For the rest, brethren, whatsoever things [are] true, whatsoever things [are] noble, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] amiable, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue and if any praise, think on these things.
The verse comes right after Paul's promise that God's peace will guard the heart of the person who prays instead of worrying. Paul now turns from what the believer hands over to God to what the believer fills the mind with. Two questions follow. What counts as true, honorable, just, pure and lovely? And why does a list of thoughts matter so much to daily Christian life?
Cares First, Then Thoughts
The order of the chapter matters. One writer points out that the mind cannot dwell on good things while still carrying its own load:
First, cast all your troubles and cares on God. Then our minds are free to turn and think on whatever is lovely, and on all these blessed things, which grew as fruit despite Satan. If the soul dwells on evil, it grows weak. If we dwell on what is good, the soul grows strong.
The Words, One By One
Paul does not pile up synonyms. Each term adds something the one before it lacked:
So Paul tells us to think on (1) "whatever is true." This sets aside all idealistic fancies, books of fiction, and the like. Of what is true there is far more than enough to engage our whole time... Second, "whatever is honorable." Some things are true and still not honorable, and not good for the soul. Third, "whatever is just." This is fairness, which truth and honor badly need. Fourth, "whatever is pure," with nothing mixed in that does not belong. Fifth, "whatever is lovely." This adds warmth, which the others can lack. But warmth must never be taken apart from them.
Where Such Things Are Found
The list can seem abstract until you ask where anyone meets these qualities. Commentators answer by pointing to a person:
Christ is the perfect expression of all these good qualities. To have these qualities before us is to be occupied with the loveliness of Christ. So Christ becomes our resource to lift us above the defiling influences of the world. What the mind feeds on shapes the character. That is why the exhortation matters: "Think on these things."
Paul then adds his own example in the next verse, and one writer reads that as his answer to the obvious question:
As we read this list of high and noble things, we feel that our minds will not be like a cheap barroom if these things fill our thoughts. But where are they to be found? We must have guidance if we are to get on the track of them. And Paul does not leave us to guess what they are. He goes on: "What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things."
Judging Evil Still Needs Good
One writer turns this into a test of a single day:
It is a great thing to have the heart tuned to take delight in the things God delights in... Take one day only and ask yourself: has your mind been living in the things that are lovely and of good report? Is it the habit of your mind to dwell on what is good? Evil forces itself on us in these days, but we must not dwell on it. It weakens the mind; the mind gets no strength from thinking of it. A spiritual mind may feel disgust at evil. But even when we judge it, we judge it well only if the heart is dwelling on what is good.
Another writer adds a note on the word behind "excellence" in this verse:
"Virtue" is a word pagan writers used all the time, but this is the only place Paul uses it... You need courage to live out the proper Christian life.
"Whatever Is Commendable" And Other People
The word "commendable" also covers what we hear and repeat about other people:
Oh, that we might meditate on the gracious, winsome things in the saints, and in others around us! Oh, that we might put the most favourable meaning on every report we hear. Love thinks no evil. Love believes all things: not the evil things, but the good ones. And where it cannot believe all the good it would like, it still hopes all things. It hopes the good report is true and the bad one false.
The Promised Outcome
Verse 7 gives a guard; verse 9 gives a companion. One writer marks the difference in the two titles:
When we are not anxious, when the mind is set free and the peace of God is keeping the heart, God sets the soul thinking on happy things... "and the God of peace will be with you." God Himself is there as the companion of the soul — not just "the peace of God," but "the God of peace."
Another writer draws a sharp conclusion from that second title:
Quarrelling dies in the presence of the God of peace.
Summary
- Empty first. Cares go to God in prayer before the mind is free to think on anything lovely; a loaded heart has no room.
- Fill on purpose. True, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable — each word adds what the one before it lacked. Together they leave no room for empty fancies.
- Feed on Christ. Christ is their perfect expression, and what the mind feeds on shapes the character.
- Extend it outward. Put the most favourable meaning on every report; love hopes the good report is true and the evil one false.
- Enjoy the result. Not only the peace of God guarding the heart, but the God of peace Himself as the soul's companion.