Well, let us turn to God's Word
as we continue to look at these closing verses in the epistle
of Paul to the Philippians. And last week we were considering
verse 19 here in chapter 4. Philippians 4, verse 19, a well-known
verse of Holy Scripture. Paul says to the church at Philippi,
My God, shall supply all your need according to his riches
in glory by Christ Jesus. We've been going through this
whole chapter, the practical part of the epistle over the
past number of Thursdays and last week as we came to this
great verse we really concentrated our attention on the latter part
of the verse where Paul speaks of God's riches in glory which
are by the Lord Jesus Christ. The glory then of God's riches
were what we were thinking of then and of course all those
riches are found in God himself. The mystery which is God's, the
doctrine of God, the doctrine of the Trinity in chapter 2 of
Colossians. Paul speaks there in the second
verse of the riches of the full assurance of understanding to
the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father and
of Christ in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Oh, to have that full assurance
of understanding, acknowledging that great mystery which is God,
all that God is, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, all that God
has revealed of himself to us in the person and work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. These are our riches. when we
can know this God. It's life eternal to know thee,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent,
says Christ in his great high priestly prayer. And he is that
one in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And so, We were thinking of this
final clause, really, in the verse back in Philippians 4.19,
those riches in glory, where God is. But they're all by the
Lord Jesus Christ. When we think of God, he reveals
himself, of course, as a covenant God, the great doctrine of the
covenants, the covenant of redemption, entered into by the persons in
the in the Godhead, and that covenant revealed to us in the
New Testament, in the covenant of grace, and Christ himself,
the mediator of that new covenant. And of course, all these riches
in glory, they can come to us only one way. They come by the
Lord Jesus Christ. They come in Christ. They come
through the Lord Jesus Christ. Well these are some of those
things that we were thinking of last Thursday evening as we
concentrated our mind upon that final part of verse 19 and it
is remarkably timely that as we come today together in this
fashion we would arrive at the first part of the verse. I said
we'd look at the first part of verse 19 this evening when we
concluded last Thursday. And what does it say here in
the opening part? My God shall supply all your
needs. As Paul writes to a church, so
isn't the Lord addressing us as a church, that all the need
will be supplied. It's going to be a great expense,
whichever way we approach it, it seems, but the replacement
of the roof is going to be a costly business. that the Lord God is
able to supply all of our need. And so I thought it would be
profitable before we have our church meeting just to consider
this statement in the first part of this 19th verse. The supply
for every need is what we have in the Lord God. Now that supply
principally, of course, is a spiritual supply. There's no disputing
that. That's the great supply that
God has made for us. We have never-dying souls, but
he has provided for us in the Lord Jesus Christ all that fullness
of salvation. And Paul's chief concern, as
we've gone through this part of the epistle, is not his own
temporal needs, but more especially the spiritual goods of the believers
there in the church at Philippi. They'd ministered to him with
regards to provisions. They'd sent a gift to him, but
he says in verse 17, not because I desire a gift, but I desire
fruit that may abound to your accounts. And he goes on, He
goes on to speak of that fruit in terms of their spiritual sacrifice,
the good that they were seeking to do. As he says at the end
of verse 18, what is their gift? It's like an odor of a sweet
smell, a sacrifice, acceptable, well-pleasing to God. This is what he rejoices in really. that they are doing that that
is good and pleasing and acceptable to God. It's an expression of
their thanksgivings for the gospel that Paul had been so instrumental
in first preaching amongst them. And how it reminds them of the
beginning of the gospel. There in verse 15, now you Philippians
know also that in the beginning of the gospel, what beginning
is this? It's when he first preached to them and they first heard
the gospel of the grace of God. And when he left them and departed
from Macedonia, he says, no church communicated with me as concerning
giving and receiving, but ye only. They ministered to him
as he went on to Thessalonica, they would minister to him as
he goes on further to Corinth. And this is that fruit that may
abound. It's that that he glories in,
more than the temporal provision that they made for him. He sees
evidence then of what they are. They are true Christian believers. By their fruits ye shall know
them. And this is the evidence that
he is speaking of then, of their interest in the work of Christ
and the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. What is it that
these people feed on? They feed on the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the great provision that
God has made for us as a people, as a church. to be feeding upon
Christ Jesus as that one who is the true manna. That passage
that we have in John chapter 6 The Lord says, Verily, verily,
Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth
you the true bread from heaven. I am that bread of God, He says,
that came down from heaven. And verily, verily, except ye
eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, ye have no
life in you. But if ye eat my flesh and drink
my blood, you'll have eternal life. This is that spiritual
provision then that is made for us in Christ Jesus. The supply of all our spiritual
needs, the fullness of that salvation that is in Christ. And it's not
only spiritual and saving, it's heavenly ultimately, and it's
eternal. It's that that is in the heavenly
places, it's glory. My God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory. Glory is the place
where God is, the third heavens, and what is provided for us isn't
just for this mortal life, but for that never-ending eternal
life in heaven. Well that's the principle thing,
that spiritual provision, but there is also here surely promise
of temporal provision. Christ is reigning now in his
mediatorial kingdom, and he is that one of course who is the
head. and is the head over all things
to his body the church that passage that we have at the end of Ephesians
1 God has set him with his own
right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and
power and might and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world but also in that which is to come, and
hath put all things under his feet. and gave him to be the
head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness
of him that filleth all in all." Twice there in verse 22 we have
that expression, all things, all things under his feet, and
the head over all things to the church. Not just our spiritual
needs, but also our temporal needs. This is what God has done in
the Lord Jesus Christ. We're to look to Christ as that
one who will supply everything that we stand in need of. Again,
it's echoed, isn't it, in the language of Hebrews, Hebrews
2 and verse 8, Thou hast put all things, all things in subjection
under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection
under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. We're fools
if we think only in terms of what Christ has done for our
never-dying souls. He's able to supply our every
need, temporal as well as spiritual.
