Unity Rooted in the Lord - Philippians 4:2-7

How should the church handle conflict? If someone walked up to you and asked you that question, how would you respond? Because, for whatever reason, there seems to be a lot of conflict and disagreement in the church. And in many ways, it’s unavoidable when you have people from different backgrounds and experiences coming together as the body of Christ.

And of course, not all conflicts and disagreements are created equal. Within the church, you have to distinguish big theological controversies that may be worth breaking fellowship over from the small, petty, insignificant disagreements. There are some sins that are so serious that Paul tells the church to purge the evil from your midst. And then there are situations where Paul tells two people to, “agree in the Lord.”

I think if we were to be honest, most of the conflicts within the life of the church are not the big, theological, problems, rather, they’re the petty, insignificant disagreements, and it’s the petty insignificant stuff that if left ignored can develop into a Hatfield and McCoy type of situation. 

Which is exactly what Paul speaks to in these five verses. There are two women: Euodia and Syntyche who apparently cannot get along with one another. Apparently their disagreement is so well known that it’s made its way to Paul, who is in imprisoned.

But Paul calls the church to unity. First, Paul says that church unity begins with agreeing in the Lord (vv. 2-3), second, unity is cultivated through Christ-centered joy (vv. 4-5), and lastly, unity is preserved by prayerful dependence (vv. 6-7).

Unity Begins with Agreeing in the Lord (vv. 2–3)

Paul writes in verse 2, “I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.”

It’s verses like this one that make me smile because people may argue endlessly about what the early church was really like, but verses like this one remind me that not much has changed. The very struggles we face in the church today were present in the first century.

Obviously, these two women were in a disagreement, but Paul doesn’t tell us what their disagreement was over. Which is a significant detail. 

Because if Euodia and Syntyche were having some sort of serious theological debate, you better believe Paul would have jumped right into those details. He contended with the Judaizers who demanded continual conformity to the Law in addition to trusting in Jesus. He also did it with the sensualists, who taught you were free to live in sin and throw off God’s law because of His grace. If Paul deemed that something was a serious threat to the life of the church, he wasn’t afraid to wade into the details.

But that’s not what he does with Euodia and Syntyche. He doesn’t weigh in on whatever their disagreement was over. Which of course, would suggest that it’s not a theological debate as much as it is a personal disagreement between two ladies. But their personal disagreement was still significant enough for Paul to address, which of course does mean it’s causing harm to the life of the church.  

Euodia wanted red carpet in the sanctuary, but Syntyche wanted green and there was no bridging that divide. These two ladies simply couldn’t get along. 

And of course, you’ve probably been in these types of situations. We all know two people where every time they get into a room together there’s going to be some sort of argument. They’re like oil and water—they simply don’t mix. 

But notice how Paul addresses Euodia and Syntyche’s disagreement. He didn’t jump in and start litigating the details. He didn’t say well, red carpet makes sense, but green would look good in this room… He doesn’t do that. But he also doesn’t dismiss their disagreement either. He doesn’t say, “this is ridiculous and y’all need to let this go.” 

He calls them to something much higher. He tells them to “agree in the Lord.” 

You probably even noticed everything that Paul said about both of them in verse 3: “they had labored side by side with Paul in the gospel, along with his fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”

Both of these women were strong believers who loved the Lord. They had even served in gospel ministry alongside Paul. These were faithful women. 

And so, Paul’s point to them is that what they share in common is far greater than whatever their disagreement was over. You begin to get some perspective on the color of the carpet when you put it next to Jesus Christ. 

Which is exactly the way the church must deal with the petty, small, insignificant disagreements that are absolutely inevitable. And sometimes those petty disagreements can boil over into something sinful. Even Paul had a heated disagreement with Barnabas over John Mark. 

But even in those moments we must remember that what we agree on is far greater than anything we could possibly disagree on. If you agree in the Lord then that means that person isn’t your adversary, that’s your brother or sister in Christ. That person that you may have a hard time getting along with is actually on your team. 

Harmony in the church shouldn’t be something that we just put on the shoulders of the leadership and say, “it’s your responsibility to keep the peace here.” It’s something that everyone in the church should be invested in. 

It’s interesting because some scholars think that in verse 3, when Paul says, “I ask you also, true companion, help these women…” he’s referring to a particular individual—that the word translated as “true companion” is actually someone’s name: Syzygos.

And so Paul is recruiting the help of the church in bringing these two women together. Because a healthy church is a unified church.

But of course the reality is, there are some people that you just naturally gravitate towards. Maybe you have common interests, you’re in the same season of life, or you have kids around the same age.

