Standing Firm: Unity in the Body
Philippians 4:2–3
© Mike Riccardi
Introduction
Well, it is wonderful to be back in the GraceLife Pulpit! I have certainly missed preaching the Word of God from this pulpit, to this precious group of people. It’s been a blessing for me to stand behind the main pulpit on Sunday evenings, and to serve our church in this unique season by preaching through the Book of Colossians. Thank you for loaning me to the evening service, and for attending faithfully to the excellent preaching in this pulpit—both from Pastor Phil, as always, and from the brothers who have stepped in for me. Many thanks to Christian, to Marco, and to Sheldon, who have served us so well, and will continue to do so in the months ahead.
But when they told me that I’d have evenings in December off, I thought, “Well, this gives me an opportunity to sneak in a few sermons in GraceLife!” And so it is a joy to open the Word of God to you this morning. But amidst the busyness of the season—both with finishing up the seminary semester, and preparing to preach in the morning service on Christmas Sunday—I quickly realized that I wasn’t going to have the time to properly prepare for the next passages in the Gospel of John. And so as I thought about what I would preach, both this Sunday and next, my mind was drawn to Philippians chapter 4—a chapter I first preached through more than eleven years ago in GraceLife. And that’s because Philippians 4 focuses on a quartet of Gospel graces—virtues that we all need to cultivate—but which seem especially relevant as we anticipate the Christmas season, and then look to a New Year in just a few weeks. And that quartet of Gospel graces are unity, joy, gentleness, and peace.
Unity and joy seem most appropriate for the Christmas season. The news of a Savior’s birth—One who will rescue us from the just punishment that our sins deserve—that is described in Luke 2:10 as “good news of great joy”! And the Gospel that accomplishes our forgiveness does so by uniting us to Christ, by immersing us into Him, making us members of the body of which He is the head. And being united to Jesus by faith, means that we are united to everyone else who is united to Jesus! We are indeed the body of Christ. And there’s no more appropriate time to act like it than at the time of year when we celebrate our Savior’s incarnation.
Now, these exhortations to unity, joy, gentleness, and peace, don’t come in the context of preparations for Christmas. They come in the context of Paul’s call to the Philippian church to stand firm—to not let the attacks of the world and threats of persecution cause them to surrender an inch in their commitment to Jesus and His Gospel. Back in chapter 1 verse 27, Paul calls them to “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit.” And then in chapter 4 verse 1, Paul writes, “Therefore my beloved brethren…in this way stand firm in the Lord.”
And in this season, we at Grace Church have a particular need to stand firm. In the weeks following Pastor John’s promotion to heaven, I mentioned from this pulpit how the constancy of John MacArthur has been one of the most comforting features of his ministry. Whatever the next fad was, gaining popularity in evangelicalism, whatever the next doctrinal deviation was, that would threaten the church, you could count on John MacArthur to cut through the nonsense and just preach the Word. You knew he wasn’t ever going to compromise, that you could count on him to bring the Word of God to bear on whatever issue that confronted believers. There’s a steadiness and a stability that that kind of shepherd brings that comforts the sheep.
But now that our precious pastor is absent from us and present with his Lord, the need for us to press on in that kind of spiritual stability has never been greater. We still live in a world that is characterized by instability of every kind. Politically, economically, morally—it’s a mess out there. And that upside-down world is radically hostile to the Lord Jesus Christ—hostile to the authority of His Word as the exclusive rule for all of life, and hostile to the life of holiness and purity to which we have been called as His followers.
And we minister in the context of an evangelicalism that is also remarkably unstable—infatuated with every shiny new fad that comes downstream from the world, seemingly always ready to compromise with the latest pattern of sins the world thinks is acceptable, with more and more stories of so-called “ex-vangelicals” “deconstructing their faith.” There is also an unprecedented number of attacks against this church—attacks that threaten the unity of this body. Well may we say with Paul in 1 Corinthians 16:9 that, at the present time, “a wide door for effective service has been opened to [us at Grace Church], and there are many adversaries.”
