Christian Unity is Detailed to the Philippians Volume 47

Paul Closes with Praise to God & Good Will Blessings to his fellow Saints in Philippi

Philippians 4:20-23 Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. To the Philippians written from Rome, by Epaphroditus KJV

The Apostle Paul was thought by many Bible Scholars to have suffered from some sort of eye disease or eye trouble because of these words he wrote to the Galatian believers, “You know that because of physical infirmity I preached the Gospel to you at the first. And my trial which was in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. What then was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me.” (Galatians 4:13-16) (KJV). With this being documented, we find that Paul did not write most of the letters that we now have in the Holy Scripture (the New Testament), however, despite being unable to write adequately himself, Paul was still carried along by God the Holy Spirit in what was written. Here we find Paul closing another letter of his in his most accustomed manner; first he gives all the glory and honor for what is contained in this letter to God; second he sends his heartfelt greetings to all of the saints who have been made such there in Philippi by our Lord Jesus Christ; thirdly he sends greetings to the Church @ Philippi from the other brethren that were there with him in Rome; finally he prays for the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to be with each and every one of them in the Philippian Church. This letter is believed by many Bible Scholars to have been dictated by Paul to Epaphroditus (the physical writer) and he is thought to have delivered this letter to the Church @ Philippi upon his return home there when he got sick (Philippians 2:25-30).

First, Paul closes by giving all glory to God as he says with these words, “Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Philippians 4:20) (KJV). The English word glory is translated by the Greek word doxa which means literally to praise, to honor, and to worship. In other words, this entire epistle or letter written by Paul is a glorification of the greatness of our God and Father in Heaven who could communicate such love, devotion, goodness, etc. to such sinful people as the Philippians through such a sinful man as Paul a murderer and blasphemer (1 Timothy 1:12-17). For it was our Heavenly Father who placed the desire in the heart of the Brothers and Sisters of Paul in the Church @ Philippi to send the many gifts to him in his time of need and likewise it was Paul doing what he was prompted to do by God the Father in going to Philippi and preaching the Gospel of the Grace of God to these Gentile sinners that caused God the Holy Spirit to respond by converting many in Philippi to Christ Jesus our Lord. Both with Paul’s writing, preaching, and teaching to these believers in Philippi and to the brethren in Philippi care and concern for Paul’s needs, necessities, and his nurture all came from the Divine moving of desires and wills by our Father in Heaven who has such strong tender affections for all of His redeemed children.

Secondly, Paul greets every individual believer in the Church @ Philippi and also sends greetings to them from the brethren with him in Rome, “Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.” (Philippians 4:21) (KJV). The English word salute is translated by the Greek word aspazomai which means to enfold in the arms, that is, (by implication) to salute, (figuratively) to welcome: - embrace, greet. In other words, with words the Apostle Paul was sending out a big hug or embrace to each one of the Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus in the Church @ Philippi. It was as if he were transporting himself in spirit to them to warmly greet each and every one, likewise sending back to them the same from each of the other brethren there in Rome with him. We have no way of knowing who all of the “brethren with him” were, but we know that Timothy and Dr. Luke were seemingly always with Paul and perhaps others were Jewish brethren who lived there in Rome. 

Thirdly, Paul sends greetings from those with him in Caesar’s household as he declares with these words, “All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar’s household.” (Philippians 4:23) (KJV). The reference to those in Caesar’s household is undoubtedly those who were guards, slaves, and perhaps even some of the family members of the Roman Emperor who heard Paul preaching and proclaiming the Gospel even during his imprisonment and were converted by God the Holy Spirit to Christ. This was most likely not made known by them publicly fearing the Emperor would have them executed, but privately they worshipped our Lord Jesus Christ with Paul, Timothy, Dr. Luke, and other brethren there in Rome away from the hateful sight and knowledge of the Roman Emperor. It was Nero who was Emperor during this time in the ministry of the Apostle Paul and it was thought by many that even his wife the Empress Poppaea was saved and converted to Christ by the Holy Spirit, for it was written by Josephus of her that “she was a worshipper of the true God” and perhaps even others in Nero’s own household went and listened to Paul and were converted by the Holy Spirit to Christ. However, whomever they were of Caesar’s household, the Apostle Paul was confident of their salvation to Christ to write to the believers in Philippi warm greeting from the “saints in Caesar’s household”, for Paul would never refer to any non-believers as saints. Paul ends his letter as he does all of them with the benediction of, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Philippians 4:23) (KJV).

“We should look upon God, under all our weaknesses and fears, not as a tyrant or an enemy, but as a Father, who is disposed to pity us and help us. We must ascribe glory to God as a Father, the glory of His own excellence and of all His mercy unto us. We must thankfully own the receipt of all from Him, and give the praise of all to Him. And our praise must be constant and perpetual; it must be glory for ever and ever.” Matthew Henry

“Paul is generally allowed to have been twice imprisoned at Rome: this was, without doubt, the first time of his being there in bonds, as there is every appearance that he was delivered after this; but his second imprisonment issued in his martyrdom. Every Apostle of God is immortal till his work is done. Paul became a martyr when God saw that there was no farther need either for his preaching or his writing; he had kept and defended the faith, and had finished his course; God took him then from the evil to come; and crowned him with the glory which his Redeemer had provided for him, in reference to which he lived, and after which he had continually aspired.” Adam Clarke

“How wonderful is the Gospel of Christ, but at the same time how brutal it is, for history records that the Roman Emperor Nero who had Paul beheaded when he was imprisoned in Rome for the second time may have come to know that his own wife had become a Christian and even others in his household, but he never opened his heart to the Gospel of Grace and it is recorded that Nero (the most powerful man in the world at that time) committed suicide and this reminds me of these words written by the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian believers, ‘For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?’ (2 Corinthians 2:15-16) (NKJV).” Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…