Philippians 4:2-9

Philippians 4:2-7

It appears that Euodia and Syntyche, two leaders (see note #1) in the church at Philippi, are not exhibiting the unity that Paul has describing as vital to the community. Paul pleads with them to be united in the Lord. He asks for a person identified as "loyal yokefellow" (see note #2) to help them to resolve their dispute and come to unity for the good of the whole community.

NEW ADDITION - "in the Lord" is a sphere of spiritual experience wherein lie unusual resources of strength and unusual expectations of behavior" (Briscoe, Bound for Joy, p. 133)

Note #1 - Signs that Euodia & Syntyche were leaders in the church:

	Paul would not likely interfere in a private disagreement in a public letter. He deals with this letter publicly because they are leaders setting a poor example for the congregation.
	Paul calls these women "co-workers." When Paul uses this term in his letters (12 times) it refers to those involved in missionary or evangelistic work (not believers in general).
	Paul says "they fought together alongside of me in the gospel" indicating an active role in the spread of the gospel. (Witherington 105)

Note #2 - "Syzygus" could mean either "loyal yokefellow" or be a proper name of a man. The Philippian church knew the identify of this person but we simply do not.

After pleading with these two women to resolve their differences, Paul next exhorts the Philippians to rejoice. The two modifiers of this imperative should not be passed over too quickly. The prepositional phrase "in the Lord" distinguishes the manner in which they express their joy from random or selfish celebration. The adverb "always" explains not so much the frequency of their joy, but the fact that "joy in the Lord" should be the characteristic of a Christian's life (part of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22).

The next exhortation is "let your gentleness be evident to all." Another way to express gentleness is "sweet reasonableness."
(The phrase "sweet reasonableness" comes from M. Arnold's comments on the word epieikeia relating to Jesus' life in Literature and Dogma [London: Smith, Elder, 1900], p. 225.)

"It means something like magnanimity, referring to a person of compassionate nature who is willing to be loving above and beyond what is strictly fair. It amounts to showing concern and respect for the integrity of others and giving them the benefit of the doubt. In other words, it is the sort of quality necessary if there is to be unity among a diverse group of people." (Witherington 112)

"Let your big-heartedness be known to everybody. For big-heartedness one may substitute any of the following: forbearance, erateness, geniality, kindliness, gentleness, sweet reasonableness, considerateness, charitableness, mildness, magnanimity, generosity... Taken together they show the real meaning." (Hendrickson 192)

Commentators do not generally argue very forcefully for the interpretation of the next phrase "The Lord is near." Some view it as a reminder that the Lord is with the believer all the time. He is present with you, and thus you can have this joyful perspective on life as a Christian. While this is certainly possible, and a principle taught throughout Scripture, I do not personally consider it the best interpretive option.

"The Lord is near" can also mean the coming of the Lord is near. This seems to be the better meaning to me in light of the context of this passage. In chapter 3, Paul has described the futility of his earthly accomplishments in comparison to faith in Christ and knowing Him (1-11) and then explained how he continues to press on for the prize, realizing that he has not yet reached perfection (12-16). The chapter finishes by describing the importance of the believer's heavenly citizenship (17-21).

Chapter 4 begins with the dispute between Euodia and Syntyche. Not only does this not contribute to the unity of the church, but it demonstrates the exact opposite of the attitude Paul has just described - living as citizens of the heavenly kingdom. They should resolve their petty differences and have the "joy" and "sweet reasonableness" characteristic of a Christian who knows their eternal destiny and does not let the temporal problems of this world ("earthly things" of 3:19) interrupt their unity and ministry. Verses 8-9 also then connect to this passage in terms of corrective and/or warning on more specific things to focus their minds and actions upon.

The next action to take to resolve the disunity is not to worry, but to approach the Lord in prayer.

"...of the three words for "prayer" used in this sentence the first (proseuche) is a general term for prayer to God; the second (deesis) emphasizes the element of petition or entreaty in prayer; the third (aitema) means the thing that is asked for." (Bruce 144)

Having committed our concerns to Christ, the peace of God, that peace which is beyond human understanding, that is more than we could hope for, will guard the believer's heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

"Since the city of Philippi was guarded by a Roman garrison at the time, the metaphor would have been easily understood and appreciated by its readers." (O'Brien 498)

Philippians 4:8-9

	"True" - Real as opposed to Phony
	"Noble" - Serious as opposed to Frivolous
	"Just" - Right as opposed to Convenient
	"Pure" - Clean as opposed to Dirty
	"Lovely" - Loving as opposed to Discordant
	"Good report" - Helpful as opposed to Critical
	"Excellence" - Excellent as opposed to inferior
	"If there be any praise" - Positively as opposed to Negatively (Briscoe 145-152)

"The verb logidzo is a strong word meaning 'to carefully take into account,' 'to calculate,' and hence 'to evaluate carefully a person or thing.' It includes the idea of mulling things over and morally sifting them rather than making snap judgments. The main thing to be learned from v. 8 is that Paul is calling for Christians to be sifters, not rejecters, of their larger culture. He is suggesting that there are positive qualities to be seen in the world and believers should incorporate these into their Christian world view and way of living...

"Paul was not one who saw the church as all light and the world as all darkness. To the contrary, he believed the world was redeemable and occasionally manifested, by God's grace, redeeming qualities. Paul's vision of Christianity is that it is essentially a world-transforming, not a world-denying, religion, precisely because the world and all its creatures come from and belong to God, who has not given up on them." (Witherington 117)

Resources Cited
Stuart Briscoe. Bound for Joy. Glendale, CA: Regal Books, 1975.
F. F. Bruce. Philippians, New International Bible Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1989.
William Hendrickson. Exposition of Philippians. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1962.
Peter T. O’Brien. The Epistle to the Philippians, New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992.
Ben Witherington III. Friendship and Finances in Philippi. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity 1994.