Let Your Moderation be Known unto All Men

[Sam Jer]

What is meant here by "moderation"?

1 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

 

[Redeemed Ronin]

John Gill thinks it pertains to humility, which makes sense in context of the rest of the letter. [Humility before God, and especially towards others, like Jesus Christ was.]

4:5 Ver. 5.

Let your moderation be known unto all men, &c.]

The Vulgate Latin reads, "your modesty". The Syriac and Arabic versions, "your meekness", or "humility"; graces which accompany moderation, and are very necessary to it, but not that itself. The Ethiopic version renders it, "your authority", which by no means agrees; for moderation lies not in exerting authority and power to the uttermost, at least with rigour, but in showing clemency and lenity; not dealing with men according to the severity of laws and strict justice, but according to equity, and with mildness and gentleness; giving up strict and proper right, receding from what is a man's due, and not rigidly insisting on it; putting up with affronts and injuries, and bearing them with patience; and interpreting things in the best sense, and putting the best constructions on words and actions they will bear; and in using inferiors and equals with all humanity, kindness, and respect: and this is what is here intended, which the apostle would have made "known"; exercised and practised publicly, that it might be seen and known of all, and God might be glorified, by whose name they were called, though their agreeable conversation among men; see Mt 5:16; and he would not only have this known unto, but exercised towards "all men"; not only to believers, the members of the church, by ruling with gentleness, by bearing the infirmities of the weak, and by forgiving offences; but also to unbelievers, to the men of the world, by not avenging themselves, but giving way to wrath; by patient suffering for well doing, without making any returns of ill, either by words or deeds: this is the moderation here meant, and not moderation in eating and drinking, and in apparel, and in the love and use of, and care for the things of this world; though such moderation highly becomes professors of religion; and much less moderation in religion, or towards the false teachers, thinking and speaking well of them; and interpreting their notions in the best sense, hoping they may mean otherwise than they say, and therefore should treat their persons with great respect, and their principles with tenderness; but this can never be thought to be the apostle's sense, after he had himself given them such names and characters, as in Php 3:2,18,19; and besides, though we may, and many times ought, as men and Christians, to give way, and yield up what is our right and due, for the sake of peace, yet we cannot, nor ought to give up anything, that of right belongs to God and Christ, in matters of doctrine or worship; nor in the least abate of our zeal for the same, or give way to false teachers in any respect, nor for any time: moreover, moderation in religion is nothing else but lukewarmness and indifference, than which nothing is more detestable, or abhorred by Christ. The argument or reason enforcing moderation in the above sense of it follows,

the Lord [is] at hand.

The Syriac version reads, "our Lord": and the Ethiopic version, "God is at hand". The sense is, either the Lord is near, he is omnipresent, and sees and observes the conduct of his people, their deportment in the world, and to one another; and therefore, as in his presence, and under his eye, they should behave according to equity, and with kindness and tenderness towards their fellow creatures and fellow Christians: or the Lord is nigh unto them, as he is to all that call upon him in truth, Ps 145:18; he is a present help in time of trouble, Ps 46:1; he is in the midst of them, and will help, and that right early, Ps 46:5; and will avenge his elect, and vindicate their cause, and right all their wrongs in his due time; and therefore they should take all things patiently, and not avenge themselves: or in a little while Christ will come to judgment, when he will plead the cause of his people, and convince ungodly sinners of their ungodly deeds, and hard speeches against him and his, Jude 1:15; and therefore they should leave all to that time, and commit themselves to him that judgeth righteously, 1Pe 2:23.e

 

[Dkshotwell]

What is meant here by "moderation"?

1 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

My understanding of that is to let others see your sobriety of faith, not in the sense inebriation of course, but in the sense of balance, like a military pilot would say "maintain an even strain". Be neither westboro nor ELCA. Somebody check my math please, I don't want to lead a brother astray. Edit to say with tremors in my hands it takes for ever to type a response so I didn't see Jon's reply first, so my advice is to go with Gill, I have his commentary and will side with him against myself.

 

[Contra_Mundum]

Sometimes, it's useful to bear in mind the original audience of the letter. Philippi was a Roman colony-city, populated with many military retirees, often non-citizen recruits who were rewarded with Roman citizenship because of their service to the Empire. Paul's awareness of his audience tends to color his letters, and this letter contains many effects of that pastoral sensitivity.

The essential thought behind the doctrine Paul presented in ch3 was: “Look at this incredible and wonderful faith that you have in common! You begin from the same place; you are united in spiritual battle; you are dependent on one another; you are all co-citizens of heaven heading for the same glorious conclusion. One Lord, one faith, one baptism—this is the same appeal to unity Paul uses in Eph.4.

“Therefore” (the first word in ch.4) compels us to follow Paul through to a proper conclusion. That conclusion contains several points of application that Paul does not weave together in a flowing style, but dictates them in bullet-style. If it had been my letter, I might have written as follows: “Therefore, my beloved and longed for brethren, my joy and crown, 1…, 2…, 3…, etc.”

The staccato beat of these commands is yet another military flourish to this letter. Two things in particular are conveyed by this delivery. 1. Clear, concise, direct communication gets an army man’s attention. 2. The drumbeat-delivery signals seriousness and urgency. This letter has been (I say reverently) a lengthy pep-talk from the commander, or the coach (to parallel the military with a sport metaphor). It was a necessary prelude to addressing these additional concerns of Paul, as the church moves forward as a unit. “Courage now; and act!”

This is the decisive moment, the hour of attack. If you delay to stand fast, to take that stand, you only give the enemies of the cross of Christ (3:18) the additional time they needed to strike, to undermine, to demoralize. Initiative is one of the most crucial components in any battle, even a game of chess. You force the enemy to react to your move, instead of him forcing your move. Paul says to you, “Stand fast in the Lord.” Ps.16:8 “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” Cf.15:5; 62:6.

Immediately preceding v5, is the command: “Rejoice!” Paul appends “in the Lord,” so we shall not for a moment think outside of Christ, and “always,” exactly what he said to the Thessalonians (1-5:16). And then, for emphasis, he repeats: “Again I say, ‘Rejoice!’” This is not simply an exhortation to stay upbeat, keeping hope alive. No, this is a powerful reminder that when one’s hope and joy is in Jesus Christ, our living Mediator—prophet, priest, and king—then rejoicing is as natural as breathing. We fail to rejoice by watching the winds and waves. Sometimes the pain in our lives (physical, moral, emotional) overwhelms us, and we need to be reminded of the One who’s won the victory already. The urgency of the call is key. Now! Look to Jesus now! And you will find cause to rejoice.

Beyond that, v5, Paul says they should let their gentleness be known to all. Some translations say “reasonableness.” “Moderation” is the KJV choice. Rejoicing in the Lord will produce this equanimity in you, and that spirit will affect everyone around you, Christians or non-Christians. A tense, uptight individual is hard to live with, often hard to command, harder still to follow into conflict under his leadership. What does Paul add to enforce this charge? “The Lord is at hand.” The 2nd coming of the Lord has been near to mind since the end of ch3. So, with the impending judgment, which could come at any time, Paul asks in effect, “How should you be living emotionally?” Rejoicing, and gentle.

Christ is on the way, but further there is the nearness of the Lord at all times: “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit”(Ps.34:18). Are you grieving? Worried? In pain? Troubled by another person? Anxious? Paul gets to that in the next verse. But first he says, Consider how close your dear Lord is.