think, rejoice (and farewell)

unity of head and heart

Once upon a time. (I’ve never begun a story that way. But this is as good a time as any.)

Once upon a time, there was a city known as Philippi. It was in the eastern part of Macedonia, not far from the Aegean Sea. It was an important site of commerce, poised along a major highway, the Egnatian Way. It had everything: fine dining for the adults, amusement parks for the kids — not to mention the kids at heart. Philippi was a real hot spot, largely due to its nearby gold mines.

More notably for our purposes, the church there was known for its exceptional relationship with the apostle Paul. They had a rapport with him which might be called “golden.”

The letter to the Philippians is one of the so-called “Prison Epistles,” the others being Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon. They have that name because, as one might guess, Paul wrote them while incarcerated. He was a prisoner of the Romans, but in a way he was also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. He wore those chains proudly and joyfully.

The apostle longs that they guard against any incipient division or selfish ambition. “If, then, there is any comfort in Christ,” he writes, “any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit [any koinōnia in the Spirit], any tender affection and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (2:1–2). He desires that they be comforted and consoled in Christ. That is the gift they can give him beyond any other.

Part of the liturgy we have used when receiving new members into this congregation is instructive.

“You come to us as a member of the one holy catholic church, into which you were baptized, and by which you have been nurtured. We are one with each other, sisters and brothers in the family of God. We rejoice in the gifts you bring to us.” We are one with each other, sisters and brothers in the family of God. That sounds suspiciously like being comforted and consoled in Christ.

It continues, “As you join with us in the worship and service of this congregation, it is fitting that together we reaffirm the covenant into which we were baptized, claiming again the promises of God which are ours in our baptism.” Toward those reaffirmations and claiming of promises, we hear the request, “I ask you, therefore, once again to reject sin, and to profess your faith in Christ Jesus, and to confess the faith of the church, in which we were baptized.”

That sounds like the gift (our gift) to the apostle Paul beyond any other.

Bill Richards has an insightful article in which he discusses two words which appear in Philippians a disproportionate number of times. [Bill Richards, “Head and Heart in the New Testament: The Philippian Correspondence as a Case Study,” Touchstone 23:10 (2005 Jan)]

The epistle is a small book, yet it is packed with these terms.

The first one is φρονεω (phroneō), which means “to think.” The second one is χαιρω (chairō), which means “to rejoice.” It has a secondary meaning, though, which is “farewell.” Focusing on chapter 4, both words appear three times.

Thinking and rejoicing. Says Richards, “For us moderns, a head word and heart word, yet, for Paul and the Philippians…this particular pair of words runs…back and forth, both words necessary for these correspondents as they explore what living faithfully in their complex world might mean.” (15)

Their complex world. Every generation has its complications. What do Paul and the Philippians think of theirs? How do they think?

How do we think? As noted, for us it’s mainly a “head” thing. It’s also that for them. However, for them it’s much more expansive, including what we would call a “heart” thing. There is more of a unity. With phroneō, intellect and emotion are not pitted against each other.

I remember when I was young — I was a teenager — and I could be pretty nasty if I wanted to. I could be pretty snarky if I wanted to. I might say something that was true but have a real attitude about it. My mom would inform me, “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.” My emotional compass wasn’t pointing true north.

However, phroneō not only means “think,” but it also includes “being like-minded,” “being thoughtful,” “being mutually disposed.” It means caring for the other.

Paul urges two of the church leaders, Euodia and Syntyche “to be of the same mind” in the Lord. There’s that word again. We don’t know what’s going on between these two women. I presume it’s been no knock down, drag out, fight. As the apostle says, “they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel” (vv. 2–3). Maybe there’s been just a little dust-up. Again, we really don’t know.

Nonetheless, the problem would be setting a bad example for the rest of the community.

Let’s look at chairō. In verse 4, he says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” I remember learning a worship chorus when I was in the Assemblies of God which went, “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I say, Rejoice!” Repeat that line, and then, “Rejoice, rejoice, and again I say, Rejoice!” Repeat that line, and then go back to the beginning and once more, sing it twice.

There isn’t much variation in the text of that chorus, but we do make good use of chairō. In fact, we could also sing, “Farewell in the Lord always: again I say, Farewell!” We send each other off with a blessing of joy.

There’s plenty of good stuff in chapter 4, but I want to close with verses 15 to 20. Paul praises them, “You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone” (v. 15). They helped with his “needs more than once” (v. 16).

They have given freely. It hasn’t been a question of duty, of even pulling teeth. It is one of the upside-down rules of the gospel. Those who bless others will themselves be blessed.

One more note about that. In verse 17, Paul says, “Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account.” That profit accumulating to their account refers to the blessings building up in God’s register, so to speak. He says, “my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (v. 19). The psalmist says God owns “the cattle on a thousand hills” (50:10).

So friends, if you take nothing else from this, my teaching on phroneō and chairō, remember to exercise golden concern for each other. Don’t forget the golden rule. I don’t want this to be taken as a nice, greeting card sentiment. This is a rock-hard statement of the hope we have in Jesus Christ.