Final Greetings
Give my greetings to each of God’s holy people—all who belong to Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you their greetings. And all the rest of God’s people send you greetings, too, especially those in Caesar’s household. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Phil 4:21-23
We are coming to the end of the Gems on Philippians. In most of his letters, Paul sends greetings to the churches or the group of immediate associates of the individuals he was writing to. But this close in Philippians is a more interesting one than those in other letters, perhaps with the exception of the letter to the saints in Rome. Take a look at the Gem series The Names in Romans. It took me sixteen Gems to cover Paul’s close in that case. Well, actually more than 16 because I wrote sixteen Gems to cover each name or group of names mentioned. (Gem 274 to 299)
Paul’s close to the Philippian letter is not as interesting as Romans but comes a close second for different reasons. I would encourage you to study the close of each of Paul’s letters in order to note the interesting things he wrote at the end of each letter. A few of you commented on what I did with the ‘doxologies’ and said how helpful having that comparison of the final blessings was. I didn’t consider doing that for Paul’s closes because there would be too much quoted material to cover. But it would certainly be something worth you doing for yourself. I am glad Paul did not take the same approach with the Philippian letter as he did with the letter to the Roman church. I would be here for a loong time working my way through every single person from the church in Philippi. What is remarkable is that Paul listed all those people by name (27 in all), in a church he had not visited prior to sending the letter. Not only that but he listed a further 8 names of those who wished to be remembered to the believers in Rome. Paul did not do that with the letter to the saints in Philippi. Rather he asked to be remembered to each one of them individually in a summarised way.
Give my greetings to each of God’s holy people—all who belong to Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:21
He did single them out and ask to be remembered to each and every one of them. Furthermore, he made it clear that each one was to be included! i.e. Don’t miss anyone. But he made it clear that they were to greet those who were true Christians – those who belonged to Christ Jesus. That was also made clear when he called them ‘saints‘. [Hagios] (singular) and [hagioi] (plural) is a reference specifically to those who have been purchased with the blood of Christ. If you want to know more about Paul’s use of the word ‘saints’ look at:
Gem 136 Od Slaves and Saints and other things
Gem 157 Just and Justifier: God’s big Problem
Then as with some other letters Paul includes those who wish to be remembered to the Philippian Christians.
The brothers who are with me send you their greetings.
Phil 4:21
I think you could possibly come up with the list of names of those who would be included in this group – the brothers who are with me. Who do you think that would include? Answer in the next Gem. Don’t worry the list is not as long as the Romans’ Eight.
Finally we have this curious verse:
And all the rest of God’s people send you greetings, too, especially those in Caesar’s household.
Phil 4:22
All the rest of God’s people! Paul are you serious? Was Paul really saying “all Christians everywhere sent their Greetings to the Philippians believers? No. that is hardly likely. Remember this is a reciprocal letter from Paul to the local church in Philippi. Where was Paul when he wrote this letter? In prison in Rome! If you look at the Gem 1885 – Paul Under House Arrest you will gain a better understanding of what Paul’s situation was like. It is most likely that Paul is referring to the saints in Rome when he referred to all the rest of God’s people. In other words the church in Rome as a group. Whether they all made comment and wished to be remembered to the saints in Philippi is debatable. Rather it is likely that the general sentiment of the Roman Christians was favourable toward to the Christians in Philippi. After all Paul was supported by the Philippian saints in his work. I would imagine the Roman church knew that and embraced the saints in Philippi as well. There would have been mutual reciprocity between them. But they are hardly likely to have all given their verbal comment to include each of their names in the letter. I suspect Paul has taken the liberty of saying all the rest of the Christians here in Roman send their greetings.
Now we come to a moot point as to what this following element means:
especially those in Caesar’s household.
Phil 4:22
To whom was Paul referring with this comment and does it goes so far as to include Nero’s wife? Already two Gem readers have asked this question, or if not asked specifically, have made passing comment to the fact that they heard Nero’s wife had become a Christian and wonder if she was referred to in this comment.
It is highly unlikely that Nero’s wife Octavia was a Christian because Nero had ordered the extermination of the Christians after blaming them for starting a fire in 64 AD that burned a large portion of Rome. For his wife to have become a Christian would have been enough to have caused her death. That didn’t happen. But according to the Roman historian Tacitus, Claudia Acte, a former slave girl and possible prostitute / dancer became Nero’s mistress. She could very well have been a Christian because Christianity appealed to the slaves of Rome. But again it is highly unlikely as that would have signed her death warrant. In fact Nero’s mother, Agrippina, who had poisoned the Emperor Claudius so Nero could become Emperor, was highly indignant that Claudia Acte had replaced her in her son’s affections. Agrippina would likely have used the fact that Acte was a Christian to dispatch her. So to answer the supposition that a member of Imperial family had become a Christian and did not also become a “Roman candle” requires a strong not likely; mere supposition or hearsay.
The term Caesar’s household or [οἰκία] “oikia” meaning house, household in this case refers to those who worked in the Emperor’s household. The way this term oikia was used consistently by Paul was taken to mean those who were in the group who served the imperial family when they were in residence. In other words the slaves, freedmen, household servants and other workers who were present in the palace grounds. As noted above, Claudia Akte was likely one of the freedwomen, an ex-slave who had found favour with Nero. But while it was possible that she became a Christian, it would certainly have sealed her fate having Agrippina watching her every move. Nero had incurred his mother’s wrath by lowering himself to make a freedwoman a mistress. But Nero had his mother assassinated and Akte was still influential in the Imperial court after Nero’s death. However, it is mere conjecture to suggest that Claudia Akte became a Christian. There is just no evidence to suggest this claim is true.
A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.
William Shakespeare
Aim to be a person of high commitment but requiring low maintenance.
Jeffrey Rachmat
Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.
Albert Camus
Trust before you Love. Know before you Judge. Commit before you Promise. Forgive before you Forget. Appreciate before you Regret.
Leonardo Valença