We need to stand firm against all of this! The Greek word in Philippians 4:1 is steko, and it means “to be firmly committed in conviction” (Hansen, 95). It was often used in a military context to refer to a faithful soldier who would steadfastly hold his ground regardless of the danger of the opposition. No matter what would happen, the soldier who would stand firm was the one who defended his position at all costs, even if it meant sacrificing his life (cf. MacArthur, 86).
And GraceLife, I know that that’s the kind of Christian you want to be. You don’t want to be an unstable soldier, someone who folds under pressure, who yields ground to the enemy, who is tossed back and forth by the ever-changing moral tides of a corrupt culture. You want to stand! You want to hold your ground! Out of love and admiration for your Savior, you want to remain faithful to Jesus no matter what this world throws at you. You want to stand firm.
But how will such steadfastness become a reality in our lives? What does true spiritual stability consist in? Paul answersthat question in the opening verses of Philippians 4. In verse 1 he says, “in this way stand firm in the Lord.” And then in verses 2 to 7, he lists several ways in which we are to stand firm. It is to cultivate that quartet of Christian graces that we spoke about earlier. True, biblical steadfastness is marked by a diligent devotion to unity within the body of Christ; by an unyielding pursuit of joy in the Lord; by an eminent and demonstrable gentleness of spirit; and by a repudiation of all anxiety and devotion to thankful prayer—the result of which is, verse 7, that “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
And so my plan will be to cover the first two graces this Sunday and next. And then to cover the second two virtues on the first two Sundays in January. This morning we focus on the diligent devotion to unity within the body of Christ.
And, if you’re like me, discussions on the importance of Christian unity—rather than thrilling your heart—can often make you suspicious. And that’s because in our day, in our evangelical climate, calls for unity usually come from liberal ecumenical-types who want to downplay the importance of truth and sound doctrine in favor of holding hands and portraying a façade of togetherness. For these kinds of people, it doesn’t matter what we’re united on; what matters is: we’re together, and we’re in a big group.
And so that kind of approach can tend to make those of us who care about truth and sound doctrine overly dismissive of the importance of spiritual unity. But friends, we can’t surrender unity to those who want to style it as a spineless sentimentalism. We need to pursue true, biblical unity, which is founded upon and grounded in truth. But we also need to recognize that such unity extends beyond our common doctrinal commitments to our attitudes, dispositions, and personal relationships with one another.
Because Paul says that if there is to be the kind of steadfastness—the kind of spiritual stability—that he prescribes in verse 1—the people of God must be diligently devoted to maintaining unity in the church. Let’s read our text for this morning, Philippians 4, verses 2 and 3: “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”
Exposition
And the text basically unfolds across two main units of thought. First, there is Paul’s exhortation for these two women in conflict to be of the same mind. And then there is Paul’s request for one of the members of the Philippian congregation to help these women achieve that unity. And to those, we’ll add a third point on the front end: we need to consider the identity of Euodia and Syntyche, which will help us understand Paul’s call to unity.
So, that’ll be the outline for our exposition: (1) the identity of the women, (2) an exhortation to unity, and (3) a request for help. And then, after we’ve unfolded the teaching of the text along those three heads, I’ll draw several lines of application as we bring that teaching to bear on our own lives.
I. The Identity of the Two Women
In the first place, then, let us consider the identity of these two sisters in the Lord whom Paul exhorts to dwell together in unity. Their names, as we see in verse 2, are Euodia and Syntyche. They are not mentioned in Scripture aside from this text, but we learn much about them from the information we have here.
