notes

Main point summary

Brethren, be imitators of Paul just as others imitate him. [This is only right] because there are those who claim to be friends of the cross but in reality enemies [as shown by their earthly mindsets]. [Don't imitate them], for our citizenship is in heaven, [that is we must set our minds on heavenly things and we demonstrate this] as we await the Savior. Therefore my brothers, whom I loved and longed for, [my] joy and my crown, in this way, [namely by imitating Paul and others], stand firm in the Lord beloved.

Discourse Analysis of 3:17-4:1

NT

Philippians 3:17-4:1

esv

na28

nasb

net

Brothers, u join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk v according to the example you have in us.

Συμμιμηταί μου γίνεσθε, ἀδελφοί, καὶ σκοπεῖτε τοὺς οὕτως περιπατοῦντας καθὼς ἔχετε τύπον ἡμᾶς.

Brethren, a join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the b pattern you have in us.

Be imitators of me, 27 brothers and sisters, 28 and watch carefully those who are living this way, just as you have us as an example.

For w many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you x even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.

πολλοὶ γὰρ περιπατοῦσιν οὓς πολλάκις ἔλεγον ὑμῖν, νῦν δὲ καὶ κλαίων λέγω, τοὺς ἐχθροὺς τοῦ σταυροῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ,

For a many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even b weeping, that they are enemies of c the cross of Christ,

For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.

y Their end is destruction, z their god is their belly, and a they glory in their shame, with b minds set on earthly things.

ὧν τὸ τέλος ἀπώλεια, ὧν ὁ θεὸς ἡ κοιλία καὶ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ αἰσχύνῃ αὐτῶν, οἱ τὰ ἐπίγεια φρονοῦντες.

whose end is destruction, whose god is their 1 a appetite, and whose b glory is in their shame, who c set their minds on earthly things.

Their end is destruction, their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think about earthly things. 29

ideaexplanation

But c our citizenship is in heaven, and d from it we e await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

ἡμῶν γὰρ τὸ πολίτευμα ἐν οὐρανοῖς ὑπάρχει, ἐξ οὗ καὶ σωτῆρα ἀπεκδεχόμεθα κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν,

For a our 1 citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly b wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

But our citizenship is in heaven - and we also await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,

who will transform f our lowly body g to be like his glorious body, h by the power that enables him even i to subject all things to himself.

ὃς μετασχηματίσει τὸ σῶμα τῆς ταπεινώσεως ἡμῶν σύμμορφον τῷ σώματι τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ δύνασθαι αὐτὸν καὶ ὑποτάξαι αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα.

who will a transform 1 the body of our humble state into b conformity with 2 the c body of His glory, d by the exertion of the power that He has even to e subject all things to Himself.

who will transform these humble bodies of ours 30 into the likeness of his glorious body by means of that power by which he is able to subject all things to himself.

alternative

Therefore, my brothers, 1 whom I love and j long for, k my joy and l crown, m stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Ὥστε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοὶ καὶ ἐπιπόθητοι, χαρὰ καὶ στέφανός μου, οὕτως στήκετε ἐν κυρίῳ, ἀγαπητοί.

Therefore, my beloved brethren 1 whom I a long to see, my joy and crown, in this way b stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

So then, my brothers and sisters, 1 dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!

bilateral

na28

discourse

Discourse analysis of 4:1-9

Philippians 4:1-9

na28

mine

Therefore, my brothers, 1 whom I love and j long for, k my joy and l crown, m stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Ὥστε, ἀδελφοί μου ἀγαπητοὶ καὶ ἐπιπόθητοι, χαρὰ καὶ στέφανός μου, οὕτως στήκετε ἐν κυρίῳ, ἀγαπητοί.

Therefore, my beloved brethren 1 whom I a long to see, my joy and crown, in this way b stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

So then, my brothers and sisters, 1 dear friends whom I long to see, my joy and crown, stand in the Lord in this way, my dear friends!

