Philippians - Verse-by-Verse Biblical Exegesis

A, from supergrace A to B, and from supergrace B to ultra-supergrace. There is discipline and
testing along the way, no matter where you fall on the growth spectrum, depending on whether
you pass or fail certain tests. In order to progress, we all must pass our own individually tailored
tests with flying colors.
Many commentators focus on the material aspects of this verse to the exclusion of the spiritual.
They understand being hungry or being stuffed, being rich or being poor, having a good job or
being unemployed. But this entire set of metaphors is meant to show spiritual realities, not just
physical realities. Bible doctrine is our daily bread; Bible doctrine is our prosperity. Sometimes
it is available in great supply, but at other times it is hard to come by. Sometimes we are
learning, but at other times we are applying. Sometimes we are making forward momentum, but
at other times we are stumbling. Sometimes we are under corrective discipline, but at other times
we are passing momentum tests. We have to learn how to operate spiritually in all manner of
circumstances with the divine resources we have been given by the Lord.
REVELANT OPINIONS
The apostle is not simply stating that he has experienced life at both ends of the economic spectrum,
though this was true enough. Rather, he is explaining that he knows how to live in an appropriate
manner under these contrasting circumstances. Because he has the right attitude he has learned to
cope in a positive way ... But in order to drive home the point that he knows the one secret as well as
the other, Paul breaks the normal construction by the emphatic repetition of “oida.” He also knows
how to cope with abundance. Not all of his life was characterized by financial hardship; there were
times when he experienced great prosperity, and in these circumstances, too, he knew how to be
content. (P. O’Brien) Prosperity is wont to puff up the mind beyond measure, and adversity, on the
other hand, to depress. From both faults he declares himself to be free. (J. Calvin) All I want is a
room with a comfortable bed, and a desk and a lamp where I can study. (J. McGee)
He did not rejoice over the amount of the gift. He rejoiced more in their thoughtfulness than in their
money. He was more grateful for the givers than for the gifts. (R. Gromacki) "To learn a secret" is as
old as women's gossip. (R.C.H. Lenski) “To be full” is used of force-feeding animals for the purpose
of fattening them up, or of birds gorging themselves on their prey. (G.F. Hawthorne) It is often
easier to know how to be abased than to know how to abound. We may be in greater danger when
our prayers are answered than when the answer is withheld ... Paul has been initiated in the
experience of both need and abundance, and has known how to bear either lot with safety. This he
had been able to do, not through any Stoic superiority to the things of this life, nor yet through any
force of natural character, but in the power in which his whole life was now being lived, the strength
given by union with Jesus Christ. (V. Hutton) Paul was so advanced a believer that God gave him
perpetual suffering, which the great apostle carried on his shoulders like a pleroma cloak of honor.
(R.B. Thieme, Jr.)
Some divine blessings involve prosperity; others come in the guise of adversity. The believer can be
grateful for whatever he has in whatever state he finds himself. This tranquility of soul is derived