It’s evident that these two women were members of the church at Philippi. So, when Epaphroditus returned with Paul’s letter and it was read to the congregation, Euodia and Syntyche would have been in attendance. And I think it’s reasonable to conclude that they were prominent members, likely highly regarded and loved by the church. And I say that for at least two reasons. One, Paul believed the disagreement between them warranted a public rebuke, which meant that he thought it had the potential to affect the entire congregation. And two, because Paul describes them in verse 3 as those who “have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel.” “Shared my struggle” is a gloss for the Greek word sunathléo, which is made up of the prefix sun-, which means “together with,” and the verb athléo, which, as you may be able to hear, is where we get our English word athlete or athletics. And so this is a picture of the laboring, the exertion of energy, and the discipline that goes along with athletic competition! It’s an image of soldiers, fighting with all the athletic prowess they can summon, and striving side by side against a common enemy (cf. 1:27, 30).
These sisters had occasion to labor alongside Paul in the advancement of the Gospel in Macedonia. They stood side-by-side with him—and, apparently, side-by-side with each other—and experienced that same conflict and opposition that Paul experienced. They were his fellow soldiers. And then in chapter 4 verse 3 he calls them his fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.” And so Euodia and Syntyche had gained a reputation for their courage and their zeal, in Gospel ministry, striving alongside Paul himself in the face of persecution. They were battle-tested.
And yet: even after all that, they found themselves to be at such an impasse with one another that they needed to be exhorted to unity.
II. Paul’s Exhortation to Unity
And that brings us to the second point of our exposition. We’ve had a brief introduction to the identity of the two women. Now, secondly, consider Paul’s exhortation to them to be unified. His exhortation to unity. Verse 2 again: “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord.”
Now this exhortation to “live in harmony” is literally translated, “be of the same mind,” or “think the same thing.” Which obviously means that they weren’t of the same mind, and it was causing problems. Now, Paul doesn’t discuss the precise nature of their disagreement, but we can be confident that this was not a theological disunity. Euodia and Syntyche were not defecting doctrinally, here. That wasn’t the Philippians’ problem. Paul consistently praises them as a sound church, as those who are solidly grounded partners in Gospel ministry.
If doctrinal disunity was the problem, Paul would have simply delivered an apostolic verdict as to who was teaching truth and who was in error. After all, Paul was not one to be soft on false teaching. This was the same man who wrote Galatians 1:9: “If any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” He is to be, as one translation puts it, “condemned to hell!” (NET). Only a chapter earlier, in Philippians 3:2, he denounces the Judaizers as dogs. So we can be sure that if there was any theological disagreement, Paul’s counsel would not merely be “to live in harmony in the Lord.” Surely he would want harmony, but that harmony is rooted in the truth. So, if the disagreement were doctrinal, he would have identified the biblical position and called them to faith in the truth.
Instead, this was a personal conflict, a relational conflict. It may have been over a matter of personal conviction upon which the Word of God gave no explicit comment—something like how often the Lord’s supper should be celebrated. Maybe it was a matter of conscience, like whether to totally abstain from alcohol or to partake thankfully in moderation. Maybe it was a disagreement about how one of them was treated, and now Euodia is sitting and waiting for an apology and Syntyche is waiting for Euodia to grow up and get thicker skin. It was something along those lines. And Paul knew that it wouldn’t be long (if it hadn’t begun already) before this disagreement between two prominent, zealous, strong sisters would have caused factions to spring up in the church. “I am of Euodia!” “I am of Syntyche!” And so he exhorts them, with emphasis: “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche”—you hear that repetition—“to live in harmony.” “Be of the same mind. Figure this thing out, dear sisters!”
This is the particular application of the great number of general exhortations to unity that Paul has issued throughout this epistle. The thesis verse of the Book is chapter 1 verse 27, where Paul exhorts them all to “conduct [them]selves in a manner worthy of the Gospel.” “Live like Gospel people! Bring the implications of the glorious Gospel by which you are saved to bear on the way you live your lives!” But then, in that very verse, Paul mentions unity no fewer than three times. “Live in step with the Gospel,” “so that…I will hear…that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.” So Paul considers unity among the brethren to be a paramount implication of a Gospel-driven life.