Therefore my brethren, beloved, and longed for, [my] joy and my crown, stand firm in the Lord my beloved in this way:

I entreat Euodia

Εὐοδίαν παρακαλῶ

I urge Euodia

I appeal to Euodia and to Syntyche to agree in the Lord.

I urge Euodia

and I entreat Syntyche

καὶ Συντύχην παρακαλῶ

and I urge Syntyche

and I urge Synyche

series

to n agree in the Lord.

τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν ἐν κυρίῳ.

to 1 a live in harmony in the Lord.

that the same agree in the Lord

Yes, I ask you also, true companion, 1

ναὶ ἐρωτῶ καὶ σέ, γνήσιε σύζυγε,

Indeed, true companion, I ask you also

Yes, I say also to you, true companion, 2

Yes, true companion, I ask you also

help these women,

συλλαμβάνου αὐταῖς,

to help these women

help them.

to help these women

who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers,

αἵτινες ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ συνήθλησάν μοι μετὰ καὶ Κλήμεντος καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν συνεργῶν μου,

who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my a fellow workers,

They have struggled together in the gospel ministry 3 along with me and Clement and my other coworkers,

who struggled in the cause of the gospel with me and with Clement and the rest of the fellow-workers

o whose names are in the book of life.

ὧν τὰ ὀνόματα ἐν βίβλῳ ζωῆς.

whose b names are in the book of life.

whose names are in the book of life.

whose names are in the book of life.

p Rejoice in the Lord always;

Χαίρετε ἐν κυρίῳ πάντοτε•

a Rejoice in the Lord always;

Rejoice in the Lord always.

Rejoice in the Lord

again I will say, rejoice.

πάλιν ἐρῶ, χαίρετε.

again I will say, rejoice!

Again I say, rejoice!

again I will say, rejoice!

progression

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.

τὸ ἐπιεικὲς ὑμῶν γνωσθήτω πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις.

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.

Let everyone see your gentleness. 4

Let your reasonableness or gentleness be known to everyone

q The Lord is at hand;

ὁ κύριος ἐγγύς.

a The Lord is 1 near.

The Lord is near!

For the Lord is near

ground

r do not be anxious about anything,

μηδὲν μεριμνᾶτε,

a Be anxious for nothing,

Do not be anxious about anything.

[We'll have reasonableness and gentleness of mind and spirit by] not being anxious

s but in everything by prayer and supplication t with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

ἀλλʼ ἐν παντὶ τῇ προσευχῇ καὶ τῇ δεήσει μετὰ εὐχαριστίας

but in everything by b prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God.

but in everything, by means of prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

τὰ αἰτήματα ὑμῶν γνωριζέσθω πρὸς τὸν θεόν.

let your requests be made known to God.

let your request be made known to God

actionmanner

negativepositive

And u the peace of God, v which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

καὶ ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν φρουρήσει τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ νοήματα ὑμῶν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ.

And a the peace of God, which surpasses all 1 comprehension, will b guard your hearts and your c minds in d Christ Jesus.

And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds 5 in Christ Jesus.

And [as a result] the peace of God, which suppresses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus

actionresult

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Τὸ λοιπόν, ἀδελφοί, ὅσα ἐστὶν ἀληθῆ, ὅσα σεμνά, ὅσα δίκαια, ὅσα ἁγνά, ὅσα προσφιλῆ, ὅσα εὔφημα,

Finally, brethren, a whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is 1 lovely, whatever is of good repute,

Finally, brothers and sisters, 6 whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.

lastly, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute

εἴ τις ἀρετὴ καὶ εἴ τις ἔπαινος,

if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise,

if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise,

ταῦτα λογίζεσθε•

2 dwell on these things.

[then] dwell on these things.

conditional

What you have learned and w received and heard and seen x in me—practice these things, and y the God of peace will be with you.

ἃ καὶ ἐμάθετε καὶ παρελάβετε καὶ ἠκούσατε καὶ εἴδετε ἐν ἐμοί,

The things you have learned and received and heard and seen a in me,

And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.

moreover, what you have learned, and received and heard and seen in me,

ταῦτα πράσσετε•

practice these things,

Practice these things,

καὶ ὁ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης ἔσται μεθʼ ὑμῶν.

and b the God of peace will be with you.