And then on the other hand there are people who are more difficult to relate to. You see the world through different lenses, you have opposing interests, and so whenever you’re around this person there’s almost instantaneous friction. 

I feel like at times within the evangelical church, we’ve been conditioned to believe that maintaining church unity requires you to never share your personal opinions or avoid taboo subjects like politics. But I don’t think that maintaining church unity means you are strictly forbidden from ever discussing those topics. I’m not encouraging anyone to bring up controversial things simply to ruffle people’s feathers and to stir the pot. I don’t think that’s appropriate. That’s just called being rude. 

In premarital counseling, I often talk about handling disagreement. Anyone who’s been married knows conflict is inevitable, but every couple needs to have rules of engagement. There are certain things you simply shouldn’t do. Even in the most heated moments no one should ever threaten divorce. And the reason is because married couples must always remember that the love they share supersedes any disagreement they’re facing. 

In the same way, you and I always have to remember that what unites us in Christ is infinitely stronger than anything that might divide us. Any potential disagreement gets a little smaller when you remember that you agree in the Lord. 

Your shared faith in Christ will always transcend, outweigh, and overcome any disagreement you may have with a brother or sister in the church. Our unity rests not on sameness of opinion, but on the Savior who binds us together.

Unity Is Cultivated Through Christ-Centered Joy (vv. 4–5)

Regardless of the disagreement, there are bigger fish to fry, especially within the church. We cannot let petty disagreements cause us to lose sight of the big picture. 

Rather than getting twisted around the axel of their disagreement, Euodia and Syntyche, along with the entire church should remember who they are in Christ!

Look at what Paul says in verse 4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” Paul isn’t calling the Philippians to a shallow happiness or a plastic smile. He’s not encouraging some sort of manufactured fake happiness. 

He’s reminding the Philippians that the source of their joy shouldn’t be rooted in winning a petty argument, their joy should be rooted in the work of Jesus Christ. And when you remember Jesus and what he’s done for you—the controversies that seem so consuming begin to seem so incredibly small.

Because when your joy is anchored in Christ, it becomes incredibly difficult for little frustrations to dominate your heart. The gospel reframes your perspective: you are forgiven, redeemed, adopted, and destined for glory. In light of that, how much energy should a believer really spend stewing over minor slights or personal preferences?

Paul is reminding them—and us—that gospel joy protects us from being swept away by conflict, and it corrects our tendency to elevate trivial matters to ultimate importance. When Christ is your joy, disagreements lose their power to divide, and unity becomes something that’s much easier to pursue.

But joy isn’t the only thing that you and I should experience in the Lord. Christians should also be known for, as Paul puts it in verse 5, “reasonableness,” which can also be translated as “gentleness.” One commentator translated it as “big-heartedness.”

He says, “Let your reasonableness (gentleness, or big-heartedness) be known to everyone.” In other words, Christians should be known for their charitable spirit. Believers should try to assume the best in those around them. That doesn’t mean you and I should be naive and just allow someone to take advantage of you. Jesus tells us that we must be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. As one seminary professor put it, use your sanctified common sense.  

But what Paul is saying here is that you and I should not cast a negative light on everyone, constantly impute motives, and believe there is some sort of nefarious plot behind everything someone does. 

We should be charitable. We should seek to understand. We should try to listen to the perspective of those around us and take it to heart. That’s being reasonable, gentle, and big-hearted. It means we approach others with an openness that reflects the heart of Christ, not with a posture of suspicion or superiority. It means we recognize that the people we disagree with are still image-bearers, still brothers and sisters, still loved by God just as deeply as we are.

Everyone should know that if they talk to you—you’re going to listen to them and take what they say seriously. You may disagree, but you’ll always do it in love. They won’t walk away feeling belittled or dismissed. Even if you can’t fully see eye to eye, they'll know they were heard. And that’s a powerful witness in a world where most people listen only long enough to reload their arguments.

And that’s because your joy doesn’t come from being right. Your joy isn’t anchored in winning debates or proving your intelligence or getting the last word. Your joy is anchored in Jesus Christ—His finished work, His righteousness, His grace toward you.

This is the kind of Christ-centered humility that preserves unity in the church. Your joy isn’t found in how those around you perceive you—your joy is in how the Lord perceives you which frees you to say, “Because Christ has been so big-hearted toward me, I can be big-hearted toward you.”

