In Philippians 4, the Apostle Paul made an appeal for the steadfastness and unity of the believers in Philippi.  He told them to rejoice in the Lord and not to worry about anything.  Paul was really telling them to think and live in a way that aligns with the will of Almighty God by turning their hearts and minds toward Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-9 says:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

In other words, this scripture is asking us to:  think about truth, be noble, do what is right, think pure thoughts, love good things, and rejoice in Christ Jesus because we have a God of peace.

After telling us how we should think, Paul tells us in verse 9 to “put these things into practice”.  Paul tried to be an example of these spiritual qualities, and he encouraged others to be like him.

Philippians 4:8 is really a key to helping us renew and transform our minds, and we find this message in other scriptures too.

Romans 8:5 shows us that the qualities mentioned in Philippians 4 are the things God wants in our hearts and minds:

“For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”

1 Timothy 6:11-12 tells us to guard our hearts and minds with good things too:

“…pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; lay hold on eternal life to which you were called, when made known to you who assuredly believed, you ought to guard it diligently.”

Galatians 5:22-23 says:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Romans 12:2 shows us that transforming our minds towards God’s spirit brings us into His will:

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Colossians 3:2-3 tells us we can change our minds by looking towards things above:

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”

Philippians 4:8 calls us to think about truth.  For us to think about truth, we have to know what truth is.  We know that God’s Word is the only truth that is perfectly reliable and trustworthy.  Romans 3:4 even says: “let God be true, and every man a liar”.

Numbers 23:19 tells us about the truthful character of God, saying:

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

Psalm 119:160 tells us:

“The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.”

Jesus always has things to say about truth.

John 17:17 says: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

John 8:32 says: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

John 14:6 says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

If we are to practice a mind of truth, we have to stop lying as Ephesians 4:25 says:

“Therefore, putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,’ for we are members of one another.”

Philippians 4:8 tells us to think about noble things too, and Paul already gave suggestions for this in chapter 2 in verses 3 and 4:

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Why should we be noble towards others?  Because when we repented from our sins and accepted Jesus sacrifice for us, then our old life has died, and now we must live only for Christ, as Romans 6:6-8 says:

“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.”

One of the ways we can show our inner repentance is to be noble, just as Paul told us to think in Philippians 4:8.

But being noble isn’t something we can do by ourselves:  being noble is about doing the right thing in front of others so that we can be a witness for our Saviour Jesus and to give glory to our God.

Jesus taught us to be noble in Matthew 5:39 and 40:

“…do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, offer them the other cheek also.  And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.”

Paul suggested the same way of thinking in Romans 12:17, saying: “Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.”

We give glory to our God by being noble in a righteous way, as 1 Peter 2:12 says:

“Having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

Being noble is also about caring for others, and doing so might even put you in the presence of angels, as Hebrews 13:2 tells us:

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”

It is obvious that Philippians 4:8 is telling us to change our thinking so we can display the fruits of the Spirit.  As Galatians 5 shows, one of the most important fruits of the Spirit is Love.  Jesus tells us in John 15:13:

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

Jesus showed by His own example that He had the greatest love for us, by laying down His life for us.

Galatians 2:20 tells us that Jesus died for us out of love, as it says:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

We know the infinite value of love from other scriptures, as 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 says:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

It is our Father in heaven who has given us the greatest love.  1 John 3:1 says: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God”.  The next two verses tell us that as children of God, we should purify ourselves, just as Christ is pure.

Philippians 4:8 tells us to think about things that are pure.  By thinking in a way that is honourable to God, we can show more purity in our actions.  Jesus gave an example in Matthew 5:28, saying:

“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Jesus showed us that evil thoughts are just as bad as physical actions.  So let’s think for a moment:  if we changed our thinking to see every person as a person created by God, who has the right to live in eternity with our Saviour and our Father in heaven, how can we then look at them with lust?  Purity starts with the heart, so we should train ourselves to think with purity.

James 4:8 tells us to purify our hearts too, saying:

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

It is our rogue sinful thoughts that take us away from God, as 2 Corinthians 10:5 says:

“…Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Earlier I mentioned Romans 12:2 and how transforming our minds towards God’s spirit puts us in God’s will.  If we obediently try and serve our Father in heaven, then the things of this world will have little attraction to us.  Colossians 3:2 simply says:

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

1 Thessalonians 5:22 says:

 “Abstain from every form of evil.”

We should love purity, because Jesus says in Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”  Won’t that be the greatest thing in all eternity – to be in the presence of our Almighty Father, and Creator of this world, forever?

Philippians 4:9 tells us to put into practice the spiritual values we’ve talked about.  It is not enough just to think about these nice things, but we actually have to live by them.

In Matthew 3:8, John the Baptist said, “bear fruits worthy of repentance” emphasizing that true repentance is evidenced by bearing fruit — that is — having visible changes in behaviour that aligns with a repentant heart.

When the Apostle Paul preached repentance, he shows us that turning towards God in repentance helps us change from evil works into good works, as Acts 26:20 says:

“…they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance”.

The Apostle Paul tells us to think about whatever is right.  When I study the scriptures, I search for texts that tell me how to think and live righteously.  That is how I interpret “thinking about whatever is right” in verse 8.

Micah 6:8 says:

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

If the body of Christ is told to think about doing “whatever is right” then we should be encouraging each other to do the right thing and help others.  In fact, Hebrews 10:24-25 says:

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Philippians 4 is really an end-time call to action because verse 5 says, “The Lord is near”.  This is reflected in 1 Peter 2:12 and 15 which tells us to bring glory to God by encouraging each other in love and good deeds:

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us….

—For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.”

Isaiah 1:17 instructs us to:

“Learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.”

So I want to ask all of you today, to think of Philippians 4 in terms of how we can rejoice in unity together for our God and our Saviour.  We should accept that Philippians 4 should become a profile for how we treat others, because Paul is actually asking us to “put it into practice” our new way of thinking.

If we only think about and focus on truth, selflessness (nobility), purity, and goodness, and let these thoughts come out in our behaviour, then we will have answered the call to “let our gentleness be evident to all”, as it says in Philippians 4:5.  In this way, we can give glory to God and have His peace too.

1 Corinthians 1:10 tells us:

“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions or factions among you, but that you be perfectly united in your understanding and in your opinion.”