Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! 2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
The letter is now nearing its close and Paul makes a few final comments and appeals. He wants the Philippians to stay firm against all the things that threaten their faith, and there are many given the hostility Christians often faced. His affection for the Philippians is obvious here. In verse one, he uses four different expressions to show his fondness for the community. They are his “brothers and sisters” whom he “loves and longs for”, his “joy and crown”, his “dear friends”. A joy to him now, they will be his crown at the last judgment. At races, winners often won laurel crowns and so will Paul because of the existence of the churches he founded, of whom the best is that of the Philippians.
All of these expressions of affection, while absolutely sincere, also help soften his criticism of two leading members of the community. We know very little about Euodia and Syntyche except what is written here. They were among Paul’s coworkers, and he says they “contended at my side” which was a gladiatorial term. In other words, they fought together, the three of them as did a fourth person, Clement. We know nothing about him either, outside of this epistle. Note that, unlike in other letters, Paul just describes himself as their friend and fellow-laborer in an equal position. He does not put himself forward as the apostle Paul, which shows a great deal of respect and affection for the two women. He puts them on an equal position with Clement and refers to them in a similar way to how he refers to Timothy and Epaphroditus earlier. This contributes to the strong case against Paul the misogynist.
Paul acknowledges the great work the women have done in the spread of the gospel and clearly believes in the sincerity of their faith. Their names are “in the book of life” which means Paul believes they are saved. Since everyone knows each other, Paul has no need to say more, or mention other members of the team. All that matters, of course, is the real recognition of their work that God will bestow. No less a figure than St John Chrysostom (4th century father of the church) states that “these women were heads of the church at Philippi.” As mentioned earlier, the church in Philippi was founded among women, and many of them were among its leaders.
Paul does not question the women’s leadership in any way, only their quarrel. It looks like they have had a major disagreement. We don’t know why: possibly a disagreement over a theological issue or something to do with the church or maybe it was entirely personal, although this is unlikely since Paul tells them to be “of the same mind in the Lord” (2). Note that Paul repeats the verb for each of them to avoid any sign of taking sides between the two. Both personal friends of Paul, they illustrate his warnings against disunity. They should, therefore (as should all members of the community) “be of the same mind in the Lord” (2). All co-workers in Christ should seek a common outlook grounded in the Lord.
At the start of verse three, Paul calls on another member of the Philippian church, literally his “yokefellow” to help reconcile the two women. All Christians are called to be peacemakers. We know nothing about who this person was, although that has never stopped people from speculating. The identity of the person doesn’t matter (and it is pointless to spend time trying to find out). We do, though, need to remember that it’s no sin to have disagreements or even heated debate. What is wrong is to let our disagreements become personal and cause hatred. And these differences can be healed by loving intervention by other members of the community. Of course, we have no idea whether Paul’s intervention worked or not, but it does bring out important spiritual issues. As Thurston and Ryan write: “Leadership in the Christian community presumes that leaders will transcend their private preferences and differences for the good of the whole community.” But Paul also suggests that when there are divisions, the community must not take sides or in any way widen the division but work for healing.
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