Verses 4–7 contain four admonitions (“rejoice,” “let your gentleness be evident,” “do not be anxious,” and “present your requests to God”), which at first seem to have little to do with one another. A closer look at the meaning of the terms standing behind these admonitions, however, reveals a common background for them all. The term “gentleness” (epieikes) was often used of an attitude of kindness where the normal or expected response was retaliation. Thus in the apocryphal book of Wisdom, a group of evil people who believe that life is short and that nothing lies beyond the grave decide to “crown” themselves “with rosebuds before they wither” and “everywhere … leave signs of enjoyment” (Wisd. 2:8–9, nrsv). But since the righteous man does not approve of their irresponsible merriment, they decide to persecute him. “Let us test him with insult and torture,” they say, “so that we may find out how gentle he is (ten epieikeian autou), and make trial of his forbearance” (2:19, nrsv). This is probably the connotation of the term in 2 Corinthians 10:1, where Paul appeals to “the meekness and gentleness (epieikeias) of Christ” as the reason for his own gentleness with the recalcitrant Corinthians. Paul, like Christ, refused to answer his detractors in kind.

The words “be anxious” (merimnao, 4:6) can refer to being unduly concerned about anything, but it is often used in contexts where persecution is the issue. Thus both Matthew and Luke use this word in their record of Jesus’ admonition to his disciples not to be concerned about what they will say before the local councils, governors, and kings who hunt them down because of their commitment to the gospel (Matt. 10:19; Luke 12:11). The term “guard” (phroureo) likewise is a figure drawn from the arena of conflict and is frequently used to refer to the action of a military garrison stationed inside a city (Judith 3:6; cf. 2 Cor. 11:32).

All of this points to the context of persecution as the background for Paul’s admonitions. The Philippians were suffering under opposition from their pagan neighbors, just as Paul and Silas had suffered when among them (Acts 16:19–24; Phil. 1:28–30). Thus, just as Paul had started the admonitory section of the letter with a command for the Philippians, despite their persecution, to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel (1:27–30), so he returns to this theme at the end of the section, asking the Philippians to maintain an attitude of joy “in the Lord” at all times (v. 4; cf. 3:1), urging them to adopt toward their persecutors Christ’s approach of gentle nonretaliation (v. 5; cf. Rom. 12:17–21; 15:3; 1 Peter 2:23; 3:8–9; cf. Isa. 53:7–9), and admonishing them not to be anxious about anything (v. 6; cf. 1 Peter 5:7). Instead, they should remember that the Lord is near (v. 5; cf. 3:20–21) and replace their anxiety with thankful prayer about their suffering (v. 6).

The “and” at the beginning of verse 7 is more important than it looks. It does not simply attach another statement to verses 4–6 but gives the result of the thankful prayer that Paul has described in verse 6. If the Philippians follow Paul’s advice, he says, then “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding” will stand like a garrison over their hearts and minds. But what is the “peace of God”? Is it an overwhelming sense of inner contentment? Is it the serenity that characterizes God himself, who is never anxious? Is it the peace (cf. Rom. 5:1) that results from God’s justifying work in Christ Jesus? Since the peace mentioned here stands in contrast to the anxiety mentioned in verse 6, it is probably an inner sense of contentment supplied by God. It transcends all understanding because the anticipated response to the persecution the Philippians are experiencing is anxiety, but just as throughout this letter Paul expects Christian behavior to break the bonds of normal behavior, so here God supplies an attitude in the face of adversity that does not fit the normal categories (cf. 2 Cor. 1:3–11).

Paul’s next paragraph begins with the same loose connective phrase he had used at 3:1. The niv translates it “finally,” and indeed a close approximation of the phrase appears near the end of 1 Thessalonians (4:1) and 2 Corinthians (13:11). But, as in 3:1 (which is far from the letter’s conclusion), the phrase here probably means something like “as far as the rest is concerned,” “beyond that,” or “in addition.” It expresses no logical connection between verses 8–9 and verses 4–7, but simply shows that Paul is now moving to a different set of admonitions. This new set of instructions is bound closely together by the style in which he expresses them and by the balance of their content. In verse 8, Paul tells the Philippians how they should think and, as in verses 4–7, leaves out connecting words for emphasis (“asyndeton”). In verse 9 Paul tells the Philippians how to act and, using precisely the opposite stylistic device (“polysyndeton”), repeats the connective word “or” (kai) over and over. The effect, again, is emphasis.

The list of virtues that Paul asks the Philippians to “think about” is not a distinctively Christian list and could have been embraced by many right-thinking people in ancient times. Paul seems to place special emphasis on the breadth of these qualities by repeatedly using the indefinite adjective “whatever” (hosa). He tells the Philippians to look for the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy everywhere around them and to ponder the things in which these qualities are exemplified. Perhaps Paul knows that since the Philippians are being persecuted by the society around them, they will be tempted to reject everything outside the church as indelibly tainted with evil. If so, then this list, with its admonition to look for the virtue (arete; niv “excellent”) in the wider world, reminds the Philippians that, although society sometimes seems hostile and evil, it is still part of God’s world and contains much good that the believer can affirm.