But ye have done well in taking part in my affliction.
Paul has just said that he can face plenty or want, because Christ strengthens him. Then he turns to the Philippians: their gift was not charity to a needy man, but a share in his trouble.
The verse opens with a correction. His words about contentment could sound like a polite refusal. The "yet" rules that out.
The Apostle was not in any sense dependent on the gifts of the Philippian saints or of anyone else. He wanted them to know it. Yet he assures them, in a very delicate and beautiful way, that he felt fully the love and devotion behind their gift — love towards the Lord, and towards himself.
His resource in God did not make their kindness unnecessary to him.
He could indeed take refuge in God; but it was sweet to him in the Lord to have this testimony on their part.
The word behind "share" runs all through this letter. In this verse it has "together" attached.
Fellowship in the Gospel (Philippians 1:5). Fellowship together in grace (Philippians 1:7). Fellowship of the Spirit (Philippians 2:1). Fellowship of His sufferings (Philippians 3:10). Fellowship together in affliction (Philippians 4:14). Fellowship in giving and receiving (Philippians 4:15). Fellowship in ministry to the saints (2 Corinthians 8:4). Fellowship in its perfection — seven times — is found here, for all of these use the same word in the Greek Testament, though English translates it differently. Philippians 1:7 and Philippians 4:14 add the little word "together," making it fellowship together. So we are not wrong in saying that fellowship is a main theme of the letter: fellowship with Christ, and with one another.
So their gift was more than money. It made them partners in his affliction.
What moved Paul was not the gift itself but the love behind it. Standing by a prisoner is a public act.
What made Paul rejoice was not the gift so much as the love that made these dear saints share in his afflictions. Not everyone is willing to be known as the friend of a man in jail. But these saints often refreshed Paul, as Onesiphorus did a little later, and they were not ashamed of his chain.
Older translations read "you have done well" here, and that is the wording these writers comment on. Paul's commendation is more than a thank-you note. It is God's own estimate of what they did.
These cases are recorded for us with care. They tell us how precious it is in God's sight to take part in tribulation for the sake of the Gospel. Paul had to urge Timothy not to be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of him His prisoner. Timothy was to "share in suffering for the gospel." Moses considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt — and so did the saints in Philippi. And the Spirit says to them, "You did well," or, as it may be translated, "You did nobly."
The act carries such weight because of who really received it.
They had surely done both well and wisely in what they did. Such thoughts and acts on their part were both lovely and of good report. For in ministering to one who counted himself less than the least of all saints, they were ministering to the Lord.
They were not the church best placed to give. That is exactly what makes their action instructive.
The Philippians' devotion here stood out all the more because they were very poor. 2 Corinthians 8:2 tells us so. They had also been in much affliction themselves, and they had experienced much joy in the Lord. All this is very instructive for us. Often we are unsympathetic and stingy. That is because our own experience of suffering and of spiritual refreshment is so very shallow.
- Share, not send. Paul's word here is the letter's word for fellowship, with "together" added. Their gift made them partners in his trouble, not donors to a case.
- Share, not pity. He was not dependent on them, and he said so. Still, their care was sweet to him as proof of real love.
- Share at a price. Not everyone will be known as the friend of a man in prison; they were not ashamed of his chain.
- Share nobly. God calls the act noble. Taking part in trouble for the gospel is precious in His sight, and kindness to His servant is service done to the Lord.
- Share from experience. They were poor and afflicted themselves. Shallow experience of suffering and of joy is what makes us stingy.
And know also *ye*, O Philippians, that in [the] beginning of the gospel, when I came out of Macedonia, no assembly communicated [anything] to me in [the] way of giving and receiving save *ye* alone;
Writing from prison, Paul looks back to the days when the gospel first reached Europe. He names the one church that stood with him financially when no other did. Three questions follow: what "the beginning of the gospel" means, what "giving and receiving" involved, and why Philippi stood alone.
The word "gospel" can mean either the message itself or the work of announcing it. Here it means the preaching, so it marks a point in time.
