Euodia and Syntyche: Agree In The Lord

Children’s Bible Page 1275.

One reality we see about the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Scripture is that not only does trusting in the gospel reconcile us into a right relationship with God, a relationship that is transformed from one of hostility to one of peace,

But the gospel of Jesus Christ also reconciles us to one another, from relationships of hostility to relationships characterized by peace.

You may say, well, I’ve never been a hostile person.

Even when I didn’t know Jesus, I didn’t go around threatening peoples’ lives and kicking their puppies of anything.

But, the foundational nature of hostility is simply counting yourself as more significant, more worthy, more deserving, and desiring better for yourself than you do for anyone else around you, and every human heart not transformed by the gospel of Jesus is ruled by its own selfish desires that not only separates them from God but from one another.

Because God is the creator of all things, being separated from Him means being separated and broken in regard to relationship to one another.

As we continue our summer series today entitled “Her Story, His plan”, we are going to consider two women who are only mentioned once in Scripture just like last week,

And they are mentioned in the letter to the Philippians, a letter that is all about how the gospel of Jesus Christ not only gives us peace with God but peace with one another.

The two ladies names are Euodoia and Syntyche - I don’t think I’ve seen those names on the most popular baby names list anytime recently, but none the less, these ladies’ story teach us something so helpful about God and about ourselves, and it is something we all desperately need.

The book of Acts tells us that the church at Philippi began in a beautiful and dramatic way that really shows off the power of the gospel.

Acts 16 tells us that when Paul came to Philippi, he learned that there were a group of women who would meet by the riverside to pray every Sabbath day.

So, Paul went to the women’s prayer meeting and shared the gospel, and a business woman named Lydia was there, and God opened her heart to believe in Jesus.

Then, God used Paul to free another woman from demon oppression, which got him thrown in prison.

Then, God caused a great earthquake to open the prison, which lead to one of the jailers coming to faith in Christ.

So, the church at Philippi began with Lydia, the businesswoman, the formerly demon possessed lady, and the converted Philippian jailer and his family.

Which reminds us that it is God that brings his family together as they are reconciled to Him and to each other.

And in our culture, we are so influenced to think in individual ways, that we are tempted to believe that we can personally walk with Jesus and look forward to eternal life in heaven without being genuinely connected to other believers in a local church.

Instead, we are tempted to see the church as an optional spiritual experience as long as it benefits your private and personal relationship with Jesus.

But, the New Testament is clear that all who came to faith in Jesus Christ were baptized to make their faith public and they were added to the local body of believers called the church.

And the church is such a picture of heaven because in no way were Lydia, the demon possessed lady, and the jailer and his family ever going to join a group together and link their lives together for any other purpose than for the purpose that while they were still sinners, Christ died and rose, and opened their hearts to believe and be saved and reconciled to himself and to one another.

And God adopts all believers into his family, the church, and locally links us together in order to supernaturally love one another, and in supernaturally loving one another, we display to those around us the glory, truth, and supernatural nature of God and His gospel to others and invite them into it through Christ.

Yet, now, here is Paul, who is in prison in Rome from preaching the gospel, and He is writing back to the church at Philippi, and we are going to pick up where he addresses the two women - Euodia and Syntyche - in order for us to learn from their story.

Philippians 4:2–9 ESV

2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

1. Agree In The Lord And Help Others Agree In The Lord

At the end of chapter 3, Paul has just warned the church that there are many who walk as enemies of the cross of Christ, and the believers must stand firm in the Lord.

So, he has just warned them about a threat from outside - enemies of the cross.

Yet, now, Paul turns and warns the church about a threat from within.

I think it is easier for us to think the great threat to the church is a culture at odds with God and the truth of His word, and the alluring temptations of the world and the flesh and the devil, and those are threats to the church from outside,

But just as important to pay close attention to and be on guard against is the threats that we believers in Jesus pose to God’s church.

Have you ever considered that you and I can be a threat to God’s church?

A threat to her mission, her unity, and her witness in the world?

Apart from God’s presence, and Spirit, and gospel, and grace it is a risky business uniting a bunch of sinners together.

It is incredible to imagine the church sitting and listening to this letter from Paul read aloud to them for the first time, and the reader gets to chapter 4 verse 2 where he reads aloud, “I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.”

