Life Worth Living
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Will You Live a Life Worth Living?
27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. 29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.
27 Solamente comportaos de una manera digna del evangelio de Cristo, de modo que ya sea que vaya a veros, o que permanezca ausente, pueda oír que vosotros estáis firmes en un mismo espíritu, luchando unánimes por la fe del evangelio; 28 de ninguna manera amedrentados por vuestros adversarios, lo cual es señal de perdición para ellos, pero de salvación para vosotros, y esto, de Dios. 29 Porque a vosotros se os ha concedido por amor de Cristo, no sólo creer en El, sino también sufrir por El, 30 sufriendo el mismo conflicto que visteis en mí, y que ahora oís que está en mí.
“27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ,
The words conduct yourselves translate a political word It is the word politeuo (πολιτευο). From it we get such words as “politic, political.” it would mean much to the Philippian believers. Literally it means “live as citizens.” Because Philippi was a Roman colony, retired soldiers lived there, the Christian inhabitants of the city would appreciate Paul’s use of that verb
(1) To stand firm (v. 27)
(2) Not to fear (v. 28)
(3) To accept suffering (v. 29)[1]
The words conduct yourselves translate a political word It is the word politeuo (πολιτευο). From it we get such words as “politic, political.” it would mean much to the Philippian believers. Literally it means “live as citizens.” Because Philippi was a Roman colony, the Christian inhabitants of the city would appreciate Paul’s use of that verb
Voddie Bauchman: How to be a Family Shepherd
How to be a Family Shepherd
The Gospel is not just how we get saved. The gospel is all of the Christian life. It is how we got saved, it is how we are being saved, and how we will be saved. The gospel is news, good news. News is something you proclaim not something you live. You would never say of the 11:00 news lead story about a fireman saving a family from flames, “I am going to go out and live the news.” The event already happened. It can’t be relived. You can live in the light of the news but you cannot live the news. You may have heard it said, “preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.” Bring that into the 11:00 news… “News so powerful, that it needs no words!”
The gospel is God centered. It is not man centered proclaiming what we have done, but what God has done for us.
The gospel is Christ centered and cross centered. It is about Jesus and his payment for our sin. It is not a fairy tale or an embellished story that contains truth. It is truth about a real man who is God who died on a real cross and really rose from the dead according to the Scriptures.
When Paul says in that all of this was according to the Scriptures it is an important statement. The gospel is in the context of the whole Bible. Without the rest of the Bible the gospel doesn’t make sense. And, it is the Scriptures that tell us why we need to be saved, how to be saved, how to live once we are saved, and what will happen to us because we are saved.
The gospel is also grace centered. Grace is unmerited favor by God toward us. We didn’t earn it or deserve it. The fact that we are saved by God’s grace is precisely what makes it such good news!
What does the gospel require? It requires repentance and faith. We must agree with God that what He calls sin is really sin and we have to choose to turn our backs to it. We do this by faith not our works. “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Then when we have believed by faith, the gospel will produce in us obedience. It must produce good works or it isn’t real repentant, saving faith.
Charles Spurgeon “That grace that does not make a man better than his neighbors is a grace that will never take him to heaven nor render him acceptable before God.”
Why does this understanding of the gospel matter?
R. Ellsworth put it this way…It seems that we love precision in every area of life. We want the surgeon to be precise; we don’t want him just to be ‘in the neighbourhood’ when he opens us up to remove a tumour. We want precision in sports; we don’t want the referee to signal a touchdown when the ball carrier is still ten yards away from the goal line. We want precision in our banking; we don’t want our bank to short-change us by a few hundred dollars or pounds.
But when it comes to the truth of God, our love for precision seems to disappear. The reason is not hard to identify. If the gospel cannot be defined, we are absolved of responsibility. We are off the hook!
While we comfort ourselves with the thought of an imprecise gospel, the Bible insists on the opposite. The gospel is the good news of the precise details of what God has done in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. It is the message of the holy God providing in Christ the righteousness that sinners must have in order to stand acceptably in the presence of God. It is the message of God propitiating or appeasing his wrath against sinners by pouring out that wrath upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are commanded by Paul to live worthy of that marvelous gospel
Paul gives us 4 behaviors that are worthy of the gospel of Christ.
