Striving together (4866) (sunathleo [only use in Scripture] from sun/syn = with + athleo [used only in 2Ti 2:5-note] = contend in the games or in classical Greek to contend in battle and of conflicts of cities; to strive = struggle requiring great determination to win) to contend or wrestle together as in an athletic contest in which a group of athletes co-operates with one another as a team competing against another team, and thus working in perfect co-ordination against a common opponent. Clearly this verb would bring to the mind of the Philippians the picture of an athletic contest, which was a popular aspect of their culture (cp Olympics, Isthmian games, etc). The Greek verb athleo is the root of the English word athletic and means to contend for a prize or to compete in the (Olympic or Isthmian) games. The prefix sun/syn- means “together” and speaks of an intimate union which pictures the idea of “teamwork.” Wiersbe observes that Throughout this letter, Paul uses an interesting device to emphasize the importance of unity. In the Greek language, the prefix sun- means “with, together,” and when used with different words, strengthens the idea of unity. (It is somewhat like our prefix co-.) At least sixteen times, Paul uses this prefix in Philippians, and his readers could not have missed the message! (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor or Logos) There is to be a mutual striving together: side by side, shoulder to shoulder, and heart to heart. Paul pictured the local church as a team of "athletes" striving together to reach their God-given goal. Paul exhorted the Philippians to be friends, not foes and co-workers, not competitors. Since the church has a common objective and a common adversary, Paul pleads for a united and zealous church to resist the adversary, establish the true faith, and advance the gospel of Christ. Sunathleo is used in (Php 4:3-note) translated as "have shared my struggles" where Paul refers to his "teammates", Euodia and Syntyche. Now these two women appeared not to be striving together but striving against one another and creating problems for the rest of the team (Php 4:2-note). Note the verb is plural thus referring not so much to individuals but to the entire church at Philippi. Let your civic behavior be becomingly appropriate to your allegiance to the gospel. One who professes salvation from sin and who has received imputed righteousness should live in a godly life style. Paul wants the saints to live as citizens of another kingdom & to do this, believers are called to STAND (Php 1:27), STRIVE (Php 1:27) and SUFFER (Php 1:29) all for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/philippians_127-28.htm#st