Philippians 4:1-9
In Philippians 4:1-9 Paul begins to bring his letter to a close. In the first chapter, he had informed the Philippian Christians about his situation, the fact that he was in chains (1:12-14), and about his hopes for release (1:25-26). In chapters two and three, he had urged them to live a Christ-imitating life (2:1-18), to seek God’s righteousness (3:1-11), and to continue the Christian life until the resurrection (3:12-21).
And then, at 4:2, Paul turns his attention to a particular issue in the Philippian congregation: “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord” (NRSV). This note about two women, with the encouragement to be of one mind, appears to arrive suddenly, without warning. However, readers who have attended carefully to the previous chapters will recognize the theme of unity; it is one of the most pervasive themes of the letter. It is especially prominent in chapter two, where it receives a Christological basis: “Be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. . . . Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (4:2-5 NRSV).
But it is present as well in chapter one (“You are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel” [1:27 NRSV]) and in chapter three (“Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you” [3:15]). Every chapter thus contains some mention of the importance of being of one mind. The appearance of this theme in chapter four is no surprise; indeed, the previous chapters have prepared us for Paul’s words to the two women.
It is not at all clear why Euodia and Syntyche needed to be encouraged to be of the same mind, or how severe their disagreement was. Our puzzlement reminds us that this letter was written to the congregation, who knew about the issue, and not to us. Paul’s words in 4:10-18 may point to a disagreement within the congregation about sending aid to Paul (“Now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity” [4:10]). If there was such disagreement, then the dispute between Euodia and Syntyche may have been over that issue. Or it may have been about something completely different.
What do we know about these women? Paul calls them “fellow-strugglers” in the gospel and his co-workers (4:3). What does co-worker imply? In Paul’s letters this term is applied to several people, including Timothy (Romans 16:21; 1 Thessalonians 3:2) and Titus 2 (Corinthians 8:23). However, it is unlikely that Euodia and Syntyche performed the kind of services for Paul that Timothy and Titus did; they certainly did not travel with Paul. Perhaps they were more like Phoebe, the deacon (diakonos) of the church at Cenchreae, who is the church’s benefactor (prostatis) (Romans 16:1-2). At any rate, they seem to be important people in the congregation’s ministry of the gospel, so important that their disagreement, whatever it is about, deserves special attention by Paul. It is, in fact, possible to read the entire letter as leading up to Paul’s words to them. If we read Philippians in this way, Paul’s powerful statement about Jesus Christ in chapter two is a preparation for his words to these two women—they must be like Christ and must be mindful of what was in Jesus (2:5).
Another thing in chapter four that deserves comment is the list of qualities in 4:8 (“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise”). Lists of virtues and characteristics are common in Paul’s letters, but this list is notable because its words are infrequent in the New Testament. Two of these words (“pleasing” and “commendable”) are found only here in the New Testament; several others are comparatively rare. It is possible that Paul chose these words because they were part of the vocabulary of Greco-Roman moral philosophy and had no distinctively Christian meaning (as, for example, words such as love (agape) and faith (pistis) came to have distinctive Christian meanings). Paul may, in other words, have chosen words that resonated with the congregation’s Roman culture. Philippians is the letter of Paul’s that is most attuned to Roman society and politics—hence his mention of the praetorian guard (1:12), Caesar’s household (4:22), and citizenship (3:20, but also 1:27 [“live worthily as a citizen of the gospel”]). Philippi was, in the late first century B.C., reorganized as a Roman colony and unlike most Greek and Macedonian cities, governed by officials appointed by Rome. So, Paul may have gone out of his way to incorporate terms with which Christians who were conscious of being Roman would be familiar and comfortable.
A final point that needs discussion is found in 4:3: “I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women . . .” (NRSV). Who is “my loyal companion,” to whom a special word of exhortation is directed? It is odd that, in a letter to be read to the entire congregation, a verse would suddenly give instructions to one unnamed member. Scholarly discussion of this verse turns on the meaning of the phrase “loyal companion.” The word for “companion” (suzugos) had two related meanings, wife and comrade. A few early Christian writers took the word here to mean wife and taught that Paul was married; however, there are several reasons why, in Philippians 4, the term probably means comrade: First, 1 Corinthians 7:8 suggests very strongly that Paul was not married; second, the adjective (“loyal”) has a masculine, not a feminine ending. Additionally, it is not clear why Paul’s supposed wife would be in Philippi.
Beyond the narrow issue of Euodia and Syntyche, Philippians is above all a letter of encouragement—hence the recurrence of the word “joy.” In 4:1-9, members are encouraged:
To be of one mind (4:2).
To rejoice (4:4).
To let their gentleness be known to all (4:5).
To pray and not worry (4:6).
To have regard for things that are trustworthy, honorable, just, and so on (4:8).
To put into practice what they have learned (4:9).
The importance of Philippians lies in the fact that, for once, Paul’s letters are not consumed with urgent, devastating problems. In this letter Paul has the luxury of offering a note of thanks to a supportive and relatively healthy congregation. He is able to honestly express his feelings as he relates to them his situation and his hopes. And, he is able to bring encouragement without judgment, consolation without critique.