Protected

Χαίρετε ἐν κυρίῳ πάντοτε· πάλιν ἐρῶ, χαίρετε. τὸ ἐπιεικὲς ὑμῶν γνωσθήτω πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις. ὁ κύριος ἐγγύς· μηδὲν μεριμνᾶτε, ἀλλ’ ἐν παντὶ τῇ προσευχῇ καὶ τῇ δεήσει μετ’ εὐχαριστίας τὰ αἰτήματα ὑμῶν γνωριζέσθω πρὸς τὸν θεόν· καὶ ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν φρουρήσει τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ νοήματα ὑμῶν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ.

Philippians 4. 4-7, SBL Greek NT

Paul’s letters are usually directed at some specific situation, usually contentious, and mostly unknown to us; this keeps an army of theologians happily engaged in trying to reconstruct the scene of the accident (ie the situation he was addressing – was it gnostics or people claiming this or that, or libertarians or… what?), while the rest of us just try to make sense of his long sentences and trains of thought.

Which means that some of the best encouragements (and most profound yet approachable insights) are to be found at the end of the letters, ie after Paul has delivered his payload and is relaxing and just being himself again. Even better when it is the end of what is already a pretty happy and non-controversial letter like Philippians.

I would have quoted the whole of Philippians 4 except we would be here all week. Here is my reading of those 4 verses, with some short notes…

“Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your kind approach be known to all men. The Lord is near; let nothing make you anxious, but in everything, in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requisitions known to God; and the peace of God, which is held in protection over all thought and feeling, let it keep watch over your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4.4-7, my rendering

Nothing contentious about “Rejoice”, but just remember who this is and how much he has already gone through; and he is able to say “rejoice – always!” This is lived experience, not window-dressing. The ability to rejoice whatever the situation is a kind of litmus test of relationship with God by the Spirit. If we can only rejoice with a tail wind and a downhill run, that rejoicing rings a little hollow.

τὸ ἐπιεικὲς ὑμῶν is hard to find an English equivalent for, but is well established in Greek philosophy and thought. It means operating from the spirit of the law, rather than according to the letter thereof. The NIV says ‘gentleness’, I have said ‘kind approach’, but even that needs to be expanded in order to come close to the meaning of the Greek. It includes the notion of being reasonable; and is the exact antithesis of the “culture wars” narrative that seems to prevail across the church at present. Any action considered in the light of ‘letting τὸ ἐπιεικὲς ὑμῶν be known to all men’, is going to surprise them with its kindness, reasonableness and gentleness. That is what we are to be known for, according to Paul. (And you can be reasonable and still stand your ground, using your authority. It is anxiety and fear that drive us to unkindness.)

“In petition” (τῇ δεήσει) and “requisitions” (τὰ αἰτήματα) are not common to our understanding of prayer. Prayer itself (τῇ προσευχῇ) we think we understand, but as long as we still believe that God answers prayers in one of four ways: “yes”, “no”, “maybe” and “wait”, then we are really no better than the average pagan. What does scripture say? “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are all yes and amen in Christ Jesus.” So prayer is not begging to change God’s mind; it is asking Him to release to us what is already ours because of what He has already done in Christ. Hence petition and requisition; the root of petition δεήσει is “to be necessary or lacking”. So a petition is pointing out to one’s superior that something promised and budgeted for has not yet been released; requisitions (τὰ αἰτήματα) are things asked; not “please, please, pretty please” asked, but “we need x and y”. And this is why we are not meant to face anything with anxiety: just ask, knowing that we already have God’s “yes”.

And that is a non trivial change of mindset for most of us. Which brings us to the peace of God…

The peace of God, ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν φρουρήσει over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Most translations simply go with the notion that the peace of God surpasses all understanding: and that is a possible reading – but not the most compelling. ὑπερέχουσα means “held over” at its most fundamental, and is used of things held over something else in protection. Imagine a father covering his child’s head with his coat and arm during a sudden hail storm; that is the peace of God held over you in protection.

Held over what, exactly? Yes, πάντα νοῦν could be “all understanding”, but this exact phrase is more usually used in classical Greek to mean something more like “all thought and feeling” or “heart and soul”. It is wider than just hard edged cognition. What needs protection with God’s peace, your cognitive processes or all the thoughts and emotions churning around inside? I know the answer for myself…

And lastly, φρουρήσει. “Will guard” just seems a little passive, and with a hint of jail or some other lock-up; the word literally means “will watch over”. And as I think Paul had discovered, when the Peace of God, held in protection over your heart and soul, detects something amiss – He speaks to alert and guide you.

For example, how many times was Paul flogged, before he finally heard the Peace of God whisper, “son, you are a Roman citizen, and no one has found you guilty of a crime; why not speak up?” – which Paul did, with dramatically different results. (Suddenly he was being protected instead of beaten).

Just an example, but Paul wasn’t speaking in platitudes; his knowledge of how God loves us was entirely practical; and so should ours be.