Philippians chapter 4 beginning at verse 14, yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only. Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. This is the word of the Lord. And you may be seated. Well, for the past several weeks we have can't out, it seems, on this beautiful promise that God will supply our every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. I know we've spent a lot of time here, but it's because this verse is so often lifted out of context and misapplied in our day. This isn't an unqualified universal promise. I mean, as we have seen going through this study, this promise was given in response to this particular partnership and the gospel that this congregation had committed to. They had faithfully invested themselves and their resources into seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And that's where the promise is given. Now not only is the context of this verse frequently ignored, the words themselves are too often misinterpreted. People tend to hear what they want to hear. Paul said every need, not every want or every desire. And a need, as we have said, is that which is lacking but is necessary to meet a particular objective or to perform a specific task. And so the question we must ask ourselves is, what do we truly need and what is the biblical objective that that supply of the need is given in order to meet? In other words, What truly is our need and what is that need intended to accomplish in us? Well, as far as material needs are concerned, the scripture defines them very simply as food, clothing, and shelter. And as Paul tells Timothy, with those we ought to be content. We need those provisions to live, yes. However, our purpose is not to be simply clothed and eat so that we can live to be clothed and eat tomorrow. I mean, our objective is not purely survival. There will come a day when food and shelter can no longer sustain our lives. No, there's a greater purpose for creatures made in God's image. And the Westminster Shorter Catechism sums it up quite nicely. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. So what is it that we need then to fulfill that greater purpose? We need the spiritual blessings that God grants to his people. We need to truly know who God is and Jesus Christ whom he sent. We need the illumination of the spirit so we can understand what God has revealed to us in his word and our minds be renewed upon it. We need the gifts of repentance and faith that we trust not in ourselves but in the saving work of Jesus Christ. We need Christ's righteousness. We need to be conformed to the image of our Lord. And we have this promise that God will supply every one of those needs, both materially and more importantly, spiritually, according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. But if we're honest, we're not very good at recognizing true riches, are we? We often get more excited about material blessings than we are about growth in the grace and knowledge of our Savior. I mean, the temporal supply of our material needs is far less of consequence than our eternal spiritual needs. What's more important? And that's what we need to ask ourselves. In any case, God will supply our every need according to his riches in glory. And as we learned last week in scripture, the word riches is most often used negatively with regard to human wealth because people with abundant means tend to be arrogant and trust in those uncertain riches. However, God doesn't value material wealth the way men do. He owns it all, after all. He created and sustains all that exists. All the wealth of this world is nothing compared to the riches of our God in glory. And this is why it was so easy for the Apostle Paul to say, I count all things lost that I might gain the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord. You know, in our day, too many professing Christians are far more concerned about material blessings than they are about the spiritual ones. To borrow an imagery from C.S. Lewis, they occupy themselves with mud pies when God has given us a sumptuous banquet, but they ignore that banquet. They'd rather play in the mud than enjoy the benefits that God has for us. I mean, this is the very same idea pictured by the man with the muckrake, with the broom, if you'll recall, in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. He's so consumed looking down only at the floor, cannot seem to raise his head. He's consumed with the straws and sticks and dirt that is on the floor that he ignores the fact that above him there is a hand held out with a crown in it. It's offered to him if he will just look up. And so the interpreter of this particular scene goes on to say that prayer in Proverbs 30 verse 8, keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with the food that is needful for me. He says, this prayer has been so neglected, it's almost rusty. He says, give me riches is scarce the prayer of one in 10,000. Straws and sticks and dust with most people, those are the great things now looked after. If that was true several hundred years ago in John Bunyan's day, how much more today? You ask most Christians to define a blessing and you'll likely hear mostly about straws and sticks and dust, earthly wealth, temporal healing, things that will soon pass away. Listen, God is gracious to bless us with earthly bread. He is gracious to many times heal our bodies, but that cannot begin to compare with his riches in glory. The spiritual blessings of God's glorious nature are exponentially greater, infinitely greater than the material blessings. And those who want to relegate this promise of God's supply to money and to physical health, they need to consider how the scripture defines the riches of God's glory. They'll find no support for their view in the text of Holy Writ. The phrase, according to the riches of God's glory, the riches of God's grace, those are phrases often used, and they're always in the context of the wealth of spiritual blessings that we need that will transform us into Christ's image. It's from the riches of his glory we are told that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. It's from the riches of