In some passages, both in Mark and in the Letters of Paul, the word "gospel" points to a system of doctrine — the substance of the message of good news, not the act of proclaiming it. Elsewhere Paul says that "the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:14). These men preach a doctrine, but they do not live off a doctrine. It is by their service that they live, while preaching the doctrine… In Philippians 4:15, by the expression "the beginning of the gospel" he points out the beginning of the preaching of this good news.
Philippi's partnership began in one home and spread to the whole church. Corinth belonged to Christ too, but never learned this kind of sharing.
God called both Corinth and Philippi into the fellowship of His Son. But Philippi knew a fellowship that Corinth was a stranger to. Corinth needed the reminder that God had "commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel." Philippi needed no such reminder. The Lord opened Lydia's heart. She then opened her house to His servants, and the group of believers she belonged to locally opened their purse. They sent "once and again" an expression of fellowship.
Why did the other churches hold back? One writer points to their spiritual state.
It appears that he rarely received gifts from the people of God. Perhaps he met few even among them who could have been trusted. It would have done harm because of their lack of spiritual feeling. They might have thought something of it, or the gospel might have suffered in their minds or with others through it. But the Philippians were simple and spiritual enough. We know what delicate feelings the power of the Spirit can produce. So they had the privilege of ministering to his needs.
Paul's rule was to preach free of charge. One writer asks whether other churches joined in later.
Paul says it was "in the beginning of the gospel" — as I understand it, in the early days of the gospel in Europe — that "no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving." It is possible that later on some of the other assemblies did have fellowship with him in this way. But Paul tells us that his "reward" for preaching the gospel is, "that in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge" (1 Cor. 9:18). That seems to have been the principle Paul generally worked on; but the assembly at Philippi was a very bright exception: from them again and again he received gifts.
Paul still remembers what they did.
Love is never forgetful; it treasures up acts of service. And the apostle treasured up in memory the ways in which he had been cared for. God delights in service done to His saints; even what is done to the world He delights in too.
The Philippians were not wealthy donors.
Right after their conversion they helped support him. They sent help to him twice while he was in Thessalonica (ch. 4:16), at a time when he received nothing from other assemblies… Moreover it was by no means wealth that made this possible. Writing to Corinth, Paul mentions the churches of Macedonia. In a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity.
Their giving was personal, carried by someone they knew, to a man whose situation they knew.
In the letter to the Philippians we have a sweet instance of how an assembly cared for the apostle Paul from the very first (Phil. 4:15). He had hardly left before he received at Thessalonica a love-gift to supply his need… This was no cold, formal dropping of money into the box each week for workers they did not know, or paying into a ministers' fund. The assembly had the worker's need on their heart, and their own messenger carried the gift.
Churches still owe this care to those who preach:
An assembly would be to blame if they knew an evangelist was working and did not help him. They would be losing one of their privileges. The Philippians were very eager to do it… Locality makes no difference. An evangelist is a servant of Christ, not of the assembly.
- Beginning. "The beginning of the gospel" marks when the preaching started in Europe. Philippi backed Paul from that first day.
- Fellowship. Giving and receiving is partnership, not charity: Lydia opened her house, and the assembly opened its purse.
- Alone. No other church joined in. One writer says the rest lacked the spiritual state to give without harm to themselves or to the gospel's name.
- Cost. Their giving came out of extreme poverty, not surplus. It began right after their conversion.
- Memory. Paul still names their gift long afterwards. Love keeps records. God delights in such service, and a church that ignores the Lord's workers loses a privilege.
for also in Thessalonica once and even twice ye sent to me for my need.
Paul writes from prison to thank the church at Philippi, and he reaches back years to do it: while he was still in Macedonia, they had already sent help twice. That memory raises a large question — what does it look like when a church takes real responsibility for the person who brought it the gospel?
Start with how little time there was.
As far as we know, Paul was only in Thessalonica for a short time. It may have been just three weeks, though we cannot be sure. But at least twice in that short time, the believers in Philippi sent gifts to him.
What stands out is the timing. They did not wait until they could send something impressive.
Poor as they were, they clearly understood Paul's need and felt it deeply. They sent to him as soon as they could. They did not hold back until they could raise a bigger amount; they sent what they had as they got it. This is typical of the poor who love the Lord.
