Philippians 1:27-30

Scripture Reading: Philippians 1:27-30

Over 2500 years ago, a battle took place on this land in Greece

All those years ago, the waters of the Malian Gulf…

Made this piece of land…

A very narrow mountain pass

Some places were only wide enough for 1 chariot to drive through

This piece of land was known as Thermopylae (“Hot Gates”)…

Because of the hot sulfur springs located nearby

In 480 BC, the Persian Empire was marching westward…

To conquer all of Greece

For this specific battle…

The Greeks had a small army of somewhere between 4,000 to 7,000 men

On the other hand, the Persians had anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 soldiers

The Greek army was vastly outnumbered

But, the Greeks, led by the Spartan King Leonidas…

Strategically chose Thermopylae as the location for the battle…

So that the much larger Persian army would be bottlenecked…

And much easier to manage

Before the battle, Xerxes, King of Persia…

Sent an emissary to the camp of the Greeks…

To offer them the opportunity to surrender…

And live out their days in peace

He even supposedly promised Leonidas rulership over all of Greece

Leonidas responded with:

"If you had any knowledge of the noble things of life, you would refrain from coveting others' possessions; but for me to die for Greece is better than to be the sole ruler over the people of my race."

Then the emissary, more forcefully…

Told Leonidas to hand over their weapons

To that, Leonidas responded with this famous phrase:

“Come and get them.”

So the battle that lasted for only 3 days began

Xerxes began by sending waves of 10,000 soldiers into this narrow pass

But, because of the Grecian battle formation…

The Persian waves were repeatedly defeated

This battle formation was called a phalanx

Rows upon rows of solders would stand shoulder to shoulder

They would hold their shields with their left hands…

And long spears in their right

Each man’s shield would not only protect his left side…

But it would also protect the right side of the man to his left

Whenever the front line grew tired…

Those behind them would move up to replace them

This formation only works if the entire line remains united

If only one man broke rank, the whole line became penetrable

So long as they remained united…

The formation was nearly impossible to defeat

In just 2 days, tens of thousands of Persians were defeated…

By just a few thousand Greeks

But then, by the 3rd day, a man from Greece…

In expectation of great reward…

Decided to betray his Grecian brothers

He tells Xerxes about a secret mountain pass…

That will lead to the rear of the Grecian forces

Leonidas told many of army to flee to fight another day

But several hundred stayed…

Including his 300 Spartan soldiers

Fearlessly, they chose to stand firm & united…

In the face of certain suffering & death at the hands of their enemies

Though the 300 Spartans would lose this battle…

Their courage, unity, & self-sacrifice…

Would encourage the rest of Greece to fight...

With even more fervor & tenacity

And Greece would go on to win the war…

Against the mighty Persian Empire

Philippians 1:27-30

In this text, Paul tells the Philippian Christians…

To live as those 300 Spartans died:

United

Fearless

Willing to Suffer

Paul is now leaving the beginning portion of the letter…

Where he is primarily talking about his present circumstance in prison…

And the potential for his future (release or execution)…

And how Jesus will be glorified in him either way

Now he’s turning his attention to the Philippians

And he begins with this word “Only”

But I think the CSB better captures what Paul is saying with this word:

“Just one thing:”

Paul is wanting the Philippians to understand…

That what he is about to say to them…

Is the primary reason he is writing this letter

What he’s going to say next…

Is the one main thing he wants to tell them

For the rest of this text, I’m going to do something I don’t normally do

And I don’t plan on making a habit of it…

But I believe it is necessary to fully grasp…

All the intricacies of the words Paul uses in this text

I’ve made my own translation of this text

I didn’t translate this hastily or haphazardly…

But with the help of Greek scholars & commentators…

And careful study of the text

Philippians 1:27 (Jon’s Version):

“Just one thing: live as citizens in a manner that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, one soul, struggling together for the faith of the Gospel,”

The one thing that Paul wants to tell the Philippians is:

