God’s Word for You

Philippians 3:1 The reliable Word

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Monday, April 6, 2026

3 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is, on the one hand, no trouble to me and it is, on the other hand, reliable for you.

What are we to make of “finally” (τὸ λοιπόν)? The phrase can also mean something like “Besides” or “As for the rest,” or something along those lines. Paul uses these words loosely in his letters. Both here and in 1 Thessalonians 4:1, two whole chapters follow these words. It is not surprising in a letter that was probably dictated to a scribe. This past Easter, I was talking with my dad on the phone and noticed that after we had started to say goodbye, we went on for another half an hour. Grammatically we can say that in this case, Paul has finished his comments about Timothy and Epaphroditus and is moving into a new thought.

When he talks about writing “the same things” to the Philippians, he does not mean the things that are already in the letter, but what follows, which will begin with a warning about Paul’s opponents. It is no trouble to the apostle to write this, and it is “reliable” (safe) for the Philippians.

The adjective “reliable” is asphales (ἀσϕαλές), which means the absence of danger or instability. It shows “a certain solid, reliable knowledge” about a subject. We see this word in Acts 2:36 “be assured,” or “firm” (Hebrews 6:19).

In what way are Paul’s words reliable, assured, and firm? Paul knows that what he is writing to the Philippians is a part of Scripture. As Irenaeus correctly explained: “The apostles by the will of God later handed down to us in their writings what they first proclaimed, which would be the foundation and pillar of our faith.” In other words, Paul had already given these warnings and cautions to the Philippians and to other Christians personally in his preaching and teaching, and now he once again presents this to them in writing, as the Word of God. Paul demonstrates that God wanted his Word to be written, even though it had already been published orally.

The true Christian Church is of course older than Scripture. Right from the beginning, God proclaimed Law and Gospel to his people beginning with Adam and Eve after they fell into sin. He called them to repentance and proclaimed the consequences for their guilt (Genesis 3:9-14), and he announced the gospel of the coming Savior along with his terrible judgment on the devil (Genesis 3:15). But after centuries and even millennia of oral preaching and teaching, God wanted to commit to writing his word, beginning with Moses and the prophets in the Old Testament and continuing with the apostles and evangelists in the New Testament. Gerhard writes: “We cannot doubt that this was God’s plan because, as the wisest of the wise, he had serious causes.” The following seem to be the particular and primary causes, although there may be others:

1, The brevity of human life. The patriarchs who lived before the flood were long-lived, with ages often surpassing eight or nine hundred years (Genesis 5:5, 8, 11, 14, 27). The integrity of their teaching in their times could be preserved through oral tradition. After the flood, the lifespans of their descendants did not match the years of their elders (Genesis 47:9). Therefore at that time, the purity of the divine Word could not be preserved conveniently without writing.

2, The increasing number of people. As the number of people increased, the borders of the Church spread farther and farther. Therefore they had to consult the Scriptures, because pure and sound tradition did not reach everyone.

3, The infidelity of preservation expected from tradition [that is, a corruption of doctrine]. Many corruptions crept into the church when instruction should have been preserved through tradition. “Your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates… and they served other gods” (Joshua 24:2), and idols were found [even] in Jacob’s household (Genesis 35:2).

4, The weakness of human memory. Since it is easy to forget things that are beyond human understanding, therefore it seemed wise to divine providence to put into writing the primary points of the divine revelation. The Apostles, especially Peter and Paul, called the instruction that they preached and taught back into the minds of their congregations by sending them letters that summarized their instruction. Peter writes: “I will make every effort so that after my departure you always have a reminder of these things” (2 Peter 1:15).

5, The stability of heavenly instruction, that is, doctrine. Luke proclaims: “It seemed good to me, having followed all these things closely from the beginning, to write an orderly account for you… that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been informed” (Luke 1:3-4).

6, The wickedness of men. Holy men of God spoke as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), but we are coarser and weaker, and so God wanted to instruct us through the Scriptures.

7, The perversity of heretics. It is customary for such men and women to connect the name “traditions” to their erroneous fictions. So the Word of God has been written, copied, and shared throughout the churches so that heretics are prevented from sowing false doctrine under the name of ‘Gospel.’ Luther writes: “They speak such things only in order to lead us away from Scripture and make themselves masters over us, that we should believe their dream sermons.”

The preaching of the Law in this verse is the warning that the Christian church has in all ages been disturbed by wicked men and women who boast about their own visions or new revelations alongside the Word of the Apostles and Prophets. We see this from passages like Paul’s words: “If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored” (1 Corinthians 14:37). And again: “Brothers, do not become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report, or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way” (2 Thessalonians 2:2-3).

The preaching of the Gospel in this verse is the assurance that the text of the Bible that we have, the 66 books of the Bible, is the Word of God. This canon, the sacred catalog of sacred writings admitted by the Church, is this: The 39 books of the Old Testament (5 from Moses, 12 historical books from Joshua to Esther, 5 poetic books from Job to the Song of Solomon, 5 Major Prophets and 12 Minor Prophets), and the 27 books of the New Testament (4 Gospels, Acts, 13 Epistles of Paul, 2 of Peter, 3 of John, one each from James and Jude, the letter to the Hebrews, and John’s Revelation). “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). This is entirely for our confidence and certainty, just as Paul says in our verse: “They are reliable.” Praise God for giving to us his reliable and holy word for our eternal good.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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