The Command to Rejoice

Though Paul has emphasized the theme of joy in his letter to the Philippians, his closing section begins with a command to rejoice. We do not think of joy as a command to be obeyed, but Paul not only commands us to rejoice, but he then repeats the command to emphasize its importance even more.

From Phil. 4:4-5, we can see four main points concerning biblical joy: It is commanded; it is to be continual; it is be considerate of others; and, most importantly, it must be Christ-centered.