God’s Word for You
Philippians 4:2-3 Women in service
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Saturday, April 18, 2026
2 I appeal to Euodia and I appeal to Syntyche to come to an agreement in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal Syzygus, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Who were these two women? We can say a few things about them and about this case. Both of them had “contended at Paul’s side in the cause of the gospel.” So they did some kind of work in the kingdom of the Lord, perhaps as deaconesses (like Phoebe, Romans 16:1). We don’t need to identify their exact roles to be able to apply this case to ministry in the church today.
Their disagreement was not new, nor was it a small thing. Paul doesn’t call out any sin or false doctrine, and so we can safely assume that this was a case of how to carry out the Lord’s work. Perhaps they had different ideas about reaching out with the gospel, or about service in the church, or music, or some similar thing.
Paul asks for help from two men. The second is Clement who is called a “fellow worker.” Was he an older man with some godly wisdom that could be applied there? There was an early church father called Clement who was pastor in Rome about thirty years after this. Could they be the same man? Perhaps, but it would be unwise to insist on it; Clement was not a rare name. Also, Clement of Rome (the church Father) died about fifty years after this letter was written; he would have been a very young man at this time. But it is not beyond the realm of possibility.
The other man was Syzygus, and this might be either a name or a word meaning “yokefellow.” In the latter sense, it was used in ancient times for people united by an important or even a legal bond, such as a spouse, a military comrade, or a business partner, especially one with a shared financial interest in their business. Paul enlists his help in guiding these leading women of the church to agree together on a course that will please the Lord. Notice that Paul does not say “Do not,” or “Stop,” or any such thing. He appeals to them to come to an agreement in the Lord. He left things up to their sanctified good judgment—a choice that we would do well to imitate in ministry, rather than using a heavy hand.
Finally, Paul makes a reference to “names written in the book of life.” This brings us into the doctrine of election, which we have already seen and meditated upon in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and in the Gospels. Briefly, while the doctrine of justification shows us that our sins are forgiven by Christ on the cross, and that we are saved because we have faith in Christ, the doctrine of election is God’s loving and gracious assurance that he has had us in his heart since before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). God shows us that he has been manipulating human history and events in order to see to it that we have come into contact with the gospel and the means of grace. Yet it is also possible for someone with faith to fall from faith, as Judas did, and therefore we want to keep close to the gospel in word and sacrament, and to keep running back to Christ for his compassion and forgiveness.
Our Lutheran Confession states: “Scripture presents this teaching for no other purpose than to point us to the Word (Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 Corinthians 1:21,30,31), to admonish us to repent (2 Timothy 3:16-17), to encourage godliness (Ephesians 1:15ff; John 15:3,4,10,12,16,17), to strengthen our faith and assure us of our salvation (Ephesians 1:9, 13, 14; John 10:27-30; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15).”
It isn’t possible to know whose name is or is not in the book of life, but Paul is surely using the term (used since Exodus 32:32) as a synonym for those who are saved on account of their faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. The term is used as another way of saying “in Christ,” and to be in the book of life surely means to belong to Christ, and we are urged to consider our Lord to be “the genuine book of life” in our Lutheran Confession (Formula of Concord).
When we differ about ministry, or parenting, or how to encourage a friend, let us set our feet down carefully one step at a time with God’s will and his holy commandments in mind all the while. Let us give God glory and do his will, not to glorify ourselves or to make life easier for ourselves, but to praise him with our lives, our words, and with our very thoughts. “O Lord God, all things serve you” (Psalm 119:91).
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.