And [when you dwell and do all of these] the God of peace will be with you.

na28

Notes

The first thing we must do as we deal with our passage in Philippians 4:1-9 is to ask the question what is being joined together by the conjunction “therefore” or “so then” in verse 1. Second, ask what is being referred to by the adverb “thus” or prepositional phrase(functioning adverbially), “in this way”. Let’s answer these questions one at a time. Therefore …stand firm in the Lord When we go back to Philippians 3:17-21 , you will notice that Paul gave the reason why it’s necessary for the Philippians to imitate him and others. It’s because there are those who claim to be Christians but in reality enemies of the cross but we are citizens of heaven waiting for Christ’s return. 3:18-21 supports both 3:17 and 4:1. Meaning, being aliens in this world, while waiting for the coming of the Savior, there will be oppositions, therefore imitate Paul(3:17) and stand firm(4:1). stand firm in this way Not only that verse 1 functions as an inference from the preceding verses it is also functioning as a transitional verse that looks forward to what follows. And the phrase “in this way” signals that for us. But we must asked; what is “in this way”? It may refer to 3:17. That is, stand firm by imitating Paul, or perhaps it may refer to verses 2-9 of chapter 4. According to Moises Silva, these options are not mutually exclusive, and I agree with him. It may mean both. Notice that verse 9 ends with the same command in 3:17 , imitate what you saw from Paul and others. So it’s not a stretch to think of it that way. my brethren, beloved and longed for, my joy and my crown. One last thing to take note of before we proceed to what we call hortatory section(strings of pleadings and commands) of the letter is Paul’s affection for the Philippians. Paul’s pleadings and urgings are seasoned with good words. He makes sure that in admonishing them with apostolic authority, he’s not lording it over them. He’s doing this out of love, and to hurt them would rob him of his joy and crown of boasting at the coming of Christ. All of us, most specifically those who lead must imitate Paul in this way. No matter how good our intentions might be, if not done with love, we’ll just hurt the body in the process. Standing Firm in the Lord Now that those are out of the way, we can ask now the pressing question; What does standing firm in the Lord really looks like? 1. There’s agreement or unanimity amongst each other in the Lord(verse 2) We saw from the previous chapters that Paul already hinted on the major issues at Philippi . It has to do with division and their grumbling against the leaders. Their unity was needed more than ever as they have real enemies to deal with(Philippians 3:18-19), instead of fighting each other. We’re not told about the nature and cause of the division and its extent. But we’re sure that the cause of division has nothing to do with something that would damn them. Standing firm in the Lord means being united inspite of our differences and the friction that it might cause. 2. We help those who disagree in the Lord to have unity(verse 3) Second, standing firm in the Lord is characterized by peacekeeping and mediation between those who disagree. That’s why in the first point I said “united inspite of differences”. Paul knew that it won’t be easy if the two women were tasked to resolve their issues by themselves. They need the help of a third party. The great thing about the identity of this true companion is that we don’t know who’s being referred to here. And I like it that way because that means any one can be this guy. But grammatically speaking, more likely this individual is a male person, because of the gender of the greek word for “companion”. Probably one of the elders in the salutation(1:1). His role was not to take sides but to help them live harmoniously in the Lord. That’s why he was reminded that 1) both these women have shared in Paul’s struggle in the gospel and 2) that they are true believers. Their names are in the book of life. In other words, as mediators we can’t take sides. Unity must be in Christ, and not in one side of the divide. We must look beyond their dispute and remember that they are Christians and not the enemies. 