V. Greetings and benediction 4:21-23

Paul concluded this warm, positive epistle with some greetings and a final benediction. He did this to cement good relations with the Philippians and to point them again in closing to the Lord Jesus Christ. This closing section of the epistle balances the salutation that opened it (1:1-2).

4:21 The apostle wished that the Philippians would pass his greetings to every individual believer whom they would touch. He probably meant Christians in nearby towns as well as in Philippi. He used the same term to describe them as he employed in his opening greeting: "saints in Christ Jesus"(1:1). We have seen that the believer's position "in Christ"is an important theme in Philippians. Christ Jesus was both the source and focus of Paul and the Philippians' common life together.¹⁸⁰

The brethren with Paul in Rome included Epaphroditus and probably Timothy. They would have also included the Roman Christians with whom Paul had contact and perhaps other fellow workers such as Luke.

4:22 "All the saints"probably refers to the Christians at Rome. Of these, some were employees of the imperial government. Paul had already referred to the praetorian guards some of whom had evidently become believers (1:13). Since Philippi as a colony had close ties with Rome, it is likely that some of the Roman Christians had friends in the Philippian church.

4:23 This benediction is similar to Paul's initial greeting (1:2; cf. Phile. 25; Gal. 6:18). God's bestowal of the unmerited favor and supernatural enablement of the Lord Jesus Christ on the spirits (persons) of the Philippians would enable them to succeed. God's grace would enable them to do all that the apostle had exhorted them to do in this letter. We need God's grace for this purpose too.

Paul's personal view of life lies at the center of this epistle structurally as well as conceptually (cf. 3:7-14). There he demonstrated what it means to adopt the mind of Christ. The great burden of this letter is that we need to make His attitude our own so we can join with other believers in partnership in the gospel. The partnership of the Philippians with Paul is still bearing fruit today through this encouraging epistle.