Therefore
if:
Ei
tis
oun:
The “therefore”
(oun) is probably connected with the exhortations to unity in
Php 1:27.
Paul now proceeds to enumerate the resources they can tap into to
maintain and maximize unity in their local body at Philippi and which
can fulfill his command in Phil 2:2 to "make my joy complete".
Edwards sums up this section writing that...
Paul begins by appealing to they
relationship in Christ. All these four terms for affection appear to be
fairly similar and all four (really five) are distinctly peculiar to
believers. Based on the encouragement which is in Christ, the comfort
which comes from divine love, the oneness (fellowship) of an those
drinking from the same Spirit, and the tender mercies of these
believers, they are to live a certain way. They are to live in love and
harmony, not because of their natural fondness for one another (though
that may be there), but because of they divine responsibilities as
members of the household of God. This unity is not the result of natural
oneness but supernatural bonding. This is why Paul's appeal for unity
begins by focusing upon their relationship in Christ, not their
relationship towards one another. (Philippians)
Guzik adds that the
"Therefore
draws back to what Paul has built on in
Php 1:27-30,
telling the Philippians how to stand strong for the Lord against external
conflicts. Now he tells them how to act against
internal
conflicts in the body of Christ."
Vincent
says that the "therefore"
is there for it is both the saint's
"duty and
privilege (to)
fulfill my joy, and show yourselves to be true citizens of God's kingdom
by your humility and unity of spirit."
"If”
in each of the 4 uses in this verse is the same Greek word "ei"
which is what is referred to as a first class conditional particle which
means that
what follows equates with a fulfilled condition. It follows that the first class conditional particle can usually be accurately translated
with “since”, "so
then", “in view of the fact” or “If
such-and-such is true―and I know that it is …”
All four characteristics in this verse
are indisputable facts - certainties not "maybes" and are
reminders of the resources God has provided for us. There was not a hint of doubt in
Paul's mind as he penned these thoughts.
In these four succinct clauses Paul sets forth a powerful
motive for harmony in the Christian community. Because
the saints at Philippi are each recipients of these 4 benefits
(foundation stones), they have the resources as well as the responsibility to carry out what Paul
is about to command in the next verse, the end result being unity
which makes Paul's joy full. Parenthetically this order (provision
provided before practice commanded)
illustrates how God never asks us to do what He does not also enable us
to do. God is good and wise. In sum,
because these four things are true the Philippian believers, they can be
"of the same mind".
Why is Christian unity so important? In John 17, Jesus
prayed for
unity
four times for His disciples clearly emphasizing the importance our Lord
Jesus placed on
unity.
Jesus asked His Father to
"keep
them in Thy name, the name which Thou hast given Me, that they may be
one,
even as We are"
(Jn 17:11)
and that His disciples "may
all be
one;
even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and
I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that
Thou didst send Me. And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given
to them; that they may be
one,
just as We are one, I in them, and
Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in
unity,
that the world may know
that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love
Me."
(Jn 17:21
22
23)
Why did Jesus hold Christian unity in such high esteem? Read the verses
again.
Matthew Henry sums up this section stating that Paul
"presses them largely
to like-mindedness and lowly-mindedness, in conformity to
the example of the Lord Jesus, the great pattern of humility and love."
if
there is
any
encouragement in
Christ:
paraklesis
en
Christo: (3:3;
Lu 2:10,11,25;
Jn 14:18,27;
15:11;
16:22-24;
17:13;
Ro 5:1,2;
Ro 15:12,13;
2Co 1:5,6;
2:14;
2Th 2:16,17;
Heb 6:18;
1Pe 1:6-8)
The first foundation stone
for unity
is "encouragement
in Christ"
"So if in Christ
there is anything that will move you," (NJB),
"Is there any
encouragement from belonging to Christ?" (NLT),
"Now if your experience of
Christ's encouragement and love means anything to you" (Phillips),
"In
view of the fact that there is a certain ground of appeal in Christ
which exhorts" (Wuest),
"SO BY whatever [appeal to you there is in our
mutual dwelling in Christ" (Amp),
"If the fact that you are in Christ has any power to influence you"
(Barclay)
Spurgeon introduces this
section writing that...
the Holy Spirit, during the present
dispensation, is revealed to us as the Comforter. It is the Spirit's
business to console and cheer the hearts of God's people. He does
convince of sin; he does illuminate and instruct; but still the main
part of his business lies in making glad the hearts of the renewed, in
confirming the weak, and lifting up all those that be bowed down.