3. There is rejoicing in the Lord(verse 4) Thirdly, standing firm in the Lord is characterized by rejoicing in the Lord. We’re not called to endure tribulations and persecutions while despairing and being gloomy. No! We are called to rejoice in the Lord always. That’s the mantra echoed repeatedly in this epistle. In Philippians 1:4-6 Paul prays for them with joy because he knows that the One who began a good work in them will bring it to completion. Then in Philippians 1:18 he rejoiced in the fact that Christ was being proclaimed whether in pretense or in truth. Paul expressed in Philippians 1:25 his willingness to stay and live for their joy of faith. Then in Philippians 2:2 he told them to complete his joy by having one mind. Even though he’s about to die, Paul says in Philippians 2:17 that he’s glad and rejoicing with them and in Philippians 2:18 that they should rejoice with him. In Philippians 2:28-29 he expressed his concern for the mutual joy of the Philippians and Epaphroditus. Paul pointed out that repeated warnings are occasions to rejoice in Philippians 3:2. Then in Philippians 4:1, the Philippians are his joy, and in Philippians 4:10 he rejoiced in their support. So in all circumstances rejoice in the Lord. 4. There’s reasonableness and gentleness(verse 5) The word for gentleness or reasonableness used here in greek is the same word for forbearance “ἐπιεικὲς”. This calls attention to how unity will be dealt with and be seen by the watching world. Unity assumes that at times you will get hurt and Paul was pleading that we bear and forgive one another. And because of that, everyone will see that you are reasonable and gentle and does not resort to revenge and retaliation. So it is hard, it’s never easy that’s why we must stand firm. Take note of verse 5b, the reason we need this more than ever is that the Lord is at hand. As we see the day of the Lord drawing near, the love of many would grow cold and the remedy is to never neglect the corporate gathering(Hebrews 10:25). How can we stir or agitate one another to love(Hebrews 10:24) if we don’t know how to forbear, and be reasonable and gentle. How can we become reasonable, gentle or forbearing? By having the peace of God(verse 6-9). This peace is described as peace which surpasses all understanding. It is peace in circumstances where we usually think it’s impossible to have. This peace will not move you away from your present situation(perhaps irritating situations where our natural response is to explode), but it will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. What must we do then to achieve God’s peace? 1) Be Prayerful Being anxious about anything is a symptom of unreasonableness. What if he/she did it again, what if we can never be reconciled. In context, that’s probably the cause of their anxieties. Don’t be anxious, Paul said, instead in everything, yes in everything, from the least of your concerns to whatever that makes you tick, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. Then verse 7 gave us this promise that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. Pray for those whom you have quarrels it. There’s no other way to change people but to rely on God to do his work. And most of the time we need more the changing than the other side. So pray to God that he will grant you a forbearing, not easily irritated, loving spirit. 2) Dwell on and imitate what is pleasing A sure way toward dispute and division is to count the wrongs of others. Stop tallying how many times a person wronged you, instead think of whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is excellence and anything praiseworthy, think of these things. Paul immediately applied this to himself in verse 9 because he knows that he’s not yet perfect and there are flaws in him, and inspite of that, we have learned and received and heard and seen in him that which is good. Practice them or imitate what is good in him. And when we do that, the God of peace himself will be with us. What a promise! One might argue that; "I can’t find anything good in them.” Well, the thing is if we will only look to ourselves, we really can’t find any good in us. That is if you don’t have Christ in you. Christ is the only good that the Father sees in us so that he can forgive us. So Christ is more than enough good in order for us to forgive and forbear and be reconciled with each other. This is how we stand firm in the Lord. It is always within the context of the fellowship of prayerful believers. We stand firm together even if it means that we have to treat others more significant than ourselves. Yes even those who caused us pain. Together we rejoice in the Lord in everything.

Diagram of 4:1

Philippians 4:1

na28

subjectverb

(X)

solid

drop

equal

revrocket

line

pred

στήκετε

prepphrase

pstack

cword

οὕτως

ἐν

directobject

κυρίῳ

rocketship

ἀδελφοί

μου

στέφανός

μου

χαρὰ

(μου)

vertical

ἀγαπητοὶ

καὶ

ἐπιπόθητοι

ἀγαπητοί

καὶ

smartline

dashed

free

line1

line2

table

Ὥστε

line1

line2

diagram