Just that much He's my Father too!

Paul, a prisoner again, only this time in Rome, is singing, as it were, “[4] Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

He’s singing in Philippians 4: [20] Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

I love that Amen. Captain Picard would say, “Make it so.” That’s exactly what that word means. “Make it so”; let that be what’s real and what’s true in life. That’s the keynote; the consuming thought of this whole book is God’s glory, explains Richard Jordan.

That supreme satisfaction that Paul found that’s available for you and me in the Lord Jesus Christ. The complete total treasure that He is.

That’s why the Book of Philippians, while most teachers say it’s really hard to outline . . . Philippians doesn’t outline like Romans or Corinthians or Ephesians or Galatians. Every book in Paul’s epistles up to this point has an easy outline.

All you have to do is read them 8-10 times and you can see the thought flow, the breaks of thought, and it’s real easy to spot. You come to Philippians and it’s just one rambling kind of a thing, and the reason for that isn’t that it doesn’t have an outline to it; it’s because it’s just one big point.

That’s that complete supreme satisfaction that your heart can have and should have in the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why Christ is the whole issue in Philippians.

When we started the book, we started with the verse, [21] For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Christ is our life. In Philippians 2 he says, [5] Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

He’s our thinking process. How I’m to live is to be His life. How I’m to think is to be His thinking. His renewing my mind.

Paul says in chapter 3, [10] That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

He’s the goal. He’s the thing that my life is focused on. He’s what consumes my life. As I’m pressing toward THAT mark.

You come to chapter 4 so he can say, “Not only is He my mind, not only is He my goal, but I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. He’s my strength.”

Everything in Philippians points to Him; everything in it is designed to demonstrate the treasure that you find when you find Him and life being lived in such a way to demonstrate to others that in my thinking, in my choosing, in my living, the mind of Christ, the life of Christ, the working of Christ, the strength of Christ--that’s more valuable, more to be treasured than anything else.

So, Paul says in Philippians 4: [20] Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

God, He’s able. He’s the most powerful one. The kids were singing the other night in the Christmas program the little song, “El Shaddai, el Shaddai
El-elyon na Adonai
Age to age You're still the same
By the power of the name
El Shaddai, el Shaddai
Erkamka na Adonai
I will praise and lift You high
El Shaddai”

I asked them, “Do you know those are Hebrew names for God?”

We sing that song, “He is Lord! He is Lord!
He is risen from the dead and He is Lord!
Ev'ry knee shall bow, ev'ry tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

You learn about that in Philippians 2: [10] That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
[11] And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

He doesn’t just say “unto God the one who’s able.” He says, “And our Father.” You know, just because somebody is able to do something doesn’t mean they always have the disposition to do it. They’re not always disposed to do it for you. They’re not always willing to. But, you know, that’s where a father comes in.

Ephesians 1: [3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Notice again how he says it in Philippians 4: “Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

You see, He’s my Father too! As much as He’s the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ—just that much He’s my Father too! Now how is it possible that that would happen?

You see that in how Paul ends the book, where he says: [21] Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.

[22] All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household.
[23] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.