GETTING ALONG IN CHRIST – Philippians 4:2-3
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on August 19, 2012 under 2012 |
Preached Sunday, August 19, 2012 from Philippians 4:2-3
Theme: Paul’s instructions concerning a disagreement in the church at Philippi give us seven principles in dealing with divisions within the household of faith.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
So far, in chapters 1-3, Paul has laid out what we might call the “doctrinal foundations” of joy. That’s what the first part of this letter has been—the laying down of a doctrinal foundation. You could say that the doctrinal division of this letter concludes—and the practical section begins—with the words of the first verse of chapter four: “Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved”. All that Paul has said thus far has pointed to an intimacy of relationship with Jesus Christ. And to the degree that we “stand-fast” in all that He has done for us, we will experience His joy.
Paul needed to lay down the “doctrinal foundations” for joy first. Our “practice” as Christians is always based on sound theological “principles”. But now that the foundation has been laid, Paul begins—in chapter four—to set forth the second main division of his letter; that is, the practical division. What does this joy look like in practice? How are we to see it implemented in our daily lives?
And it’s interesting to notice that the very first thing that Paul deals with in this ‘practical’ section of the letter is a conflict between two women in the church. In Philippians 4:2-3, Paul writes;
I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life (Philippians 4:2-3).
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Now; who were these two women? All that we know about them is what we find in these two verses. But even though there’s not much said about them, there’s much that we can know about them.
For one thing, we know their names. One of them was named Euodia. Hers is a rather lovely name. It means “Prosperous” or “Successful”. The other was named Syntyche. And she too had a lovely name with a lovely meaning—”Fortunate” or “Lucky”. You’d expect that these two women would lived up to the loveliness of their names—and given the way Paul speaks of them in these two verses, I believe they—for the most part—did so. It seems that the people in the church who knew them certainly loved them dearly.
Second, we know where they come from. They were Macedonians—Gentile women who lived in this great city Philippi. This is purely speculation on my part; but I notice that when Paul and Silas first came to the city of Philippi, Acts 16:13 tells us that some folks were gathered by the riverside “where prayer was customarily made”. These folks were most likely Greeks who had converted to Judaism. And we’re told that Paul and Silas “sat down and spoke to the women who met there”, and shared the gospel with them. Euodia and Syntyche were clearly in positions of importance with respect to the ministry of the church in Philippi; and I wonder if they were a part of that group of women that Paul and Silas met early on.
And third, we know that these two women were strong and faithful followers of Jesus. They were women that Paul esteemed as those who had labored with him—and with others—in his work of the gospel. They were among those whose names, according to Paul, were written “in the Book of Life”.
But clearly, something was wrong. These two precious and much-loved saints were at odds with one another. They were not getting along. I don’t believe that their disagreement was a matter of sin. There’s a way that the Bible teaches the church to deal with issues of sin; but Paul doesn’t seem to approach their disagreement as if it was a product of sinful behavior. It might have been over something for which Christians can have legitimate disagreements with each other. It may be that they disagreed with each other, for example, over some particularities of doctrine. It might have been that they didn’t agree with each other on how certain ministries should be conducted. We’re not told just exactly what the issue was, or how it came about. And perhaps it’s good that we’re not told the specifics. But whatever the reason may have been, the relationship between these two precious women was being hurt by it; and they were not in fellowship with one another as they should have been.
And what’s more, their disagreement was hurting the rest of the church and its reputation. It was making things hard for everyone. Paul even heard about it in far-away Rome. And he wrote the letter to the Philippians, in part, to help deal with this problem; and to exhort these two women to overcome the barrier it was creating in their relationship with each other.
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I’ve been involved in church ministry for pretty much all of my adult life—for the majority of that time as a pastor. I’ve sat on the boards of a couple of different churches. I’ve been involved in many church planning teams. I’ve watched many different church ministry programs develop; and others be brought to a close. I’ve studied different forms of church polity. I’ve seen different leadership styles and structures being used. I’ve helped develop church constitutions and bylaws. I’ve seen a lot of different church “fads” and “trends” come and go.