Whoa. It is not very often that Paul calls two people out by name in his letters.

And why does he mention these two women?

Because they were in the midst of a disagreement.

We readers would love to know the nature of their disagreement, but God’s word does not tell us.

Which is very much God’s grace to us because if it would have told us what the disagreement was, we would be tempted to not address or own disagreements with our brothers and sisters in the Lord because most likely they would be of a different nature than these two ladies.

If he would have told us that their disagreement was about doctrine, then we would justify our disagreements we have with one another concerning practical matters.

Or whatever it may be.

The fact that we are not told the nature of the disagreement causes us to address whatever kinds of disagreements we are tempted to be engaged in in our day, and our context, and our setting, and this church God has us each a part of.

It is extremely likely that this disagreement is already known by all the church given Paul is willing to address it so publicly, which is a warning to us that even if you think your conflict or disagreement with another is a private matter, if it goes unaddressed, it has a way of spreading and affecting the entire church family.

And notice, the only instruction Paul gives in order for the women to solve their disagreement is simply this: agree in the Lord.

Which may seem like way too simple of a command toward something as complicated as many disagreements can be, but we must consider what Paul has already taught us in this letter about what it means to do anything in the Lord.

At this point in the letter to the Philippians, Paul has already taught that in the Lord, God has partnered us together as believers for gospel witness.

And God has given us the mind of Christ: who did not demand his way or his rights even though He was God, but instead, he emptied himself taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

So, if we are a people who are in the Lord, we are a people who has found encouragement in Christ, we have found comfort from His love, we have come to participate in His Spirit, His affection, and His sympathy.

And because God done the greatest work of reconciliation by counting our own needs for being saved from sin, greater than his own needs, and humbled himself to die for us,

We who are in the Lord can now in humility count others more significant than ourselves and look not to our own interests but to the interests of others,

And in that way, we can be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

So, when Paul commands these two women to agree in the Lord, he is actually pointing them to their only source for true unity and reconciliation, the God of peace who laid down his rights in order to consider our interests greater than his own in order to sacrifice himself to save us.

And if these two women will humble themselves and take on that mind, they will be reconciled and agree in the Lord, no matter what the conflict is.

So many times, we are unwilling to come to an agreement because of how badly we are hurt, it hurts our pride, it hurts to lose the argument, it hurts to concede something that you wanted.

But, we have to understand that hurt and pain never kept Jesus from actively doing everything necessary to consider our interests over his own and do everything necessary to reconcile us to God.

You can reconcile and lay down your way and your rights even while you are hurting.

I would even say in following the model of Jesus, you must do so.

Paul addresses a similar theme in the letter to the Ephesians which is super instructive for us in this matter:

Ephesians 4:1–6 ESV

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

The ladies’ disagreement leads us to ask ourselves the question: well, aren’t there certain things that are worth disagreeing over?

Aren’t there certain things that we should be willing to stand our ground on and fight for and not give into?

The answer is yes, there are certain things that we unite around, that if challenged by someone else in the body, we must disagree on, and Paul tells us what those things are in this passage:

That we have been made a body by the Spirit of God,

That we have been called to the hope of the gospel which is eternal life,

That there is one Lord,

One true faith,

One baptism, meaning we identify only with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for our salvation,

One God who is Father and God over all things.

If the disagreement is that God is not - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you must stand your ground and no agree.

If the disagreement is that we do not have the hope of eternal life in Jesus - you must disagree.

If the disagreement is that there are other true faiths and way of salvation, you must disagree.

If the disagreement is that God is not the Creator and Sustainer and only one worthy of worship, you must disagree.

If your disagreement does not fall into this category, lean into the Spirit of God within you, consider others more significant than yourself, consider the interests of others, and agree in the Lord.

Listen, if you are unreconciled with a brother or sister in Christ for any matter that does not fall into the category to which God’s word just gave us, take the initiative, and agree in the Lord.

It is so important for this unity to occur that Paul goes on to say in verse 3, that other believers should help these two women come to agreement in the Lord,

Why? because they have labored side by side for the faith of the gospel and their names are in the book of life.

We are told that all who belong to God through faith in the gospel have their name written in His book.

And in light of the worthiness of the gospel and the worthiness of having your name written in the book of life - your disagreement is not worth it.

