04_Peters_copiaaa_67-84 28/04/15 12:15 Pagina 78 78 JANELLE PETERS Paul’s crown in Philippians 4 fashions him as a priest in com- petition with the imperial cult. At 4,1, Paul instructs the Philippians, who already are his joy and crown (cara. kai. ste,fanoj), to stand in the Lord (sth,kete evn kuri,w|). Paul’s community is the proof of his apostolic witness. Communal hierarchies and factions are sub- sumed under the ethic of unity and participation in the community as having already been inscribed in the book of life. They strive to- ward a goal that they are, for every foreseeable reason, assured of achieving. Paul fashions himself as a priest, delighting in the “fragrant sacrifice, pleasing to God” (qusi,an dekth,n( euva,reston tw/| qew/|), which Epaphroditus has brought (4,18). Paul himself is the arbiter of the sacred laws, exhorting the Philippians to observe the lessons he has taught them, the traditions he has handed on, and all that they have heard and seen in him. The point, however, is not the priestly authority of Paul, but the reception of the true “God of Peace” — which presumably operates in rivalry with the false, imperial claim to peace (4,9). Paul’s priestly crown appears to invoke the crown of benefac- tion. There is an interdependency between the Philippians and Paul — he will not have honor if they are not also present at this eschato- logical goal, for they define honor. In 4,2, the community is to help Euodia and Syntuche to be of “one mind”, and Paul expects that they, Clement, and “the rest of his coworkers” (tw/n loipw/n sunergw/n mou) have their names inscribed “in the book of life” (evn bi,blw| zwh/j). Paul goes on to describe these women in v. 3 with language allusive of gladiatorial combat. They seem to be part of the apostolic competition, those who have “contended” at Paul’s side for the sake of the gospel. Rather than laud all apostles, Paul uses the image of the crown to extol the virtues of concord in the body of Christ. III. 1 Corinthians While the athletic metaphors of Philippians and Romans resonate with those of 1 Cor 9,24-27, the athletic crown in 1 Cor 9,24-27 differs from the benefactor crowns of 1 Thessalonians and Philippians. Whereas Paul’s house-churches in Thessalonica and Philippi con- stitute Paul’s crown in the present and are expected to remain so in the future, the Corinthian Christians are in a race where only one receives a crown. They might have as much of a chance as Paul of