Phil. 4:10-13; 2 Cor. 8:1-7, Contentment (3)

·        Jesus is El Shaddai: We have said that God Almighty presented Himself to the Fathers as the All-Sufficient One.  But Paul says he can do ALL things through Christ.  Let us consider this name El Shaddai in Scripture.

o   God first revealed Himself thus to the Fathers, as we have noted (Gn. 17:1, etc.).

o   Ex. 3:13-14; 6:2-6: God then gave to Moses His covenant name, YAHWEH which has the sence of “I AM THAT I AM”.  El Shaddai was/is Israel’s YAHWEH.  The name YAHWEH refers to God’s eternality, that He is I AM.

o   In John’s Gospel we see that Jesus is the I AM.  Jesus said: I am the light of the world (Jn. 8:12); I am the bread of life (Jn. 6:48) and so forth.  In John 8:24 and 28 the proper translation is I AM (not I am He as translators often put it).  Jesus was making this point, that He is YAHWEH.  This is very clear in Jn. 8:56-59, at which point the crowd picks up stones to stone Him for blasphemy.

o   The point is this: Jesus is the All-Sufficient One for the people the Father has given to Him, the Church, even as God was El Shaddai to Israel.  So Paul is right to say: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

·        Contentment must be learned.  Being born in sin we are, of course, born in unbelief and born selfish and greedy.  We don’t have to be told to say “gimme” as a child but we must we taught to share.  So from the Scriptures there is much we must learn to be content, and we would suspect that this learning will have to be life-long.  According to Paul in Phil. 4:10-13 what do we need to learn?

o   4:10: We need to learn the joy of serving others with our possessions.  This should not be hard if we will but trust God and just do it.  The joy will come when we lay something aside for the needs of others (1 Cor. 16:2).  This is illustrated by the Macedonians (Philippi was in Macedon) Paul mentions in 2 Cor. 8:1-7.  In a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.  

o   4:12: We need to learn the discipline of guarding our eyes.  Perhaps we should say “guarding all our senses.”  That is how Paul could say what he said here.  He was not glommed on to what was around him.  It may be that in watching a TV program the most insidious message is the one that comes during what one celebrity calls an obscene profit timeout.  We are often most discontented when we are envying our neighbor.  We must learn to guard our eyes.

o   4:13: We must learn the truth that GOD IS MY PORTION!  Paul assures the Philippian believers, in the context of their joyous giving, that God will provide ALL their needs.  It is specific: necessities, not desires or lusts or wishes.  The Lord is my shepherd, David said; I SHALL NOT WANT (Ps. 23:1).  Again, the Philippians probably knew this, as we see in 2 Cor. 8:5: They first gave themselves to the Lord before making their gift.  With Asaph we will find contentment when we can say in truth: My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Ps. 73:26).