The Eschatological Mastery of the World

by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon

            What would it be like to be wrapped in a blanket of joy?  Read Philippians and you will discover the affects of God’s blanket of joy on the apostle Paul.  The context of continually being joyful in prayer and devotions is an interesting notion in the letter to the Philippians church, especially when one considers the background of Paul’s stay in the city during his second missionary journey.  Paul had been abused and mistreated in Philippi, the Roman colony province of the Gentiles.  (The city is name after Phillip of Macedon. the father of Alexander the Great who seized the city in 358 BC.  Later Octavius (Augustus Caesar) made this city a Roman colony.  It was along the trade route to Macedonia that made this an opportune place for the spread of the Gospel.)  If you recall, the slave girl possessed by a demon continued to badger the apostle as he walked through the city.  She continued to make known his entrance into the city by shouting out before him that he was coming on behalf of Christ.  This was drawing attention to him in the city, which at that time, may not have been a good or opportune thing to be doing.  Paul turned to her and cast out the demon from her.  As a result, both he and Silas were arrested because the family of the salve girl brought charges against them.  They used to exploit the slave girl for fortune telling purposes and made money from this.  The twisted and warped spiritual mentality of the city saw this as a type of stealing since the slave girl could no longer tell fortunes and thus, was of no use monetarily.  So they arrested them and locked them in the stocks (Acts 16:16-25).  Yet, the letter to the Philippians is unique in that it is not a letter of rebuke, but of encouragement.  It is not as the letter written based solely on correction of mishaps, as with the Corinthian correspondence.  Rather, it is a letter filled with excitement and joy.  And it must be remembered, Paul wrote this from a jail cell.

          In the letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul demonstrates a devotional life filled with joy.  “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy.” (Phil. 1:3-4)  The Greek word pa,ntote (pantote, {pan'-tot-eh}) means “at all times, or always.”  This is the regular habit of the apostle.  The word “always” is a combination of two other Greek words which give emphasis on the idea of “each individual time” and “at whatever time, or whenever I do such a thing.”  This is not something which is happenstance in the mind of Paul.  It is a constant, normal activity in his joyful devotions.  The Greek may be better translated as, “Always presenting prayer for you all in every prayer of mine.” (Calvin translates it this way as well.)  His devotions were “with joy.”  The word “joy” is the Greek word cara, chara {khar-ah'} .  This is not a preliminary joy.  For instance, in Matthew 13:20, we find that the seed thrown on the stony soil received the word with joy.  But this joy is a spurious joy, not the joy of Philippians.  The joy in Philippians is a special kind of joy which is not just a happy instance at the beginning of a changed life.  It is not a joy that compares to a birthday gift received which causes happiness in the person for a temporary time period, and then fades away.  It is a joy that is given, cultivated, and stretches into forever.  The context of Paul’s devotions were set in this type of “forever joy.”

            It is well worth our time to pause a moment and ask the self-examining question, “Why do you have devotions?”  Many people with give a variety of reasons for this.  Some may say that they have devotions because the Bible says they must.  Some say it is their daily habit, or their routine to do so.  Some give credit to their parents; that since their parents had a faithful devotional life , they have followed their example.  Some simply say it makes them feel good.  Paul, on the other hand, in the inspired Word, says that we should follow his example.  (Phil. 3:17)  His example was of profound joy.  Now this is not only in the context of his whole life, but in his devotions, and I would like to be more specific within that context.  What is it about Paul’s example that should be imitated by us in devotions?  To answer this we turn to what I will call the “devotional context” of the epistle which is “with joy.” 

            The devotional context of Paul’s prayers, Biblical study, and meditation seen through the book of Philippians is a context of eschatological joy.  There is a profound eschatological element running through the entire length of this epistle.  It may be asked, “What is eschatology?”  When I speak of that which is eschatological, I mean seeing all of life through a lense “pertaining to the last or final things.”  It is a theological concept which the Gospel cannot do without.  That the Bible teaches an eschatological fulfillment is without question.  The Gospel would be no Gospel without it.  There would be no “happily ever after” in the realm of the good news of the salvation of God through Christ without it.   In our immediate context of Philippians it refers to “living life in lieu of the consummation of the world.”  This includes the devotional context, and this eschatological theme is crucially bound within the concept of joy.

