Philippians 4:11-13 says, “Not that I speak according to lack, for I have learned, in whatever circumstances I am, to be content. I know also how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to lack. I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me.” We must learn the secret of how to endure any kind of suffering or circumstance. To be poor or to be rich, to be persecuted or to be honored, are all the same to us if we have learned the secret of remaining in any state in order to magnify Christ by the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. To be abased and to abound include being poor and being rich. Some people do not know how to be poor. When they are poor, they do not know what to do. Others, however, know how to be poor, but they do not know how to be rich. When they become rich, they become foolish. The apostle Paul knew both how tobe poor and how to be rich, how to be abased and how to abound, not only in one thing but in everything and in all things.
In verse 12 Paul says, “In everything and in all things I have learned the secret,” and in 1:20 he says, “Christ will be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death.” As persons existing on this earth and living among humanity, we cannot escape our circumstances. Every day we encounter certain situations. If we prefer not to live in one place, we may have more difficult circumstances when we move to another place. In order to be a normal believer living in the spirit, we must first deal with our circumstances. We should praise the Lord and thank Him for His sovereignty and wisdom. The sovereign, wise hand of the Lord always arranges our circumstances for us and assigns them to us. If we need a wife, He will assign a proper, suitable wife, and if we need a certain kind of child, He will give us one. He also knows what kind of health we need, and He assigns it to us. We should not complain, because all things are under His sovereign and wise hand. The Lord knows what we need, He is never wrong, and He assigns to us our circumstances. Therefore, in order to live in the spirit by Christ as our life, we must learn the secret of how to deal with our circumstances, how to be abased and how to abound, and how to be poor and how tobe rich. Then we will be able to magnify Christ.
Paul had learned the secret, and he could do all things, not in himself but in Him who empowered him. We may illustrate this with electrical appliances, which are able to operate because of the empowering of electricity. The One who empowers us in this way is the empowering Spirit. Regardless of the circumstance or state we are in, we can do all things in Him who empowers us so that He may be magnified in our body. This is the experience of Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit so that He may be magnified in any kind of circumstance.
Verses 5 and 6 of chapter 1 say, “For your fellowship unto the furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun in you a good work will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” The fellowship of the gospel is the cooperation in the preaching of the gospel, and the good work in us is the spreading, the furtherance, of the gospel. Verse 27 says, “Only, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, that whether coming and seeing you or being absent, I may hear of the things concerning you, that you stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving together along with the faith of the gospel.” If we intend to magnify Christ, we must not only overcome every kind of circumstance, but we must also preach the gospel to present Christ to the unbelievers. The all-inclusive Spirit within us constantly supplies us for preaching the gospel. In order to experience Christ and enjoy the bountiful supply of the Spirit, we need to do the work of preaching the gospel. The more we preach the gospel to present Christ to people, the more we will enjoy the bountiful supply of the all-inclusive Spirit within us. On the other hand, if we do not preach the gospel, we will suffer the loss of the supply of the all-inclusive Spirit. In order to enjoy the all-inclusive supply of the Spirit, we need to “spend” the supply. If we do not spend the supply we have received, a further supply will not come.
If we open ourselves to present Christ to the unbelievers, we will realize that within us is a bountiful supply constantly affording us an enjoyment. To preach the gospel is an enjoyment. If we do not preach the gospel, we will not be able to enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit to a greater extent. The more we present Christ to others, the more we will gain Him. The more we “spend” Christ on others, the more Christ we will enjoy. This is the good work begun within us, and this is the fellowship, the cooperation, in the gospel.
Verse 1 of chapter 2 says, “If there is therefore any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of spirit, if any tenderheartedness and compassions.” As for the unbelievers, we present Christ to them as the gospel. Concerning the believers, though, we need to fellowship. In order to fellowship with the brothers and sisters, we need to open to them to let the Spirit flow out of us, and we should help them to open to us so that the Spirit will flow out of them into us. This is a two-way traffic, a flowing out and a flowing in.
Many Christians find it difficult to open, even in the meetings. In our prayer meetings, for example, it is mostly the same persons who pray every time, and certain others are accustomed to being silent. During the prayer, I may inwardly say to the Lord, “O Lord, open the mouths and release the spirits of more of the brothers and sisters.” We should not be afraid of fellowshipping by speaking in the meetings. In a family it is not always the older members who should speak. The family also enjoys hearing the children speak. The older brothers and sisters should give the opportunity to the younger ones to open their mouths to fellowship in the meetings.
Verse 1 speaks of “fellowship of spirit.” This spirit is the mingled spirit, the divine Spirit mingled with our human spirit. The secret to opening up in fellowship and helping others to open is the mingled spirit. The more we are in our mind and our feelings, the more we will be silent. We may even consider that the wise way is to remain silent. However, the more we reject our natural mind, consideration, and feelings and turn to the mingled spirit, the more we will open our mouths to fellowship. Even if we do not know what to say, at least we can say, “Praise the Lord. Hallelujah! Christ is Victor.” It is even sweeter and more refreshing if the younger ones among us praise the Lord in this way. Because I frequently speak in the meetings, I prefer to remain silent at times so that we may hear something from the other brothers and sisters. We need more fellowship of spirit.
To fellowship is to open ourselves. Fellowship is a current or flow, like that of a stream. Again, we may illustrate this with electricity. There is a kind of fellowship among the electrical lamps in a building, which is the current of electricity that flows within them. In the same way, the Spirit flows out of us, into others, and back to us. Therefore, when we come to the meetings, we need to learn to open to everyone and to help them to open to us. Then we will have a flowing stream among us. This flowing stream in the spirit is fellowship. We need this kind of “fellowship of spirit.” If we remain in our soul, the fellowship stops, but if we turn to the spirit, we immediately sense the flowing in the spirit. Then when we follow that flow in the spirit to speak something to one another, we are in the fellowship.