1. Standing Firm (27)
1. Standing Firm (27)
27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,
27 Solamente comportaos de una manera digna del evangelio de Cristo, de modo que ya sea que vaya a veros, o que permanezca ausente, pueda oír que vosotros estáis firmes en un mismo espíritu, luchando unánimes por la fe del evangelio;
Paul is in Rome when he writes to the Philippians.
In the Greek word translated “stand fast,” the ideas of firmness or uprightness are prominent. It means “to stand firm and hold one’s ground.” The implication is clear that when one holds one’s ground, he does it in the face of enemy opposition. They are to stand fast in one spirit. The word “spirit” here refers to the unity of spirit in which the members of the church should be fused and blended. We are to stand as one man.
In the Greek word translated “stand fast,” the ideas of firmness or uprightness are prominent. It means “to stand firm and hold one’s ground.” The implication is clear that when one holds one’s ground, he does it in the face of enemy opposition. They are to stand fast in one spirit. The word “spirit” here refers to the unity of spirit in which the members of the church should be fused and blended. We are to stand as one man.
Roman soldiers standing together with locking shields.
No appeasement. No giving ground to the enemy. No compromise on the precision of the gospel.
4 behaviors that are worthy of the gospel of Christ…Stand Firm...
2. Striving Together (27)
2. Striving Together (27)
27 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel,
27 Solamente comportaos de una manera digna del evangelio de Cristo, de modo que ya sea que vaya a veros, o que permanezca ausente, pueda oír que vosotros estáis firmes en un mismo espíritu, luchando unánimes por la fe del evangelio;
Paul now changes the illustration from politics to athletics. The word translated “striving together” gives us our English word “athletics.” Paul pictures the church as a team, and he reminds them that it is teamwork that wins victories. [NBA Finals, San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat. Labron James cannot win all by himself.]
They struggle together with one “mind” = “soul”
It would not be difficult to expand this idea of the local church as a team of athletes. Each person has his assigned place and job, and if each one is doing his job, it helps all the others. Not everybody can be captain or quarterback.
Who is it OK to strive with? Dr. Whitcomb’s Circles of fellowship.
4 behaviors that are worthy of the gospel of Christ...Stand Firm, Strive Together...
3. Be Fearless (28)
3. Be Fearless (28)
28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.
28 de ninguna manera amedrentados por vuestros adversarios, lo cual es señal de perdición para ellos, pero de salvación para vosotros, y esto, de Dios.
28. terrified—literally, said of horses or other animals startled or suddenly scared.
Who is the enemy?
The sentiment is parallel with that in the Thessalonian Epistle, in which the suffering endured through the envy of the Jews was “a token or proof that God will inflict heavy punishment on the adversaries of the Christian faith
5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer;
5 Esta es una señal evidente del justo juicio de Dios, para que seáis considerados dignos del reino de Dios, por el cual en verdad estáis sufriendo.
, NKJV)
4 behaviors that are worthy of the gospel of Christ...Stand Firm, Strive Together, Be Fearless...
4. Suffer (29-30)
4. Suffer (29-30)
29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.
29 Porque a vosotros se os ha concedido por amor de Cristo, no sólo creer en El, sino también sufrir por El, 30 sufriendo el mismo conflicto que visteis en mí, y que ahora oís que está en mí.
29 For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.
A. The Nature of Suffering
A. The Nature of Suffering
Granted by God.
Conflict=Agony (like Jesus in the garden) Like those in India, Indonesia.
B. A Model of Suffering
B. A Model of Suffering
“which you saw in me” We learn something of Paul’s persecution at Philippi from
22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
acts
22 La multitud se levantó a una contra ellos, y los magistrados superiores, rasgándoles sus ropas, ordenaron que los azotaran con varas. 23 Y después de darles muchos azotes, los echaron en la cárcel, ordenando al carcelero que los guardara con seguridad; 24 el cual, habiendo recibido esa orden, los echó en el calabozo interior y les aseguró los pies en el cepo.
, NKJV)
22 Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. 23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.
and
2 But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict.
2 sino que después de haber sufrido y sido maltratados en Filipos, como sabéis, tuvimos el valor, confiados en nuestro Dios, de hablaros el evangelio de Dios en medio de mucha oposición.