            All through the epistle, Paul repeatedly refers to eschatological ideas.  For instance in Phil. 1:6 he says, “until the day.”  This is the day of the Lord, the consummation of the finality of all things.  In 1:23 he desires to depart and be with the Lord.  To depart to heaven is practical plea towards the eschatological end.  In 3:11 he desires to “attain unto the resurrection of the dead,” referring to the final call of the dead out of the grave.  In 3:14 he is constantly looking to “the upward call.”  This end and consummation is also the context of a unified body of the redeemed elect in heaven.  This is also an eschatological concept pushed by the apostle as in 2:2 where he desires the Philippians to be “like-minded.”  How good it is when brethren dwell together in unity!  In 2:17-18 he rejoices in their “fellowship in the Gospel.”  In 3:20 he speaks of “the citizenship” they have in heaven which should be exemplified now.  Paul’s concept of joy is overwhelming in these passages.  In 1:18 he is rejoicing the in the coming of the Kingdom.  In 1:23 he is rejoicing in the hope of the consummation of the soul.  In 2:16 he is rejoicing in the day of Christ.  In 4:1 the Philippians are to him his “joy and crown.”  In all of this, there is a context of rejoicing, and of joy.  This context of joy I am going to define as “The Eschatological Mastering of the World.” 

            If we could grasp and understand this concept of eschatologically mastering the world, our devotional lives, not to mention or entire walk with Christ, would be radically transformed.  What, then, does it mean to master something?  If we were to define it in our framework, we would say “one that has control over something.”  This control is of two principle aspects: control over the influences of the world, and control of the life of the believer in the context of the world.  What is the world in the context of my sentence?  It would be the entirety of fallen humanity in every form.  To live in a state of eschatological mastery over the world is to know the tendencies of the world and of yourself.  If one were to become a master in this sense, they would live in the world in the milieu of the joy found in Christ, and in light of the final state of all things.  There is, then, an aversion to the world in its varied forms (as seen in Bunyan Pilgrim’s Progress in the town of Vanity fair) and a mastery over the flesh and spirit in relation to the world, and in relation to our rightful citizenship in heaven.  All of life is viewed and lived in an eschatological mindset holding the value of Christ’s joy in high esteem.  This is where we live and move and have our being.

            Some may think this is more of a restraint than a freedom in Christ.  To bear with buffeting the flesh and the guarding of the spirit while in the arena of the world is not attractive to many.  It is hard.  It is a difficult task to continually mortify the flesh, and grow in grace.  The world holds out its pleasures and temptations and the Christian is faced every day with making hundreds of decisions which either pull him into the world or push him away from it.  And this is not the same as living in the world.  We are to be in the world but not of the world.  Yes, this is a restraint.  But the restraint against the world is a furthering of freedom in Christ.  The joy hoped for and lived in here is a foretaste of what shall be revealed and lived in forever in total perfection and harmony.  Here is where the Christian must gain a right perspective on his entire life.  Here we find the joy of fellowship with the saints and the union in the Lord made special and attractive.  As Paul said in 1:5, he was joyful in a context where there was “fellowship in the Gospel.”  Here, it was their working side by side (metaphorically speaking) with Paul for the sake of the Gospel.  Are Christian to pray “My father in heaven?”  No, rather, “our Father.”  Even in th3e context of private prayer our mindset should be one of fellowship in the Lord.  And it is always this fellowship in the Lord in which we are to obtain joy and its rejoicing.  3:1 says, “rejoice in the Lord.”

            Are you a sensuous Christian?  Do you look for the Christian life to be marked with experience rather than the truth?  Feeling instead of thinking?  This would be an abuse.  But we ought never to be devoid of feeling altogether.  Oftentimes the Reformed are lamb-basted for their “coldness” and their dislike for experience.  But we must remember that we are created with feelings, and the too play a huge part on our lives, and in the context of our devotional life.  William Ames defines joy in this way, “Joy is that delight felt in intimate participation in the chief good.”  I may add, in our eschatological context, “joy is the foretaste of future glory.”  But it is something we “taste” or something we “feel.”  Without feeling as an integral aspect of the Christian walk we would be a bunch of books sitting on a shelf; all filled with doctrine, but no life. 

