Philippians – The true companion in 4:3
05/12/22 07:40
Who is he? I would like to suggest he is one of the male overseers of the Church in Philippi, or a ‘deacon’, a helper, as Paul explicitly mentions the overseers and helpers in the letterhead. Paul’s ‘Indeed, you also …’ may point to him being no exception as a man, compared to the two female squabblers. Paul is asking him to help these women, reminding him of their hard work. We do not know the exact situation. We can only guess. What comes to the surface is that Church leadership was – and is – labour indeed and it was – and is – labour together.
This is the only letter written by Paul in which he addresses the overseers and helpers in the letterhead, at least the only one we have. Leadership in the Kingdom of God has been an important theme right from the start of Jesus’ mission on earth. And again He is the perfect example of a true leader. Right from the start disciples have been arguing with each other and by the time that Jesus ascended to the Father’s throne they knew what an unworthy, hard hearted bunch of people they were, totally unfit for the task that lied ahead of them, but with Jesus’ words ‘You have not chosen Me, I have chosen you’ still ringing in their ears and with the picture of Jesus kneeling before them and washing their feet still clear on the retina; plus the shock of Judas’ betrayal, and the sad story of Peter’s denial, their unbelief on different occasions, their lack of understanding their Master, James and John still ashamed of their uncontrolled indignation. The coming of the Holy Spirit was surely worth waiting and praying for in that upper room. ‘Put no confidence in the flesh’, is the message, but have ‘the righteousness from God that depends on faith’ (3:9), ‘worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus’ (3:3). Whether leaders or not, let all of us be true fellow-labourers for the sake of the gospel on the ground of God’s unfathomable grace, knowing that we all have our peculiarities and things that may irritate others, not taking the love and support from others for granted, but taking it as a miracle.
This is the only letter written by Paul in which he addresses the overseers and helpers in the letterhead, at least the only one we have. Leadership in the Kingdom of God has been an important theme right from the start of Jesus’ mission on earth. And again He is the perfect example of a true leader. Right from the start disciples have been arguing with each other and by the time that Jesus ascended to the Father’s throne they knew what an unworthy, hard hearted bunch of people they were, totally unfit for the task that lied ahead of them, but with Jesus’ words ‘You have not chosen Me, I have chosen you’ still ringing in their ears and with the picture of Jesus kneeling before them and washing their feet still clear on the retina; plus the shock of Judas’ betrayal, and the sad story of Peter’s denial, their unbelief on different occasions, their lack of understanding their Master, James and John still ashamed of their uncontrolled indignation. The coming of the Holy Spirit was surely worth waiting and praying for in that upper room. ‘Put no confidence in the flesh’, is the message, but have ‘the righteousness from God that depends on faith’ (3:9), ‘worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus’ (3:3). Whether leaders or not, let all of us be true fellow-labourers for the sake of the gospel on the ground of God’s unfathomable grace, knowing that we all have our peculiarities and things that may irritate others, not taking the love and support from others for granted, but taking it as a miracle.