And then, just a few verses later in the opening words of chapter 2, Paul issues that heartfelt, passionate plea for Christian unity on the basis of the glorious benefits we receive in the Gospel. Philippians 2:1: “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind,”—almost the same exact construction in our text—“maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” In chapter 2 verse 14, he calls them to do all things without grumbling or disputing, which surely implies that there was some grumbling and disputing going on.
And so here he makes a specific application of the exhortations and commands to unity that he’s issued throughout the letter. And the phrase is, as we said, literally, “to be of the same mind,” or “to think the same thing.” And this is so important. He doesn’t say, “Hey ladies, just lump it and get along!” No, true Chrisitan unity is not forced compliance. It’s not the abandonment of conviction in favor of a superficial niceness where everyone agrees to disagree. It’s actually thinking the same way! It’s a genuine unity of mind, where you get under Scripture, and you have the tough back-and-forth conversations, and you persuade one another on the matter.
At the same time, that’s not to dismiss the fact that there are matters where it’s OK for mature Christians to disagree. Paul is not suggesting that Euodia and Syntyche be carbon copies of one another, no longer individuals who exercise independent thought. He’s not saying that Christians must have the same opinion on absolutely everything. This word, phronéo describes a person’s whole attitude and disposition of mind (O’Brien, 178). In chapter 2 verse 2, it gets translated as, “intent on one purpose.” Paul is calling them to have the same dominating attitude, the same mindset, the same basic aim and direction and orientation that controls and drives all their behavior (O’Brien, 478).
And what is that orienting center of their life? It’s the Gospel. They are to live lives that are driven by the Gospel, and so they are not to allow any personal squabble to get in the way of their working harmoniously for the advancement of the Gospel in their community. That’s what it means to be of the same mind “in the Lord.” The objective union that they each have with Christ as a result of His work in the Gospel is the ground for the subjective unity that binds all believers together as the body of Christ—so that we’re not just family who are stuck with one another, but that we’re belovedbrethren, as he calls them in verse 1; that we like one another, that we even long for one another. They are to come to a harmonious agreement as two sisters who share a common bond with one another in Christ.
I like the way one commentator put it when he wrote, “When one’s attitude of mind is in the Lord, union with the Lord informs and inspires the attitude. … When their common bond in the Lord becomes central, their attitude toward each other will be the same as Christ Jesus expressed on the way to the cross” (Hansen, 283). And what was that attitude? Chapter 2 verse 3: “Doing nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regarding one another as more important than yourselves.” And the supreme example of that attitude was Christ, who, though He was God, made Himself of no reputation by taking on the weakness of human nature, and then further humbling Himself by becoming obedient to death on a cross. Whatever their disagreement was, it was to be crucified, along with their pride, as they forged a path forward in Gospel-driven unity.
III. Paul’s Request for Help
Well, we’ve examined the identity of the two women, as well as Paul’s exhortation to them. We turn now, thirdly, to Paul’s request for help. And that comes in verse 3: “Indeed, true companion,”—or literally, true yokefellow—“I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel….”
And this word that the NAS translates “companion” here is the Greek word suzugos, which is a compound word made up of the prefix sun-, which means “together with,” and the word zugos, which is the common word for “yoke.” Paul addresses this man as his “true yokefellow” in the ministry. And the imagery is marvelous. Paul is likening himself and this man, in their labor on behalf of the Gospel, to two oxen, bound by a single yoke, plowing along in a field, but bearing their load together. It speaks of one who shares a common burden (MacArthur, 272). And so he’s saying to this brother, “I have known you to be a true companion, a true yokefellow, a proven fellow-laborer in Gospel ministry, who bears the needs of the saints. And I request of you now to help these women. Help them.”
