Peace Among Us, Not Within Me
Two women on a collision course. What was the disagreement about? Given the context of the rest of the book, it seems likely that one of them was following a false teacher - or had been accused of such.
The entire motivation for Paul writing this letter was to address the differences between these two women? It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?
Part of the power of this passage is lost in some older translations because for some reason, the translators rendered Euodia as Euodias - which is the masculine form of the same name. No one knows why they chose to do this, but it has absolutely no textual basis.
At the core of Paul's message is a theme of unity, a theme of communion and commonality.
Paul asks someone - his "yokefellow" or "true companion" - to unite these women in the Lord when they had previously worked side-by-side with Paul. There is a transfer of allegiance from Paul to Jesus. It is clear that something has gotten between them; and what gets between fellow believers will get between Jesus and the church.
We know that the church had begun with the women (Acts 16:13). Perhaps these women were part of that original group?
We don't know who the "yokefellow" was or the other "fellow workers" were; but we know that Paul called them action to heal the riff, to be peacemakers in the division. Division in the church is dangerous. The most dangerous kind is the superfluous - the kind that flows from personality or from perspective and not from doctrine. In every other area, Paul praises the church in Philippi, but it is clear that this division between these two women was doing more damage than people were willing to admit.
In the following verses, Paul makes it clear that to restore peace, we must begin with rejoicing in the Lord, then become reasonable(επιεικής) with everyone, and finally surrender anxiety.
Turning from anxiety to thankfulness opens our hearts to the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.
What everyone misses here is that the peace of God is not a personal feeling of well-being. It is a corporate peace - a relational peace. This is mentioned in the context of the strife between Euodia and Syntyche. There's absolutely no context for making this a personal application.
Created 11 months ago
