What does it mean that “the God of peace will be with you”?

Explanation:  

Paul says that when the Philippians put into practice what Paul has taught them, the God of peace will be with them. In the New Testament, we know that God is with his people through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.⁵ For example, in Romans 8:11, Paul refers to the Holy Spirit dwelling in believers. And in 1 Corinthians 3:16 he says that the Corinthians are God’s temple as the Holy Spirit dwells in them. So God is present by the Holy Spirit. Further, we know that one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit is peace (Galatians 5:22).⁶ Thus, to say that the God of peace will be with them is to say that God will dwell in them by the Holy Spirit. Of course, we know that the Holy Spirit is the comforter so we can deduce that when Paul says God will be with them, he means that the Philippians will experience the comfort and protection of God, as he is present with them by the Holy Spirit.

Counterargument:

There are two problems with this argument. First, when Paul refers to the relationship between believers and the Holy Spirit in Romans 8:11 and 1 Corinthians 3:16, he says that the Holy Spirit will dwell in believers. Specifically, the Greek preposition Paul uses to describe the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in both Romans 8:11 and 1 Corinthians 3:16 is ἐν (in). The Holy Spirit dwells in believers. On the other hand, what Paul says in 4:9 is that the God of peace will be with you. Here, the Greek preposition Paul uses to describe God’s relationship to the Philippians is μετά (with). On the face of it, God being with his people is not quite the same as God being in his people, so it is not clear that when Paul says the God of peace will be with them, it means they will be indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

Second, it is hard to see the relevance of the fact that the fruit of the Spirit is peace. Paul says that the God of peace will be with the Philippians. In other words, Paul is characterizing God as the God of peace, which he does on several occasions (1 Corinthians 14:33; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; Romans 16:20). Unfortunately, it is not clear how the fact that God is the God of peace, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit is peace, has anything to do with the manner by which God will be with the Philippians.

Response to counterargument:  

While it is true that the Holy Spirit is often referred to as dwelling in believers, he is also referred to as being with believers. For example, in John 14:17, Jesus explains that the Spirit of truth, referring to the Holy Spirit, will dwell with and be in the disciples. Thus, we cannot always decide by Paul’s use of prepositions whether he has in mind the presence of the Father or the Holy Spirit.

Further, that Paul refers to God as the God of peace, and that the fruit of the Spirit is peace, is relevant. For we contend that when Paul says God will be with them, he means that the Holy Spirit will be present in them. One characteristic of the Holy Spirit is that he produces the fruit of peace in believers, so one might say that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of peace. Thus, that Paul refers to God as the God of peace alludes to the fact that the Spirit of peace, who produces the fruit of peace, will be with the Philippians.

Explanation:

That God is the God of peace who is with his people is an Old Testament motif that carries into the New Testament. In the New Testament, we learn that God is with his people through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Still, we can learn what it means for God to be with his people by considering how Old Testament authors expressed the presence of God.⁷ For example, in Genesis 22:21, Abimelech and Phicol recognize that God was with Abraham in all that he did. In other words, God’s protection and care were with Abraham. Likewise, in Exodus 3:12, God reassures Moses that he will be with Moses when Moses demands the release of Israel from Pharaoh. That God would be with Moses implies that Moses would be successful with God’s assistance. Finally, in Psalm 23:4, David writes that when he walks through the valley of the shadow of death, God is with him, comforting him by his rod and staff. Thus, the presence of God leads to comfort. So, when Paul says that the God of peace will be with the Philippians, he means that they will be protected, comforted, and cared for by God.

Counterargument:  

It is important to notice that Paul says not that God will be with them, but that the God of peace will be with them. Peace in the New Testament is not simply care and protection but reconciliation with God through Christ.[8] In other words, by saying that the God of peace will be with them, Paul indicates that he has harmony between the divine and human in mind. So, because he refers to God as the God of peace, we cannot simply look to Old Testament passages to highlight Paul’s meaning. Rather, we ought to consider what peace means in the New Testament, and since peace has to do with reconciliation, Paul is saying that God will be reconciled with the Philippians.

Response to counterargument:  

In fact, Paul refers to the God of peace on several occasions in the New Testament when he has in mind the comfort and protection of God. For example, in Romans 16:20, Paul says that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under his feet. Thus, the God of peace will protect his people by crushing Satan. Likewise, Paul calls on the Corinthians to comfort one another, agree with one another, and live in peace, and the God of peace will be with them. That is, by comforting and living at peace with one another, God will bring comfort and peace to them. And in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Paul prays that the God of peace would sanctify the Thessalonians, which suggests that the presence of the God of peace has to do with protection against sin. Thus, that Paul refers to the God of peace aligns well with the presence of God in the Old Testament, which has to do with providing care, comfort, and protection to his people.