his glory that we were loved with a transforming love, that we were predestined for adoption, that we were redeemed by Christ's blood, that we were forgiven of our sins, and that we were granted wisdom and insight that's needed to understand the mystery of his will. It's according to God's glorious riches that we've been strengthened with power in the spirit so that Christ might actually dwell in our hearts by faith. And it's from the riches of His glory that we have been grounded in love. It's from the riches of His grace that He fortifies our minds that we might comprehend something of the incomprehensible. The immeasurable dimensions of God's love are beyond comprehension. And yet, it is the riches of His grace, the riches of His glory, that we are given the ability to begin to grasp just how deep and wide and high is the love of God for us. And then we're told that all of these treasures are hidden in Christ. God supplies these needs, these particular needs, only if we're in Christ. That's the way scripture defines the riches of his glory. And so with this in mind, I want us this morning then to consider the astounding nature of this sweeping promise. We have been dealing piecemeal with the thoughts that are here because we've had to answer so many misconceptions that are popular today. But now just think about the wondrous nature, the sweeping nature of this promise. First of all, notice how Paul speaks with absolute and complete confidence. It's a definite promise. He doesn't say, my God might supply your every need. or my God might supply some of your every need. My God will, he will. If we seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness, God will supply all that we need. Secondly, it's a promise of complete sufficiency because the language is all inclusive. It's not, again, some of our need. It's not even most of our need. It's that God will supply our every need. And this is a reason to pause for reflection, because if God hasn't supplied it, do we need it? That's a question. Thirdly, the promise is personal and specific. As we've seen, in general, God supplies what's needed to sustain physical life in this world, but he does that in a general sense for all of creation. That which is needed to live eternally and in the presence of His glory, those needs are supplied only to His people. All of those blessings we talked about a moment ago, those spiritual blessings that come forth from the riches of His glory, those are only for His people. He will supply our every need. Fourthly, the provision is not meager, but it's abundant. God is not miserly in rewarding the investments of His people. The word supply in the Greek means to fill up, to fill to the brim, to fill to overflowing. It's the same word that the Apostle Paul used when he talks about the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in Christ bodily. In other words, all that God is dwells in Christ in bodily form. Well, in the same way, He will supply, running over, full to the brim, all that we need. And finally, the promise is backed up by God's infinite resources. How do we know that God will be able to supply what He has promised? Because He will supply our every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Being in Christ makes us heirs of that vast and inexhaustible riches of God's glorious grace. That's what it means to be in him. And so now as we move on to verse 20, as happens so often in the Apostle Paul's writings, he now finds himself unable to go on without taking a moment to look upward. I want you to think about what he does here. And this is the question that often should occur to us. What can we say when we are confronted with such boundless love? What can we say when we are confronted with such overwhelming mercy? What can we say when we are confronted with such wondrous grace? All you can do sometimes is pause and worship. Paul's letters are filled with such moments, such moments when he can't seem to go on without first of all stopping and ascribing to God the glory to his name. If you've read much of Paul you know, and it's true of other authors of the scripture as well, Peter's got a beautiful doxology that interrupts his flow of thought. But let me just give you some examples. In Romans 9, verse 5, just the mention of Christ compels Paul to stop and identify Jesus as God over all, blessed forever. He has to stop and praise him because this one who was made flesh is God incarnate. In Romans 11, 36, after Paul finishes expounding on God's sovereign purpose among all peoples, Jew and Gentile alike, God has a purpose. He's working it out, and it is beyond our comprehension to understand the mysterious ways often in which he works. And so all he can say is, oh, the depths of the wisdom and riches of the knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments. Past finding out are his ways. Who has known the mind of the Lord that he should be his counselor, Paul says. Who has given a gift to him that he should repay. For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever and ever, amen, says the Apostle Paul. And Paul isn't through in the book of Romans. He actually ends Romans in praise of the one who brings about obedience and faith in the lives of his people. In Galatians, Paul can't even finish his salutation without pausing for worship. He introduces that letter, grace to you and peace from God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father. And just the thought of this wondrous truth compels him to stop and worship, because then he says, to whom be the glory forever and ever, amen. He's just getting started. but he stops to worship. In Ephesians 3, Paul assures us that God is able to do far more abundantly than all we can ask or even imagine to ask of him. So how do you respond to such lavish and unmerited favor? Paul tells us, to God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. You just have to stop and worship. And then there's the extraordinary outburst of praise whenever Paul reminds young Timothy. about who it is who has saved him by his grace, who it is who has called him into the ministry. He says to Timothy, he is the blessed and only sovereign, the