What are the Philippians’ needs?

Explanation:

Paul says that God will supply the Philippians’ every need. We can detect the needs that God will supply by noticing that Paul has identified many different needs of the Philippians throughout this letter. For example, in Philippians 1:27–30 Paul alludes to the Philippians’ need to persevere in the face of opposition.⁵ And in Philippians 1:25, Philippians 2:1–4, and Philippians 4:2–3 he mentions the Philippians’ need to be united in one mind in the gospel. Paul also refers to the fact that the Philippians face anxiety (Philippians 4:6), which the God of peace can resolve.⁶ Of course, we also know that the Philippians have material needs, just as Paul did, so we can assume these needs are also on the Philippians’ mind. Thus, when Paul says that God will fill every need, Paul has in mind all of the Philippians’ spiritual and material needs.

Counterargument:

We ought to consider the meaning of a passage in its immediate context, and in this case, the immediate context has to do with material needs. Paul had material needs (Philippians 4:15–16), and the Philippians generously supplied those needs. In turn, Paul says, God will also provide the Philippians material needs. In fact, Paul reinforces the fact that the Philippians’ needs are their material needs by his use of the pronoun my in Philippians 4:19. He opens by saying not that God would supply the Philippians' needs but that my God would. That mimics his language in Philippians 4:16 where he refers to my needs.⁷ Now, referring to God as my God is not a usual phrase for Paul, so he likely does this to reinforce the fact that as the Philippians provided for Paul’s material needs, so God will provide for the Philippians’ material needs.⁸

Response to counterargument:

There is an important difference between Philippians 4:16 and Philippians 4:19. While it is true that in Philippians 4:16, Paul refers to his needs, in Philippians 4:19 he refers to the Philippians’ every need. The adjective every indicates that Paul has more than material needs in mind; he has in mind every one of the Philippians’ needs. Of course, the immediate context implies that at least some of the Philippians’ needs are material, but we know from the overall letter that the Philippians also have many spiritual needs. Thus, Paul is ending this letter with a broad note of encouragement, assuring the Philippians that God will meet their every material and spiritual need.

Explanation:

To understand what the Philippians’ needs are, it is important to notice that there is a literary connection between the thanksgiving prayer at the beginning of this letter (Philippians 1:9–11) and the letter’s climax Philippians 4:19).⁹ For in Philippians 1:9–11, Paul prays that the Philippians’ love will abound, that they might be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ, to the glory of God. Now in Philippians 4:19, Paul says he knows God will fill the Philippians’ needs, according to his glory in Jesus Christ. Clearly, Paul has introduced the needs of the Philippians in Philippians 1:9–11 when he prays that they abound spiritually, and now in Philippians 4:19 he assures them that God will fulfill this request.

Counterargument:

This argument contends that because of a strong literary connection between Philippians 4:19 and Philippians 1:9–11, the needs of the Philippians are those mentioned in Philippians 1:9–11. The problem is that it is not clear that abounding in love and the fruit of righteousness are best understood as a need being fulfilled. According to the immediate context, the needs Paul has in mind are specific material needs. For he thanks the Philippians for providing his needs, obviously referring to his material needs (Philippians 4:14–16). Next, he says that God will provide their needs. Nothing from the context indicates that these needs are to abound in love and the fruit of righteousness, while material needs are clearly on Paul’s mind. Now, we ought to admit that Paul refers to the glory of God and Christ Jesus in both Philippians 1:11 and Philippians 4:19, but this is not enough to show that these two passages are related such that Philippians 4:19 is the fulfillment of the prayer uttered in Philippians 1:9–11.

Response to counterargument:

In fact, the immediate context does affirm that abounding in the fruit of righteousness is on Paul’s mind. For Paul says that it was kind of the Philippians to supply his material needs, before saying that he seeks the fruit that increases to their account (Philippians 4:14–17). Here, we notice that Paul uses the same noun fruit in both Philippians 4:17 and Philippians 1:11. Thus, when he says that by giving to his material needs the fruit of the Philippians increases, he likely has in mind something like the Philippians’ spiritual growth. Of course, this is exactly what Paul prays for in Philippians 1:9–11 when he asks that the Philippians be filled with the fruit of righteousness. That Paul has in mind the spiritual needs of the Philippians does not exclude the Philippians’ material needs. Thus, we can deduce from the literary connection between Philippians 4:19 and Philippians 1:9–11, along with the immediate context, that Paul has the Philippians’ spiritual and material needs in mind.

