - “Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.” Stand firm in the Lord. And then he explains what to stand firm in - in Christ’s affections and thoughts. We must conform our hearts and minds to Christ. There are 4 commands in this passage: Firstly, stand firm in humility; secondly, stand firm in joy; thirdly, stand firm in peace; and fourthly, stand firm in virtuous thoughts.
Firstly, stand firm in humility. In verse 1, the apostle reminded the Philippians, whom he called beloved, to stand firm in the Lord. It’s a military term to describe how a soldier remains at his post no matter what happens around him. Even if the enemy attacked, the soldier’s orders were to stand firm! This command was necessary because the Philippians struggled to stand firm in one mind and spirit. That’s why there was disunity. So in verse 2, they were commanded to stand firm in humility - “I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.” Yes, we don’t see the word “humility”. But they were to be of the same mind in the Lord. And what’s the mind of Christ? Philippians 2:5 - “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” This mind caused him not to cling onto his glory, but empty himself even to die at the cross. Both of these women in the church were commanded to stand firmly in Christ’s humility. And the purpose of this command was to effect reconciliation.
You see, a problem existed in the Philippian church. We’ve been talking about the disunity. But Paul finally revealed the reason for the fracture. It wasn’t an Acts 15 problem centered around the truth of the gospel, but an Acts 6 problem centered around living out the gospel. Two women who had labored side by side with Paul in the gospel were at odds. And the presence of such unresolved conflict revealed immaturity in the church. And therefore, the handling of conflict would reveal whether they were standing firm in the Lord’s humility or in fleshly pride. Now, the text doesn’t tell us the beef. Perhaps it doesn’t really matter. But sometimes problems are small problems, other times, they’re bigger problems. And sometimes small problems become big problems. I heard a story once of a church lunch fellowship in another church. Those involved were to prepare food. One sister bought all the food and distributed them to be marinated. She gave another sister shell-on prawns. And so the other sister lovingly prepared it, and went a step further by removing the shells, including the tail. But it ended up looking less, because they were shelled. The first sister who bought the prawns complained to others. She suspected this second sister of stealing some prawns. Small problem, small heart, wrong judgment, no humility, big problem.
So it could’ve been a small shrimpy problem that caused the problem between Euodias and Syntyche, but it could’ve been a big ministry disagreement. But these women should’ve found a way. They should’ve at least lived up to their name - Euodias means fragrant, while Syntyche means happy event. But this stinky event was anything but happy. Some commentators have said - Euodias was odious, and Syntyche, was soon touchy - quickly offended. As ministry co-workers, perhaps they disagreed on how to do certain things in ministry - like how to plan, who to be in charge, how much money to spend…
Now beloved, their names were called out. Paul wrote this letter and named them. It had possibly reached the second step of church discipline. People’s heads probably turned and eyes probably fell on them when the letter was preached. People knew. Or at least, they’d know now. We may think how terrible Paul was for doing this - it would be psychologically damaging. But he was more concerned for their spiritual well-being than their self-esteem. He was after their humility and their repentance. After all, he called them “brethren beloved and longed for” - beloved brethren need to be sanctified. And there was great wisdom in such approach - otherwise, strife between people would continue without being addressed. I mean, even we know the problems that exist between people here! Often, they’re small issues that have been blown out of proportion. And why? Because we don’t stand firm in the godly affection of humility. Also we don’t consider the needs of others, so we don’t get stuck in to help them. (Eeyer, don’t be kaypoh!). We don’t desire to help others to have the mind of Christ - of love, humility, and forbearance. We allow others to think ill of each other. But charity believeth all things.
That was ultimately Paul’s solution for this church - the ministry of reconciliation. Verse 3 - “And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.” Paul called on this true companion - whoever he was - to help them. Why? Standing firm in humility is a community effort. Sometimes it’s painful to address disunity. During the rebellion of Israel with the golden calf, the Levites stood by Moses, and took up swords against their brethren who rebelled. During Saul’s pursuit of David, Jonathan stood up against him. But sometimes it’s glorious. Like when Paul encouraged Philemon and Onesimus to make up. Or like when Joseph reconciled with his brothers - they all wept when he forgave them. Or how the Jews and the Gentiles in the early church were one people because of Christ. Beloved, we’re Christ’s body - we can’t say we’re standing in the Lord if we’re not laboring to reconcile. The command to be humble, love, and reconcile is not a suggestion; it’s the evidence of the Spirit’s work. It requires backing down and stirring up. When Paul mentioned this true companion, Clement, and all others in the church, heads would’ve turned again, and eyes would’ve fallen on these named brethren. They had gospel obligations. We aren’t merely to stand at the side lines; or cheer for one player against the other; or watch the fight unfold - we’re to help them to humble self. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they’ll be called children of God. But what do we usually do? We take sides. The only side we’re to take is God’s side - the gospel’s side, the side of humility, godly affection, and the side of effecting reconciliation. And if we don’t fight this battle, it’ll be bad for the church. Small problems become large ones when humility is not present.