king of kings, the Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion, Amen. You know, we could go on, but the point is, Paul is often overwhelmed by the wonder of the majesty of God, as well as the Lord's astounding love for his people. And such outbursts are called doxologies. Literally, oral expressions of glory. Very literally, they're glory words. That's what the word means, doxology. And that's how Paul responds to the wondrous work of God in these saints in Philippi, as well as the Lord's faithfulness to supply their every need, the need of all he redeems. The apostle has complete and utter confidence that his God, the God with whom he is intimately acquainted, He has every confidence, the God who has shown himself faithful, not only to all of God's people throughout the generations, but to Paul himself personally. He says, it is this God who I know and who knows me, who will surely supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. So what shall he say to this wonderful promise of blessing? Well, what more can be said? He says, to our God and Father be glory forever and ever, amen. And notice the change in possession. Paul goes from my God who will supply your need now to our God. Paul assures them that his God will supply their every need and this same God who knows him so intimately is their God as well. He's my God and your God. He's the God and Father of all of us, all those He calls to Himself, as many as who are in Christ. Now, this glory that Paul ascribes isn't some generic glory. The Greek word doxa, or glory as it's translated, in the Greek has the definite article. We don't translate it in English because it makes it quite awkward. But the point is, the text is telling us, Paul is telling us, that this is a particular glory. This is not just any glory. This is a particular glory, the glory that belongs only to God and therefore is rightly ascribed only to him. As Peter O'Brien put it, this refers to the transcendent praise and worship of God, that God who alone is worthy of such transcendent praise and worship. Listen, whenever we give glory to God, we're not adding anything to Him. We're not making Him more glorious. You can't make Him more glorious. He is perfect in gloriousness. If that's a word, I'm not sure. If it's not, it should be. But what we're doing when we give God glory is simply acknowledging who he is. Or sometimes we're just recognizing a wondrous promise that he's given. Or sometimes we are praising him for some glorious work he has done. And everything he does is in praise of his glorious grace. The scripture tells us this. God's glory is like his holiness. It's intrinsic to his nature. The word refers to brilliance, perfection, magnificence, preeminence. It speaks of majesty. It speaks of the wonder of God's being and the weightiness of his character. As Isaiah said, who is like our God? To whom shall we compare him? He is incomparable. Well, Paul says, this glory then is to be given to God forever and ever. Sometimes we read past these things. They become all too familiar to us. Think of what Paul is saying. In the Greek, it is literally, to the ages of the ages. In other words, this is an emphatic formula he's using to describe eternity. To our God and Father be glory that belongs to Him, praise without end. It refers to that endless succession of cycles of time, cycles of time. And what we know is that our God, he exists outside of time, doesn't he? He is before all things and he will forever be the eternal I am. And so therefore, as Psalm 90 verse 2 says, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. Do you see what he's saying? from everlasting before time began to everlasting after this age is done, or all ages are done, and we enter that last age. From everlasting to everlasting, you are God. Everything else changes, but He alone changes not. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So you see, all glory has been his since before the dawn of time. It will always be his and his alone. He will not give his glory to another. And I've often been asked, well, what does it mean then that we will be glorified? We will be glorified because he will bestow out of his glory upon us that we might image or reflect his glory. But it will always be his glory. We do not deserve it. It is not something we can earn. It is not something we can become good enough to receive or to ever generate from ourselves. It will always be a reflection of His glory. For to God and God alone be all glory. And so indeed, as Paul ends then this doxology, I love the way he does it. He often ends his doxologies this way. with an, it's really an eruption of praise that he has given here, and he ends it as if it were maybe three exclamation points, because he says, amen. He says amen. You know, that word has become a cliche among many Christians today. People often say it without ever thinking, but it's a powerful affirmation. It means, so be it. And it is used throughout scripture to mark out solemn and unalterable truth. And Paul, therefore, is affirming the absolute truth of this doxology in the strongest of terms. To our God and Father be all glory for time and eternity. Amen, he says. Now, what I want you to think about is such outpouring of praise, such outpouring of giving God glory, is revealing. It reveals something about us. Erupting in a doxology is an indication that someone's thoughts are consumed with God and His greatness. Certainly true of the Apostle Paul. And so in the promise Paul speaks of the riches of God's glory, that glory that's intrinsic to his being. And then in the doxology, he ascribes to God that glory, that glory that is due to him because of who he is. So Paul understood this. It revealed that his mind was stayed on the one who saved him by his grace. So what is Paul acknowledging here? Paul is acknowledging God as God in all His fullness, in all of His majesty, in all the excellencies of His nature and being. We give glory to God. We praise Him because He alone is God. You see, whenever we give God glory, we're embracing Him for who He is. We're accepting him as he has revealed himself. We're praising him because he alone is holy. He