The saints at Philippi enjoyed the peace of God’s salvation and had every reason to rejoice. However, their experience of that peace and joy had waned. From Paul’s admonitions, it appears that this was due to dissension that had arisen within the body. He urges them to set aside selfish ambition and empty conceit and come to agreement in the Lord that they might experience God’s peace and joy. Their ability to rejoice always, live reasonably, rebuff anxiety and pray as they should is directly related to how they think (4:8). The thought life of the Christian is of utmost importance. We must renew our minds on the Word of God and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.