Rejoice in the Lord

Philippians 4:4

“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice!”

Paul reminds the Philippian saints of their responsibility to honor the Lord by rejoicing in the Lord, in all things. It is a pleasure to rejoice in the Lord, because He is our maker (Gen. 2:7) and He has called us to His work (Eph. 2:10). We are tied together in Jesus as joint heirs (Romans 8:17). We are joyful when we are pleasing Him in our lives. Paul was concerned because there was a dispute between two women in the church in Phillipi. He said for them to be of the same mind (vs. 2). He spoke of oneness by having the mind of Christ in Philippians 2:5. 

He also mentions that the church must hold these women accountable to God's word (vs. 3). He challenges the church to let their conduct be of a gentle nature because people are watching and God is ever-present. He says that we must be prayerful so that we can be on one accord. Unity in the church is a must if we are to draw others to Christ. People are turned off if they see us arguing as the the world. Our purpose must take precedence over our differences. 

 MacArthur writes, “to rejoice is the sphere in which the believer’s joy exists-a sphere unrelated to the circumstances of life, but related to an unassailable, unchanging relationship to the sovereign Lord.” (MacArthur Study Bible, 1997)

Jesus Christ should always be the sphere of our influence. He is our focal point and nothing should be placed above Him. He should be placed above our differences. Just as the Holy Spirit always points the finger to Jesus Christ, we must always make him our reference, our source, our guide, our shield, our direction, our resolution, and our hope. So, we must rise above and  “Rejoice in the Lord, ” and as Paul states, “and again, I say Rejoice!"

Encourage and Be Encouraged!