And much ink has been spilled trying to identify this true yokefellow. Some people say it was Timothy or Epaphroditus, because Paul commends them to the Philippians by name in the second half of chapter 2. Others think Silas or Luke, because they accompanied Paul on many of his missionary journeys. Some people think he’s referring to the church as a whole and using the term figuratively. But I believe the best option is that suzugos should be left untranslated, because it’s a proper name. That is to say, Paul is referring to a man whose name is Syzygus. Certainly that would make sense, given how many proper names he’s used in the context of these two verses: “Euodia,” “Syntyche,” “Clement.” And so by calling the man, “true Syzygus,” Paul employs a play on words. He’s effectively saying, “You who are a ‘yokefellow’ by name, now live up to your name, and be a true yokefellow, and help these dear sisters!”
We know that Paul has employed a similar kind of wordplay with the names of his other companions. You remember Onesimus, that runaway slave whom Paul writes on behalf of in his letter to Philemon. Well, the name Onesimus means “useful” in Greek, and Paul writes to Philemon and says in verses 10 and 11, “I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.” “This Onesimus used to be the opposite of his namesake! But now he is Onesimus indeed!” Well in the same way, Paul entreats Syzygus to live up to his name in the lives of Euodia and Syntyche.
And note, specifically, what he requests him to do: “Help these women.” And this word, sullambano, is a wonderful word that emphasizes camaraderie, and fellow-labor. One way to translate this word is “to take hold of together” (BDAG, 955). And perhaps the best illustration of it comes in Luke chapter 5, where the disciples had been fishing all night long but had caught nothing, and Jesus instructs Peter to put out his nets for a catch. And in verse 6 Luke tells us, “When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break; so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them.” Same word: to take hold of the net together.
That’s the image of the request Paul makes of this true yokefellow. He’s saying, “Dear Syzygus, you whom I’ve known to be a true friend of the saints, one who has proven that he can take up the yoke of Gospel ministry and plow forward in unity—these women have come upon a conflict that they’re unable to solve on their own, a catch of fish that is too great and too cumbersome for them to handle without help. Dear friend, live up to your name. Be a true yokefellow. Come alongside these dear fellow soldiers of the Gospel and help them bear this burden that has gotten the better of them.”
Application
And so we have seen the identity of Euodia and Syntyche, Paul’s exhortation to unity, and now the request for help he makes on their behalf. And I trust that the meaning of Paul’s words has been made clear to you. But now we turn to ask, “What lessons does this text teach us, in our own lives, as we diligently seek to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace?” And in answering that question, I want to draw five lines of application.
The Supreme Importance of Unity
First, we need to underscore the supreme importance of unity within the body of Christ. We’ve already observed the great emphasis that Paul has placed on unity throughout this letter. And that emphasis is well summarized by Paul’s words to another congregation that was in the throes of the fractures of disunity, as he writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 10, “Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
And we also observe this supreme importance of unity by considering what lengths Paul went to in order to resolve this problem in Philippi. He thought this problem so serious that he resorted to the naming of names—to a public rebuke of his dear friends before the whole church! I can only imagine what it would have been like for Euodia and Syntyche that Sunday morning when Epaphroditus had delivered the letter and it was to be read to the congregation. How excited they must have been to hear from Paul, and to hear of his rejoicing amidst his trial, his exhortations to stand firm in their ownconflict! That would have brought back such sweet memories of their labors alongside him in those early days for the sake of the Gospel in Philippi. And then to come to chapter 4 and hear that profusion of affection in verse 1: “my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown.” And then to hear their names read. But to have what follows be not a commendation for their past labors, but a rebuke for their present immaturity!
You say, “Paul, now was that really necessary? I mean, we’ve established that this is not doctrinal defection here. You’ve just been speaking about all these lofty realities in chapter 3—these solemn warnings against the most insidious kind of false teaching, the glorious communion to be had with Christ now in sanctification and at His coming in glorification. You’ve been speaking about the deep love and tender affection that exists between believers, and the call to steadfastness against anything that would hinder us. And now, unity? Over non-doctrinal issues? You’ve got to call these two women out by name to tell them to get along?”