Whatever the Holy Ghost may not be, he is evermore the Comforter to the
Church; and this age is peculiarly the dispensation of the Holy Spirit,
in which Christ cheers us not by his personal presence, as he shall do
by-and-bye, but by te indwelling and constant abiding of the Holy Ghost
the Comforter. Now, mark you, as the Holy Spirit is the Comforter,
Christ is the comfort. The Holy Spirit consoles, but Christ is the
consolation. If I may use the figure, the Holy Spirit is the Physician,
but Christ is the medicine. He heals the wound, but it is by applying
the holy ointment of Christ's name and grace. He takes not of his own
things, but of the things of Christ. We are not consoled to-day by new
revelations, but by the old revelation explained, enforced, and lit up
with new splendour by the presence and power of the Holy Ghost the
Comforter. If we give to the Holy Spirit the greek name of Paraclete, as
we sometimes do, then our heart confers on our blessed Lord Jesus the
title of the Paraclesis. If the one be the Comforter, the other is the
comfort. (Spurgeon's
Sermon on "Consolation in Christ")
"Lord, Thy death and passion give
Strength and comfort in my need,
Every hour while here I live,
On Thy love my soul shall feed."
Encouragement
(3874)
(paraklesis from parakaléo = beseech <>
pará = side of + kaléo = call) refers to
calling to one's side and means solace, comfort, consolation,
exhortation. Webster says that encouragement is the act of
inspiring with courage or giving one support, confidence or hope.
Marvin Vincent has a detailed note on
this word group writing that parakaleo literally means...
"a calling to one’s side to help; and
therefore entreaty, passing on into the sense of exhortation, and thence
into that of consolatory exhortation; and so coming round to mean that
which one is summoned to give to a suppliant—consolation. Thus it
embodies the call for help, and the response to the call. Its use
corresponds with that of the kindred verb , to exhort or console...In
some instances, the meaning wavers between console and exhort. In the
sense of exhortation or counsel, the noun may be found in Acts13:15; Ro
12:8; Heb 13:22. The verb, in Acts 2:40; 11:23; 14:22; Ro 12:8; Titus
2:15. Neither the noun nor the verb appear in the writings of John, but
the kindred word the Paraclete, Comforter, or Advocate, is peculiar to
him. It should be noted, however, that the word comfort goes deeper than
its popular conception of soothing. It is from the later Latin , to make
strong. Thus Wycliffe renders Lu 1:80, “the child waxed, and was
comforted in spirit” and Tyndale, Lu 22:43, “there appeared an
angel from heaven comforting him” (AV., strengthening).
The comfort which Christ gives is not
always soothing. The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is to convince of sin
and of judgment. Underlying the word is the sense of a wise counsel or
admonition which rouses and braces the moral nature and encourages and
strengthens it to do and to endure. When, therefore, Christ says “they
that mourn shall be comforted,” he speaks in recognition of the fact
that all sorrow is the outcome of sin, and that true comfort is given,
not only in pardon for the past, but in strength to fight and resist and
overcome sin. The atmosphere of the word, in short, is not the
atmosphere of the sick-chamber, but the tonic breath of the open world,
of moral struggle and victory; the atmosphere for him that climbs and
toils and fights.
Robertson
writes that
"If one's own
life in Christ
does not stimulate the soul to the noblest effort, it is useless to go
on with the appeal."
Two
of the paraphrases pick up this same thought --
"If the fact that you are in Christ has any power to influence you"
(Barclay)
"If then
your experiences in Christ
appeal to you with any
force.."
