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.
इस पद की टीका
The Setting
Having just told the Philippians that the peace of God will guard their hearts (vv. 6–7), Paul now turns to what fills the mind itself. The verse is a list of eight moral excellencies — true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, praiseworthy — and the command is simple: "think on these things."
A Mind Set Free for What God Delights In
The flow of the chapter is important. Once the believer is relieved of anxious care through prayer, the mind is no longer chained to its troubles but is at liberty to feed on what is good.
Hamilton SmithBeing relieved of our cares, our minds will not only be kept in peace but set free to be occupied with all those things in which God delights. The world we are passing through is marked by violence and corruption, and we are called to refuse the evil; but we are to beware lest our minds become defiled by dwelling upon its evil. Good for us to have a hatred of evil and a dread of it, and the love of good and the choice of it.
Christ — Where All Eight Qualities Shine
Commentators agree the list is not abstract philosophy. Each quality finds its perfect expression in one Person, and to think on these things is to be occupied with Him.
F. B. HoleThere is only One, however, in whom all these excellent qualities shine in equal lustre — CHRIST. Let us think, and think much, of Him. Then to your thinking add doing, practising such things as are sanctioned by the apostolic example, and the result will be this: "the God of peace shall be with you."
Hamilton SmithIf our thoughts were controlled by the Spirit of God would they not be occupied with, and delighting in, all those blessed things which were seen in perfection in Christ? Was He not true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and the One in Whom there was everything to call forth praise? May we not say that to be occupied with these things will mean that our minds are delighting in Christ?
Character Is Formed by What the Mind Feeds On
This is the practical principle behind the command. We become what we dwell on.
Hamilton SmithThese moral excellencies find their perfect expression in Christ. To have these qualities before us is to be occupied with the loveliness of Christ. Thus Christ becomes our resource to lift us above the defiling influences of the world. The character is largely formed by what the mind feeds on. Hence the importance of the exhortation, "Think on these things."
Another writer applies it to the daily details of the believer's life — eyes, ears, lips, hands, feet — noting that thought governs all the rest:
Leslie M. GrantIf our thoughts are on profitable things (Phil. 4:8) this will greatly influence our actions… Let our eyes behold rather the purely satisfying beauty of the Lord Jesus, and let our ears drink in His precious Word.
A Heart Free to Find the Good in Others
The exhortation also re-shapes how we look at fellow believers. Instead of cataloguing faults, we look for what the Spirit has produced.
J. N. DarbyHearts free to find the good in people. Jesus could find the least bit of grace in a poor soul; His heart was ever ready to enjoy it; "I have meat to eat that ye know not of"; "Mary hath chosen that good part"; "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile." There is always this perception when the heart is kept free to enjoy the fruit of the Spirit in others, as being occupied with what is good!
Hamilton SmithThe flesh in us is ever ready to listen to slander, and bad reports, and things that are vicious and blameworthy. But says the Apostle, listen to the good report, and if there is anything virtuous and praiseworthy in your brother, "think on these things."
Where to Find Such Things
Paul does not leave us guessing where these qualities are found. He points to Scripture, to Christ, and to his own example as a pattern (v. 9).
J T MawsonWe feel as we read this list of exalted things that our heads will not be like a tavern of low punch-drinkers if they fill our thoughts, but where are they to be found? … Paul does not leave us to our own imaginations as to what they are, but continues, "Those things, which ye have both learned and received, and heard, and seen in me, do." In a former chapter he had written, "For me to live is Christ." So that these things that controlled Paul's mind and came out in his speech and deeds when he was at Philippi… are all enfolded and disclosed in Christ.
Summary
- Connected to peace. Verse 8 follows the freedom from anxiety in vv. 6–7; a mind unburdened by care is free to dwell on what is good.
- Christ is the centre. All eight qualities — true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, praiseworthy — find their perfect expression in Christ alone.
- Formation principle. Character is largely formed by what the mind feeds on, which is why this command matters so much.
- Guard against evil. We refuse evil but also refuse to dwell on it; the world's violence and corruption defile a mind that lingers there.
- Then act. Thinking must lead to doing (v. 9) — and the promised result is that "the God of peace shall be with you."