One writer aims the point straight at readers who have little to give:
I have no doubt that every one of these gifts was a sacrifice — but they were "sacrifices of joy." And they, in their deep poverty, were the only ones making these sacrifices... You do not need wealth to be generous... The apostle gladly accepted the gifts of the Philippian believers, though he would accept nothing from the wealthy Corinthians.
The New Testament has a word for this kind of giving: fellowship. It comes from ordinary business life, and it changes how we read the gift.
The Greek word for it comes from the word used for "partners" in Luke 5:10. James and John were partners with Simon in the fishing business... When Paul was preaching in Thessalonica and the believers in Philippi sent him gifts, they were sharing jointly in the gospel — "fellowship in the gospel."
How they gave mattered as much as what they gave.
Galatians 6:6 says, "Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches." In the letter to the Philippians we have a lovely example of how a church cared for the apostle Paul from the very first. He had only just left them when a love-gift reached him at Thessalonica to meet his need... This was no cold, formal matter of putting so much into the money-box each week for workers nobody knew, or giving so much into a ministers' fund. The church carried the worker's need on their heart, and their own messenger delivered the gift.
Years later Paul can still name the city and count the times they gave.
Love never forgets; it stores up acts of service. The apostle kept in his memory every way they had cared for him. God delights in service done to His saints.
Paul at once turns the credit away from himself and onto them.
With them it was no case of "out of sight, out of mind." They had kept him in their hearts while he was away. This touched him deeply — though, as he assures them, "not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit."
The gift arrived in Thessalonica, where believers were living right beside Paul and had not yet learned to do this themselves.
It may well seem strange to us, reading these words, that the Thessalonians were so slow to recognise and claim one of their highest privileges. The same witness records their "work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." So let us not only wonder as we read; let us learn. The lesson is for us. The grace they once lacked was given to them later.
- Partners, not donors. The word for fellowship is the word for business partners. Their money made them joint participants in Paul's work.
- Poverty gave first. They were the poor ones, and they were the only ones giving. Generosity does not wait for wealth.
- Speed over size. They sent as soon as they had something, twice inside a very short stay, instead of waiting to gather a larger sum.
- Personal, not institutional. Their own messenger carried the gift to a man whose need they held on their hearts. It was not coins dropped in a box for strangers.
- Credited, not consumed. Paul remembered every gift. He wanted it counted as fruit to their credit, not as relief for himself.
Not that I seek gift, but I seek fruit abounding to your account.
Paul thanks the church at Philippi for a gift of money, but he turns the thanks around: he wants the fruit that increases to their credit, not the gift in his hands. So what is this "fruit," and when does the credit get paid?
Why mention their gift at all? One writer answers, and meets the suspicion that thanks is a way of asking for more:
For no personal end did he mention their grace. It was not that he wanted more. We know well that, as men have said sarcastically, gratitude is a kind of fishing for fresh favours. There was the very reverse in Paul's case. As he tells them, fruit that might abound to their account was all that his heart really yearned after.
Another writer sets this beside something Paul wrote elsewhere:
In another place Paul wrote, "I seek not what is yours but you" (2 Corinthians 12:14). No one could ever accuse the apostle of covetousness. Paul valued the gift deeply. He rejoiced greatly that their care for him had bloomed again. And we may suppose the gift was much needed. Still, it was not the gift that Paul sought, or that so gladdened his heart. It was the fruit abounding to the account of his dear Philippian brothers.
One writer marks what separates fruit from works:
We must notice the difference between works and fruit. Works make us think of our own doing. Fruit makes us think of another power within. That power draws its strength from the sunshine, the ground and the air, and forms these things into the "precious fruits of the earth." … And the fruit grows, without noise or labour on our part, by an unseen power within.
One translator reads the verse as a banking picture of principal and interest:
Bishop Moule translates this part: "Not that I am in quest of (almost, 'I am hunting for') the gift, the mere sum of money in and for itself. But I am in quest of the interest that is accumulating to your account." In a note he adds: "I venture to render these words as a monetary phrase, relating to principal and interest." He adds that Chrysostom, a Greek, seemed to understand it this way.