And after all these years, I am convinced that the thing that God places in one of the highest places of priority in the life of His household of faith—higher, I would say, than any of those other things—is ‘relationships’. Constitutions and policies, ministry programs and worship music styles—as important as such things most certainly are—are not really what attract people to the Savior and build them up in Him. Rather, it’s the relationships we form with each other in Christ. As Jesus Himself said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
And I am quite sure that, because that’s true, one of the main ways that the devil will seek to destroy our witness to this world, and to harm the effectiveness of our work of the gospel—and, thereby, destroy much of our joy in Christ—is to attack the relationships within the body of Christ. It may not be that he can tempt many of us to fall into gross sin. And it may not be that he can tempt many of us to embrace false doctrine. But if he can set us at odds against one another—and harm our relationships with each other—then he can very effectively silence our witness to the world.
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This morning, before our time is through, I’m going to ask that we pray together, and bring the matter of the relationships within the church family to Him. It may be that there are some relationships within the church that need to be mended. It may be that there are some relationships that one believer in this church family has with a believer in another church family that needs to be mended. It may even be that a relationship needs to be mended between a believing husband and a believing wife.
I don’t feel out of place in asking that we do this corporately. If you think about it, Paul would have had this letter read publicly to the church gathered together. Euodia and Syntyche would have been sitting in the congregation to hear it. So would everyone else. Everything would have been brought out into the open; and everyone—with the help of the Holy Spirit—would have been involved in the process of healing.
So; in anticipation of our praying together, what did Paul tell the church—and these two women—to do in these two verses? I find that, when we take every word of these two verses seriously, we find that Paul gives us seven principles in dealing with the problem of division in the church.
First, we see that we need to . . .
1. TREAT THE MATTER SERIOUSLY.
Look at the first thing Paul said to his Philippian brothers and sisters: “I implore . . .” That’s a word that suggests an earnest appeal. Some translations have it, “I plead . . .” Others have it, “I entreat . . .” Still others have it, “I urge . . .” You get the sense from it that this conflict was not something to merely overlook to learn to live with. It as something that truly needed to be dealt with and resolved.
The theme of our getting along together in Christ is something that was a big concern for Paul in this letter. Paul had been dropping hints about long before he wrote this appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Near the beginning of his letter, for example, Paul wrote,
“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment . . .” (Philippians 1:9).
This is because our love for each other is strategic to the gospel. Later on in the first chapter, he wrote,
“Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel . . .” (1:27).
Paul was very earnest about this—not just with respect to these two women, but with respect to the church as a whole. At the beginning of chapter 2, he wrote,
“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (2:1-4).
No wonder he was bold enough to write what ended up being a public appeal to these two women to resolve their differences with one another. To let the problem go on would be contrary to the mutual love that is to characterize followers of Jesus, would bring harm to the cause of the gospel, and would ultimately rob the church family of joy.
It’s something that, when it occurs in a church family like ours, should not be something to ignore or to just learn to live with. It’s no small thing when members of the household of God are not right with each other. It’s something that needs to be treated seriously and dealt with redemptively.
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And do you notice that, in taking this matter seriously, Paul doesn’t simply say, “I implore the two of you, Euodia and Syntyche . . .” He, as it were, makes a personal appeal to each of them. He says, “I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche . . .”
I believe this teaches us another principle about a disagreement in the church; that we need to . . .
2. DEAL WITH THE PERSONS INVOLVED INDIVIDUALLY.
When two different believers disagree with one another in the body of Christ, it’s not because some mysterious, singular ‘thing’ called ‘a disagreement’ was floating around in the air and somehow fell upon them. The disagreement exists because two different individuals have two different perspectives, and two different sets of priorities, and two different experiences, and two different personality styles that are in conflict with one another. And that means that those two different individuals need to be understood, and appealed to, and helped in the unique way that they each need.
