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.
Rejoice in the Lord Always, and again I say Rejoice!
Keep on rejoicing in the Lord at all times, regardless of what circumstances might come upon you.
Rejoicing in circumstances that we pray were otherwise is not about pretending the circumstances were better.
It’s about knowing and appreciating fully the circumstances that you’re in, and rejoicing because you remember that you’re rejoicing in the LORD.
And if we will obey, and keep on having joy in all circumstances, God will not only deliver us, but He will use that witness to deliver others as well.
Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.
Next, Paul encourages us to let our gentle spirit be evident”
When Isaiah says in 42:3 “a bruised reed he shall not break” he is describing Jesus’ gentleness. “the smoking flax or dimly burning wick, He will not extinguish”-Jesus encourages those who are dimly burning to burn brighter.
1 Peter 3:4 But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
We should all be dealing with each other with humility, gentleness and patience—showing tolerance for one another in love.
It’s the strong that must learn to be gentle, not the weak.
to all men
When Paul says to all men, He is saying that we should practice this gentleness that he’s urging us to display to all men, believers and unbelievers as well.
We are to practice this gentleness to other believers
Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards said gentleness is “the Christian spirit.”
It’s easy to get frustrated with the things that people do.
Instead of telling them that they’re going to be judged, why not display Christ’s gentleness toward them, love them, minister to them?
The lord is near
Paul could be reminding the Philippians that the Lord is close to or present with the Philippians, in their struggle and a witness of their conduct
Paul is reminding the Philippians that the Lord is returning soon.
We should have a gentle spirit, submitting to injustice and persecutions without hatred or malice, trusting God, because it’s all momentary, light afflictions.