When does the account pay out? One writer points to a day still ahead:
Paul again disclaims all personal aims, and he does it with the day of God in view. He would have them know that his own joy and glory in that day would be in proportion to theirs. So for this faithful steward of God's mysteries, receiving their generosity now is a pledge of greater honour in that day for them. Under his training they had learned so well to imitate the ways of God.
The two accounts can run in opposite directions:
Some have large sums to their credit down here. But as regards their account in Heaven they are desperately poor. They have little or no fruit stored up there. They may find that their toil has produced "nothing but leaves."
The fruit has a further aim than the giver's account:
Let us not forget that the fruit was to be "to the glory and praise of God." Our Lord said the same to the disciples: "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit." It was in the very matter of giving that the Apostle wrote, "Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." So Paul was justified in seeking an abundance of fruit to their account.
- The account — Paul is not hunting the gift. He is watching a balance grow in the givers' name, "to the glory and praise of God."
- The deposit — not our own doing, but fruit. An unseen power within grows it.
- The interest — read as a banking phrase, Paul wants the interest piling up on their account, not the money in his hand.
- The pay-out — at the day of God. His joy and glory there will be in proportion to theirs.
- The risk — rich down here, near-empty above: toil that produced nothing but leaves.
But I have all things in full supply and abound; I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things [sent] from you, an odour of sweet savour, an acceptable sacrifice, agreeable to God.
Paul is a prisoner in Rome. He thanks the believers at Philippi for the money and supplies they sent, then hands the gift up to God as an offering. What turns help sent to a friend in need into a sacrifice God calls fragrant?
Paul piles up words instead of settling for one. One of them can even be read as a business term.
Notice the variety of words the Apostle uses for how richly his beloved brothers from Philippi supplied him. I think there are five different words here to tell out the bounty and the fullness. The word translated "I have to the full" may mean just what we take it to mean here. Or it may be a technical term used on a receipt, meaning "Received Payment." If "all things" follows, as here, it means "Received Payment in full." But I do not suppose Paul is using it in this technical sense here. And it is not enough for Paul to say, "I have all things to the full." That tells us his cup is full. But he goes on: "and I am running over."
The gift did not arrive by itself. Paul names the man who carried it, and the errand nearly cost him his life.
Epaphroditus brought supplies from Philippi to Paul, who calls him "my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier." While with Paul at Rome he became very ill, "near to death." His sorrow that the Philippian believers had heard of his sickness shows the deep affection between them. He risked his life by his link with Paul, a prisoner.
The words Paul chooses are not new. They already appear elsewhere in Scripture.
The whole thing pictures one of the sacrifices in the Old Testament, perhaps Noah's sacrifice when he came out of the ark. Paul describes the Philippian believers' "sacrifice" with the very same words the Greek Old Testament uses for Noah's: "a fragrant offering." The Greek Old Testament uses those same words for the "pleasing aroma" offerings in Leviticus, as in Lev. 1:17. The same two words appear again in Eph. 5:2, used of our Lord Jesus Christ, who "loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." That is what the gift of these dear Philippian believers was to God. Paul almost forgets that it was given to him. He thinks of it only as given to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And Paul was right, for the Lord said, "as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
Not every gift counts as a sacrifice. Something has to be true of the giver first.
But remember: mere giving would not make the gift a sacrifice — giving reluctantly, for example, or only because someone pressed for it. As in the sacrifice of praise, the giver must present the gift through Christ, to God, in the power of the Spirit. Only such gifts can be called "a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God."
What the Philippians sent was money. That is what makes God's verdict on it so striking.
Their gift to him was "a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God." What a God is ours, to treat this way the thing tied to this world that Christ Himself calls "unrighteous wealth"! His goodness can take it up and make it fragrant even to Himself.
By the world's measure, a parcel sent to a prisoner counts for little. God uses a different scale.
By the world's standards it may have been small. But it was of immeasurable value to God, because the Spirit of Christ produced it… Nothing that carries the fragrance of Christ can be small or of slight value to God. The widow's "two small copper coins" have reached every place where the fragrance of His name is made known (Luke 21:2-4). To use the language of men, may we not say that God's attention is caught wherever He detects even a faint trace of the fragrance of His Son produced by His grace?
