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the Philippians that, not only were they being tested, but he himself was sharing in their
sufferings, in his Roman prison. This he emphasizes by the word "same":
"Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me" (1: 30 R.V.).
They were engaged in a common struggle, in part of which they had seen him
involved in the early days at Philippi.
The Apostle now adds to his plea for practical unity with a further four-fold stress.
The "if" of 2: 1 is not one of doubt. There was nothing more certain than the realities to
which he appeals. "If" could be rendered "since", or supposing it to be retained, we must
add the thought of "as indeed is the case". There is no verb in the Greek and most
translations supply the verb "to be", but possibly "avails" might be better. Moffatt
renders the passage:
"So by all the stimulus of Christ, by every incentive of love, by all your participation
in the Spirit, by all your affectionate tenderness, I pray you to give me the utter joy of
knowing you are living in harmony, with the same feelings of love, with one heart and
soul, never acting for private ends or from vanity, but humbly considering each other the
better man, and each with an eye to the interests of others as well as to his own" (2: 1-4).
This rendering gives the sense of the passage well. Paraklesis in verse 1 can be
rendered "exhortation" as well as "consolation", and this would enforce the Lord's
authorization, "exhortation in Christ", to what Paul was saying, showing it was more than
a personal plea. "Comfort of love" is the next bond that they should have to keep them
together. In Col. 3: 14 it is described as the "tie [bond] of love". This unselfish love is
God-given and should cement them together in their witness. The third is "participation
in the Spirit", practically sharing all the riches He has given through His truth. "Bowels
and mercies" is best taken together as hendiadys "affectionate tenderness" (Moffatt), the
bowels being looked upon as the seat of the emotional state, "the abode of tender
feelings" (Lightfoot).
All this should have constituted a stirring appeal to the Philippian church. These lofty
motives which have their origin in the Lord, if responded to, would complete the
Apostle's joy and would lead to a four-fold result, being "of the same mind" (2: 2 R.V.),
"having the same love" (the love of verse 1), "being of one accord" (together in soul,
literally), "of one mind" (repeating the verb phronein). Paul piles up these expressions,
deliberately stressing practical and outward unity. The Philippians could be left in no
doubt that this manifest unity in service was an absolute essential in the pathway to the
heavenly prize. To ignore this was to invite the risk of running the race in vain and being
disqualified by the Lord. Such an attitude of mind would lead to strife and vain ambition,
and the only antidote was the opposite qualities of unselfishness and humility. This
humility is stressed at the outset in the "worthy walk" of Eph. 4: 2. The Apostle
himself had exhibited it constantly in his witness and dealing with the churches. He
could truthfully say that he had served the Lord "with all humility of mind" (Acts 20: 19).
This saved him from the original sin of pride and self-exaltation. Later on in the chapter
he is going to bring forward the example of the Lord Who humbled Himself (verse 8).