Phil. 4:4-7 - Conflict Resolution 101

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

***

As I was thinking and praying about this next section of the letter, it seemed at first that Paul was wrapping up his letter with some Biblical aphorisms, or proverbs. You know what I mean: several loosely connected verses or sayings, each one could stand alone as a piece of wisdom you can live by. The longer I pondered the more it felt that concept didn’t quite fit.
Please bear with me as I try a different viewpoint. What if the next few verses were a continuation of Paul’s urging the believers to live in harmony? A big chunk of the previous part of the letter exhorts them to ‘have the same mind’, the same purpose. No church split has come between people in total agreement. Can you imagine two people angrily exclaiming, “I agree with you!” “No! I agree with you!” Obviously, the two women (verse 2, above) were not getting along.
Are the next few verses commands on keeping church peace? I don't know. They certainly make a good set of guidelines for harmonious living. It may also give us a clue of how Paul was being led by the Holy Spirit to guide us to resolve our differences. (See note 1 below.)

How would Paul have believers resolve disagreements? Let’s look at a list in verses 4-9:
- Rejoice - you are saved in Christ - (v. 4)
- Gentleness (forbearing spirit) - Let the love of God rule in your hearts - (v. 5)
- Don’t be anxious - Quit fretting about it - (v. 6)
- Prayer and supplication - Go to God about it - (v. 6)
- Thankfulness (gratefulness) - Give thanks to God - (v. 6)
- Ask, make requests - God will lead you - (v. 6)
- Let the peace of God guard your hearts and minds - (v. 7, 9)
- Meditate on excellent things - get your focus off yourself - (v. 8)
- Practice these things - make the willful choice to follow God’s leading - (v. 9)

Vs. 4 - “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! “

“Rejoice” - Paul uses “rejoice” or “joy” over 40 times in his letters (which is about one-half of total New Testament uses); 13 times in Philippians. Quantity is not necessarily an indication of theological importance. It may, however, give us a clue of Paul’s heart and feelings for these believers.
No one wants to rejoice when they are in the middle of a dispute with another person.
- Conflicts almost always arise because of perceived or actual hurt. If someone feels disrespected, or they feel as if they are not being heard, of if they think they are not getting what they deserve... In some way the ego of that person has been ’assaulted’ - anger ensues.
- Paul begins this section of the chapter similar to chapter 3 - rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord. Paul knew he should be proud of who he is, what he has done, more than anyone he knows. And yet - all these accomplishments are worth garbage compared to knowing Christ. We are nothing without Christ. We are NOT suitable to be in God’s presence without Christ. We have nothing to brag about, except that we are saved by Christ.
- What can we complain about - if the only reason you are saved is because of Christ; if the only reason I am saved is because of Christ? Seriously! It is all Christ. Stuff your pride away. Rejoice that Christ saved you. Love one another because Christ loved you. You have no claim on anyone else. Focus on Christ, not on yourself.

Vs. 5 - “Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. “

“Gentle spirit” - Paul describes the character traits for a church leader in the first letter to Timothy. (See: 1 Tim 3:1-10) Elders should not be pugnacious, but gentle. Don’t always be ready to fight to get your way. The way to end an argument is to stop and listen, be mild and courteous. Work at living in peace with one another. (See: Mk. 9:50; Rom. 12:18, 14:19; 2 Cor. 13:11)
- To be clear, this gentle spirit, getting along with others, living in peace with them applies to working out differences in how each of us are treated.
In issues of doctrine - Jesus is God; Jesus alone saves; Believe in Him and you shall be saved, etc. - are not to be given up, but defended rigorously. (For example see the first three chapters of Galatians.) Even defense of the Gospel should not be pugnacious. (1 Pet. 3:15).