It is hard to see what the weakness of this view might be. From a practical perspective one might argue that if the Philippians gave to Paul’s ministry, this implies that they have less, and thus now have material needs. Paul assures them that God will supply these needs so that Paul has material needs in mind. Unfortunately, the adjective all suggests Paul has more than material needs in mind.

Explanation:

The Philippians have provided for Paul’s material needs and Paul points out that it was kind of them to do this (Philippians 4:14). In fact, he explains that the Philippian church was the only church to partner with Paul when he left Macedonia (Philippians 4:15). Then he opens Philippians 4:19 with the phrase ὁ δὲ θεός μου, which translates as and my God. The important word to notice is δὲ, which can be translated and. That Paul uses the conjunction suggests that what he says in Philippians 4:19 is closely connected with what precedes.¹² Paul continues, And my God will supply every need of yours. Given the conjunction, we can detect the Philippians’ needs. The Philippians have given to Paul’s ministry and supplied his material needs, and in return God will supply the material needs of the Philippians.¹³ Thus, the needs of the Philippians are material.

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that the conjunction δὲ (and) is a generic phrase that is used to connect sentences, but it does not specify how the sentences are connected, only that they are connected. That is, according to this argument, Paul says in Philippians 4:14–18 that the Philippians have cared for his material needs, and that because Paul connects Philippians 4:19 to Philippians 4:14–18 with the conjunction δὲ, the needs of the Philippians are also material. Unfortunately, using δὲ to connect two sentences does not entail or specify how those sentences are connected, only that they are connected, so one cannot conclude from the use of δὲ that because Paul has material needs in mind in Philippians 4:14–18, he has material needs in mind in Philippians 4:19. Rather, all we know from δὲ is that there is a connection between the Philippians caring for Paul’s needs and every need of the Philippians’ being met. Of course, the Philippians’ needs might include material needs, but also spiritual needs so that Paul is saying that because the Philippians have cared for his material needs, God will supply their every spiritual and material need. The point is, the conjunction δὲ is not enough to help us determine the Philippians’ needs.

Response to counterargument:

While it might be that the conjunction only specifies that the two sentences are connected, not how they are connected, we have to admit there is a close thematic connection between the Philippians’ meeting Paul’s needs, and God’s meeting the Philippians’ needs. So while the conjunction δὲ is not a definitive indicator for how Philippians 4:14–18 and Philippians 4:19 are related, it does indicate that the verses are related. The fact that the verses are related and that they share a similar theme suggests that God will supply the material needs of the Philippians.

Explanation:

When Paul says, My God will supply every need of yours, we notice that he has deliberately repeated two important words from the preceding context, namely, need and to fulfill. First, in Philippians 4:16 Paul says that the Philippians supplied my needs, referring to Paul’s need. Then in Philippians 4:19 he says that God will fill your needs. Second, in Philippians 4:18 he says that he is well supplied, and in Philippians 4:19 he says that God will supply the Philippians. By repeating these important terms, Paul indicates that he has the same needs in mind in Philippians 4:14–18 and Philippians 4:19. That is, just as the Philippians supply Paul’s material needs, so God will supply the Philippians’ material needs.¹⁴

Counterargument:

While it is true that Paul likely repeats the terms need and to fulfill in order to correlate Philippians 4:14–18 with Philippians 4:19, it is important to notice the addition of the adjective every in Philippians 4:19.¹⁵ By including the adjective, Paul indicates that God will supply every need of the Philippians. So we can see that Paul’s line of thinking develops into a crescendo that is fitting for the end of this letter. He began this letter thanking God for the partnership of the Philippians in the gospel (Philippians 1:5), alluding to their material support. Throughout the letter he has identified many of the Philippians’ needs, including their need to be steadfast in suffering, to be united in mind, to grow in faith, and so on. Now, Paul ends the letter by repeating his gratitude to the Philippians for their supplying his material needs, while indicating that God will meet their every need. In other words, the Philippians get the better end of the deal, for by giving materially to Paul, they will be supplied both spiritually and materially.¹⁶

The weakness of this view is that it does not consider the broad literary context. It is important for every interpretation to be consistent with the immediate context, which is what this view aims for. Still, while consistency with the immediate context is primary, consistency with the broad context is still highly important. Given that Paul has identified the various needs of the Philippians throughout the letter, he likely encourages the Philippians by reminding them that God will supply their every need.