What Is The Meaning Of Philippians 4:7?

Around 60 A.D. The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Philippians while He awaited trial in Rome. This was both a harsh and pivotal time in Christianity where many believers’ faith was being severely tested. It’s through this lens that we discover the meaning of Philippians 4:7 and what we can learn from it?

Philippians 4:7 is actually a continuation of verse Philippians 4:6 where The Apostle Paul had been encouraging believers in Philippi to not be anxious over the increasing persecution of the Church. He urged believers to pray about everything and allow God’s Peace to guard them against the devil’s attacks on their hearts and mind.

This same truth applies today. Although no emperor is persecuting us the devil is still attacking the minds of believers all over the world. So how can we experience the peace that surpasses all understanding that The Apostle Paul spoke of? Let’s take a closer look…

Why Were Christians Persecuted In Rome

In order to really understand what The Apostle Paul was conveying in Philippians 4:7 you would have to understand what was happening in the Christian world at this time. At this point, the resurrection of Jesus was roughly about 60 years removed and Christianity was spreading like wildfire. Just like when Jesus had been on the earth the persecution of Christians continued. Many of the disciples were killed because of this and there didn’t seem to be any end in sight as it relates to the persecution. The Apostle Paul penned this letter, as I said while on house arrest awaiting trial in Rome.

As you can read from the latter chapters in the book of Acts Paul had been himself persecuted and pursued by the Jews from town to town. He was forced to appeal His case to Ceasar after He was arrested for preaching Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. It was this appeal that landed Him in Rome where He began to write letters to His different contacts and churches to encourage them and to see how they were growing in their faith and the Lord. The problem that Paul had in Rome was that Rome was a pagan state, which meant that they worshipped many gods.

As Christianity spread into Rome the clash in beliefs became a huge problem for Apostle Paul and others. The Christians refused to assimilate to Roman beliefs and the worship of their gods. Christians were often scapegoats for anything that would go wrong in Roman society because it would be said that they angered the other gods. The day-to-day lives of Christians were dangerous, to say the least. The Christian’s life was always at risk, they could be arrested and killed at any time. This is the backdrop in which The Apostle Paul is writing this letter.

The fact that Christians were being persecuted to this degree was driving a constant sense of worry, anxiousness, and anxiety among believers.

The Peace Of God That Surpasses All Understanding

Paul was addressing the pressures of persecution on fellow believers. He was encouraging them to stand firm and strong despite the threat of death. This was a common theme in Paul’s writing to all of the churches because they were all dealing with the same thing. From house arrest, facing a likely death Himself, He was trying to convey to them that even in death we are still victorious through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. This is also what we must understand. We must realize that our victory comes from faith in and obedience to Jesus Christ.

A lot of believers during this time were struggling with fear. People were being burned alive, boiled in oil, and even cast into lions’ dens. The Christian life that we live today is nothing like what they were going through and yet they found hope and peace in the promises of God. Finding the kind of peace that surpasses all understanding has to begin in the mind and has to be won there. The war for peace always begins in the mind, and that’s where we have to take the fight to the devil. This is why we have verses like Isaiah 26:3.

How To Fight For Peace In Your Mind

There’s only one way to fight the devil’s lies that bombard our minds 24 hours a day, we must know God’s Word. Jesus demonstrated this so beautifully when the Spirit of God led Him into the wilderness to be tempted. This was a beautiful demonstration of how to counter evil thoughts that comes into your mind by using the Word of God. This is why Bible reading is extremely important because you can’t defend yourself if you don’t know the Bible. If you can’t defend yourself in your mind you can’t have peace. You also need to believe the Bible to have peace as well.

The devil is very persuasive and we have to believe God above all else, even above our own feelings. If your faith is not rooted in the Word of God the devil might be able to convince you that he’s right. Many people are deceived by him every day. A regular Bible study time will guard your heart and mind against these attacks. It will also promote your peace by reminding you of God’s promises as well as all of the miracles He has already performed throughout biblical history.

How To Rest In The Peace That Surpasses All Understanding

Actually, the answer to how to rest in the peace that passes all understanding is found not that far away in the very next verse.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you”

Philippians 4:8

The Apostle Paul here, as He closes is letting the Philippian Church know that they have a part to play in their peace and the same applies to us. We have control over our thought. We don’t have to let the devil fill our minds with his evil, fearful, doubtful thoughts and just sit back and accept them. Just as Jesus did in the wilderness we can fight back with the Word of God. We can choose to think about what’s lovely, honorable, just, and pure. We can choose to believe God’s Word over what the doctor says and rebuke fear. Let us go forward in faith and trust God will take care of everything else. Glory to God…

Amen, Well friends I pray these words were edifying to you and I want to invite you to download our free guide, “5 Ways To Fight Worry, Anxiousness, And Anxiety
With God’s Word”, I’m sure it will bless your soul. I want to thank you so much for studying with us and being here, we love you and we are praying with you that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is extended to you. Until next time we pray that your faith fails not.