Phil. 4:2-3 - Harmony

2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord.
3 Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

This final section of the letter pulls together his encouragements and thoughts.

Vs. 2 - “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord.”

“live in harmony in the Lord.” - Paul says in Rom. 12:18 “If at all possible, live in peace with each other.” Living in harmony with other believers is a common theme in letters from Paul, or Peter, or John. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35) A command from the top - Love each other!
We don’t know anything about the dispute between these women. (See Note 1) Whatever the problem, it was destructive enough to be mentioned in the report delivered by Epaphroditus. That is my guess since Epaphroditus was sent by the Philippian church to Paul in Rome. He delivered the relevant news of the church to Paul.

Vs 3 - “Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. ”

“True companion” - Paul realizes he cannot resolve this from long distance, so he implores others to help. Again, no indication who the true comrade might be. It could be Epaphroditus, a trusted associate who is carrying this letter back to Philippi. It could be Clement, mentioned later in the verse (I think Clement is unlikely since Paul mentions him as an aside later in the letter. If the true companion were Clement, wouldn’t Paul have addressed him directly?). Or, it is another trusted believer, Timothy - I don’t know.

- “help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel” - Two people so committed to the gospel message should not be at odds to the degree that the church and gospel is besmirched. Focusing on their differences is diverting their attention from the task of spreading the gospel.
It is quite possible the dispute between these two workers had nothing to do with ‘doctrine’. Paul would have addressed the problem if it was about the salvation message, for example: “Salvation is through faith in Christ, and in Christ alone”. (1 Cor. 2:2) He did not hesitate to clarify that at anytime. (See also the letter to the Galatians.)

- “together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers,” - Other than his name, nothing is known about Clement mentioned here. One of the early “Church Fathers” in the late 2nd (100-199 A.D.) or early 3rd century (200-299 A.D) was named Clement. More than 40-50 years separate this letters and the church leader ‘Clement’, so most likely these are two different people.

- “whose names are in the book of life.” - The term, “Book of Life”, is only mentioned here and in Revelation. But the concept that God knows all and has it recorded is throughout the Bible. (See: Exo. 32:32; Psa. 69:28; Isa. 4:3; Eze. 13:9; Dan. 12:1; Mal. 3:16; Luke 10:20; Heb. 12:23)
God does not need to have it written down so as not to forget - He is omniscient! I believe this is for our benefit, since we forget things. It is to show us that none and nothing will be forgotten. Believers will not be left behind by accident! Non-believers will not ‘slip’ through by omission. There is a TV situation comedy, “The Good Place”, in which an error is made allowing an unrepentant sinner into the Good Place. No such errors will happen in real afterlife.

(Note 1: These names are pronounced “Euodia” = yew-OH-dee-ah, and “Syntyche” = soon-TOOK-ee. Curious minds want to know...)
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