Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
Read Chapter 4
Ambrosiaster
AD 400
The constancy of the Philippians is Paul’s joy, both for the present and for his future crown. For when his disciples are victorious in the contest, the master rightly receives the crown.
Love, the sum of every virtue for the Christian, does not fittingly come to pass if the faithful do not stand united as one, thinking in harmony. This is what Paul means here by “Stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.” We may understand that he wants them to be united in understanding from the fact that he calls them [literally] “most beloved brethren.” Mutual love is the result of thinking in unison and standing together in Christ. When all have equal faith in Christ all of us stand together in him.
So. How? Unmoved. See how he adds praise after exhortation, my joy and my crown, not simply joy but glory too, not simply glory but my crown too. Which glory nought can equal, since it is the crown of Paul. So stand fast in the Lord, my beloved, i.e. in the hope of God.