alone is glorious. And so we are praising him for who he is, not who we would like him to be. Ever since the fall, people have been trying to remake God in their own image. And it's wholesale today, isn't it? I mean, we live in the God-to-me generation, those who say, this is God-to-me. And I want you to think about that. At best, our conceptions of God will be inadequate because we're finite and He is infinite. Our best conceptions of God will be nothing but weak and feeble attempts to ascribe to Him what is due Him. But at worst, they'll be flawed and corrupted because he is holy and our minds have been tainted by sin. So yes, we were made in God's image, but as God says in Psalm 50, 21, we're wrong to imagine that he's just like us. We tend to cast God in our image. I can't see God doing that because that's what I wouldn't do, right? That's absurd. That's not only a mere image of an image. If we cast God in our image, what we're saying is, is God is an image of an image. That's absurd on the face of it. But even more so, it's the image of a broken image. What are we saying about God? Now, Scripture is clear. We are made in God's image. He is not made in ours. And this is why we can only know God by looking to the revelation of himself in his word. We must submit ourselves to God. We must acknowledge God for who he says he is. Sadly, so many people I think in our day feel free to redefine God because this is the generation that believes we can alter reality to fit our whims, our feelings. We may well be the most idolatrous generation to ever walk the earth. I mean, people are living in denial today, attempting to defy biological reality by claiming that a male can be a woman or a female can be a male. They're even making up genders that have no correlation whatsoever to reality. This is all fantasy. But of course, you know, it all begins whenever you deny that there is a God who determines reality to which we must submit. That's what's happened. And it will surely be sad on the day when they are finally made to bow the knee and to confess that they're not God, but Jesus Christ is Lord. In any case, to glorify God then. is to celebrate Him as the eternal, immutable Lord of all, the infinite creator and sustainer of all creation. To glorify Him is to praise Him as the blessed redeemer of His people. To glorify Him is to praise Him, affirming that He is holy in His being and wise in all His ways. It's acknowledging His perfect justice, His absolute power, His supreme goodness, To glorify Him is to embrace Him as the only true and living God who is full of mercy, boundless in love, the God of all grace. It's bowing before Him as the God from whom all blessings flow. Before we close this morning, there's one more point that I think is important for us to remember. We must understand that giving glory to God is not just what we say. It's wonderful to see Paul's words and to feel Paul's words, to take them to heart and know what Paul is saying. But it's not just about what we say. What does the scripture say? Whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, whatever we do, do it all to the glory of God. That's what Paul tells the Corinthians. And I want you to think about that. Why does he mention eating and drinking? Well, there is a context there for sure. But also think of this. Eating and drinking are the most mundane of tasks, aren't they? I mean, we do it three times a day or more, right? It's a mundane task, it's something we always do. So what he's telling us is that means even the ordinary daily necessities that we have to do every day should be done to His glory. In other words, there's nothing too small, nothing too inconsequential that we should not do it to His glory. We're to live our lives to the glory of God. I mean, after all, again, that's our chief aim, to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. And so glorifying God is also about what we do. We glorify God when we trust him. We glorify God when we rejoice in his goodness. We glorify God when we revel in his loving kindness. We glorify God when we bask in his grace, when we delight ourselves in his judgments. We glorify God when we love our neighbors as ourselves. We glorify God when we love our enemies, when we bless those who curse us, as Jesus says, when we do good to those who hate us, when we pray for those who despitefully use us and persecute us. We glorify God when we walk in humility, when we set aside our selfish ambition and our empty conceit and consider others as more important than ourselves, when we look to their interests as well as our own, We glorify God when we gather together in corporate worship, as we're doing today. We glorify him when we come to the table, discerning the Lord's body. We glorify him when we pray, not just for ourselves, but for all the saints. Husbands, you glorify God when you love your wife as Christ of the church. Wives, you glorify God when you submit to your husbands as unto the Lord. Children, you glorify God when you obey your parents in the Lord. Employees, you glorify God when you do your work as unto the Lord. Nothing inconsequential, all to be done to the glory of God. We could go on, but I think you get the picture. Paul was so easily triggered to erupt in doxologies because he lived a life of glorifying God. And this is how he was able to rejoice in the Lord always. It's why he had peace that is incomprehensible to the world. It's why he was content no matter his circumstances. So my prayer. is may the Lord grant us such an awareness of His goodness, of His mercy, of His grace. May He grant us such an awareness of who He is in all of His sovereign power, that at any and every moment, we are ready to proclaim to our God and Father, be glory forever and ever, world without end. Amen. And may we say it with such conviction that others would be compelled to rejoin us in a resounding amen. Whenever I read Paul and he comes to the end of a doxology and he says amen, I want to say amen with him. May our lives so reflect a pursuit of His glory that when we say those things, others around us are compelled to join in and say, Amen. And to our God, be all glory forever and ever.