You see, that ought only to show us how serious a problem is disunity among the brethren—that it is fit to be mentioned right alongside the rankest and most heretical forms of false doctrine, as the Judaizers whom he mentions in chapter 3. Disunity within the church is a cancer so serious that it must not be allowed to fester. And the Apostle will use the mostdrastic means necessary to cut it out, because if is left untreated, it has the potential to metastasize and infect the rest of the congregation. And that kind of division destroys a church’s ability to stand firm against the persecution, opposition, and false teaching that the body of Christ is promised to face throughout every generation until Jesus returns.
The church is at war, friends. We are engaged in a spiritual battle with “the spiritual forces of wickedness” (Eph 6:12) as we seek to minister this glorious Gospel to Los Angeles. And the strength of any army consists fundamentally in the unity of its soldiers. If the soldiers of an army are all trying to do their own thing, advance at their own pace, fight in their own way—and even begin fighting against each other—defeat is certain. But a well-trained army presents a united front and fights as a single unit, with one mind and one accord, as if they were one man (cf. Hansen, 97).
In his commentary on this passage, John MacArthur said, “Since conflict between influential people in a church will generate instability throughout the congregation, the two quarreling women at Philippi posed a danger to the entire church’s stability. … Even if its doctrine is sound, disunity robs a church of its power and destroys its testimony. And a church facing hostile external enemies cannot afford to have its members fighting among themselves” (270).
Dear friends, we need to grasp the supreme importance of unity within the body of Christ. Proverbs 17:14 says, “The beginning of strife is like letting out water, So abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.” Strife is like a dam that has just a tiny fissure at the top. And the pressure of discord un-dealt-with is like the building pressure of that water. Over time, that crack gets larger and larger, until eventually a deluge breaks the dam wide open and destroys the lives of all those in its wake. For the sake of our Gospel witness, we must, as Ephesians 4:3 says, “be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
So, what’s that conflict that you’ve been avoiding? Who is that brother or sister that you’ve walled off from your heart? What conversation have you been refusing to have? What questions have you been unwilling to ask? What answers have you been unwilling to listen to? This is your providential guidance from the Lord to take action.
Mature Believers Can Be the Cause of Disunity
Secondly, we learn from this text that even mature Christians can be the cause of disunity. Remember how Paul describes these two women. First of all, they are Christians. There is no doubt in Paul’s mind that their “names,” verse 3, are written “in the book of life.” They are enrolled as citizens on the register of heaven, as he says in chapter 3 verse 20. And not only are they Christians, they’re also well-loved by the Apostle Paul. All of the endearing and affectionate designations of verse 1 apply to them, otherwise he wouldn’t mention them immediately afterwards. And not only are they beloved sisters who have gained Paul’s confidence for their salvation; these are his faithful fellow-workers and fellow-soldiers, who have shared in his struggle for the cause of the Gospel in the earlier days of his ministry in Philippi. They were courageous—faithful to endure in ministry even in the midst of persecution.
And yet here they are, with that great spiritual résumé, endangering the unity of the church by clinging to their disagreement with one another; by clinging to hurt feelings; insisting on their own rights. Friends, this teaches us the tragic reality that even the most mature Christians—even the most faithful servants, even the most zealous for Christ—can, at times, take their eyes off of Christ long enough to become self-focused. And in their pride, they can fracture the unity of the Spirit among God’s people. Each one of us, friends, ought to be on our guard not to be found among that number.
And sometimes, our greatest strength—our courage and boldness and zeal—is the very thing that proves to be our greatest weakness, because our enemy will use even our noble desires and distort them and pervert them and cause them to become inordinate desires, so he can sow discord between us. Satan is delighted with church members who major on the minors, and who fight with each other about the “minors” under the guise of being “discerning.”