It’s not weighty enough.

Even if you win, you will not be satisfied.

Instead, be satisfied that you are in Christ and your name is eternally written in his book.

Even if you lose some money over it, or lose a tradition you loved, or do things different in a ministry or decision than what you thought would be best, do something in parenting different, or see some political issue different or whatever it is outside the realm of faith in the gospel, it’s not worth it.

Unity in the gospel and your name in that book is worth it.

Agree in the Lord and help others agree in the Lord.

Sometimes we read the next verses as separate truisms not connected to the command for these women to agree in the Lord, but I submit they go right along with Paul’s train of thought, so while we spent the majority of our time in point one, let me quickly connect four other points to this first one.

2. Rejoice In The Lord Always

Having joy in the Lord always is a major theme of this letter.

But, I want you to consider the situations going on that the church was being commanded to rejoice in the Lord always in the midst of.

Paul is in prison.

There is selfish ambition and rivalry among some who preach the gospel.

There are opponents of the gospel persecuting the church.

There is a tendency in the church for grumbling and disputing.

A beloved member named Epaphroditus had been extremely sick.

There is a disagreement among two ladies named Euodia and Syntyche great enough to call out in front of the whole church.

In the midst of these circumstances, rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice!

Just like agreeing in the Lord is only possible because of who God is and what He has done, rejoicing in the Lord at all times is only possible because of who God is and what God has done.

Paul was an example of this kind of rejoicing in the Lord always when he and Silas sung hymns of praise to God while being shackled to a guard in a prison cell.

In the next verse, we are going to read this phrase: The Lord is at hand, which points us to two realities,

one is that God is near to us in each and every situation, He loves us and is working all things out for our ultimate good and His ultimate glory.

Secondly, God has promised us that Jesus is going to return soon, and make all things right.

So here is the truth: if whatever it is you are facing cannot keep you from the joy of Heaven when Jesus returns,

It cannot keep you from rejoicing always in the here and now. (say that again)

Why? because your name is in the book of life and the Lord is at hand, and will make all things new and right.

Too oftentimes we allow disunity and disagreement to continue because we think our hope and our joy are wrapped up in whatever the disagreement is:

When the truth is: all your hope and joy are wrapped up in the God of peace who is with you and near you and has done everything necessary to write your name in his eternal book of life.

Fight for joy by remembering the gospel!

George Mueller, an 1800s evangelist is famous for saying:

The first great and primary business of the Christian everyday is to have my soul happy in the Lord.

Rejoice in the Lord always.

3. Be Known For Your Gentleness

Verse 5 - Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.

I think if we put the word reasonableness with the word gentleness, we get a good grasp of the original word Paul used here.

Paul used the same word in 2 Corinthians 10:1 to speak to the meekness and gentleness of Christ.

Are you known for being a person that does not demand your own way but instead, you are able to be reasonable and gentle with others?

It’s a characteristic of Jesus.

It’s a qualifying characteristic of an elder who serves God through leadership in the church.

Reasonableness and gentleness is empowered by a Spirit that trusts in the Lord with all their heart and does not lean on their own understanding.

It is a quality empowered by Christ who emptied himself and put our concerns above His own.

Do you display a willingness to truly listen to others, consider their opinions and thoughts, willing to defer to them at times?

Are you known for being gracious and bearing with others in their weaknesses?

4. Replace Anxiety With Prayer

Verse 6 is going to begin with - do not be anxious about anything.

And I don’t know about you, but when I am struggling with worry and anxiety it feels like God is a million miles away.

But just like we can rejoice even when we don’t feel like it, we can call on the name of the Lord and believe that He is near even when it doesn’t feel like it.

I’ve already spoken to the reality that the Lord is at hand.

It reminds me of when Jesus told his disciples that it is best for them that He goes away, because then He will send the Holy Spirit to them.

The reality is that every believer has been in dwelt with the Holy Spirit of God.

The question is: Do I believe I would be less anxious if I had Jesus standing beside me?

Yes, I think I could walk through an awful lot if I had Jesus physically walking right beside me.

Well, Jesus said it is more advantageous for you and I to have the Holy Spirit inside of us than to have him physically walking beside us.

So, when you are tempted to worry and anxiety, the Lord is near, in everything pray, ask God, make your requests known to God.