When the British and French were fighting in Canada in the 1750s, the admiral of the British navy was told to anchor outside Quebec. He was told to wait for the British land forces to arrive, then support them to attack the city. The navy arrived early. As the admiral waited, he became annoyed by the statues of saints carved into nearby cathedral, so he commanded his men to shoot them with the cannons. When the land forces arrived, the admiral was of no help. He had used up all his ammunition shooting at the “saints.” We shoot saints. We breed suspicion and animosity. Not good for the church when there’s so much gospel work to be done.
Secondly, stand firm in joy. Paul commanded in verse 4 - “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” When we go through adversity, or have adversaries, like these 2 women; the command was to rejoice. Joy’s not a feeling, but a command. It’s a declaration of faith. In the Old Testament, the people of God were commanded to rejoice in the feasts, remembering their deliverance from Egypt. When the Jews returned to Jerusalem to build the walls, they were tired. Some had to pull a double shift because the nobles wouldn’t put their necks to the work. Their enemies were mocking them. But Nehemiah read the Law. And they realized they hadn’t kept the feast commandments for a long time. And they were sad. But Nehemiah told the people to keep the feast - to eat, drink, and celebrate with joy. It was a matter of the will.
But how much more for us? But Paul pointed to something greater. We can rejoice because of what Christ had done. Because the Lord has risen and conquered sin, and we’re his beloved, our life circumstances do not dictate our responses to adversity. So how does this work? Spurgeon has this to say, “I’m glad that we do not know what the quarrel was about; I’m usually thankful for ignorance on such subjects - but as a cure for disagreements, the apostle says, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always.’ People who are very happy, especially those who are very happy in the Lord, are not apt either to give offense or to take offense. Their minds are so sweetly occupied with higher things, that they’re not easily distracted by the little troubles which naturally arise among such imperfect creatures as we are. Joy in the Lord is the cure for all discord.” Now, the rejoicing here is not optimism or a positive attitude. It’s the action of the will. I will rejoice no matter what. That’s why Paul had to repeat it twice - and again, I say rejoice. If God gives a command once, we listen; if he gives it twice, we better pay attention. But this command is an awesome command. There are commands in the Scripture which are difficult to obey - take up the cross, deny yourself, follow me; you will suffer persecution, the servant is not above the master. But this command! Rejoice! This requires us to discipline our thoughts to turn to Christ, that what he has done would so overwhelm us and wean us from sinful thoughts. That’s how we rejoice.
Beloved, in times of difficulty, let’s not give into sinful passion and defeat! Let’s look to Christ’s promises and rejoice! The situation in Philippi seemed dire - should the people mourn and moan? Should they leave the church? That’s what the spiritually immature would do. Those who trusted in the Lord would rejoice. Despite the trouble now, the future is bright. The Lord loves his church. To be clear, rejoicing is not ignoring reality, it’s reinterpreting reality through the lens of the gospel. Why? God who began a good work in us will bring it to completion. And Paul repeated this command because we’re like Eve, given over to our passions rather than to Godly affections. We’re like the wilderness generation, who refused to go through suffering to reach the promised land. But who would rejoice? The chosen generation. They knew they served a risen king. Do we know that?
If we do, we see the effects of intentional rejoicing. Verse 5 - “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” People will see your moderation. The word “moderation” is probably best understood as “yielded rights.” We are to be gentle or yielded people. One commentator called it “sweet reasonableness.” People witness it - they’re recipients of our sweet reasonableness. Why? Because we aren’t petty, we’re reasonable; we’re not prone to tantrums, but we’re controlled; we don’t have suspicious complicated minds; we don’t give into sinful passions that shock others, but produce the fruit of the Spirit. When we’re like this, it’ll be known to all. They’ll experience Christ in us. And that’s why we do it. The Lord is at hand. God sees how we behave. It matters. Don’t think that we can react in sinful passions and thought and say - “God made me like this, this was my upbringing! This is what I am! God understands me.” No! God is near - we can’t allow ourselves the liberty to sin and misbehave. It’s embarrassing when people witness our misbehavior - it’s even worse when the Lord does. Stand firm in joy.
