August 2022

God has ways of integrating the circumstantial and the spiritual that we might not be looking for. To illustrate, let’s take a look at Philippians 4:10-13.

I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹²I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³I can do all this through Him who gives me strength.

A bit of background is in order.

At the time Paul wrote this letter to the Philippian church, he was a prisoner of the Roman Empire. He’d been arrested for stirring up trouble in Israel, but the government had trouble defining specific charges. The Jewish leaders wanted to do away with Paul for desecrating the temple and promoting what they thought was a heresy. The Roman officials aimed to keep the peace, however possible.

With the justice system dragging its heels, Paul’s patience wore thin. In the midst of yet another delay, he appealed his case to Caesar. Since Paul was a Roman citizen, he had the right to announce this claim. Of course, this would take even more time, but he felt he had no choice.

So Paul was on his way to Rome to stand trial.

Throughout this protracted process, Paul’s evangelistic ministry narrowed to almost nothing. Gone were the days when he could travel throughout the empire and announce the good news that Jesus Christ was Lord. Having little freedom to move around, he turned his attention to the churches and wrote several letters to them. Bible scholars call these the prison epistles, and Philippians was in this set.

We should keep in mind that the passage I quoted above was penned by a man who couldn’t travel, conduct business, or organize religious or social events. For the time being, Paul’s was a restricted life.

But for the apostle, his limitations were but half the story. He said he knew what it was like to be in need, to want for necessities, to go hungry.

But Paul declared the opposite, too. He’d enjoyed plenty and had chowed down on excellent meals.

It looks like Paul is contrasting two sides of a coin. Heads represents abundance while tails stands for poverty. So when we become followers of Jesus Christ, He gives us a coin which has both aspects. 

That makes sense, but after doing a little bit of digging into the Greek text, I learned something unusual. The verb in vs. 12 that I put in bold is mueo which means: initiate, teach, or accustom. It’s found only in this verse in the whole Greek New Testament.

Now Paul didn’t make up this word. It’s related to the noun musterion from which we get the English word, “mystery.” It refers to something hidden or secret.

The noun is more common than the verb. It occurs 27 times in the Greek New Testament and nine times in eight verses in the Greek translation of the Old Testament.

I’m not just throwing around stats; I actually have a point to make! What I discovered was that all eight verses in the OT are in the book of Daniel. In fact, seven of them occur in chapter 2 which deals with King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. I won’t post the verses, but here are the links: 2:18, 19, 27, 28, 29, 30, 47. (The other verse is 4:9.)

The book of Daniel uses the word “mystery” to refer to knowledge unavailable to human beings without divine aid. The Babylonians, like all the other peoples at the time, relied on soothsayers and specialists to uncover and interpret the knowledge of the gods. But in the case of the king’s dream, they were failing.

Big time!

Loyal to the God of Israel, Daniel didn’t need to rely on special techniques or tricks. He and his friends sought the Lord who rewarded them by revealing everything to Daniel. He then approached the king and explained the content and meaning of his dream.

Since the dream was deemed a mystery, one would presume its meaning to be religious or spiritual. Yet that wasn’t the case. God gave Nebuchadnezzar a dream of four successive empires: his own (Babylon), then Persia, Greece, and Rome. The dream was about politics and society, not esoteric secrets about hidden realms!

It was practical.  

Returning to the passage in Philippians, we learn that Paul’s “secret knowledge” concerned the practical issues of his life. During certain periods of his ministry, Christians (like those in Philippi) served as his benefactors. Their generosity freed Paul to preach the gospel and establish churches.

But he didn’t always get support. At those times, Paul relied on his skill of tentmaking to provide for himself. He’d work during the day and preach in the evening. If financial support arrived, he could put down the needle and focus on gospel ministry.

So Paul’s circumstances varied. Sometimes he had plenty of help; other times, he had to scrape by.

And I’m not even bringing up the incidents of persecution he suffered!

The point here is that Paul used a spiritual and religious word to refer to his practical experience. God initiated Paul into the faith, but this call involved his whole life. The gospel wasn’t some secret reserved for a select few. Salvation in Jesus Christ is available to everyone and it covers every dimension of life.

It’s spiritual, but it’s also practical. The gospel describes the wonderful story of Jesus our Savior and what He’s done for us. It addresses our deepest needs and satisfies our eternal longings.

But it also equips us to handle the ups and downs of living in a fallen world. Circumstances fluctuate; the stock market is a bear one day and a bull the next. It’s hard to predict what tomorrow may hold for us, but we don’t have to. If we submit to the Lord’s discipline in pragmatic issues like we do in spiritual matters, we’ll be ready. His teaching and training will enable us to handle anything that comes our way, good or bad. 

So go ahead and flip the coin. God’s grace will help you deal with either result.

We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!