Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Philippians 4:21-23 NASB

Verse 21 begins with the word greet, which is from the Greek aspazomai, which can also be translated welcome. Simply put, the instruction here is to warmly welcome every saint in Christ Jesus. Why? One reason is that it’s important that we purposely connect with other believers. We are the body of Christ (cf: 1 Cor. 12:12, Rom. 12:4-5) and just as a hand is of no value without being connected to the body, we cannot operate effectively in our faith without each other. Fellowship with Christians in church, bible study, or just about anywhere, strengthens and sharpens us and allows us to do the same for other believers (ie: saints).

Speaking of saints, the Greek word here is hagios which literally means holy ones. While we often don’t think of ourselves in this way (and perhaps for good cause!), in God’s eyes each true believer is a saint, a holy one. This may be hard to comprehend as we are still sinful creatures, but this fact is validated by many other scriptures, such as:

He [the Father] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

By this will we have been sanctified [made holy] through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Hebrews 10:10

And He Himself [Christ] bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24

This is an important doctrinal truth in the Christian faith. While the disciples of Christ and apostles that followed are often revered as saints, and even imprudently prayed to by some, all who have true saving faith hold an equal position in a spiritual sense. Romans 3:23-24 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” We have been made holy by Christ’s sacrifice, and this is not of our own accord, it is a gift from God. Perhaps this will help us remember that having been made holy (sanctified) by Christ’s sinless blood, we should always strive to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of our calling (cf: Eph. 4:1, Phil. 1:27).

Another interesting element in this passage is how Paul mentioned those of Caesar’s household. The Romans had many gods, and most of the time they didn’t care which god or gods you worshipped as long as you honored Caesar above all others. Remember, Paul was in a Roman prison at the time he wrote this letter – locked up for sharing the gospel (cf: Phil. 1:7), a gospel that states that Christ reigns high above any earthly king or ruler, which included Caesar (cf: Eph. 1:20-22). Yet, both Paul’s divine calling to share Christ with the Gentiles, and hearing of the Philippians generosity and right living, no doubt had an impact even on those who served Caesar, and likely even those who guarded him in prison. This fact reveals how a bold and fearless faith can have an incredible and lasting influence on those around us.

Finally, Paul ends this epistle with, “the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.” A beautiful and uplifting finale to a letter that would have brought much encouragement and joy to the believers in Philippi, and it should to us even today.

I pray that you have been blessed, encouraged, and sharpened by our study of this letter. During this journey we learned more about loving others and approving what is excellent, Paul’s comprehension of how his imprisonment furthered the gospel, Christ’s great humility and our call to imitate Him, the importance of rejoicing in the Lord always, not having confidence in the works of the flesh but instead trusting in our faith in Christ, always keeping our minds focused on good things, not worrying about the future, giving sacrificially, and much more. And we just scratched the surface, as God’s Holy Spirit never ceases to reveal deeper truths the more we study His word.

Next up - an expository study of Colossians! I hope you will join us!