Lately, I’ve been given the job of watering the flower pots at our home. But I don’t like my new job all that much. It’s boring. So I used to try to take care of it the quick and easy way. I would get the garden hose out, turn the water up all the way, and spray a wide spray of water all over everything. It soaked the whole area—including the spots were the flower pots are; and it occasionally also ended up watering some flowers in the process. But I’ve found that it’s not really a very effective way of going about it. It’s better to turn the water flow down a bit, walk around, and water each pot individually. That way, each individual pot gets the water it really needs; and the flowers themselves are treated much more gently. It takes more time; but it’s much more effective.
And that’s how we need to treat people in a time of conflict. We shouldn’t just ‘spray’ them all with a rebuke in a broad way; and say, “Now; you people shape up!” When each pot is watered individually, the unique needs of each flower are met. And when we deal with each of the people in a conflict situation as individuals—respecting their unique differences and concerns; and helping them to see how to bring those unique concerns to Christ in unity with each other—the results are much better, and the people involved are treated more compassionately. It takes more time; but it’s much more effective.
That’s why Paul said, “I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche . . .”
* * * * * * * * * *
And look specifically at what he appealed to them to do. He implored them both individually “to be of the same mind in the Lord.” This leads us to a third principle Paul’s words teach us in dealing with a conflict in the church family; and that is to . . .
3. FOCUS ON OUR BASIC UNITY IN CHRIST.
Paul didn’t merely appeal to them to abandon all of their own perspectives and viewpoints and concerns, pretend that those things didn’t matter, and just get along with each other. He appealed to them to bring their concerns to submission to Christ; so that they could be unified in Him! He wanted them to be of the same mind with each other—and that “same mind” was to be centered in the person of Jesus Christ.
You know; we who are in the body of Christ have the makings of great unity with each other . . . so long as the Lord Jesus is kept in His proper place in our lives. In fact, it’s not even a unity that we need to do anything to create. That unity has already been given to us; and it’s our job simply to “keep” it and protect it. When he wrote his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul said;
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Ephesians 4:1-6).
If I love Jesus Christ with all my heart—and so do you; and if I rejoice in the things that we have in common in Christ—and so do you; and if I prioritize our common bond in Him—and so do you; then we wont have to make ourselves “united”. We’ll already be united. We might disagree on some secondary issues. We might not see eye-to-eye on every theological point, or on how every passage of Scripture should be interpreted and applied, or on just how things should be done to advance the cause of the gospel of Christ. You might believe the ‘rapture’ happens at a different time than me. I might think differently about the ‘gray areas’ of Christian practice than you do. But those differences wont become a barrier to our relationship with each other if we both keep Jesus Christ and the authority of His word first!
That’s why Paul said, “I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.” If they both love Him most of all, they’ll both end up loving each other as they should.
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Now; in verse 2, Paul was making his appeal to the two women Euodia and Syntyche. They would have been sitting in the congregation hearing this appeal being read. I think that Paul’s words would have been received by them as very gracious and gentle; but also very direct. I believe they truly would have sought to repent and mend their differences.
But the rest of the congregation would have heard it as well. And so; so the next principle we learn about dealing with conflict in the body of Christ is to . . .
4. INVOLVE THE HELP OF OTHERS IN THE BODY.
Paul writes, “And I urge you also, true companion, help these women . . .”
Who is this “true companion”—or, as it is more literally, “true yoke-fellow”? There have been lots of different speculations. My personal belief is that it’s the pastor of the church. But the fact of the matter is, we just don’t know. In the end, it really doesn’t matter. All that we need to know is that it was someone who was a co-laborer partner with Paul in his concern for the ministry of the church; and that he—whoever he was—needed to step in and help these two precious women.