“Live as citizens in a manner that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ”

Your translation may say:

“conduct yourselves”

“live your lives”

In Greek, the word is politeuomai (Poh-lit-eh-voh-meh)

politēs (Poh-lit-ace) = “citizen”

polis (Poh-lees) = “city”

politeuomai (Poh-lit-eh-voh-meh) = “Living as a citizen of a city”

An important thing to remember about Philippi…

Is that it is a Roman Colony

Not a conquered city

Not under provincial governors

Those who lived in Philippi were considered fully Roman citizens

And they enjoyed all the benefits of being full citizens

Philippi was a little Rome away from Rome

And the Philippian people were extremely proud of that fact

So, it makes sense why Paul, more than once…

Alludes to “citizenship” in this letter

Citizenship meant everything to them

Philippians were expected to live as citizens of Rome

To live according to the laws of Rome

To live worthy of the good news that they are citizens of Rome…

And the good news that they have Caesar is their lord

But Paul is telling the Philippian Christians something a little different:

They are to live as citizens of Rome:

In a way that is worthy of the good news of Jesus, their Lord

In a way that is worthy of the commands of Jesus

In a way that is worthy of their true citizenship in heaven

Philippians 3:20 NASB95

20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

Just like Philippi was a colony of Rome

The church is a colony of Heaven

We currently live away from God’s presence & his Heavenly city…

But, because of the Gospel of Jesus…

That is where we belong

That is our city

That is our home

And though we don’t currently live there…

We are called to behave as citizens of heaven wherever we may be

Philippian people were to live as citizens of Rome…

Despite the fact that they weren’t actually living in Rome

The Philippian Christians, and we ourselves…

Are to live as citizens of Heaven…

Despite the fact that we aren’t currently living there

What does it look like to live as a citizen of Heaven…

While currently living in this present world?

Well, for a detailed look, I’d point you to the sermon on the mount

But to understand more specifically what Paul was referring to in this context…

We just need to keep reading

Philippians 1:27 (Jon’s Version):

“Just one thing: live as citizens in a manner that is worthy of the Gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, one soul, struggling together for the faith of the Gospel,”

To Paul, living as citizens in a manner that is worthy of the Gospel is:

“Standing firm” = Standing your ground; not backing down

It carries the idea of being firmly committed to one’s convictions

Standing firm “in one spirit, one soul”

There is a lot of debate on what exactly Paul meant by this…

But I think the main point is obvious:

“In one spirit, one soul” = United together as one

“Struggling together” = synathleō (Soon-auth-leh-oh)

Do you hear the word “athlete” in there?

This word means “to compete together”

To work together toward a common goal…

And against a common opposition

That which we are to struggle together for is:

“the faith of the Gospel”

We work together to live out & proclaim the Gospel

To live by faith in the Gospel…

And to seek to instill faith in others

Philippians 1:28 (Jon’s Version):

“and not intimidated in any way by the opposition, which is, for them, a sign of destruction, but for you of salvation, and that from God.

Living as citizens in a manner worthy of the Gospel means:

Standing our ground & staying committed to our convictions of faith

Being united together in heart, mind, & purpose

Struggling together as we seek to live out & proclaim the Gospel

Not being intimidated or spooked by those who oppose us

Like Spartan soldiers in the Phalanx Formation…

Christians are to fearlessly stand our ground…

Against those who oppose us & seek to destroy our faith, if possible…

And our lives, if necessary

We are to stick together & be remain united…

Allowing nothing to pull us apart…

Or cause us to turn on one another

And we are to fight shoulder to shoulder

Giving our best united effort to live out our faith every day

Doing our best as a community…

To proudly proclaim the good news of our faith

And when Christians are fearless in the face of those who oppose us…

It sends a strong message

When we are unafraid of their threats & intimidation…

It tells them that we have something worthwhile that they do not

We have hope of salvation in the end…

But their end is only destruction

It’s like being a boxer who steps into the ring with his opponent

He waits for the perfect moment…

For his opponent to let down his guard…

And then he throws the knockout punch

He plants his feet, swings with his hips…

And puts everything he has into a haymaker punch

And it lands perfectly

But instead of collapsing to the ground…

His opponent simply smiles & keeps moving forward

If you’re the boxer…

How are you feeling about your chances against this opponent?