And that's a comfort to us, or should be a comfort to us, as
we consider what need we might have with regards to the fabric. And I know there are funds there,
but we have to be wise in our management of all that provision
that the Lord has made. We want to do everything in his
fear. But how the language here is
so pregnant. I like the way in which Paul
speaks of God as my God. But my God he says. It's the
language of appropriation. and it's therefore really quite
full in meaning. We're going to sing that lovely
hymn of John Ryland presently, with the words, while Christ
is rich, can I be poor? What can I want besides? And
again, when all created streams are dried, thy fullness is the
same. May I with this be satisfied
and glory. in thy name." We look to our
God then to supply all our needs. And so we come to Him in prayers
and we come in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. What does
He say there in John 16 and verse 23? Verily, verily, whatsoever
ye shall ask the Father in my name, He says, He will give it
you. What a statement is that? Either
two have ye asked nothing in my name. ask and ye shall receive
that your joy may be full." These words are left on record in Scripture
to encourage us that we should come and ask that the Lord would
supply all our needs. Paul himself can testify back
in verse 8, I have all and abounds, I am full. The Lord is able to
supply all our needs and this is our comfort. And Paul had material needs as
well as spiritual needs and he makes mention of them. We have
some detail in the scripture when he's writing there to Timothy
in that second epistle. He speaks of the cloak that he
had left at Troas and he wanted to be brought to him. Just a
little detail, but how significant. He speaks of the cloak that was
with carpus. And when you bring that, he says,
well, bring the books, but especially the parchments. And we said before
on one occasion, I recall, that the parchments probably refer
to the scriptures, what he already possessed, what was there of
the Old Testament, but also some of the writings of the New Testament
scriptures. And he wants these things to
be brought to him. Every need will be supplied.
all your need it says here in this first part of verse 20 and it's interesting because
the word that's rendered need there is really the same word
that we have at the end of verse 16 where it's rendered necessity
my need or my necessity even in Thessalonica ye send once
and again unto my necessity. That's the strength of the word
really. It's what we need, what we really need. The Lord is able
to supply that need and we're to come and we're to pray to
him as the Lord himself instructs us in that pattern prayer. We're to make that request, give
us this day. Our daily bread. There's a provision
for the day, but there's a continual provision, isn't there? Because
in Luke's account, it's somewhat different. Give us day by day,
it says, our daily bread. Yes, there's the provision for
today, but there's the provision promised also for tomorrow and
the day after that. And our God provided so wonderfully,
of course, for the children of Israel there in the wilderness.
reference made to it in that portion that we read at the beginning
of Deuteronomy chapter 8, but we have the detail back in Exodus
16. God rains down the manna, and
the psalmist says, Man did eat angels' food, and he sent them
meat to the full. Thy raiment waxed not sold upon
thee, neither did thy foot swell, it says. thy shoes shall be iron
and brass, and as thy days, so shall thy strength be." Oh, we
have everything to encourage us then, that we should come
and look to our God, and He will supply the need, and He will
supply it all according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. What a provision! It's a supply
for every need. My God! And we can address him
now as our God and our Father in heaven, who's mindful of us,
my God, shall supply all your need according to his riches
in glory by Christ Jesus. Mother Lord, bless the word to
us. We'll sing our second hymn. We're going to sing that hymn
of John Ryland's that I just referred to. It's 247. The tune is Dalehurst 124. O
Lord, I would delight in thee, and on thy care depend, to thee
in every trouble flee, my best, my only friend. When all created
streams are dried, thy fullness is the same. May I with this
be satisfied, and glory in thy name. 247, tune 124. Oh