            Where does it come from?  Joy is an affect of knowledge.  William Gurnall states well, “The reason why so many pour souls have so little heat of joy in their heart, is that they have so little light of Gospel knowledge in their mind.”  Imagine if I were to say to you, “Oh!  I have in my possession a Kalickadackson, what a treat!  I was so unhappy without it, but now I have finally obtained one and I cannot tell you how joyful it has made me.”  You may wonder at this, and you may even understand the words I say. But no one knows what a Kalickadackson is or anything about it.  And there would be no way in which you could enter into my joy without having a sense of perception about the object itself.  What if I gave you a little more information?  It may help you to understand the item a bit more.  It may even help you see some use for it.  But without the knowledge, or any type of extensive knowledge about it as I have, there would be little joy.  Now a Kalickadackson does not exists.  I made to up to prove a point.  Without knowing the Lord, there can be no joy.  How can anyone rejoice in something they do not know – or know little about (which is the case of many Christians).  Might this be a factor in your own devotions?

            Without Joy private devotions will be…what?  Boring, rote, uneventful, a task, and grievous to God – a most heinous sin.  Stephen Charnock says, “When there is no delight in the duty, there is no delight in the object of the duty.”  It is here we become Pharisees.

            Where does joy come from?  It comes from God, the quality of the chief good.  When we know the date of wine bottle we may come upon the realization of its worth.  From a distance we did not know its worth.  Only when we came up close to it to read the label did we find out its worth, and were subsequently overjoyed.  It is only in Christ that this joy may be had.  The texts in Philippians abound in this: 1:26 says joy is “in Christ;” in 3:1 joy is “in the Lord;” in 3:3 it is “in Christ Jesus;” in 4:4 it is “in the Lord;” as with 4:10.  How is this joy distributed?  The clear text of Galatians 5:22 places joy as one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. God gives us joy, and in this joy we take on the world to master it.  We strategize against it.  Our joy should be a result of the witness of the brethren bringing us joy in their walks, the unity we have of this, and the future joy we so desire when all is fulfilled.  Remember, the devil has knowledge about God, but no joy from the Holy Spirit.  It is not enough to have knowledge, but a knowledge of God must be mixed with a regenerate heart which longs for the consummation of the world.

            We must have a devotional strategy towards joy.  I ask then, “what steps can be taken to ensure a lively, exciting devotional life that yields the fruits of righteousness with joy? (cf. Phil. 1:11)  It must be noted that all devotions in the context of joy should have a primary intention.  All private devotions should be primarily geared to glorify God.  However, for the concept at hand, this is not what I desire to dwell upon.  It is true, and most important, that God be glorified, but unless the lesser is executed with joy, the primary will never come to pass.  This is too broad and needs to become more specific.  Thus, all devotions ought to press either the attainment of greater faith, or a more heartiness towards daily repentance.  Here we find Phil. 1:25, and the exhortation to have a “joy of faith.”  In Phil. 2:11 we have the “confessing Christ as Lord” at the Day of Judgment.  All is surrounded by faith and in light of forever, confessing before the Lord the weakness of our flesh and the need for His power.

            The eschatological mastery of the world through the joy of the Lord is a most powerful adversary against the wickedness of the world, the flesh, and the devil.  If a Christian were to realize the tremendous power in prayer, bible reading and godly meditation within a context of knowledge leading to joy, the devil would shudder at the church’s prayers.  We must, then, come with a strategy to the prayer closet, the study, and the place of meditation.  The idea and realization of “with joy” shall never come to pass unless the Christian has a strategy for devotions as Paul did “always.” 

            What is a strategy?  A strategy is a well thought out, and written down structure to one’s devotional life.  It is a must to make time to pray, read the Scriptures, and mediate on that which is good if we are to grow in the joy of Christ and it the context of a true eschatological joy.  This is not something the Christian sets out to do once a week.  It is daily.  It may even be multiple times a day depending upon one’s schedule. 

            What might be a good schedule to follow?  Morning prayer is important, in order to start the day with God.  Family worship (nightly prayer and study) is also important (this mimics the morning and evening sacrifices of the priests in the Old Testament as a type of strategy for the New Testament Christian with spiritual sacrifices).  Between those two times allotted, the Christian may do well to procure a joy in Christ, and live in the knowledge of an eschatological joy in all he does.  However, this is not enough specifically.  Based on the allotted time one has made in the morning for devotions, a strategy for these devotions is important.  An outlined schedule should be made and followed.  There should be a systematic outline of prayer, bible reading and meditation made that Christian would never loose sight of their strategy.  Yes, in later years, the outlines may be modified or done away with since habit sets it.  But among struggling Christian today, I know many who are old as Christians, but young when it comes to the devotional life – they are still babes needing milk.

            If such devotions take place, if such devotions are “always” this way “with joy”, then an eschatological joy will be the result, and the blanket of joy wrapped around the Christian will guide him through mastering the world all through his days as one dedicated to the things of God and fighting against sin.

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