(Lightfoot)
Is there
encouragement in Christ? Of course there is. Godly Simeon called
Jesus the "the
Consolation
(paraklesis) of
Israel" (Lu 2:25)
Paul taught that
"just
as the sufferings of
Christ are
ours in
abundance,
so
also our
COMFORT (paraklesis) is
abundant
through
Christ." (2Co 1:5)
Every believer has received encouragement, exhortation, and comfort from
Christ Who is like an artesian well that effortlessly, endlessly flows
through us as we surrender our will to His sweet will and in the context
as the saints at Philippi enter into the reality of Christ Who is now
their life, and the result of this common experience will serve to draw
them together and unite them.
F B Meyer writes regarding the bonds of unity in a local body
that...
The first bond is the consolation
which is in Christ. For consolation let us substitute exhortation, or,
better still, persuasiveness, so that we might put it that the first
bond of Christian fellowship is Christ's persuasiveness. That Jesus
Christ is interested in every Church fellowship is obvious, but we do
not always realise how much He is always doing to persuade us to
main-rain it. Have there not been times in your life when you have been
greatly incensed, but have realised that there was a voice speaking
within your heart, and a gentle influence stealing over you, a yearning
towards the brother about whom you had cherished hard and unkind
feelings? That has been the persuasiveness of Christ. It is He who has
besought you to check that word, to refrain from writing that letter, to
abandon that bitter and offensive way which had seemed so befitting a
method of repaying your enemy to his face. It was Christ who was
persuading you to drop the weapon from your hand, and to reach it out in
brotherhood, and this because He was so eager to keep the unity of the
Spirit unbroken in the bond of peace. (The
Epistle to the Philippians
)
if
there is
any
consolation of
love:
ei
ti
paramuthion
agapes:
(Ps 133:1;
Jn 15:10-12;
Acts 2:46;
4:32;
Gal 5:22;
Eph 4:30-32;
Col 2:2;
1Jn 4:7,8,4:12,
4:16)
The second foundation stone
for unity is consolation of love
(agape) where agape is God's
love (cf the quality &
quantity of that love in
Jn 3:16
Torrey's Topic "Love
of God")
"since there is a certain
tender persuasion that comes from divine love" (Wuest),
"by whatever persuasive incentive there is in love"
(Amp),
"if there is any persuasive power in love" (Weymouth),
"If love has any power by its tenderness to stir your
hearts, then listen to me." (Robertson)
Pentecost phrases it this
way...
The fact that Christ loved me ought
to move me to love the brethren. We could paraphrase the phrase, “if any
comfort of love,” with these words, “if the love of Christ exerts any
persuasive power, if love supplies an incentive or gives encouragement,”
then fulfill my joy by loving one another. The fact that God loved me,
as unlovely as I was, ought to move me to love the brethren.
(Pentecost,
J. D. The Joy of Living: A study of Philippians. Kregel Publications)
Consolation (3890) (paramuthion
from para = towards + muthéomai = to speak, which is from
múthos = a tale, myth, speech) literally describes speaking closely
to someone. The idea is to speak to someone coming close to their side.
The basic sense speaking to someone in a friendly way. It refers to that
which causes or constitutes the basis for consolation and encouragement.
Paramuthion "indicates
a greater degree of tenderness than" the preceding word "encouragement"
(paraklesis).
One Greek lexicon defines paramuthion as an assuagement ( = lessening
the intensity of something that pains or distresses).
Friberg defines paramuthion...
as persuasive power that points
to a basis for hope and provides incentive. (Analytical
Lexicon of the Greek New Testament)
Consolation is the attribute
of agape love of God that
alleviates grief, the sense of loss, trouble, etc.
Vine says
that "consolation" is
"that
tender cheer, imparted as the effect of “love” (agape practical love)."
(Vine,
W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson
)
Rienecker adds intriguing note that
the preposition (para = beside) may have the force of
aside and pictures consolation that draws one's mind "aside"
from their cares and concerns.