Traditional versus holistic medicine. What vaccines to give your children and when. What music or entertainment is permissible for a Christian. I’ve even seen Christians let unity be fractured over whether the latest conspiracy theory on the internet is true. “Did a deranged leftist kill Charlie Kirk, or was Israel really behind it?” We even argue over how an argument started. I’ve watched people solve an actual disagreement, only to remain embroiled in conflict over whether hestarted it or whether she needs to ask forgiveness first! Now, there are biblical principles that factor into all those things; that’s what makes them difficult. But we can’t let these kinds of disagreements cause us to be shaken loose from that orienting center of our lives: the ministry of the Gospel that the Lord has entrusted to us in this place. We can’t lose the forest of Gospel unity for the trees of personal preference.
These two women teach us that even those who are mature in the faith and zealous for the things of the Lord and ferventin conviction need to guard against the temptation to let those strong convictions fracture unity with genuine brothers and sisters. Be patient with one another. Argue it out like family. Disagree with one another until one of you is convinced, or—more likely—until you agree that it’s OK not to agree on this particular point, and that you can still affirm one another in the Lord, and pull together in the cause of the Gospel.
Observe the Way Paul Carries Out His Pastoral Responsibilities
Third application: There is great instruction for us as we observe the way Paul carries out his pastoral responsibilities. Notice, first, the responsibility of leadership to correct and reprove those who are in their charge without partiality. It couldn’t have been a comfortable thought for Paul to consider the embarrassment that Euodia and Syntyche were sure to feel as a result of his rebuke. Paul is not throwing his apostolic weight around. He didn’t wield public rebuke like a club. His heart ached to have to give this rebuke. And yet he was resolute in his responsibility as a shepherd to speak even uncomfortable things to those whom he loved dearly. This, for him, was the means to unity.
And the exhortation I have for you all, here, is that you would not be put-off or easily offended by this kind of uncomfortable, yet loving rebuke when it comes from your Bible study shepherds, or fellowship group pastors, or elders. They have been entrusted with the care of your souls. And that will sometimes require them to say things to you that are hard for you to hear, but which tend to your greatest spiritual benefit. I can assure you: I know these men, and they don’t relish it. Not one of them has ever enjoyed a church discipline announcement! But they know it will ultimately serve you to bring these things to your attention, and so they do it faithfully. “But they’re my friends!” Euodia and Syntyche were Paul’s friends, his fellow-soldiers in Gospel labor! He didn’t let partiality withhold the benefit of biblical correction from his sisters, when he knew it would be for their spiritual advantage.
So receive correction, dear friends. Don’t despise it because your flesh is wounded by it. Oh, how often we are tempted to buck against the loving correction of our leaders that is a fraction as invasive as Paul’s rebuke to these two women here! Remember God’s Word in Hebrews 12:11: “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” So love correction, friends. Seek after it. Don’t become offended and rebuff against it.
And secondly, related to Paul’s pastoral responsibilities, notice not only his correction but the sensitive and tactful wayin which he does it. The NAS translates those verbs as “I urge,” and that’s not the wrong sense. But the verb parakaléodoes have a broader semantic range, and its meaning encompasses the concept of encouraging, as well as urging. Literally, the term means to come alongside someone and speak to them shoulder to shoulder. Paul would have been within his rights as an Apostle to command Euodia and Syntyche. But he employs the language of entreaty. He’s not barking out orders; he’s begging, pleading, encouraging.
The same is true with Syzygus. He uses the verb erotáo, which has the connotation of making a polite request. “I politely request, Syzygus, that you would apply what I have known you to do so well to the lives of these dear women in our care.” What a marvelous lesson to those of us who are required by God to bring correction to our brothers and sisters at various times. Boldness and humility. Boldness to bring the correction, and yet a humility that convinces one another: “I intend for this correction to build you up, not tear you down. I’m for you, even though I’ve got to bring this word of correction.”
