Clement (Philippians)

Biblical Record

In the New Testament, Clement appears only in Philippians 4:3. The name comes from the Latin Clemens, meaning "gentle" or "kind." Because Philippi was a Roman colony, it is considered natural that the church there included believers with Latin names.

In this passage Paul urges Euodias and Syntyche, who were not of one mind, to "be of the same mind in the Lord." He then asks his "true yokefellow" to help these women, and in that context he mentions Clement together with "other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life" (Philippians 4:3). This is all that Scripture records about Clement; it says nothing of his origin, office, or life.

Significance in Scripture

Clement is one of those whom Paul calls a "fellowlabourer." He appears to have been a believer who shared in spreading the gospel from the time the Philippian church was founded, an event recounted in Acts 16. Paul's naming of these individuals and his reference to the "book of life" are understood as acknowledging their labors and honoring them before the church.

Interpretation and Debate

• Sentence structure: Interpreters differ over what the phrase "with Clement" modifies in the Greek text. One reading takes it to mean that the "yokefellow" should help the women together with Clement. The other takes it to mean that the women, together with Clement, labored with Paul in the gospel.
• Identification with Clement of Rome: Early church writers such as Origen and Eusebius are reported to have identified this Clement with the Clement who later became a leader of the church in Rome. However, Clement was a common name at the time, and the text of Philippians gives no indication of any connection to Rome. For these reasons many commentators today are cautious about identifying the two. The identification belongs to later tradition rather than to the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

Clement is rarely treated as a subject in his own right. He is usually mentioned in sermons or Bible studies on Philippians 4, where he serves as an example in discussions of harmony within the church, the value of fellow workers who labor without recognition, and the identity of believers whose names are written in the book of life.