Articles
Foundational Character of Disciples – Phil. 4
Foundational Character of Disciples – Phil. 4
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.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
As Paul comes to the end of his letter, he enumerates a few of the character traits that should be at the foundation of my discipleship. No, this passage of course is NOT exhaustive as there are other such lists that include other traits, but it is illuminating. I believe that these traits were already at the heart of the disciples in Philippi and thus it is one of the letters with the least amount reproof or correction in it.
What are these traits of discipleship?
Rejoicing in the LORD, always. This is not about being ‘happy’ but about a deep underlying confidence that I am a child of God and I will live eternally in the presence of God because of what Jesus has done for me.
Thus, remembering that the Lord is near (living in the presence of the LORD), I am gentle in my actions and reactions with people.
I will trust the LORD at all times (walk by faith) and thus not be anxious about life and its problems.
I will be a peacemaker (cp. Matt. 5: ; Romans 12: ), and NOT a troublemaker.
I will direct my thinking to that which is productive of godliness and holiness. Yes, we can chose what we think about!
So, let us get busy with character building! We have a lot of growing to do.
Hugh DeLong
