“Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation:”
So you see, I myself too rejoiced greatly at the news of him — Paul's own great joy (chara megale) at Epaphroditus's improvement mirrors what the Philippians will experience. His shared emotion models what he asks of them: emotional participation in others' welfare. The joy is contagious, spreading from Paul to Philippians to Epaphroditus in circular bonds of love. Community is defined by shared emotional investment in one another's flourishing.
Church Fathers on Philippians 2:29
“Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy.” “In the Lord” either means spiritually and with much zeal, or rather “in the Lord” means God willing. Receive him in a manner worthy of saints, as saints should be received with all joy. All this he does for their sakes, not for that of his messengers, for greater gain has the doer than the receiver of a good deed. “And such hold in honor,” that is, receive him in a manner worthy of saints.
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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