One weakness of this view is to insist that Paul has the presence of the Holy Spirit in mind. For there seems to be a conceptual difference between God the Father being with the Philippians, and the Holy Spirit being with them. That God the Father is with them implies God’s sovereign care and protection, while God the Holy Spirit implies internal comfort and joy. Given that Paul uses the preposition with and that he does not specify whether he has the Father or Holy Spirit in mind, it might be better to leave open whether he has the Father or Spirit in mind.

Explanation:

Paul explains to the Philippians that when they practice what Paul has taught them, the God of peace will be with them. We can deduce what Paul means by noticing that there is some conflict in the church at Philippi.¹¹ That there was conflict is supported by Philippians 4:2, where Paul calls on Euodia and Syntyche to agree in the Lord. That Euodia and Syntyche had to be thus exhorted suggests there is conflict in the church at Philippi. Given that there was conflict in the church at Philippi, we can see what Paul means when he says that the God of peace will be with them. For peace in the New Testament carries the notion of reconciliation.¹² That is, peace is not subjective tranquillity but an objective reality that is made possible by Christ.¹³ Christ makes it the case that there is peace in the sense that he reconciles God and man, and man with neighbour. Thus, given that there is conflict in the church at Philippi, and that in the New Testament peace has to do with reconciliation, when Paul says that the peace of God will be with them, he means that God will lead them to experience reconciliation with God and each other.¹⁴

Counterargument:

Unfortunately, this view results in an untoward theological conclusion. Paul explains in many passages that we are justified before God by faith, not by works. For example, in Galatians 2:16, Paul says that we are justified by faith in Christ, not works of the law. And in Galatians 2:21 he says that if righteousness were through the law, Christ died for nothing. His point in such passages is that one cannot earn justification before God; rather, justification is a gift of grace in which we participate by faith. And it is plausible to construe justification in terms of reconciliation. That is, to be justified before God is to be reconciled with God.

Now, in Philippians 4:9 Paul says that when the Philippians do what they have learned and received from him, the God of peace will be with them. In other words, the consequence of imitating Paul’s behaviour is that the God of peace will be with them. Now, if we take it that the God of peace being with the Philippians means that God will reconcile the Philippians to himself and each other, Paul is saying that when the Philippians do what Paul teaches, God will reconcile with them. In other words, reconciliation seems to be conditional on what the Philippians do, but we know that no one is justified by works of the law. Thus, it is unlikely that when Paul says the God of peace will be with them, he means that God will reconcile them to him.

Response to counterargument:

Paul is not offering a conditional when he calls on the Philippians to do what he has taught them. Further, he is not calling on the Philippians to mimic his behaviour in the sense of earning anything before God. Rather, Paul is saying that when the Philippians do what they have learned and received from Paul, the consequence of this will be God leading them to reconciliation. In other words, when the Philippians put their faith in Christ the way Paul put his faith in Christ, God will be with them to lead them to reconcile them with God and each other.

Response to response to counterargument:

The problem is that this argument opened by contending that for the God of peace to be with the Philippians is not a subjective tranquility, but an objective reality made possible by Christ. Now, this view argues that the God of peace being with the Philippians has to do with them experiencing God as he leads them to reconciliation. To experience the leading of God is to subjectively experience the God of peace.

Explanation:

We know from Scripture that humans are at odds with God, themselves, and their neighbour.¹⁵ For example, in Romans 8:7, Paul says that the mind set on the flesh is hostile to God. And in Colossians 1:21 he says that the Colossians were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil. Further, we know from Romans 7:16–20 that humans are at odds with themselves as we fight against the sin that lives in us. Thus, humans are by nature in constant conflict with God, themselves, and their neighbour. Of course, we also know from the New Testament that peace has been established by the work of Christ.¹⁶ As we learn in Ephesians 2:17, he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.¹⁷ Thus, when Paul says that the God of peace will be with the Philippians, he has in mind that God will bring harmony and reconciliation between God and the Philippians, themselves, and between the Philippians and their neighbour.¹⁸

Counterargument:

While it is true that God is the one who brings reconciliation between himself and the Philippians, their own nature, and the Philippians and their neighbours, it’s hard to see what this has to do with Paul’s meaning in Philippians 4:9. In Philippians 4:9 he says that the God of peace will be with the Philippians. We know from the Old Testament that God’s presence was a constant source of comfort and protection for the Israelites. Given that God’s presence was a source of comfort, most likely Paul is saying that the God of peace will comfort and protect the Philippians.

The weakness of this view is that it is overly complex. When we interpret, it is best to take the plain sense as the meaning. For instance, when Paul says the God of peace will be with the Philippians, this intuitively means that God will care for and protect the Philippians. This view wants us to take Paul as meaning that since God is a God of peace and peace has to do with reconciliation, when Paul says the God of peace will be with the Philippians, he really means that God will reconcile the Philippians to himself and each other. Such an interpretation is unnecessarily complex and reads too much into Paul’s meaning. If Paul wanted to say that by imitating Paul, God would reconcile the Philippians to God and each other, he would have said, By imitating me, God will reconcile you to himself and each other, not the God of peace will be with you.