"Generously Supplied...and Pleasing to God"

Scripture Passage

Philippians 2:12-4:23

Scripture Focus

I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. (Philippians 4:18 NLT)

Observation

Philippians 4:19—“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus”—is a favorite verse of many believers. It’s made more interesting by the verse that precedes it.

Specifically, God’s most generous promise is made to His most generous people. The Philippians had been exclusively and repeatedly openhanded toward Paul. “You Philippians,” he says beginning in verse 15, “were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once.” (Philippians 4:15-16)

God’s great promise of full supply given in 4:19, then, follows the Philippians’ acts of abundant generosity described in 4:18.  I know that God may sometimes choose to act generously towards those who are not generous themselves. That’s His business, and why we call it grace. But God here promises—and therefore obligates Himself—to supply every need of those who themselves choose to act generously toward His servants doing His work. The words of Acts 2:39 come to mind—“The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:39 NIV)

Beyond that, the gifts that the church at Philippi offered to Paul extended beyond Paul, becoming gifts to God Himself. “The gifts you sent me,” Paul says, “…are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God.” (Philippians 4:18 NLT) That means the gift I place in the offering plate or drop in the mail or place in the hand of a beloved brother or sister in Christ does more than pay a bill for the church or meet a need for a family. That gift honors and blesses God. And what more could gratitude want than to honor and bless the One who has supplied so richly for us through Jesus Christ our Lord? Paul’s words assure me that any tangible expression of love offered in genuine gratitude “hits the intended target"…that it reaches the object of my affection…that it touches the heart of God.

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