Complete My Joy
Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy, complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose. Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well (Philippians 2:1-4).
What would make Paul happy? For Christians to jointly participate in the Spirit in love and humility.
Philippi was a Roman colony in Macedonia (part of modern Greece); Paul first visited the area and preached Jesus around 51 (cf. Acts 16:11-40). Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi most likely around 60-61 from Rome while living under house arrest there (cf. Philippians 1:1). The church had appointed elders and had deacons serving them, and had sent Epaphroditus to provide support and service to Paul (cf. Philippians 1:1, 2:25-30, 4:18). Paul thanked the Philippian Christians for their joint participation in his ministry and prayed for them to abound in love and make good decisions to share in Jesus’ praise at His return (Philippians 1:2-11). He explained how his circumstances had worked to advance the Gospel; if he were to die, he would go and be with Christ, but he was confident he would continue to faithfully serve God, and the Philippian Christians, while in the body (Philippians 1:12-26). Paul set forth his main exhortation: the Philippian Christians should live as citizens of the Gospel, standing firm together in it, and to suffer well for God in Christ (Philippians 1:27-30).
In Greco-Roman letters, once an author established his propositio, or thesis, he would present evidence and arguments to ground and support his message; this would be called the probatio. We can discern Paul’s probatio in the Philippian letter in Philippians 2:1-4:3, representing the bulk of the letter. We would not be wrong in understanding Philippians 2:1-4:3 as Paul’s extended commentary on and demonstration of his exhortation of Philippians 1:27-30, detailing how the Philippian Christians might live as citizens of and to stand firm within the Gospel.
Philippians 2:1-4, the beginning of Paul’s probatio, certainly fits this understanding: Paul began with “therefore,” indicating that which would follow would expand upon or at least flow from his exhortation in Philippians 1:27-30 (Philippians 2:1). In Greek, Philippians 2:1-4 is one conditional sentence: a comparatively short protasis, or “if” clause (Philippians 2:1), followed by a much longer and more elaborate apodosis, or “then” clause (Philippians 2:2-4).
Paul’s “if” clause, the protasis, packed quite a rhetorical punch: if there were any paraklesis in Christ, any comfort in love, any koinonia in the Spirit, or if any splagchna and mercy (Philippians 2:1). Paraklesis is generally translated encouragement or exhortation; koinonia refers to things held in common, thus joint participation, fellowship, or association; and splagchna refers to the bowels, a visceral representation of the gut experience of empathy or sympathy, thus, compassion. In this way Paul communicated how all the essentials of the Gospel and faith were on the line regarding the exhortation he was about to provide, for his whole life was about encouragement and exhortation in Christ; all seek comfort in love; God in Christ has worked diligently to bind believers together in joint participation in the Spirit (cf. Ephesians 4:1-4); and who among us would want to live without any compassion or mercy?
Philippians 2:2-4 represents Paul’s “then” clause, the apodosis, and is all controlled by one verb and its attendant subordinate clause: complete (my joy) so as to feel the same / think the same, that is, to be of the same mind (Philippians 2:2ab). Everything which follows in Philippians 2:2c-4 represents expansions or commentary on how the Philippian Christians might complete Paul’s joy and reflect the same mind.
We do well to note how Paul spoke of the Philippian Christians as “completing” his joy in Philippians 2:2. In Philippians 4:1, Paul would declare the Philippian Christians to already be his “joy” and “crown.” Yes, he will have reason to exhort Euodia and Syntyche to agree in the Lord in Philippians 4:2, which indicated there was at least some interpersonal conflict among the Christians in Philippi. To that end, the extent to which Philippians 2:1-4:1 was directed toward Euodia and Syntyche and their situation is often debated: some take a maximalist position and imagine it all has them in mind. Others, while not denying how the exhortations in Philippians 2:1-4:1 would have application to Euodia and Syntyche, would nevertheless not insist on the probatio as having them entirely or even necessarily primarily in mind. Whatever we might conclude regarding the relationship of Paul’s probatio to his specific application to Euodia and Syntyche, we must not blow the situation out of proportion. Paul has a high regard for the Philippian Christians and maintains confidence in their faith and maturity. He therefore exhorts them to complete, or finish, his joy in them, by carrying on and persevering in sharing the same mind and all it entailed.
Having already thrown down the gauntlet regarding encouragement in Christ, comfort in love, and joint participation in the Spirit in Philippians 2:1, Paul felt it best, as a rhetorical strategy, to encourage the Philippian Christians to complete his joy, as if a personal favor or request (Philippians 2:2). He would consider the Philippian Christians his joy before the Lord in Philippians 4:1; the Thessalonian Christians were likewise his glory and joy in 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20. Paul had dedicated himself to the work of ministry in Christ; his great pleasure involved seeing the Christians he encouraged well walking according to the ways of God in Christ through the Spirit.
Paul’s joy in the Philippian Christians would be completed if they had the same mind (Philippians 2:2). He already had spoken of wanting to hear the Philippian Christians were standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, contending side by side for the faith of the Gospel in Philippians 1:27; in this way they would live as citizens, or live in ways worthy, of the Gospel. Paul would go on to describe what being of the same mind looked like: to have the same love; to be sumpsuchoi, “fellow-souled,” or united in one spirit; having one purpose; as opposed to being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, to instead, in humility, treat one another as more important than themselves; and to be concerned not only with their own individual interests, but also the interests of one another (Philippians 2:2c-4).