MacArthur adds that paramuthion
"portrays
the Lord coming close and whispering words of gentle cheer or tender
counsel in a believer’s ear."
Wuest has an excellent note
"We have
here the subjective genitive construction, in which the noun in the
genitive case, “love,”
produces the action in the noun of action, “consolation.”
That is,
the tender persuasion and encouragement which exhorts to unity
among the Philippians, comes from God’s love for them.
Their
realization of divine love which reached down and saved them, should
urge them to live in a spirit of unity with one another. In addition to
that, this divine love produced in the hearts of the Philippian saints
by the Holy Spirit (cf
Ro 5:5,
Gal 5:16),
should cause them to so love each other with a love that impels one to
sacrifice one’s self for the one loved, that their little differences
will be ironed out, and they will live in unity with one another.”
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)
F B Meyer writes regarding the bonds of unity in a local body
that...
The second bond is the comfort of
love. The Greek word will bear this rendering--if you know the tender
cheer that love gives; that is, see to it that you maintain the bond of
Christian fellowship by meeting your fellow Christians with the tender
cheer of love. We all know what tender cheer is, when men have been out
all day and tried, almost beyond endurance. As they come out of the
storm, the depression of their spirit and their health may have
conspired to reduce them to the lowest depth of darkness--then as the
door opens, and they see the ruddy glow of the fire, and the wife comes
to meet them, and the child is there with its prattle, for a moment it
seems almost worth while having known the weariness and depression
because of the contrasted cheer that greets them. All around us in the
world are Christian hearts which are losing faith; many hands hang down,
and knees shake together. Let us see to it that by the kindly cheer of a
smile, the grasp of a hand, the welcome of a word, we do something to
draw those people into the inner circle of Christian love. (The
Epistle to the Philippians
)
if
there is
any
fellowship of the
Spirit:
ei
tis
koinonia
pneumatos: (Ro 5:5;
8:9-16;8:26;
1Co 3:16;
6:19,20;
12:13;
2Co 13:14;
Gal 4:6;
Eph 1:13,14;
2:18-22;
4:4;
1Pet 1:2;1Pet 1:22,23;
1Jn 3:24)
The third foundation stone for unity
is "fellowship
of the Spirit"
"in
view of the fact that there is a certain joint-participation with the
Spirit in a common interest and activity" (Wuest),
"if
your fellowship in the Spirit is a living reality."
(Lightfoot)
"if you really are sharing in the Holy Spirit"
(Barclay)
Paul says, in effect, “If there is
any such thing as communion with the indwelling Spirit, or if your
consciousness of fellowship with the Holy Spirit who dwells within is a
reality in your life, and it most certainly is, then fulfill my joy by
your love for one another.”
Fellowship
(2842) (koinonia
from koinos = common,
shared by all) (Click for an in
depth word study of
koinonia) means
a close association involving mutual interests and sharing (communion,
fellowship, partnership).
Koinonia is an intimate partnership, a common eternal life or joint
participation with common interests and mutual, active participation.
This dynamic is effected by Holy Spirit’s working in and through
individual saints in the body to produce unity (1Co 3:16,
12:13,
2Co 13:14,cf
1Jn 1:4-6)
One translation
has
"If communion with the Spirit of love is not a mere idle name,
but a real thing"
Robertson says that
"If we have any
partnership in the life and blessings of the Holy Spirit, then we are
ready to listen to Paul's plea for unity."
Paul is reminding them
that the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is a blessed reality, not merely
a beautiful idea. Remember every genuine believer at Philippi (and in
the body of Christ today) has received the Holy Spirit for as Paul
writes in his epistle to the saints at Rome...
the love of God has been poured out
within our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who was given to us.
(see note
Ro 5:5)
However, you are not in the flesh but
in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.
But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not
belong to Him. And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead
because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But
if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in
you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to
your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you. 12 So then,
brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according
to the flesh-- 13 for if you are