“2 But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict.” (, NKJV)
21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
2 But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict.
21 Pues para mí, el vivir es Cristo y el morir es ganancia.
Live a life worthy of the gospel...Stand Firm, Strive Together, Be Fearless, Suffer
This brings joy!
Cooperation ()
Keep in mind that there was division in the church at Philippi. For one thing, two women were not getting along with each other (). Apparently the members of the fellowship were taking sides, as is often the case, and the resulting division was hindering the work of the church. The enemy is always happy to see internal divisions in a local ministry. “Divide and conquer!” is his motto, and too often he has his way. It is only as believers stand together that they can overcome the wicked one.
Throughout this letter, Paul uses an interesting device to emphasize the importance of unity. In the Greek language, the prefix sun- means “with, together,” and when used with different words, strengthens the idea of unity. (It is somewhat like our prefix co-.) At least sixteen times, Paul uses this prefix in Philippians, and his readers could not have missed the message! In , the Greek word is sunathleo—“striving together as athletes.”
Jerry was disgusted, and he decided to tell the coach how he felt. “There’s no sense coming out for practice anymore,” he complained. “Mike is the team—you don’t need the rest of us.”
Coach Gardner knew the trouble. “Look, Jerry, just because Mike gets many of the chances to shoot doesn’t mean the rest of you guys aren’t needed. Somebody has to set things up at the basket, and that’s where you come in.”
Sometimes a team has a “glory hound” who has to be in the spotlight and get all the praise. Usually he makes it difficult for the rest of the team. They aren’t working equally together, but are working to make one person look good. It is this attitude that makes for defeat. Unfortunately, we have some “glory hounds” in the church. John had to deal with a man named Diotrephes because the man “loved to have the preeminence” (). Even the Apostles James and John asked to have special thrones (). The important word is together: standing firmly together in one spirit, striving together against the enemy, and doing it with one mind and heart.
It would not be difficult to expand this idea of the local church as a team of athletes. Each person has his assigned place and job, and if each one is doing his job, it helps all the others. Not everybody can be captain or quarterback! The team has to follow the rules, and the Word of God is our “rule book.” There is one goal—to honor Christ and do His will. If we all work together, we can reach the goal, win the prize, and glorify the Lord. But the minute any one of us starts disobeying the rules, breaking training (the Christian life does demand discipline), or looking for glory, the teamwork disappears and division and competition take over.
In other words, Paul is reminding us again of the need for the single mind. There is joy in our lives, even as we battle the enemy, if we live for Christ and the Gospel and practice “Christian teamwork.” To be sure, there are some people with whom we cannot cooperate (; ); but there are many with whom we can—and should!
We are citizens of heaven and therefore should walk consistently. We are members of the same “team” and should work cooperatively. But there is a third essential for success as we face the enemy, and that is confidence.
Confidence ()
“Don’t be alarmed by your opponents!” The word Paul uses pictures a horse shying away from battle. To be sure, nobody blindly runs into a fight; but then, no true believer should deliberately avoid facing the enemy. In these verses, Paul gives us several encouragements that give us confidence in the battle.
First, these battles prove that we are saved (). We not only believe on Christ but also suffer for Christ. Paul calls this “the fellowship of His sufferings” (). For some reason, many new believers have the idea that trusting Christ means the end of their battles. In reality, it means the beginning of new battles. “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (). “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” ().
But the presence of conflict is a privilege; we suffer “for His sake.” In fact, Paul tells us that this conflict is “granted” to us—it is a gift! If we were suffering for ourselves, it would be no privilege; but because we are suffering for and with Christ, it is a high and holy honor. After all, He suffered for us, and a willingness to suffer for Him is the very least we can do to show our love and gratitude.
A third encouragement is this: others are experiencing the same conflict (). Satan wants us to think we are alone in the battle, that our difficulties are unique, but such is not the case. Paul reminds the Philippians that he is going through the same difficulties they are experiencing hundreds of miles from Rome! A change in geography is usually no solution to spiritual problems, because human nature is the same wherever you go, and the enemy is everywhere. Knowing that my fellow believers are also sharing in the battle is an encouragement for me to keep going and to pray for them as I pray for myself.