The word that Paul used is a fascinating one to me. It literally means ‘to take up with’ or to ‘seize up with’ someone else. And I have wondered if Paul needed to put it that way because many people in the church—including this ‘true companion’ of Paul—were holding back somewhat from dealing with this conflict. The rift between Euodia and Syntyche was ‘the elephant in the room’; and perhaps others in the church had too much of a ‘mind your own business’ attitude and were not stepping in when they should.
Conflict in the body of Christ isn’t a private matter. It’s a family matter. And very often, it’s something that the parties involved can’t solve on their own. They need the help of the rest of their brothers and sisters to exhort them, counsel them, and encourage them. Let’s learn from this not to look the other way when a conflict arises; but to lovingly step in and help when help is needed.
Perhaps many tragic “church conflict” stories could be avoided if we only did so more often than we do.
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Notice also that, in dealing with this conflict in the church, Paul calls the people of God to . . .
5. PRIORITIZE THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL.
He urged his ‘true companion’ to “help these women who labored with me in the gospel . . .” Many saints in the church at Philippi had helped him in the work of the gospel. That’s why he loved them so much. Back at the beginning of this letter, he wrote;
. . . just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. (Philippians 1:7).
These two women were, no doubt, among those who helped significantly to “share” in the work. And now, others needed to step in and help these two women who had been such a help to Paul—all so that the work of the gospel could continue to make progress.
Sometimes, when a conflict occurs, we loose a sense of priorities. We forget that we are in this together for the common cause of the Great Commission—to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations . . .” (Matthew 28:19). It’s not about our own personal agenda. We as a church family can help our brothers and sisters in a time of conflict to remember that what’s really important is the salvation of souls through the preaching of the gospel.
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I appreciate very much what Paul says next. He tells this ‘true companion’ to “help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers . . .” Now; once again, we don’t know for sure who Clement was—except that he and some of the others that Paul calls “fellow workers” had labored with Paul in the common cause of the gospel.
And I see in this that another principle in dealing with conflict among fellow believers is to . . .
6. PRESERVE A SENSE OF VALUED PARTNERSHIP.
Paul was very gracious to do this. You might say that he took Euodia, and Syntyche, and the ‘true companion’ and Clement and the other ‘fellow workers’ along a walk down memory lane. He reminded them of how they had labored together in the past. What thrilling times those must have been! How great it was to be used of God together to spread His kingdom!
Paul didn’t do what so many of us do in a time of conflict—that is, to forget everything that happened in the past, and only focus on the present problems. Paul didn’t set everything aside in that way. He honored the past. He honored the times that they had shared. He honored the sense of partnership they they had enjoyed and the great work they did together. He reminded everyone of what a great thing it was to be fellow-workers together in the cause of Christ.
We should do that to. We should be careful, in a time of conflict, to preserve that sense of partnership we share in the cause of Christ.
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And a final principle we see in this passage for dealing with a conflict within the church family is to . . .
7. LOOK AHEAD TO OUR ETERNAL DESTINY TOGETHER.
He speaks of Euodia, and of Syntyche, and of the ‘true companion’ and of Clement and of the other ‘fellow workers’ as those “whose names are in the Book of Life.” To have one’s name written in the Book of Life is another way of saying that we share eternal life together, and are going to go to heaven soon, and will be with each other throughout eternity.
It’s like Paul said earlier in this letter;
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself (Philippians 3:20-21).
We share a common identity as citizens together of heaven! We share a common expectation that—one day soon—Jesus Himself will transform us so that we become sharers together in His glory. We share a common outlook of dwelling together with Him forever! When that happens, all the minor differences that may put us at odds with each other now will be completely forgotten. They will never again divide us from one another.
So; we might as well not let them divide us now.
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I fully expect to meet Euodia and Syntyche in heaven; don’t you? And I suspect that they had also put their differences aside while still on earth; and grew to love each other as they should. And what’s more, I’m sure that their brothers and sisters in the body helped them along in that—and that they all grew together as a result.
May God help us to do the same. Let’s pray together to that end.
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