Actually, according to the grammatical con
Actually, according to the grammatical con struction of verse 27, standing firm in one spirit and striving together with one soul are not two separate things. Paul does not charge the Philip pians to stand firm in one spirit and then to strive together with one soul. Rather, he charges them to "stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striv ing together." Paul's way of writing indicates that in order to stand firm, we need to strive. Striving is in fact part of standing. We stand firm in one spirit by striving together with one soul.
What is the difference between "in one spirit" and "with one soul"? Why does Paul not say "with one spirit" and "in one soul"? And why does Paul say "stand firm…striving together" in stead of "stand firm and strive together"? Let me use a simple illustration. Suppose a father says to his son, "Eat quickly, using your fork prop erly." This is different from saying, "Eat quickly and use your fork properly." In the first com mand, using the fork properly is the way to eat quickly. In the second, eating quickly and using the fork properly are two distinct matters. Be cause of the background, Paul did not tell the Philippians to stand firm and strive, but to stand firm, striving together with one soul. Because the Judaizers were so active, it was necessary for