Do all this with thanksgiving.

We talked about this last week, worry and anxiety have a way of shining a spotlight on the one problem you are facing and completely blinding us to all that is good and all that we have to be thankful for.

Sometimes we continue in a conflict because we are so worried about losing whatever the one thing we are arguing about is, that if we could just gain some perspective of all that God has given us to be thankful for, we will see that our unwillingness to lose that one thing is silly.

Of all the many distinct attributes of God, our passage today puts on full display that God is peace.

Through Christ, He gives us peace with God.

In the Lord, we can agree with one another and live at peace.

Rejoice in the Lord who has given us peace.

As you pray and offer your worrisome and anxious requests to the Lord, and as you deliberately choose in prayer to remember all the blessings God has given you and offer thanksgiving, God makes you a promise, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I love that His peace passes understanding, because when I cannot understand how a difficult situation is going to work out, it is super hard to get my mind to focus on anything else.

I would encourage you to make a practice of memorizing Scripture and worship songs, and also make a practice of actively flooding your mind with thankfulness to God,

Because sometimes, even one night this week, I laid in bed and fought horrible thoughts of fear and anxiety by intentionally flooding my mind with God’s word, songs, and thankfulness.

I’m tempted to think that if I stop thinking about a problem for while, it is just going to get worse.

And it is true that ignoring problems does not help, but neither does spending way too much time ruminating over them.

Pray, be thankful, and flood your mind with truth.

This last verse reinforces what I am already saying.

5. Think On The Most Praiseworthy Things

Verse 8 again - Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

There is so much in life that you and I cannot control.

We can’t control circumstances.

We can’t control how others treat or respond to us.

We can’t control what God is doing.

We can’t control how we feel all the time.

We can’t control our emotions all the time.

But we can decide what we call to mind.

Where we are going to set our mind, and what we are going to flood our mind with.

Naturally, if I am just passive with my mind, my mind is going to think negative, it is going to think worst case scenario, it is going to assume the worst.

But God calls us to actively set our minds on the best of things.

What if Euodia and Syntyche both committed to think the very best about one another in terms of each others character, motives, and God’s work in them?

In the midst of disagreement, it is tempting to think badly of the other person.

But what if you committed to set your mind only on what is true, and honorable, and just, and pure, and lovely, and commendable, and excellent, and anything that is worthy of praise, and you chose to consistently think about those things?

What if you committed to that before the Lord on behalf of your spouse, your children, your boss and coworkers, your family member and fellow church member?

I don’t mean we never address problems, but I do mean that our mental rhythm is to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things.

Verse 9 reminds us that these are habits of the mind that take constant practice.

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me - practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

If you are like me and you hear all this and think, wow, I’ve got a lot of spiritual work to do.

I am more of a threat to unity in God’s church than I thought.

Can I close by encouraging you that the gospel is not first and foremost about what you need to go out and do for God.

And it is not first and foremost spiritual principles that you need to practice and master.

The gospel is first and foremost that while you were an enemy of God, hostile to His glory, selfish and desiring your own interests above the interests of God or others,

God loved you so much, he sent His son.

And Jesus came and in all his perfection and lived a perfectly joy filled life pleasing to God and for the good of others,

Then Jesus died the death you and I deserved in our place for our sin.

God placed all the hostility He had toward our sin onto himself, so that all that is left for us is peace.

And three days later, Jesus rose from the grave defeating everything that keeps us from peace with God.

And all who trust in Jesus’ work for salvation proves that God has begun the work of salvation in them by forgiving your sins, filling you with His Holy Spirit, and adopting you into His family - the church.

And God promises at the beginning of the letter of Philippians that just like he started this work of salvation through Jesus and opening our hearts to believe, He will be faithful to bring this work of salvation to completion when you see Jesus face to face.

When you understand the gospel,

You don’t pursue the character of God in order to earn His love.

You pursue the character of God because He has already offered you his complete love and promised that He will never take it away, so you are now free to honor him by finding joy in practicing being more and more like him.

Do you trust Jesus for your salvation?

Are you daily actively engaging with the God of peace in order to pursue unity with His people?

Are you willing to say your sorry and consider others interests over your own?

Are you committing daily to set your mind on the most praiseworthy things?

Let’s pray.