“The Lord is near” - The Lord is at hand. Too often we slip into the worldly view that God is in heaven, far far away, and not really paying attention to us - after all He has a whole universe to keep running. Why would God give a rip about me, a tiny speck on a speck in the entire universe?
- God’s omnipresence is hard to get our arms around. But He is not far from any of us. (See: Acts 17:27).
- He knows and judges every act; nothing can be hidden. (Eccl. 12:14).
- All things - there are no secrets from Him - will be held in account. (Heb. 4:12, 13)
- The old aphorism, “Act as if Jesus is right beside you”, is not just a saying. It is a truth. He is always with us; He desires to guide us in our behavior. He will provide personal guidance! (See: Isa. 30:21.)
- A. W. Tozer noted: “A great many people already have the idea that religion is unreal. They believe that it is a subjective thing purely, that there is nothing real about it, and that there is nothing to which it can be referred. For instance, if I use the word “lake,” everybody thinks of a large body of water. I use the word “star,” and everybody thinks of the heavenly bodies. But if I use the words, “faith,” “belief,” “God,” or “heaven,” there is nothing to which they refer. They are just words, which like pixies or fairies and such things that have no reference in the real world.”
- I think believers are lured into thinking similar thoughts. Nancy Pearcey, in “Total Truth,” expounds on this way of thinking, and shows how we fall into the secular way of thinking. Lord Jesus, help us be aware of You always.

The next four verses are some of the best known from the New Testament.

Vs. 6 - “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. “

“Be anxious for nothing” - Do not seek to promote your own interests. This is a tough one for our culture, whose motto may be “Look out for number one,” or “You can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself,” or “You’ve got to look out for yourself, because no one else will.

- IF these verses can be guidelines for conflict resolution (See Phil 4:2, 3) then “don’t be anxious” is a continuation of ‘rejoice in the Lord’, and ‘be gentle and forbearing’, ‘the Lord is watching your behavior’ seen in verses 4 and 5. How do we prevent anxiousness and self-interest over-taking our lives? By turning it all over to Jesus, as can be seen in the rest of this sentence, and in verse seven.

- “In everything by prayer and supplication” - Has someone offended you? Go to Jesus in prayer. You are not asking God change their mind, or convict them so they will see it your way, or to strike them down. You are confessing your sins to God, you are repenting before Jesus. You are asking Him to change your heart. It is only by His grace and love for you that you are saved. Rejoice in that! You are not deserving of His love and compassion - yet, in faith you are accepted as a child of God, pure and unblemished. (1 Tim. 1:15, 16)

- “With thanksgiving” - Since the only claim you have is that God and Jesus provided payment for your sins, give thanks! When gratitude and thanksgiving fill your heart, the slights and wounds you perceive from others wilt like dead grass.

- “Let your requests be made known” - Now, when you are rejoicing in Jesus, when your heart is overflowing with gratitude to Jesus, now make your requests known. Do you think your requests will be, “Show that person where they are wrong, and I am right?” I would hope that you would be filled with forgiveness, just as He has forgiven you. (Eph. 4:2)

Vs. 7 - “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. “

“Peace of God” - This is the key to conflict resolution - being filled with the peace only Jesus can provide. This answers so many questions we ponder:
- “Who am I?” You are a child of God.
- “Do I have any significance; do I matter?” Of course you matter. An heir to the kingdom of God matters above all else.
- “Why would anyone do this for me?” God loves you so much He provides the ONLY way to escape the penalty of sin and death. His son came to earth to save you. He gets no pleasure in the death of the wicked; He has no desire for anyone to die. (See: Ezek. 33:11)
Instead of struggling, fighting, striving, worrying, trying to beat someone else in order to be first in line and not be missed - let the Peace of God flow into your heart and mind.

“Which surpasses all comprehension” - You may not understand it, but you can know it. Your hearts and minds are protected in Christ. No one, physical or spiritual, or no circumstance can take away the love and salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Rejoice and be glad in Him.

*** Note 1: Verses 6 & 7 are often (if not exclusively) used to assuage worry. See Phil 4:6-9 (Part Deux...) below for more thoughts on this aspect.
Note 2: “Prayer”; A. W. Tozer; compiled by W. L. Seaver, edited by J. Vincent; 2016; Moody Publishers. ***