Paul expected the Philippian Christians to have the same love, to be so unified in spirit as to be “fellow-souled,” and to have the same purpose if they would be of the same mind (Philippians 2:2). Such unity would require a common, shared understanding of what God had accomplished in Christ, or an overall unity on matters of the faith and in doctrine. Yet what Paul had in mind went well beyond matters of agreement on Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, lordship, and imminent return; it required a far deeper and more profound joint participation in lives in faith. The Philippian Christians would have to spend a lot of time together to develop the kind of relational unity which could rightly be described as sharing in the same love, becoming “fellow-souled,” and to maintain the same purpose. They would have to diligently work to preserve those kinds of relationships by displaying love, grace, patience, and mercy toward one another. Paul did not imagine the Philippian Christians would merely give lip service to this exhortation, as if just agreeing on what was true would, on its own, be enough to enliven and empower profound relational unity among them. They would have to actively and actually invest in one another to love one another, to share in life together, and to agree on how they would best work together to glorify Jesus in Philippi.
The Philippian Christians would never be able to cultivate anything resembling this kind of relational unity if they harbored and nurtured eritheian or kenodoxian in their hearts or their actions (Philippians 2:3). Eritheia can refer to strife or factionalism (as in Galatians 5:19-21), but in this kind of context is generally and well translated “selfish ambition,” for it involves the competitive urge to advance oneself in ways which cause division and strife within a group (so also James 3:14-16). Kenodoxia is used only here in the New Testament; “empty glory” gives a flavor of what the two individual words involve, and so it refers to vain or empty pride. Paul well identified the major reasons why the Philippian Christians might not be motivated toward being of the same mind: relational unity would be dashed if any of them thought they were actually better or greater than the rest and thus to manifest empty glory, or if any actively worked to advance their own reputation or standing even if it led to factions and divisions because of how others were dishonored or regarded less. James would speak of similar matters as consistent with the demonic wisdom of the world in contrast to the heavenly wisdom from above, and Christians do well to maintain a similar contrast (cf. James 3:13-18).
Instead of pursuing selfish ambition or vain pride, Paul exhorted the Philippian Christians to remain humble, treating one another as more important than oneself, and to be concerned not only for each individual’s interests, but also the interests of others (Philippians 2:3-4). The only way the Philippian Christians could be of the same mind and share in relational unity in God in Christ through the Spirit would be in humility; each must appropriately esteem themselves and others in Christ to truly glorify and honor Him. As Jesus did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many (cf. Matthew 20:25-28), so Christians should not just think about themselves, but also think about what is best for one another in Christ, and to treat others in Christ as more important than ourselves.
Some manuscripts omit the kai in Philippians 2:4, which would turn the statement into one suggesting full self-denial: each of you should not be concerned about your own interests, but (instead) the interests of others. Nevertheless, the vast majority, and many of the most ancient, witnesses maintain the kai, and such is why most translations render the text in ways similar to the New English Translation (NET) as above. We can imagine why some would want to omit the kai and have the text read in a more ascetic manner; of course, one could make the argument someone would want to add the kai to blunt the force of what Paul was suggesting. Since Paul presumed a level of self-care and self-interest on the part of people in Ephesians 5:28-29, we should not be surprised to find a similar expectation of a base level of self-interest in Philippians 2:4 as well.
Paul thus expanded and intensified his propositio of Philippians 1:27-30 in the beginning of his probatio in Philippians 2:1-4. Paul leveraged everything – encouragement in Christ, comfort in love, joint participation in the Spirit, compassion, and mercy – in his request for the Philippian Christians to complete his joy by being of the same mind. They would share the same mind if they had the same love, were united in spirit, maintained one purpose, resisted selfish ambition and empty pride, manifested humility, and demonstrated concern for others and not just themselves, and to act accordingly. If they did so, they would truly live as citizens of the Gospel, glorifying God in Christ.
Paul has since gone on to be with Christ and await the resurrection of life along with the Philippian Christians. But if there remains any encouragement in Christ, any comfort in love, if we truly jointly participate in the Spirit, and if there remains any compassion or mercy, we should also be of the same mind by having the same love, cultivate unity in spirit and purpose, resist selfish ambition and empty pride, manifest humility, and demonstrate concern for others and not just ourselves, and to act accordingly. Paul’s exhortation in Philippians 2:1-4 remains justly famous as exhortation to what it looks like to serve and glorify Jesus, and we should certainly continue to encourage and emphasize all Paul proclaimed in it.
Lamentably, Christians today struggle as much, if not more so, to display this kind of shared mind and unity in love, spirit, and purpose as did those who came before us; we continually remain tempted toward selfish ambition and empty pride in our fear and shame, when we instead should remain humble and seek what is best for one another. Our society and culture has become very individualistic and looks suspiciously on anything which would elevate and glorify the needs of the many over the independence of the self. At the same time, people are beset by anxiety, fear, and loneliness, for the life devoted to the self ultimately proves empty.
We therefore do better to strive toward the relational unity regarding which Paul preached in Philippians 2:1-4. If each of us seeks what is best for one another, and not merely our own individual interests, each will find his or her needs more than satisfied by others, and there will be no lack. It requires great trust and effort to share in the same mind by having the same love, being “fellow-souled,” and cultivating the same purpose; we will often be betrayed and hurt in the process. Nevertheless, God in Christ is faithful, and nothing is better than the relational unity we can share in God in Christ through the Spirit and with one another in Him. May we all have the same mind in Christ, work diligently toward relational unity in God in Christ through the Spirit, and share in life in Him!
Ethan R. Longhenry
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