Actually, going through spiritual conflict is one way we have to grow in Christ. God gives us the strength we need to stand firm against the enemy, and this confidence is proof to him that he will lose and we are on the winning side (). The Philippians had seen Paul go through conflict when he was with them (read ), and they had witnessed his firmness in the Lord. The word “conflict” gives us our word “agony” (agonia), and is the same word that is used for Christ’s struggle in the Garden (). As we face the enemy and depend on the Lord, He gives us all that we need for the battle. When the enemy sees our God-given confidence, it makes him fear.
So, the single mind enables us to have joy in the midst of battle, because it produces in us consistency, cooperation, and confidence. We experience the joy of “spiritual teamwork” as we strive together for the faith of the Gospel.[2]
let your conversation be—(Compare ). The Greek implies, “Let your walk as citizens (namely, of the heavenly state; ‘the city of the living God,’ , ‘the heavenly Jerusalem,’ ‘fellow citizens of the saints,’ ) be,” &c.
I … see … hear—so . “Hear,” in order to include both alternatives, must include the meaning know.
your affairs—your state.
in one spirit—the fruit of partaking of the Holy Spirit (, ).
with one mind—rather as Greek, “soul,” the sphere of the affections; subordinate to the “Spirit,” man’s higher and heavenly nature. “There is sometimes natural antipathies among believers; but these are overcome, when there is not only unity of spirit, but also of soul” [Bengel].
striving together—with united effort.
28. terrified—literally, said of horses or other animals startled or suddenly scared; so of sudden consternation in general.
which—your not being terrified.
evident token of perdition—if they would only perceive it (). It attests this, that in contending hopelessly against you, they are only rushing on to their own perdition, not shaking your united faith and constancy.
to you of salvation—The oldest manuscripts read, “of your salvation”; not merely your temporal safety.
29. For—rather, a proof that this is an evident token from God of your salvation, “Because,” &c.
it is given—Greek, “it has been granted as a favor,” or “gift of grace.” Faith is the gift of God (), not wrought in the soul by the will of man, but by the Holy Ghost (, ).
believe on him—“To believe Him,” would merely mean to believe He speaks the truth. “To believe on Him,” is to believe in, and trust through, Him to obtain eternal salvation. Suffering for Christ is not only not a mark of God’s anger, but a gift of His grace.
30. ye saw in me—(, , &c. ). I am “in nothing terrified by mine adversaries” (), so ought not ye. The words here, “ye saw … and … hear,” answer to “I come and see you, or else … hear” ().[3]
1:27 Now Paul adds a word of caution: “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Christians should be Christlike. Citizens of heaven should behave accordingly. We should be in practice what we are in position.
In addition to this plea for consistency, the apostle makes an appeal for constancy. Specifically, he desires that whether he comes to them personally, or, being absent, hears reports about them, he may know that they are standing fast with a common spirit, and unitedly laboring earnestly for the faith of the gospel, that is, the Christian faith. Christians face a common foe; they should not fight each other but should unite against the enemy.
1:28 Neither were they to be terrified by the enemies of the gospel. Fearlessness in the face of persecution has a twofold meaning. First, it is an omen of destruction to those who fight against God. Secondly, it is a sign of salvation to those who brave the wrath of the foe. Salvation is probably used here in its future tense, referring to the eventual deliverance of the saint from trial and the redemption of his body as well as his spirit and soul.
1:29 The Philippians should remember that it is a privilege to suffer for Christ as well as to believe in Him.
Dr. Griffith John wrote that once when he was surrounded by a hostile heathen crowd and was beaten, he put his hand to his face and when he withdrew it, saw that it was bathed in blood. “He was possessed by an extraordinary sense of exaltation, and he rejoiced that he had been counted worthy to suffer for His Name.” Is it not remarkable that even suffering is exalted by Christianity to such a lofty plane? Truly, even “an apparent trifle burns with the fire immortal when it is in communion with the Infinite.” The cross dignifies and ennobles.
1:30 The connection of this verse with the previous one is better understood if we supply the words “Since you are engaged in”:
The privilege of suffering for Christ has been granted to you, since you are engaged in the same kind of conflict which you saw in me when I was in Philippi and now hear that I am still waging. [4]
3. solemn exhortations (1:27–30)
1:27. The apostle had the believers in Philippi on his heart. Regardless of what would happen to him—release from bonds or martyrdom—he wanted them to honor and glorify Christ. The words conduct yourselves translate a political word which would mean much to the Philippian believers. Literally it means “live as citizens.” Because Philippi was a Roman colony, the Christian inhabitants of the city would appreciate Paul’s use of that verb. To live in a way that is worthy of the gospel of Christ (cf. ) is indeed the responsibility of every child of God. This Paul exhorted the Philippians to do.
