{"id":2026,"date":"2011-05-03T16:30:31","date_gmt":"2011-05-03T23:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/?page_id=2026"},"modified":"2015-03-30T07:13:53","modified_gmt":"2015-03-30T14:13:53","slug":"chapter-4","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/commentary\/philippians\/chapter-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

1:\u00a0Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy<\/strong> and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!<\/span><\/p>\n

We have a “therefore”<\/span>, so we must ask “What’s it there for?”. Paul has been exhorting the Philippians to imitate him, to shun false teachers and to remember that their true home is in Heaven. He thus encourages the Philippians to “stand firm…in the Lord”<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Paul refers to the Philippians as his “joy and crown”<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Exhortations<\/span><\/h3>\n

2:\u00a0I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

“Euodia”<\/span> is pronounced “you-oh-dee-ah”<\/em> and “Syntyche”<\/span> is pronounced “sin-te-kee”<\/em>. It appears that these two women had a big falling out. Paul wants them to be reconciled. This makes sense of Paul’s comments back in Chapter 2 about unity and humility.<\/p>\n

3:\u00a0Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Paul asks others to help this reconciliation become a reality.<\/p>\n

The word rendered “yokefellow”<\/span> here is “Syzygus”. In most translations this is rendered as a description and a term of endearment, but it’s possible that it was actually a personal name.<\/p>\n

The Clement here could be Pope St. Clement (see Jimmy Akin video<\/a>), fourth bishop of Rome after Peter.<\/p>\n

The “book of life”<\/span><\/em>\u00a0refers to those who have eternal life. It uses the image used elsewhere in Scripture that there is a book in Heaven with the names of all the saved.<\/p>\n

Discussion Question:
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/em>Do you have\u00a0any long-standing disagreements or feuds? Is there anyone with whom you have to “agree in the Lord”<\/span>? Who could ask for help in resolving this?<\/p>\n

4-5:\u00a0Rejoice<\/strong> in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice<\/strong>. <\/span>5\u00a0<\/sup>Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Renewed focus on Joy.<\/p>\n

The Lord is coming.<\/p>\n

6-7:Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. <\/span>And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Do not worry. Instead, you should pray to God.<\/p>\n

8-9:\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A description of meditation.<\/p>\n

9:\u00a0What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Back to this idea of imitation that we saw in the previous chapter.<\/p>\n

Acknowledgment of the Philippians\u2019 Gift<\/span><\/h3>\n

10: I rejoice<\/strong> in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me; you were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Paul is thankful that the Philippians have sent him gifts, that their love for him found this expression.<\/p>\n

11-13: Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. <\/span>I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. <\/span>I can do all things in him who strengthens me.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Notice he says that this is something he’s “learned”<\/span>.<\/p>\n

He says that he doesn’t mind about the stuff per se because he’s content whatever his situation. He is content because Christ gives him strength.<\/p>\n

content – stoic ideal<\/p>\n

14-16: Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. <\/span>And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedo\u2032nia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only;<\/span>\u00a0<\/sup>for even in Thessaloni\u2032ca you sent me help\u00a0once and again.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Philippians were the only community which looked after Paul, even when he was in another city.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

17-19: Not that I seek the gift; but I seek the fruit which increases to your credit. <\/span>I have received full payment, and more; I am filled, having received from Epaphrodi\u2032tus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. <\/span><\/span>And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What Paul desires isn’t so much their gifts, but that they receive the reward from God for their charity.<\/p>\n

The “Epaphroditus” mentioned here is the one we heard about in Chapter 2.<\/p>\n

Paul refers to their gifts in sacrificial terms.<\/p>\n

20: To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Doxology<\/p>\n

Final Greetings and Benediction<\/span><\/h3>\n

21: Greet every saint in Christ Jesus…<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In Chapter 1 we spoke about what it means to be a New Testament “saint”.<\/p>\n

21: The brethren who are with me greet you.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The people who are with Paul send their greetings.<\/p>\n

22: All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar\u2019s household.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The mention of “Caesar’s household”<\/span> adds strength to the argument that Paul is writing from Rome.<\/p>\n

23: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n

What we hear at Mass…<\/p>\n

Background<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Chapter 1<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Chapter 2<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Chapter 3<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Chapter 4<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1:\u00a0Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! We have a “therefore”, so we must ask “What’s it there for?”. Paul has been exhorting the Philippians to imitate him, to shun false teachers and to remember that their true home is in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":2011,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-fullwidth.php","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2026","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2026"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57067,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2026\/revisions\/57067"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}