Philippians 4:1-9 (NRSV)
1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, beloved, 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, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:1-9 contain advice Paul offers to congregations of all times and places in living the Christian life. in the process, he reminds readers that Christians live their lives in the Lord. He will offer advice on a personal conflict, aphorisms, and even a guiding principle, that will lead Christian life to be a genuinely happy one.
In 4:1, he then indicates his deep affection: whom I love (ἀγαπητοὶ) and long for, as with homesickness, my joy and crown, the metaphor of the crown referring to the Philippians congregation, the victory wreath placed on the winner of an athletic competition, stand firm (or stand in obedience to) in the Lord in this way, my beloved. Such standing firm means one’s life is being determined by the Lord.[1]
Paul appeals (4:2-3) to two women to work toward unity. As often in his letters, his concern is for reconciliation and unity in the Lord. Here is an example of how trivialities, personality conflicts, petty disputes, and small-minded people have always been part of the believing community. Here is the only specific case of disunity addressed to the community. Yet, it involves two persons whom he names in a letter intended for reading before the congregation. One could imagine the two women walking out at this point. Yet, Paul is skillful in the way he briefly brings up the issue. Thus, he urges Euodia and Syntyche to be of the same mind or attitude (φρονεῖν, 1:7; 2:2, 5; 3:15, 19; 4:2,10, as well as in an analogous way in II Corinthians 13:11, connoting an attitude — a state of mind — more than a logical or rational process) in the Lord, something urges upon the congregation in 2:2, suggesting that they ought to share in the humility and self-emptying attitude that Christ had. This brief reference suggests the importance of women in the local communities. His sadness at their disagreement is clear. He does not expect agreement or consensus about their dispute, beneficial though that might be, but more importantly they are to adopt a Christlike attitude. He writes to them as though they are on equal footing, thus, refusing to place one above the other. He considered them important in the missionary enterprise that captured his apostolic calling.[2] These women were some of the most visible and active leaders in the church. In Acts 16:14-15, the home of Lydia becomes the first meeting place for the congregation in Philippi. He urges his loyal companion to thelp these women who have struggled beside him in the work of the gospel on an equal footing with Clement and the rest of his co-workers. Their names are in the book of life, even if history passes them by.
In 4:4-9, Paul appeals to prayer and virtue. [3] Paul outlines the attitudinal characteristics that should be evident in the lives of those whose faith is in Christ. It reads like a combination of benediction and an exhortation to cheerfulness.
In 4:4-7, Paul offers some aphorisms. Aphorisms are short, pithy, memorable sayings intended to provide some guidance in life. Proverbs is full of them, but we find them scattered throughout the Bible. We also find them scattered throughout life. They can look at life from varying perspectives. Thus, “A rolling stone gathers no moss” suggests that we are to keep moving forward. Yet, “Look before you leap,” suggests pausing before you take the next step. Both are good bits of wisdom applied properly to specific situations. I came across a few more.
- Practice moderation in all things.
- Do not sweat the small stuff.
- Life is too short to hold a grudge.
- Do not ask others to do what you are not willing to do yourself.
- Give a day's work for a day's pay.
- Do what is right; two wrongs do not make a right.
- Pick your battles.
In this case, aphorisms become brief exhortations at the close of this letter. They are reminders of truths they already know.
First, he wants them to rejoice. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. These were not the best of times for Paul. He was in jail for his faith.[4] These were not the best of times for the Philippian church. The local Roman government authorities persecuted them for their faith.
Second, he encourages them toward gentleness.[5] 5 Let your gentleness (ἐπιεικὲς) be known to everyone. The word refers to kindness or magnanimity. In II Corinthians 10:1, Christ is gentle. In I Timothy 3:3, bishops are to be gentle. In Titus 3:2, he is to encourage the people to be gentle and courteous to all. In James 3:17, gentleness is one of the characteristics of the wisdom from above. In I Peter 3:17, masters are to be gentle. Such behavior contrasts with violence, quarrelsomeness, and harshness. Gentleness is non-retaliatory. It promotes peace. It suggests flexibility in the face of conflict. It even suggests a deliberate strategy of adaptability and accommodation that the situation of this congregation may demand. The persecution from their local government is an opportunity for the congregation to show gentleness! Many of us could think of other strategies amid persecution, but that is the advice of Paul. Such a mindset is behind the introduction to the Christ hymn in 2:6-11, where he encourages the congregation toward compassion and tenderness, adopting the same attitude toward life as Christ had. Such a spirit of accommodation during a violent situation is always a risk. Other philosophical schools also emphasized this virtue. Such a virtue formed community solidarity. Paul proclaimed a new people, a new nation formed by Jesus Christ in which there were no longer Jew nor Greek, free or slave, male and female (see Galatians 3:28). The practice of adaptability was essential for the formation of a community made up of people quite used to making just such distinctions.[6]
Joachim Gnilka says this word means to yield or give way. Paul does not recommend that these Christians go into the pagan and polytheistic culture, dominated by Roman politics and military power, to rail against it and condemning it. Such actions would have immediately established a power-based relationship with the empire. It would also alienate the young church from its neighbors and culture. Instead, Paul recommends a program of accommodation and adjusting as much as possible. He wanted them to join wherever they could.
