The life and work of St. Paul

THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 60S
talked to him when they had returned from the contests in the Circua
Maximns, and joined their shouts to those of the myriads who cheered their
favourite colours leading forward in his flying car, bending over the shaken
rein and the goaded steed, forgetting everything every peril, every com-
petitor, every circling of the rneta in the rear, as he pressed on for the goal by
which sat the judges with the palm garlands that formed the prize. 1
" Let all, then, of us who are full grown in spiritual privileges have this mind ;
then if in any other respect ye think otherwise 2 than ye should, this shall God
reveal to you; only walk in the same path to the point whereunto we once
reached."*
And as a yet further warning against any danger of their abusing the
doctrine of the free gift of grace by antinomian practices, he adds
" Show yourselves, brethren, imitators of me, and mark those who walk as ye
have us for an example. For many walk about whom I often used to tell you, and
now tell you even with tears the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is
destruction, whose god their belly, and their glory in their shame, men minding
earthly things. For our real citizenship is in heaven, whence also we anxiously
await as a Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change the fashion of the body
of our abasement so as to be conformable to the body of His glory, 4 according to the
efficacy of His power to subject also every existing thing unto Himself. So, my
brethren, beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand ye firm in the Lord,
beloved." 5
Then after this long digression, which, beginning in strong indignation,
calms itself down to pathetic appeal, he once more takes up the exhortation to
unity with which he had intended to conclude. He entreats two ladies, Euodia
and Syntyche, to unity of mind in Christ, and he also affectionately asks
Syzygus 6 on whose name of "yokefellow" he plays, by calling him a
genuine yokefellow a yokefellow in heart as well as in name 7
to assist these
ladies in making up their quarrel, which was all the more deplorable because
of the worth of them both, seeing that they wrestled with him in the Gospel,
with Clement too, and the rest of his fellow-workers whose names are in the
Book of Life. 8
1 "Non progredi est regredi " (Aug.).
s ere'pio;, used euphemistically ( = tea/cut , Od. i. 234, darepov = TO KOKOV). So the Hebrew
" acheer." The meaning is, If you have the heart of the matter, God will enlighten you
in non-essentials.
3 iii. 1216, omit Kavovi, rb O.VTO tpovtiv (**, A, B).
* Ver. 21, fieTa