Year 2, Day 186: Philippians 4

Housekeeping Reminders

As we get to the final chapter in Paul’s letter, we are going to have a feeling that Paul is wrapping up a bunch of loose ends.  His main goal for writing the letter has been accomplished.  He has told the Philippians how pleased he is with their spirituality.  He has thanked them for their thoughtfulness and dedication to the work of the Lord.  He has warned them about false teachers.  Now he has a few “housekeeping” issues before he can close.

• The first housekeeping issue is a reminder to stand firm in the Lord.  That should always be at the top of our list with respect to housekeeping issues.
• The second housekeeping issue is to deal with an apparent conflict within the Philippian church.  It is nice to see this in the letter, because it tells us that even the great houses of spirituality are not without their problems and issues.  The Philippians church had two women who were not getting along for whatever reason.  It could be that they both wanted power or control.  Maybe they had a personality conflict.  It could be that they were jealous of each other.  Whatever the reason, these women were having difficulty.

Challenge Among Division

I find a great amount of challenge in Paul’s words.  First, Paul tells these women to get along.  Then, he asks the church to help them get along.  You’ll notice what Paul doesn’t do.  He doesn’t ask the Philippians to find a way to construct their life so that these women can choose to not solve their problem.  So many times that is our solution as a church.  Instead of dealing with the conflict, we find a way to live so that the area of conflict just doesn’t come up in conversation.  I know I’m really guilty of that – more frequently than I would like to admit, honestly.

I don’t know many of us who really enjoy conflict.  Most of us have enough natural conflict in our life that we become really good at innately sidestepping conflict.  We learn subconsciously that it is easier to ignore conflict and change ourselves so conflict doesn’t happen rather than address the real problem and affect change in the person who really should change.

However, there is a dynamic in the Philippian church that allows Paul to deal with the conflict rather than sidestep it: spiritual authority.  The Philippian church is spiritually following Paul.  He has genuine authority in their life.  They are genuinely following his spiritual leadership.  Without this sense of authority and leadership, conflict is not something with which we can deal.  Who will listen to someone tell them to change if they do not consider the other an authority?  Which of us tolerate being told we are wrong and have to change by anyone other than an authority?  And even then, sometimes it is tough!

More Rejoicing

Paul then moves on to a perspective of rejoicing.  We have much in our lives for which we can rejoice.  God has provided for much in our lives.    We have a salvation that cannot be revoked by this world.  We have God’s Word.  We have our loved ones.  We have places where we can worship and people with whom we can worship.  We have every reason to remember to rejoice in the Lord.

Final Greetings and an Amazing Revelation

Then we get to the closing words of Paul’s letter.  He greets them and encourages them to pass along his greeting to everyone in Philippi.  And then he drops a huge theological bomb upon us.  All the saints greet the Philippians – especially those in Caesar’s household.*

What this means is that Paul likely wrote this letter from Rome.  While we should not take the words “Caesar’s household” and imply that Caesar himself or any of his offspring were turning to Christ, it can certainly imply that there are those working it the office or house of Caesar who were turning to Christ.  Perhaps the guards who were in charge of Paul’s safety were converting.  Perhaps some of the servants and message carriers who were going between the court of Caesar and Paul were converting.  The roots of Christianity had already begun to grow into the Roman Empire.

But that is not the most amazing thing to me about these words.  These words are a huge clue to the possibility that Paul wrote this letter from prison – probably during his time of house arrest in Rome.  {See Acts 28:30-31, which gives us the impression that Paul’s time in Rome was not in jail but in more of a house arrest situation in which he could readily receive and talk with visitors.}  Paul was in Rome, waiting for his time to go before Caesar and explain the crimes for which he had been accused.  Paul knew that it could potentially be the end of his life.  Paul knew that word would eventually come from the Jews and they would likely bring out trouble for him in Rome.  It is in this situation that Paul writes such an encouraging letter to a beloved church.

Even in the midst of the unknown we can love one another and encourage them.  In fact, it is often the case that the more that we find ourselves in the unknown we also find ourselves pouring out love and supporting one another.  I think this is another endearing quality that I find with Paul.  He suffered trial after trial and was involved in argument after argument.  But he never once stopped loving those who were genuinely in Christ.

<>< 

*There are those that say “Caesar’s household” is a term that could apply to the “Roman government.”  This would mean the Roman government in any city, not necessarily in Rome itself.  This is certainly possible, although I believe Paul meant more by these words than simply the Roman government in whatever city he was in.  Yet, even if this take on the words is true, it does show the penetration of Christianity into the Roman government structure, which is still significant.