<p>1:30 <i>Having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me</i>- The conflict may refer to how the Philippians had been witnesses of Paul's beating and imprisonment in Philippi for their sakes, and now they were hearing that again Paul was undergoing imprisonment for the Gospel, this time in Rome. But in essence, because of their connection in the Spirit, they were fellowshipping Paul's sufferings. Their experience of persecution was shared by him; it was in essence &quot;the same conflict&quot;. He uses the same word <i>agon</i>, &quot;conflict&quot;, in recalling the great conflict / agony he suffered in Philippi (1 Thess. 2:2). He is experiencing this in a different form in Rome, as they were in Philippi. In each case, they now in Philippi, Paul earlier in Philippi, Paul now in Rome... it was &quot;the same conflict&quot;. The unity of the Spirit is thus brought about by experience in practice; and it is experience which unites. Mere intellectual theology tends to divide.</p>