To see why I arced this passage the way I did, watch the video at the bottom of the page.

I’m going to focus on application in this post. There are three applications I see:

Learn contentment through Christ’s strength.

Paul qualifies his thankfulness with the statement that he has learned contentment (11-12) and that he is able to meet every circumstance head-on with peace through Christ’s strength (13).

How can we be content in a time of crisis, of “facing … hunger”? 13 has the answer. Paul was not self-sufficient but Christ-sufficient. See 2 Tim 1:2 and esp. 2 Cor 12:9-10.

This letter shows us that neither Paul’s circumstances (1:12-13) nor the Philippians’ (1:28; 3:2; 4:2-3) were ideal. So if our circumstances are far from ideal, that doesn’t remove the possibility of being content!

Note that this was something Paul “learned” (12d). This shows us that it wasn’t natural, but that it can happen, so we should have hope! This also shows us that our current bad circumstances should be our teacher; we shouldn’t run away from them.

Now, the main applications will be from v. 18-20, since this is where the logical emphasis of the passage is.

Seek the spiritual good of others.

Paul also didn’t praise the Philippians for their generosity because he wanted more, but because he wanted them to have more eternal blessings (17a-b).

Are we more interested in having our needs met, or in seeing others prosper spiritually? See Phil 2:1-5ff.

Help others, and trust God to provide for you. This glorifies God!

The emphasis of the passage is the Result of the Philippians’ gift. 1) Since they met Paul’s need, therefore God would meet all of theirs (19). 2) God’s provision, blessing them for their provision, would result in eternal glory to God.

Are we seeking to be a blessing to others? We can trust in God to meet our needs when we are seeking first his kingdom. See Matt 6:33.

See also 2 Cor 9:11-14. Our actions today can bring about glory to God forever!