Philippians 4:4-5

4. Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice. 5. Let your forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

Translation and Paraphrase

4. Be rejoicing in the Lord (Jesus) always. Again (after considering all the possibilities of sorrow in this world,) I (still) say, Be rejoicing.
5. (By kind deeds) let your gentle, reasonable nature be known to all men. The Lord is near (unto us always; yea, his visible coming is always near too).

Notes

1.

Wm. Barclay describes these verses as Marks of the Christian Life. The two marks are joy and moderation.

2.

Rejoice is present tense: Be rejoicing!

3.

We rejoice in the Lord. Only in the Lord is constant joy possible. Paul could rejoice in the Lord even in chains in the dungeon at Philippi. Acts 16:23-25.

4.

Paul repeats the command to rejoice. It seems as if he said, After considering all the possibilities for sorrow in this world, I repeat with emphasis, REJOICE. Compare Philippians 2:17; Philippians 2:28; Philippians 3:1; Philippians 4:10.

5.

Let your forbearance (KJV, moderation) be known. This word means reasonableness. It implies a quality of gentleness and mildness; a nature not unduly rigorous, not overly strict, not judging people severely. Some related forms of this word are translated gentle. (It is thus rendered in 1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 3:2; 1 Peter 2:18; James 3:17).

6.

Forbearance must be shown to all men, not just to church members.

7.

The Lord is at hand. This can either mean that the Lord is always near, always close at hand (which is true; Matthew 28:20); or it has also been interpreted to mean that the Lord's second coming was thought to be near. (James 5:8). Either meaning is a good reason to cultivate the quality of forbearance, as the Lord desires.

To the Christian the second coming of the Lord is always looked upon as near. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-6; Matthew 24:42-44. In this sense the Lord is always near.

However, to allege that Paul was under a delusion common in the first century that Christ was definitely going to return in that generation is a serious accusation against an inspired apostle of God. The simple statement that the Lord is near does not necessarily imply such a far-reaching conclusion.