The next short statement does not qualify as an aphorism. It becomes a guiding principle for life. The Lord is near (ὁ Κύριος ἐγγύς), expecting the second Advent or coming of Christ.[7] We might try understanding the phrase as an ontological statement. God is always as near as it takes to drop to your knees in prayer. The nearness of God is not temporal but eternal, and it is precisely through prayer that one recognizes God as near. Of course, with Jesus and Paul, we must always seriously consider the eschatological interpretation. The Lord Jesus would then be near in the sense that the final consummation of human history is near. However, in this context, I would suggest the ontological statement is closer to what Paul means. The Lord is near to you now, even if you do not feel it or believe it. Throughout this letter, due to his imprisonment in Rome, he is aware that he could die. He approaches this possibility with calm, a reaction he can have because he feels and believes in the closeness of the Lord. Based upon this nearness, therefore, he can offer some short and memorable pieces of advices for his readers.
Thus, based upon the fact that the Lord is always near, and despite how impractical it seems, third, 6 Do not worry about anything (Μηδὲν μεριμνᾶτε). We might think of worry or anxiety as lack of trust, based upon Matthew 6:25-34. We might even think of Paul as offering a practical commentary on these words of Jesus. The logic is that since the Lord is near, they do not need to worry about anything. He will use the same word in a positive sense of concern for others in I Corinthians 12:25, Philippians 2:20, and II Corinthians 11:28, and even concern for the things of the Lord in I Corinthians 7:32-34. However, the type of worry or anxiety to which Paul refers to here is not a positive thing. Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it does not get you far.[8] Worry can function like an addiction. We are familiar with worry, so it feels safer than real life does. If we worry, we must think that at some level the terrible things we imagine will not happen. For example, we have already given ourselves the pain of failure through our worry, so we might escape such pain in real life.
Fourth, the contrasting behavior to worry is to pray: but in everything by prayer (προσευχῇ= prayer in general) and supplication (δεήσει = sense of need, making request), which too often roll easily from our lips, but also pray with thanksgiving (εὐχαριστίας = thanksgiving, showing that gratitude is the starting point and context of all Christian prayer[9]) let your requests (αἰτήματα = requests or specific petitions), which also flows so easily, be made known to God. He refers to prayer in general, to the specific type of prayer that arises out of a sense of need and makes a request of God, and to the type of prayer that offers gratitude. In fact, the way Paul words himself, we could say that all proper Christian prayer has the starting point and context of gratitude.[10] Gratitude is to move through all our prayers. We can pray in everything precisely because the Lord is near.
Fifth, once we entrust the matters that worry us to God in prayer, 7 the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Such peace flows from confident well-being. Given the situation of Paul in prison, such peace does not arise out of a change of circumstance, but from the intimate connection with the Infinite and Eternal God that we have established through our prayers. The peace of which Paul writes arises out of our personal faith relationship with God.
In Philippians 4:8-9, Paul makes an appeal for virtue. He will emphasize a close connection in Christian life between thought and action, doctrine and practice. We can think of this list as part of the various lists of virtues Paul will present in his letters. He wants his readers to strive to make these virtues part of their lives. Such lists were part of the first century moral philosopher’s method of teaching.
In 4: 8, Paul is adopting the ethical concepts of Hellenism, which suggests the importance of action in this world.[11] Paul presumes he is describing his conduct in the world and that his churches would behave in the world in this way. This is the impression he wants his churches to leave in the world.[12]
8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true (ἀληθῆ, II Corinthians 6:8 its opposite is deception, it refers to that which is unconcealed). As Churchill put it, people occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened. Paul will go on to list other virtues. Whatever is honorable (σεμνά, venerable, dignified, deeply respected), whatever is just (δίκαια, right, equitable, innocent, holy), whatever is pure (ἁγνά, clean, innocent, modest, perfect), whatever is pleasing (προσφιλῆ, lovely, acceptable, grateful, friendly towards, worthy of personal affection, dearly prized, worth the effort to have and embrace), whatever is commendable (εὔφημα, of good report, reputable, admirable, spoken well of, regarded highly, spoken of in a kindly spirit, laudable, reputable), if there is any excellence (ἀρετὴ, moral excellence, goodness, act of graciousness, virtue, virtuous course of thought, feeling, or and action, uprightness, an eminent quality) and if there is anything worthy of praise (ἔπαινος, commendation, approval), think about these things. Paul seems to think that human beings generally have it in them to think and act in these ways. Paul does not make the following connection directly, but he is pointing us in the direction of acknowledging that human beings continue to exist as bearers of the image of God. Acknowledging that even in a perfect setting, as Adam and Eve had, humanity will turn away from God, human life still bears the marks of the image of God. Thus, discipleship and Christian life are not separate from good thinking and behavior acknowledged in the diverse cultures of the world. Acknowledging that human beings bear the image of God in every culture is a way of saying that every culture bears that image in a unique way. Of course, such a view also acknowledges that every culture turns away from God in its unique way as well. The result is that Paul saw some overlap with the moral philosophy of the day. He might even have thought of Proverbs 23:7, which suggested that as people think in their hearts, so they are in their lives. If we focus on thinking, we are focusing upon that to which our minds give attention. If we give it attention, we will at least consider doing it. If we do not give it attention, we will dismiss it. If we can give our attention to it continually, we will believe. If we believe, we will do.[13] I would urge prayerful reflection and meditation on such virtues, asking the simple question of whether they are growing in our lives.