The saints embraced a common cause, for they each shared in the same body of Christ. Therefore Paul was burdened that they stand firm (cf. ) in one spirit and contend as one man (lit., “in one soul”) for the faith of the gospel, the body of truth (cf. “faith,” ). Their contending (synalthountes) for the faith suggests a joint effort, like that of an athletic team.
1:28. Paul wanted his readers to live courageously for Christ in the midst of opposition and persecution. True, they would be opposed but this should not frighten them in any way. Instead they were to be reminded at such times that their own victorious Christian response would be a sign that their opposers would eventually be destroyed. At the same time it would be a sign that the saints of God would be delivered by God Himself. This assurance would doubtless be the Holy Spirit working in their hearts.
1:29–30. So that being opposed would not come as a surprise, he gave them a reminder. Both believing on Christ and suffering for Him had been granted to them (v. 29). Suffering for Christ was not to be considered accidental or a divine punishment. Paul referred to a kind of suffering that was really a sign of God’s favor. The Greek word echaristhē, translated “granted,” is derived from a word which means “grace” or “favor.” Believing on Christ and suffering for Him are both associated with God’s grace.
Paul and his readers shared a similar struggle (v. 30). So Paul encouraged them as they had him. They wanted to know how he fared in Rome. He told them, so they could also be encouraged as they faced hardships.[5]
Verses 27–30
The apostle concludes the chapter with two exhortations:—
I. He exhorts them to strictness of conversation (v. 27): Only let your conversation be as becometh the gospel of Christ. Observe, Those who profess the gospel of Christ should have their conversation as becomes the gospel, or in a suitableness and agreeableness to it. Let it be as becomes those who believe gospel truths, submit to gospel laws, and depend upon gospel promises; and with an answerable faith, holiness, and comfort. Let it be in all respects as those who belong to the kingdom of God among men, and are members and subjects of it. It is an ornament to our profession when our conversation is of a piece with it.—That whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs. He had spoken in v. 26 of his coming to them again, and had spoken it with some assurance, though he was now a prisoner; but he would not have them build upon that. Our religion must not be bound up in the hands of our ministers: “Whether I come or no, let me hear well of you, and do you stand fast.’ ’ Whether ministers come or no, Christ is always at hand. He is nigh to us, never far from us; and hastens his second coming. The coming of the Lord draws nigh, . Let me hear of you that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. Three things he desired to hear of them; and they are all such as become the gospel:—1. It becomes those who profess the gospel to strive for it, to use a holy violence in taking the kingdom of heaven. The faith of the gospel is the doctrine of faith, or the religion of the gospel. There is that in the faith of the gospel which is worth striving for. If religion is worth any thing, it is worth every thing. There is much opposition, and there is need of striving. A man may sleep and go to hell; but he who will go to heaven must look about him and be diligent. 2. The unity and unanimity of Christians become the gospel: Strive together, not strive one with another; all of you must strive against the common adversary. One spirit and one mind become the gospel; for there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. There may be a oneness of heart and affection among Christians, where there is diversity of judgment and apprehensions about many things. 3. Stedfastness becomes the gospel: Stand fast in one spirit, with one mind. Be stedfast and immovable by any opposition. It is a shame to religion when the professors of it are off and on, unfixed in their minds, and unstable as water; for they will never excel. Those who would strive for the faith of the gospel must stand firm to it.