Unity Is Preserved by Prayerful Dependence (vv. 6–7)

That’s the sort of attitude that cultivates unity within the church, but that’s not where things end. Paul teaches us that church unity is preserved by prayerful dependence as well. Look at the end of verse 5 through verse 7:

“The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Because Christ’s return is imminent and His presence is near, we have no reason to be crushed by anxiety. For the believer, Christ’s imminent return should be a source of comfort. And prayer is the means through which we tap into that comfort. When we pray, we remind our hearts that the Lord who will return in glory is the same Lord who walks beside us in our present troubles—faithful, powerful, and near.

We don’t pray merely to check a box or soothe our conscience—we pray because God hears, God cares, and God acts. And of course it makes sense that you and I should take our worries and cares to the Lord because, at the end of the day, He’s the only One who actually has the power to do anything about them. When we bring our needs before Him with thanksgiving, Paul says that peace is the result. Not a vague feeling. Not a temporary distraction. But the very peace of God Himself guarding our hearts.

Which is interesting, given the world we live in: everyone is searching for peace, but almost no one knows where to find it. People try to manufacture peace through self-care routines, distraction, entertainment, mindfulness apps, vacations, or busyness. 

Others chase peace through escape—numbing themselves with substances, scrolling endlessly, or drowning out their thoughts with noise. And yet, with all the modern tools we have, anxiety is at an all-time high. A book entitled The Anxious Generation, was written specifically about this phenomenon. And yet, the world continues to offer empty solutions that promise peace but never deliver. 

Anxiety is the thief of peace. The things of this world will only make you more anxious, but what are we promised here in God’s Word? You will find peace when you pray dependently to the sovereign God of the universe. 

If you struggle with anxiety, how much time are you spending in prayer? “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Do you actually believe those words to be true? Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 6 when he said, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Or consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

So many of the early protestant reformers would devote hours to prayer. Martin Luther famously said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer,” and yet, most days I feel like I’ve really done something if I’ve spent ten minutes in prayer. 

Part of the problem is our thinking is actually the exact opposite of Luther. We think time spent in prayer is time wasted. But what is more important than pouring your heart out before the Lord? 

Whenever the subject of prayer comes up, who isn’t convicted? Who actually thinks their prayer life is where it should be? None of us pray enough. What would your life look like if you committed more time to prayer? 

What would our church look like if we all committed more of our time to prayer? What would it do for your heart if you began to pray for those around you? What would it do for your heart if you began to pray for the people of Providence?

Isn’t it true that the more time you pray for someone, the more your heart softens towards them? Which is exactly Paul’s point! Pray is the not so secret sauce to growing and preserving church unity. 

When you pray for someone your response towards those who test your patience softens. You really begin to see someone as they really are. 

If everyone had, “...the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” church unity would certainly be the result! Because at the end of the day, prayer is essentially acknowledging your own insufficiency and the Lord’s sovereignty. 

A church that is prayerfully dependent upon the Lord is a unified church. 

Because that’s really what this whole section of Scripture is all about: maintaining unity in the church. And when you study Paul’s method for resolving the petty conflict that arises in the church you quickly realize that it’s rather unconventional. 

He didn’t offer a communication model, a conflict-resolution flowchart, or a list of “Ten Tips for Getting Along in the Church.” His approach didn’t include any modern conflict mediation techniques or team-building strategies. Instead, Paul’s entire method for restoring unity was centered on turning people back to the Lord.

Why? Because unity is never ultimately a horizontal problem—it’s a vertical one. Disunity happens when we become self-focused, easily offended, overly sensitive, or consumed with lesser controversies. But when our hearts are anchored in the Lord—when our joy is in Him, our gentleness flows from Him, and our anxieties are handed over to Him—unity becomes the natural byproduct.

Think about how Paul deals with Euodia and Syntyche earlier in the chapter. He doesn’t say, “Ladies, sit down, hash this out, and find a compromise.” He says instead, “Agree in the Lord.” In other words, bring your disagreement under the lordship of Christ. Let your shared Savior, your shared gospel, your shared mission shape how you treat one another. Their unity wasn’t going to be found by digging deeper into the conflict—it was going to be found by drawing nearer to Christ.

And that’s the heartbeat of this entire section: give it to the Lord. Rejoice in Him. Be gentle because of Him. Pray to Him. Set your mind on what is good, lovely, and praiseworthy because He is the God of peace. Paul knows that when Christ is at the center, unity naturally follows. Disunity grows in the soil of self-importance. Unity flourishes where Christ is treasured above all things.

So Paul doesn’t point them to techniques. He points them to a Person—and that makes all the difference.

Let’s pray together.