Paul can conclude such an exhortation by saying 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. Maybe Paul is aware that the most significant trouble with guiding principles is how easy it is to forget them, or at least forget to put them into practice when we need them. The circumstances of life can so bog us down and overwhelm us that our hard-won bits of wisdom do not spring to mind. Such is the challenge of aphorisms and guiding principles, which is also, why we need such simple, memorable reminders of the persons God wants us to be.
Given the connection of this passage to Hellenistic virtue, I am going to suggest a further connection with the ancient notion of happiness, a discussion that began in Greece. An important person in that discussion is Aristotle. The Greek word that most people translate as "happiness" is eudaimonia, and, like most translations from ancient languages, this can be misleading. The main trouble is that we often conceive of happiness (especially in modern America) as a subjective state of mind. Happiness in Aristotle is an end or goal that encompasses the totality of one's life. It is not something that one can gain or lose in a few hours, like pleasurable sensations. It is more like the ultimate value of your life as lived up to this moment, measuring how well you have lived up to your full potential as a human being. Philosopher Martha Nussbaum used the term “human flourishing” to communicate this notion of happiness. As Aristotle says, "For as it is not one swallow or one fine day that makes a spring, so it is not one day or a short time that makes a man blessed and happy."[14] In conclusion, according to Aristotle, what is happiness?
- Happiness is the ultimate end and purpose of human existence.
- Happiness is not pleasure, nor is it virtue. It is the exercise of virtue.
- Happiness arrives at the end of one’s life. Hence it is a goal and not a temporary state.
- Happiness is the perfection of human nature. Since man is a rational animal, human happiness depends on the exercise of his reason.
- Happiness depends on acquiring a moral character, where one displays the virtues of courage, generosity, justice, friendship and citizenship in one's life. These virtues involve striking a balance or "mean" between an excess and a deficiency.
- Happiness requires intellectual contemplation, for this is the ultimate realization of our rational capacities.
For centuries, church theologians, including such notables as Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas, wrote in praise of happiness, considering it a blessing from God on the righteous.
The Old Testament Hebrew word rendered in English as happiness/blessedness is asher. The New Testament Greek word for the same is makarios. Their meanings are similar, but the reason Bible translators cannot agree to use either happy or blessed is that there is no single English word that fully translates the Hebrew and Greek words. In order for us to understand what the Bible means by these words, we have to think of "happy" (the feeling of satisfaction) and "blessed" (God's favor) together. When God evaluates what we are doing as good, and thus favors us, we are in the best position to feel satisfied with our life. Certainly, the psalmist knew that. The Psalms opens with these words: "Happy [Blessed] are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the LORD ..." (emphasis added).
[1] Grundmann, TDNT VII, 637.
[2]
[3] Verses 4-7 are part of what some scholars call “Letter B” and verses 8-9 are part of “letter C,” for those who accept that canonical Philippians is a composite letter.
[4] Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians from a prison cell. His greatest desire, to continue traveling and preaching the gospel in new and distant places, was apparently a lost cause. He sat old and ill in a jail, only able to write letters of encouragement and counsel to those he had already reached.
[5] The adjective the NRSV translates as “gentleness” here relates to the verb that translates into English as “to yield, to give way, to draw back, to retire.” (Joachim Gnilka, Der Philipperbrief 3rd edition [Herder: Freiburg, 1980], 169).
[6] (See Clarence E. Glad, Paul and Philodemus: Adaptability in Epicurean and Early Christian Psychagogy, vol. 81 in Supplements to Novum Testamentum [Leiden and New York: Brill, 1995], 1-14.)
[7]
[8] Jodi Picoult, Sing You Home: A Novel (Simon & Schuster, 2011), 322.
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12] Foerster, TDNT VII, 194-5.
[13] Nelson Price, How to Find Out Who You Are.
[14] (Nicomachean Ethics, 1098a18).
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