Philippians 4:11: “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content.”
So Paul learned to be content in whatever state he was in. If he knew what taxes are like in Illinois I bet he would not include that State. Of course Paul is referring to his circumstances which some might argue is not that much better than living in Illinois. But the word I want to focus on in this study is that word content.
You see Paul was in prison when he wrote the Epistle of Philippians. He was on his way to Rome where he knew he would be executed. I mean Paul once knew a life of affluence, respect, honor and position. He was not only a Pharisee, he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of that day. Then one day he met Jesus and, well, his life took a turn for the worst, at least in the eyes of the world. He was relieved of his position in the Sanhedrin, whatever wealth he had was gone, he was shunned by former friends and became a penniless itinerant preacher. From there he was stoned, beaten, tortured, shipwrecked and now he found himself in prison. At this lowest point an angel appeared to Paul and said: “Paul, it’s only going to get worse.” Probably his hardest test however, was the rejection from the very people he led to the Lord. Some prosperity teachers started to come around to the churches he planted and they taught that God wanted them healed, rich, and prosperous. Then they pointed to Paul and said: “Look at that guy, do you honestly believe he can be in God’s will? There he sits in prison, penniless, facing capital crimes. Surely, if Paul were really a man of God, God would remove him from that prison and transport him here to safety.” Paul was heartbroken and said: “They are ashamed of my bonds.” Yet he was in those bonds for their sake.
In the midst of all this Paul had the gall to say he was content, who could be content is such a situation. Just what is this contentment Paul is talking about? The word in the Greek is autarkes which means not just sufficiency but self-sufficiency. You lexicons will try to explain it as a sense of being satisfied. This is correct but look at how this word is constructed, autos = self and arkein is sufficient. This is not just a sense of feeling sufficient or satisfied, but is it clearly self-satisfaction. Commentators who study the Greek know this to be self-sufficient or self-satisfied which really is not characteristic of Paul. He clearly portrays in his life style and teachings that his sufficiency is in Christ alone. So commentators expand autarkes to mean a feeling of self-sufficiency or self-satisfaction in Christ. Nice try, why didn’t Paul say: “I have learned to be arkein in Christ?”
Ok, Paul knows he is not self-sufficient except in Christ Jesus, you know Paul is not self-sufficient, I know he is not self-sufficient and the commentators know he is not self-sufficient so what is that word autos – self doing in there? Well, the church of Philippi was located in Greece so it would be hard to argue that Paul wrote this epistle in Aramaic. However, we know that Aramaic was Paul’s natural language and his Greek was not that great. This is why the authorship of the Book of Hebrew is in question as it is written in much better Greek than Paul was accustomed to.
I believe our lexicons have it right as Paul felt he was very self-sufficient when in Christ. There is something to be said about self-sufficiency or self-satisfaction. God has given us a mind, a body and ability to work and produce. We have the ability to be self-sufficient or self-satisfied, it is just that sin interferes with that God given ability. The lexicon also says autarkes is a sufficiency within that comes through the power of Christ. It is a sufficiency that is entirely God produced. It is obvious from our understanding of the life of Paul that this was his intent.
But remember Paul’s native language was Aramaic, he could have been thinking in Semitic terms. The Pershitta or Aramaic Bible uses the word: saphaq which means to have enough. In the Aramaic Bible this would read: “What I have will be sufficient for me.” Rather than I have learned to be content in whatever state I am in. I believe in Paul had both ideas in mind he has learned to be content in all circumstances because what he has in Jesus is sufficient for him. Did he not say in II Corinthians 12:9; “His grace is sufficient for me.” Paul’s testimony is more than just being content in any circumstances, he is content because Jesus is all he needs. In Psalms 23:1 David says: “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” Shepherd in Hebrew is ra’ah which is a consuming passion. The Lord was David’s consuming passion he did not want anything else.
It is now the Christmas season. People will attend parties, will get together with friends. I don’t do parties and I have few friends. I suffer from Asperger’s Syndrome which makes it very difficult to attend parties and to develop lasting friendships. But is will be anything but a blue Christmas for this old Aspie. I think a Christmas song I recently heard explains it best. It was meant to be a love song, but I spun it to be an expression of my relationship with God.
I don’t need expensive things
They don’t matter to me
All I want can’t be found
Underneath a Christmas tree
Santa can’t bring me what I need
Because all I want for Christmas is you.
-Troy Powers-
Like the Apostle Paul, it is not that I have learned to be content with my situation and circumstances, is that Jesus is all I really need and want. He is my consuming passion so I can’t help but be content in whatever state I am in, even Illinois.
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