- Received — Paul's first words settle the account: he has all things to the full, and then he is running over. His cup is full before he says anything else.
- Redirected — He does not stop with the senders. He treats their parcel as something handed up to God, not just handed over to him.
- Recognised — The wording comes from the altar. Noah's offering, the "pleasing aroma" offerings in Leviticus, and Christ giving Himself in Ephesians 5:2 all carry it.
- Refined — The difference is not the sum but the source. Giving done reluctantly or under pressure is no sacrifice. The gift goes up through Christ, in the power of the Spirit.
- Rewarded — Even a faint trace of the fragrance of His Son catches God's attention. No gift that carries it is small to Him — a widow's two coins included.
But my God shall abundantly supply all your need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
The closing chapter of Philippians is Paul's thank-you letter to a church that had sent him money in prison. Here he tells them what God will now do for them, and the promise raises two questions: who is "my God," and how far do His riches reach?
The pronoun carries the weight. Paul does not say "God will" but names Him as One he has come to know for himself.
Notice the closeness in "my God." It is emphatic. It is like saying: I know Him. I can answer for Him. I have come through all kinds of things, and I can promise you He never failed me. I know the way He acts even in the small things of everyday life.
That certainty changes what the sentence is.
The God whom he had learnt to know so well in all circumstances — my God, as he called Him — would supply all their need. It is not a wish that He may do so, nor a prayer that he prays, but it is an assured fact.
The promise lands on a church that had made itself poorer to help Paul. That context shapes how we should claim it.
Would such a God allow them to suffer need because of their generosity? Far from it! The apostle had learned well by experience how fully his God could supply... But be clear about this: such giving is the thoughtful service of deep love for Christ. We are seriously responsible, not simply to give, but to give in a way that honours the Lord. This means searching our hearts about when, where, and how to give. We could not rightly expect God to supply our needs if we wasted what He had entrusted to us.
The verse names the standard God measures by — and it is not the size of the gap.
God would be their Supplier. He would not measure by their need, nor even by Paul's strong desires for them, but by His own riches in glory in Christ Jesus. It would have been wonderful if God had bound Himself to supply them according to His riches on earth in Christ Jesus. His riches in glory are more wonderful still. The Philippians, or we ourselves, may never be rich in the things of earth and yet be enriched in the things of glory.
Giving "according to" wealth is different from giving out of wealth.
A millionaire might give a penny to a beggar, but he would not be giving according to his wealth. Our God is the 'Giving God,' and the Lord Jesus said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'
The word "need" sets both the width and the limit of the promise.
Let us notice it is all our need that My God promises to supply; our need, as one has pointed out, not our greed. And I am so glad it means our spiritual needs as well as our daily ones. It covers the needs of our soul and our spirit, and these are often greater than the needs of our bodies... And the promise is, "My God will supply every need of yours." Whether we read every or all here, the word is singular. So we are meant to look at each need on its own. We may spread them out before "my God" one by one.
God has taken this responsibility, so where we turn first matters.
Am I in want? I can go to God about it. He is the Owner of heaven and earth. The treasures of the universe are at His disposal. He can help me if He sees it to be good for me; and if not, the pressure will be much better for me than the relief... Why look to some lesser supply? Why turn from such a God and take our wants to a human being? In doing that we give up, to that extent, the ground of faith — the life of simple dependence on God. It is actually dishonouring our Father.
The promise does not end in relief but in worship, and the two verses belong together.
He is supplying the saints now according to all the wealth of His resources even in glory in Christ. In glory not even a trace of need will exist, but God is acting on those same riches now. Therefore the Apostle breaks out in praise to God at once. "To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen."
- My God — the promise rests on a God Paul knew for himself; he speaks as one who can answer for Him.
- Their gift — Paul says this to people who had just made themselves poorer to help him. Giving that expects this answer is thoughtful and honouring, not careless.
- His measure — the supply is sized by God's riches, not by the size of the lack; a rich giver gives according to his wealth.
- In glory — the reach is wider than earth, and wider than money: every need, spiritual and temporal, spread out before Him one by one.
- His glory — the outcome is not merely a met need but praise: glory to God our Father for ever and ever.