Philippians 4:8-9

Philippians 4:8-9

“Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do and the GOD of peace will be with you.” NKJV

There is a lot in these verses, when I first memorized verse 8 I did not really think about what all of these words meant to me and for me. Years later when I rememorized verse 8 I still did not think about the words and what they mean. Now I have it learned as a paraphrase rather than verbatim, yet until this morning (11/24/2018) I did not really think about what the words of these verses meant to and for me.

Today as I was thinking about verse 8 I thought of “good report”, this came right after I had asked the LORD to forgive me for thinking critically of someone. A good report is not thinking critically or judgmentally about another person or ministry. A good report is thinking of their good points and virtues and speaking only those things.

In verses 2 thru 7 Paul admonishes believers to be united, to be joyful and to pray, “…and the peace of GOD which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”, verse 7. But, verse 9 says that if we meditate on the words of verses 4 thru 8 then, “the GOD of peace will be with you.”

It is good to have the peace of GOD, but it is best to have the GOD of peace with us.

Right thinking is a problem in the Church, there is much incorrect and even evil thinking in the Church therefore we have neither the peace nor the presence of GOD in Christ Jesus as we should. That does not mean that we do not recognize and pray about false doctrine and ministries, we must speak against false teachings and those who espouse them.

David did not speak evil against King Saul, even though he had been anointed by Samuel the Prophet to replace Saul as King of Israel. But, he did speak to Saul of his evil in the presence of others. Paul when dealing with sin in the Church at times called people out by name and told the Church to be careful around them and even to avoid those who were teaching false doctrine. In verse 2 of this passage Paul calls the Church to minister unity and peace between two people by name; study chapter 3.

Jesus said that we must and would recognize people by the fruit of their lives and ministries. It is our responsibility to know the truth so that we can be set free. If we do not know the truth (GOD’s Word the Bible) and we do not have His Spirit (Holy Spirit) whom He sent to all believers, then we can be easily deceived and fall into the same judgment as those that teach lies as truth and self satisfaction as doctrine.