And thirdly, stand firm in peace. Despite everything that was happening to Paul - being in prison; despite everything happening with the Philippians - in their disunity and church troubles, he commanded them to be at peace. Verses 6-7 - “Be careful for nothing but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Now, this command followed the command to rejoice and to be reasonable. You see, if we’re grasping for control, and want it our own way, we won’t be at peace. We’d be anxious that things go our way. That’s not humility. And in striving, there’s no peace. But because God is at hand, we don’t have to fight for our rights. We can afford to be peaceful and reasonable. So how do we obtain this humility, reasonableness, and peace?
And the means to peace is prayer. We’re to pour our worry to God, but notice the adverb - “with thanksgiving.” That’s the key. We’re not to begrudge our situation, but approach him thanking him for Christ - that he saves us and helps us triumph over sin; we thank him for such a trial so we can be purified; we thank him for revealing our lack of holiness which led to such disunity in the first place. And when we pray with thanksgiving, not our Pharisaical worthiness, not to justify ourselves, then we’ll have peace. You have a problem with someone? You have an adversary? You have an adversity? You want to react emotionally in sinful outbursts? You want to be petty? You want to wallow in disappointment? You want to wallow in self-pity? Have you been injured? Have you sorrows? Pray. But not without thanksgiving - which centers our heart back on the gospel. O what peace we often forfeit, o what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer. Perhaps you have not the peace of God. Perhaps you struggle with surrender. The battle is internal, it’s a battle for heart and mind.
Lastly, stand firm in virtuous thoughts. Verse 8 - “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Whatever is virtuous - think on these things. It’s a command - it’s a command to think virtuously. Whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good report. Did she really steal the prawns? Is it pure to think this way? Is it lovely? She must have stolen the prawns! But it’s just prawns, maybe she just tasted one. “What’s wrong with me Lord? What’s with my wicked heart? Why am I thinking like this?” So folks, the means to virtuous thinking is thinking itself. Reject sinful thoughts. Reject sinful emotions. We need to guard the heart and mind. But beloved, as you look at this, let’s not look at this moralistically. What’s the means to virtuous thoughts? What are we to think on? Whatsoever things are true. Beloved, who is true? It’s Christ. Who’s honorable? Christ. Who’s just? Christ. Who’s pure and holy? Christ. Who’s lovely - the fairest of ten thousand? Christ. Who’s report is only good? Who’s only virtuous? Who’s the only praiseworthy one? Christ. And so we are to fill our minds with what Christ would think. And there’s no way to look at your fellow brother and sister, and think hatred and ill toward them, if you have Christ’s thoughts toward them.
And if we were to think these things, rather than to give into our cesspit thoughts - what’s the result of virtue? Verse 9 - “the God of peace shall be with you.” If what you’ve learned, received, and heard, you do - you’ll stand firm in humility, joy, peace, and virtuous thought, then the God of peace will be with you. This means that God dwells with the one who walks in holiness. This isn’t salvation by works. This describes the pleasure God has in you. It speaks of the joy of fellowship with God. That’s what the Scriptures say - Isaiah 57:15 - “I dwell in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in Spirit.” Psalm 73:1 - “Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.”
The mind and heart are a battlefield. If Satan can corrupt your imagination, he can corrupt your life. Therefore, we are to actively, aggressively, and intentionally set our minds on things above - on Godly affection, and not on things on the earth - on your passions. Many of God’s people do not think or feel rightly. That’s the cause of much problems in their lives. But remember the mind of Christ. He didn’t judge Eve when he could. He didn’t condemn Peter for his wavering allegiances. He prayed for his fighting disciples. This was his mind. And he died so that we could have peace. So we wouldn’t trust our cesspool minds, but submit all things to him. Therefore, when we have such inward battles, look outward to Christ and purpose to have his mind; then direct and submit all of your passions to his Godly affections.
- Standing Firm in Humility
- The command to be humble
- Problems exist
- Gospel obligations
- Standing Firm in Joy
- The command to rejoice
- The effects of rejoicing
- Standing Firm in Peace
- The command to be at peace
- The means to peace
- The result of peace
- Standing Firm in Virtuous Thoughts
- The command to be virtuous
- The means to virtue
- The result of virtue
Conversation for Change:
- When was the last time you were involved in an interpersonal church conflict? How badly did you behave? How differently would you behave now?
- Do you know of people who are frequently in interpersonal conflicts? Are you obliged to help them? What are common fears in dealing with such conflicts? What are the means God has given to you to help them?
- Do you like letting your imagination run wild? Why? Why is it hard to keep a rein on it?
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2026, Rev. Mark Chen
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