For the first time, we get a glimpse of the individual people of the church in Philippi, and Paul mentions three of them by name.

You can read this week’s passage in Philippians 4:2-3:

Can you imagine the setting in Philippi? Paul’s letter has arrived. The church is gathered to hear it read aloud. And here, in the final portion of the letter, two women, presumably present, are called out by name!

This is the first time in this letter that Paul gets this personal, and does so in a manner that calls out these two women. Much can be gathered from these brief statements from Paul about them. We know that they were coworkers for the sake of the gospel, and apparently were a great help to Paul in his work.

Just who they were is a matter of conjecture, since we have little else to go on about these women. What we do know is that they were in disagreement about something. Just what that might have been is unknown. Paul calls them to a unity of mind, literally. His words to them instruct them to have the same mind, to be unified in their attitudes and work together. Paul expects them to set the good of the church above their own personal agendas and interests.

It is interesting to speculate about these women. Since they are mentioned by name, they may have held significant influence in the church in Philippi, much like Lydia in Acts 16. Their disagreement could, in fact, be the very disunity that Paul has been discussing throughout this letter. Whether that is the case is not clear, but it certainly fits the information we have.

Next, Paul calls upon a loyal yokefellow to help these women settle their differences. There is an interesting aspect to this term. It could actually be this person’s name. These two words can be taken together to be Syzygus, meaning “loyal comrade.” This would not be the only time such a thing occurs in Scripture. In Paul’s letter to Philemon, Onesimus literally means “useful” or “profitable” (verse 11).

Others have taken this to refer to Luke, since he had several strong connections to Philippi (Acts 16:12-40). Likewise, Timothy has been referred to as “loyal” by Paul (2:20).

The next name mentioned is Clement. This was a fairly common name used throughout the Roman Empire, and is probably not the same person as Clement of Rome, who had a connection to the church in Corinth.

Finally, Paul mentions “the rest of my fellow workers.” These people are unnamed and we will never know who they might have been. But, as unnamed and unknown as they are, their names are known in one most important place: God’s record, the book of life.

This is a very encouraging thought. It does not mater if you lead a very public ministry or serve in obscurity. Your name is known in the only place it matters. The faithful, from both the Old Covenant and the New, are listed out in God’s book of life.

God has noticed our work. God has noticed our efforts. And God has noticed our faith.

And that is enough.

Question: It doesn’t matter how well known your efforts for the Gospel are. What matters is if you are known by God. Is your name in the book of life? How does that encourage you to continue to serve faithfully? You can leave a comment by clicking here.