II. He exhorts them to courage and constancy in suffering: And in nothing terrified by your adversaries, v. 28. The professors of the gospel have all along met with adversaries, especially at the first planting of Christianity. Our great care must be to keep close to our profession, and be constant to it: whatever oppositions we meet with, we must not be frightened at them, considering that the condition of the persecuted is much better and more desirable than the condition of the persecutors; for persecuting is an evident token of perdition. Those who oppose the gospel of Christ, and injure the professors of it, are marked out for ruin. But being persecuted is a token of salvation. Not that it is a certain mark; many hypocrites have suffered for their religion; but it is a good sign that we are in good earnest in religion, and designed for salvation, when we are enabled in a right manner to suffer for the cause of Christ.—For to you it is given on the behalf of Christ not only to believe, but also to suffer for his name, v. 29. Here are two precious gifts given, and both on the behalf of Christ:—1. To believe in him. Faith is God’s gift on the behalf of Christ, who purchased for us not only the blessedness which is the object of faith, but the grace of faith itself: the ability or disposition to believe is from God. 2. To suffer for the sake of Christ is a valuable gift too: it is a great honour and a great advantage; for we may be very serviceable to the glory of God, which is the end of our creation, and encourage and confirm the faith of others. And there is a great reward attending it too: Blessed are you when men shall persecute you, for great is your reward in heaven, , . And, if we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him, . If we suffer reproach and loss for Christ, we are to reckon it a great gift, and prize it accordingly, always provided we behave under our sufferings with the genuine temper of martyrs and confessors (v. 30): “Having the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me; that is, suffering in the same manner as you saw and now hear of me that I suffer.’ ’ It is not simply the suffering, but the cause, and not only the cause, but the spirit, which makes the martyr. A man may suffer in a bad cause, and then he suffers justly; or in a good cause, but with a wrong mind, and then his sufferings lose their value.[6]
Ver. 27. Only let your deportment be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. Μόνον in this emphatic position marks the true Christian walk as the sole, indispensable condition of Paul’s joy, when he should come to them, as the connection with vers. 24–26 shows. (; ). Bengel: hoc unum curate, nil aliud. But this one requisition contains within itself manifold other requisitions. The verb here (πολιτεύεσθε) is taken from political life. The church at Philippi forms a part of the kingdom of God, of which they should prove themselves citizens. Paul uses the word elsewhere only in (πεπολίτευμαι), in his speech before the Jewish Council, where in the presence of the civil rulers he feels himself to be but a member of the common body politic. Περιπατεῖν refers more to individual life; this verb to church-life, corresponding to πάντες (vers. 4, 7, 8). The fundamental law of this kingdom is denoted by τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοῦ Χριστοῦ, and the corresponding deportment by ἀξίως. (: ἀξίως τοῦ κυρίου; : ἀξίως περιπατῆσαι τῆς κλήσεως).—That (ἵνα) states the aim or object of his exhortation, agreeably to the context (ver. 26).—Whether I come and see you or be absent (εἵτε ἐλθὼν καὶ ἰδὼν ὑμᾶς, εἴτε ἀπών). He thus leaves it uncertain how it may be, but in accordance with his hopeful desire, puts the supposition of his coming first. In both cases he presupposes his release, which might indeed lead him not to Philippi, but elsewhere.—I may hear (ἀκούσω), includes both cases, i.e., either from their own mouth, or from others (Meyer). Bengel: audiam et cognoscam. The object is: your affairs (τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν), and this as more fully explained: that ye stand fast in one spirit (ὅτι στήκετε ἐν ἐνὶ πνεύματι), which is the subject of Paul’s great anxiety. Comp. οἶδά σε τίς εἶ, ; ; . See Winer’s Gramm. p. 626. Hölemann incorrectly joins ἵνα with στήκετε, as if it were ἀκούσας, and ὅτι simply repeated ἵνα. The construction would be confused, harsh (hiulca, Calvin terms it), and the participles would be nominative absolute. The verb (4:1; ; ; ; ) means to keep one’s ground in battle. What is meant evidently is that the Philippians should cherish a spirit of unity among themselves, as in ; ; . It is presupposed that this harmony, which is to be an object of such earnest endeavor, is a gift of the Holy Spirit (, ), but the Holy Spirit is not directly intended (Van Hengel).—With one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel (μιᾶ ψυχῇ συναθλοῦντες τῇ πίστει τοῦ εὐαγγελίου. This explains more fully στήκετε ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι. Here we evidently have to do with a struggle in which the main object is unity, and hence μιᾷ ψυχῇ stands with emphasis at the beginning. The πνεῦμα which is in the ψυχή, is that part of our nature which is the sphere ἐν) of the unity. The dative ψυχῄ is the instrumental dative. The substantive ψυχή denotes that part of our being which is connected above with πνεῦμα and below with σάρξ, and constitutes the centre of man’s peculiar personality,—individuality. Hence, μιