Clement

AI summary: Clement matters because his single cross reference shows that Paul's work was shared with a wider network of trusted coworkers whose names were remembered before God. The mention of his name being in the book of life gives unusual warmth and dignity to a brief greeting. Taken together, the material presents Clement as a valued fellow worker in the life of the Philippian church.¹

Mild, a Christian of Philippi, Paul’s “fellow-labourer,” whose name he mentions as “in the book of life” (Phil. 4:3). It was an opinion of ancient writers that he was the Clement of Rome whose name is well known in church history, and that he was the author of an Epistle to the Corinthians, the only known manuscript of which is appended to the Alexandrian Codex, now in the British Museum. It is of some historical interest, and has given rise to much discussion among critics. It makes distinct reference to Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians. ³