If he can take the worst you can possibly dish out…

And act as if you’ve done nothing to him…

Your hopes of winning that fight go down the drain

You recognize that you’re headed for defeat…

And your opponent is headed for victory

How do you threaten someone with death…

Who isn’t afraid to die?

How do you intimidate someone with physical harm & persecution…

Who sees their suffering as a gift from God Himself?

Philippians 1:29–30 NRSV

29 For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well— 30 since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

Paul & the other NT writers…

Considered suffering for their faith to be a privilege

It was a gift from God

It gave them the opportunity to:

Suffer like their Lord

As disciples, that was their highest goal:

To be like Him

Suffer for their Lord

They believed that suffering for Jesus…

Was a guarantee of their resurrection to eternal life

And that perspective brought them joy…

In the midst of their suffering

Courage & joy in the face of persecution & suffering…

Is one of the strongest evangelistic tools we have

It shows the world that we have something they don’t

We have something worth suffering & dying for

And the world wants that more than anything

We just need to be courageous enough…

To tell them where they can find it

Application

What does it look like to live as citizens…

Who are living in a manner worthy of the Gospel?

What does it look like to live as a colony of Heaven…

Right here in Livingston, TN?

Standing Our Ground

Not compromising on the principles & teachings of Jesus…

Even when they are unpopular…

With the society & culture we find ourselves in

We stand upon the moral standards of Jesus…

And we do not allow ourselves to be moved

Being United

The churches of Christ began as a unity movement

To put our differences aside & come together as disciples of Jesus

But now we divide over every little difference

I’m so sick of the division in the church

There’s enough division in the world already

The church of Jesus Christ ought to be the one place…

Where you can find a community of people…

Who don’t always agree…

But who love, serve, & live life together…

Despite their differences

If we don’t get back to making unity a top priority…

The church we’ve become is going to die

And good for it, because without unity…

We’ve become something far different from Jesus’ church

Struggling Together

Learning, edifying, & growing together

Serving, loving, & sharing with our neighbors together

Living like Jesus & talking about Jesus together

We’ve become so individualized in our thinking…

That we’ve made Christianity a lonely & difficult burden

Being a disciple of Jesus shouldn’t feel lonely or difficult

It’s meant to be a shared mission…

Where we can follow Jesus’ teachings side by side…

With joy & companionship

Christianity was never meant to be bowling or tennis

It was meant to be football & baseball

It’s a team sport

We work together

Everyone has their roles & gifts

No one ever has to do it all on their own

Being Fearless

Being fearless doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not scared

I like John Wayne’s definition of courage:

“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.”

Sometimes we’re called to say & do things for Jesus’ sake…

That may make us scared or nervous

That’s okay, so long as we don’t let that fear & anxiety…

Stop us from doing what we know is right

Being fearless means standing up for our faith in public

It means, at best, being willing to be labeled as weird or different

And at worst, losing family, friends, possessions, or our very lives

But with the hope of resurrection life in Jesus…

And having our Christian family by our side…

We can endure any trial or suffering

Sparta didn’t have professional soldiers

Their army consisted of fishermen, herdsmen, craftsmen, & gardeners

But they all trained to be soldiers in case duty were to call

The church isn’t made up of professional ministers & disciples

We’re all just ordinary believers living our ordinary lives

But our Lord & King has called us to battle against the world

So we dedicate the first day of every week to study, learn, & train

And then we go out onto the battlefield…

Stand shoulder to shoulder…

And hold up our shields for our brothers & sisters…

And live as a colony of Heaven right here on earth

Joy overflows when the church:

Fearlessly stands united as we struggle together for the faith