The Centrality of the Mind in Maintaining Unity
A fourth application. I want to briefly call attention to how central the mind is in maintaining unity. The way we think plays a central role in the unity of Christ’s church. His exhortation to Euodia and Syntyche is to “be of the same mind in the Lord.” In chapter 2 verse 2, he calls them to make his joy complete by being of the same mind. In 2:5 he says, have in yourselves this attitude of humility—literally, this mind of humility—which was also in Christ Jesus. And in 3:15 he says, “Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this mind”—“let us think this way about this matter.”
This means that thinking properly is essential to spiritual unity. Despite what so many are calling unity, true Christian unity is not some sort of mushy sentimentalism. It’s not achieved by the disengagement of our minds, the forgetting of our substantive differences, and merely agreeing to disagree. It’s by fully engaging our minds to grapple with God’s truth, and having our sound theology be the ground of our practice, leading one another to a common understanding of the truth.
The Necessity of the Body in Maintaining Unity
Finally, we must also observe from this text the necessity of the body in maintaining unity. It may seem funny to say it, but corporate unity is not a solely individual matter. There is most certainly an individual responsibility to do all that you can—as far as it depends on you—to be at peace with all men, Romans 12:18. But your responsibility as members of the body of Christ doesn’t end there. Paul enlists the help of Syzygus in mediating this conflict. The reason he made it a matter of public knowledge was not in order to shame anyone, but to enlist the help of the entire congregation to assist them in their need.
And it may be, as particular people have disputes with one another, that, after some concerted effort to arrive at an agreement, they still can’t come to a common mind on things. And so you, as the body, need to be prepared to assist your brothers and sisters. Someone may ask you to go with him to a sinning brother, to be a witness at step two of the church discipline process outlined in Matthew 18. Don’t despise that responsibility. Don’t relish it. Don’t rejoice that you get to rebuke someone. But don’t abdicate that responsibility of being a peacemaker among the brethren.
Or, you may know of a situation in which brothers and sisters are disputing, and they’ve given up on each other. They’ve just decided to sit on opposite sides of the worship center. Each of them is pridefully waiting for the other to come and apologize first. Dear Christian, the Apostle Paul looks you in the eye and says, “My friend—my true yokefellow—consider your responsibility to mediate between these two saints, to be a peacemaker, as you seek to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Conclusion
And that is my final appeal to you. It is Paul’s final appeal to us—a plea to all of the Euodias and the Syntyches in GraceLife. Dear friends, I exhort you to be of the same mind in the Lord. Be diligent in pursuing and maintaining unity in the body of Christ. I think that’s an especially worthy goal for us to pursue during this Christmas season, as our celebration of the birth of our Savior gives us so much to rejoice over, and reminds us of where the substance of our true unity lies—at the foot of His cross.
And so, if there has been a breakdown in your relationship with any of your brothers and sisters in Christ—and that would include even and especially members of your own family—go to the Lord and ask Him to give you a humble heart and a gentle spirit. Behold afresh the sufficiency of what Christ has accomplished for you in the Gospel—all the blessings He has purchased for you through His death on the cross. And with your heart full and satisfied and humbled by all that God is for you in Christ, go to your brother or sister and resolve that conflict.
And then, not only a plea to the Euodias and Syntyches, but also to the Syzyguses—to the true yokefellows among you: Please, I request of you, be earnest in coming to the aid of your brothers and sisters who have been embroiled in a conflict that is too great a burden for them to bear on their own, and be a peacemaker among them.
We all take much delight in the grace that God has shown us as a church in our ability by grace to have been able to stand firm through decades of ministry, even amidst various conflicts, challenges, and attacks. Amidst all kinds of moral and doctrinal compromise around us, God has been pleased to grant that Grace Church has stood firm in our witness before a watching world. And my prayer has been that He continues to give such grace, and that we would stand firm for another five decades, and five decades after that, and until Jesus returns. But let us never forget that that kind of resolute steadfastness comes, first of all, by being unified. And so let us, dear brothers and sisters, “be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”