Saints and Brothers
Philippians 4v21-23
Today I finally complete my study of Philippians.
Paul's letter to the church at Philippi ends with these words:
Philippians 4v21-23
Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send
greetings.
All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s
household.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
Paul's focus remains on his Christian friends, not on himself.
The latest NIV makes a mistranslation here. It has "all God's people" instead of "all the saints". I suppose it's trying to be easier to understand but it loses something of the meaning and power. The "saints" (Greek hagioi) are "holy ones", "sanctified ones". Paul is referring to Christians here. All Christians are saints, we are holy, separated from the world to be God's possession. As Peter wrote to the Christians under His apostolic care:
1 Peter 2v9-10a
... you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for
God’s possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out
of darkness into his wonderful light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God
We Are saints. We have been made holy, we are being made holy, and we will be made holy.
We have been made holy - past tense:
1 Corinthians 6v11b
you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Hebrews 10v10b
we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all.
We are being made holy - present tense:
1 Corinthians 1v18
... to us who are being saved [the message of the cross] is the power of
God.
2 Corinthians 3v18
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being
transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the
Lord, who is the Spirit.
We will be made holy - future tense:
1 John 3v2b
when Christ appears, we shall be like him...
1 Corinthians 15v42-44a
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is
perishable, it is raised imperishable;
it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness,
it is raised in power;
it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
When we first believed, we were set apart for God, His people, His children, for ever. Now we are His, we are slowly becoming more dedicated to Him. One day, our characters will be just like His. There will be no selfishness left in us.
Next, Paul says, "Greet all the saints [in Philippi] in Christ Jesus." Paul's loving concern was for every member of the local church, as ours should be. He then adds, " The brothers who are with me send greetings. All the saints [in Rome] send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household."
Paul had the assistance and support of some of the Christians who were then in Rome, including Timothy (Chapter 2, verse19) and Epaphroditus (Chapter 2 verse 25). We now see that he was also, perhaps via intermediaries, in some degree of communication and fellowship with the whole church in that city. Probably through a message from their leaders, they all sent greetings to the church in Philippi. This included some Christians who belong to Caesar’s household. These people might not be members of Caesar's family; they might have been officials or slaves. Nevertheless, it shows that the Gospel of Christ was already reaching the seat of imperial power.
At the time this letter was written, the cruel tyrant Nero was Caesar. We can only imagine was it was like being a Christian in his palace, but they stayed faithful to God, and they especially sent greetings to the church in Philippi. We don't know why these members of the imperial household were so concerned to add their greetings to Paul's, but Philippi was a Roman colony, and there may well have been links of family or friendship between the Roman and Philippian Christians.
Paul ends by saying, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen."
My understanding is that a human has two elements to his nature: the physical element, which we call the body, and the non-physical element, which we call the soul or the spirit. My best understanding of this non-physical element, is that the soul and the spirit are not different things, but the spirit is the non-physical element of our nature when it is in relationship with God. That's why Christians are described as being spiritually alive but non-Christians as spiritually dead. We have a living relationship with God and, sadly, they don't.
Dear reader, I add my greeting to you, and I offer my prayer for you. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Particularly, my His grace be upon your relationship with Him. Then you will experience and understand more and of His love for you and His power at work in you, for you and through you to others.
This letter shows us much about Paul's character, the character of a mature Christian. May God work in you to bring you to maturity, that you may increasingly enjoy Him and glorify His holy Name. Amen.