{"id":7627,"date":"2021-09-02T00:00:51","date_gmt":"2021-09-01T14:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/?p=7627"},"modified":"2021-09-03T07:23:55","modified_gmt":"2021-09-02T21:23:55","slug":"a-sacrificial-gift-of-sufficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/2021\/09\/02\/a-sacrificial-gift-of-sufficiency\/","title":{"rendered":"A Sacrificial Gift of Sufficiency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Philippians 4:17-18 17<\/sup>Not that I am seeking the gift, but I am seeking the profit which increases to your account.<\/span> 18<\/sup>But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am filled to the full, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Paul now corrects a possible misunderstanding the Philippians might have had. He is not seeking<\/em>\u00a0(with strong desire; epiz\u0113t\u014d<\/em>) a gift from them by pointing out what they have done in the past and creating a sense of obligation for them to act again to help him. Some people do this by appealing to people’s generosity by showing how they helped in the past. Paul’s motive is not to get more support from them but to see them increase in<\/em> their account.\u00a0<\/em>The word\u00a0account<\/em> (logon) is usually translated as “word” but can have a financial sense.\u00a0Profit<\/em> (karpos<\/em>) literally means fruit, but when used in a financial context, like here, it can mean profit or credit. Paul is not seeking anything for himself but to see the Philippians grow in their faith and trust in God. The profit they would gain was spiritual in nature.<\/p>\n

Verse 18 further shows that Paul is not asking for anything more from the Philippians. The reason he writes this letter is to offer them encouragement and to help them grow in their trust in Christ, not to ask for more help. Whatever they sent was much appreciated. He uses four descriptions to show that his needs have been met. First, he\u00a0received everything in full<\/em>. The verb behind this phrase (apech<\/em>\u014d<\/em>) can mean sufficient and enough. He has what he need in prison. The second word goes even further and says that he has an abundance<\/em> (perisseu\u014d<\/em>). This is the same word used twice in verse 12. Paul has all he needs and even more. He is well cared for in his present situation.<\/p>\n

Third, he has been\u00a0filled to the full\u00a0<\/em>(pepl<\/em>\u0113r\u014dmai<\/em>). This perfect passive verb shows that others have supplied his needs and these needs are still being met. More specifically, the fourth phrase (using the participle dexamenos<\/em>) indicates that this was from what he received from Epaphroditus when he visited, mentioned back in 2:25-30. This gift came to Paul as fragrant offering to God. In the Old Testament, sacrificial animals given to God in sincerity and worship were said to be a pleasing aroma to God (Leviticus 1:9, 13, 17). The Philippians gave to Paul’s need our of their own few resources. This was a sacrifice on their part, but they honored God through this and helped Paul at the time of his need.<\/p>\n

We may never know what impact our sacrificial gifts of love may have on a person or a situation. The Philippians giving had two effects. One is that it met Paul’s great need in prison. It may have been impossible for him to earn any money to care for his needs. Their giving and the personal sacrifice Epaphroditus made to bring their gift to Paul (he almost died) came just at the right time and showed God’s providential care through the giving of his people.\u00a0Second, they were impacted themselves. Their gift was actually a form of worship that pleased God. \u00a0This was a growth experience for them. Paul points out in this letter that even though they also were facing persecution, God would help them meet their needs. This letter and the experience on which Paul is reflecting here are about trust and faith.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

For older posts, click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to Daily Devotions by Email<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Philippians 4:17-18 17Not that I am seeking the gift, but I am seeking the profit which increases to your account. 18But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am filled to the full, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. Paul […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotions","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7627"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7660,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7627\/revisions\/7660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/acky4.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}