Sermon Tone Analysis

Philippians 1:27.

"1 Spirit".

Ajax Alliance Church.

Sunday January 8th, 2023.

Philippians 1:27.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.

(ESV)

Try to imagine yourself in the role of a mum or dad living in the 1920s, before our modern means of communication were readily available to everyone.

You are standing on the platform of a railway station, and your seventeen-year-old daughter is leaning out of a train window.

The whistle blows and you know that any minute your little girl will be leaving you to go on a long journey hundreds of miles away to a foreign country.

You are naturally very anxious about her because you know very little about the people she is going to work for.

They have no phone and your only means of communicating with your daughter is going to be by letters, which will take many days to reach her.

What are your parting words going to be as the train starts to move away?

I suspect they will be something like, 'Goodbye, darling.

Look after yourself, and whatever happens ...' Well, what would you say? 'Whatever happens ...'-what?

In other words, what one thing would you want her to do, or refrain from doing, while she was in that far-off land to best utilize the time she has?

What we see here in Philippians, 1 is the Apostle Paul in a similar situation.

He was writing what might prove to be his final communication to his friends at Philippi.

He knew that it was possible that he would soon be taken outside the prison and be executed.

On the other hand, he might be set free and allowed to visit them once again.

So, what message does he give the believers at Philippi (to best utilize the time available)?

He tells them, 'Whatever happens [whether I live or die], conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ' (1:27) (Bentley, M. (1997).

Shining in the Darkness: Philippians Simply Explained.

Welwyn Commentary Series (53-54).

Darlington, England: Evangelical Press.).

For each of us, a new year means new opportunity.

For us to best utilize the time that we have we must recognize the tremendous opportunities and resources at our disposal.

We must be consistent in our resolve and look out and care for each other.

Our mutual determination will change us and our world for God's glory.

In Philippians 1:27, the Apostle Paul here gives four characteristics of believers who live in "1 Spirit" of Christ in their: 1) Status in Christ (Philippians 1:27a), 2) Standing firm in Him (Philippians 1:27b); 3) Sharing with one another because of Him (Philippians 1:27c); and 4) Striving together in obedience to Him (Philippians 1:27d)

To best utilize the time we have in order to live in "1 Spirit", we must focus on our:

1) Status in Christ (Philippians 1:27a)

Philippians 1:27.

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, (I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel) (ESV) "We'll spend most of our time in this first section"

Because he believed it was necessary for their spiritual well-being, Paul was confident that the Lord would allow him to "remain and continue with [them] for [their] progress and joy in the faith, so that [their] proud confidence in [him] may abound in Christ Jesus through [his] coming to [them] again" (1:25-26).

But regardless of what happened to him, he implored, Only let your manner of life/conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ.... What truly mattered was their consistent, holy conduct.

The emphatic position with the adverb "only" states Paul's purpose for which he desires to remain alive.

Whatever may happen, make this your chief business (KJV Bible Commentary.

1994 (E.

E. Hindson & W. M. Kroll, Ed.) (2435).

Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).

This "manner of life/conduct" (Politeuomai) is the main verb in Philippians 1, which in the Greek is a single sentence.

It comes from the root word polis (city), which in earlier times usually referred to the city-states to which inhabitants gave their primary allegiance.

The verb carries the basic meaning of being a citizen.

To the ancient Greeks, the state (ἡ πόλις) was by no means merely a place to live.

It was rather a sort of partnership (κοινωνίαν τινά) formed with a view to having people attain the highest of all human goods (so Aristotle, Pol.

1252a).

Here in the state the individual citizen developed his gifts and realized his potential, not in isolation but in cooperation.

Here he was able to maximize his abilities, not by himself or for himself but in community and for the good of the community (cf.

Beare).

As a consequence, mutuality and interdependence were important ideas inhering in the concept of πόλις.

πολιτεύεσθαι, "to live as a citizen," therefore, meant for the Greek (and later the Roman) rights and privileges but also duties and responsibilities.

To the Jew the idea of πόλις had as its focal point the "city of the great king" (Ps 48:2; cf.

Matt 5:32).

Originally Jerusalem was this ideal city, localized and restricted in scope.

But under the influence of psalmist and prophet the concept of "city" was expanded until Jerusalem was not only home for every member of the commonwealth of Israel but a spiritual fellowship into which the nations of the world eventually would enter (cf.

Ps 87), a universal center of worship of Israel's God, the God of the whole earth (Isa 66:20; Amos 9:11-12; Zech 14:8-11; see Winter, Seek the Welfare of the City, esp.

98-100, on Phil 1:27-2:18) (Hawthorne, G. F. (2004).

Vol.

43: Philippians.

Word Biblical Commentary (69).

Dallas: Word, Incorporated.).

Please turn to Ephesians 2

Paul is here making a play on their "dual citizenship"-of the empire by virtue of their being Philippians; of heaven by virtue of their faith in Christ and incorporation into the believing community.

On the one hand, the city boasted of its privileged status as a Roman colony, made so by Octavian (later the emperor Augustus) after his decisive victory on the plains of Philippi; hence its people thereby had Roman citizenship conferred on them, a matter in which they took considerable pride.

The contrast made in 3:17-20, where "our 'citizenship' is in heaven," in contrast to those whose minds are set on "earthly things."

As Philippi was a colony of Rome in Macedonia, so the church was a "colony of heaven" in Philippi, whose members were to live as its citizens in Philippi.

This suggests a missionary outlook on the one hand (they are "contending for the gospel" in Philippi; cf.

2:14-16), but a concern for the "welfare of the state"-the believing community itself-on the other.

Thus, this is the fitting verb for the setting.

It would be full of meaning in light of their privileged status as Roman citizens, now addressing them as to their "civic" responsibilities to the new "polis," the believing community, of which they are a part and whose responsibilities will be spelled out in what follows (Fee, G. D. (1995).

Paul's Letter to the Philippians.

The New International Commentary on the New Testament (161-162).

Grand Rapids, MI: Wm.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).

Paul explained this dual citizenship responsibility in Ephesians 2:

Ephesians 2:11-21.

[11] Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- [12] remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

[13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

[14]For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility [15]by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, [16]and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

[17] And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

[18] For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

[19] So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, [20] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, [21]in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

(ESV)

* Notice how this dual citizenship has dual commitments.

Instead of a self-sovereign spirituality, believers in v. 19 are called "members" of the household of God.

There is an expectation of spiritual growth v.21 bult upon what Christ has established v.20.

If the citizens of Philippi back in Philippians 1:27, were so devoted to the honor of their human kingdom, how much more should believers be devoted to the kingdom of Christ (Col.

1:12-13) Therefore, Paul charged them to live as faithful citizens of heaven (3:20).

The church, though imperfect and temporal, is the earthly manifestation of that perfect and eternal kingdom of heaven in this present age (Col.

1:13).

Proper Heavenly "manner of life/conduct" (politeuomai). is characterized by being "blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world" (2:15).

To live in a manner of life/conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ is to live a life consistent with God's revealed Word.

To exercise citizenship "in a manner of life worthy of the gospel of Christ" means to conduct it in harmony with the responsibilities which that gospel imposes and with the blessings which it brings (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953-2001).

Vol.

5: Exposition of Philippians.

New Testament Commentary (81).

Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.).

So, to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, therefore, does not suggest that we should try harder in order to secure something.

Rather, it argues that because something has already been secured for us, we should try harder out of gratitude and frank recognition that this is what the gospel has saved us for.

The gospel has saved us.

Therefore, let us live a life worthy of that gospel that has saved us.