What does Philippians 4:22 mean?

In this verse, Paul extends his sending of greetings from the few Christians personally with him to include all the believers in this area. "Saints," as used in the Bible, is a reference to any person who is a saved Christian. The term does not mean a special or extra-holy class of believer.

This is an interesting remark, especially since Paul had previously arrested many of the saints (Acts 26:10). Later, he became one and sought to help others come to faith in Christ. Church leaders are not the only saints but are called "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12). The rapidly growing Roman church would soon be persecuted under Nero, but would survive to become the hub of Western Christianity.

Paul took special care to include "those of Caesar's household." He may have been intentionally vague at this point, not wishing to reveal the particular servants of Caesar who had converted to Christianity in his writing. However, he clearly wanted to encourage the Philippian believers that their investment in his ministry was having tremendous influence in Rome. Even those who served among the Emperor's household had come to faith in Christ. This is the only specific reference to Caesar outside of the Gospels and Acts.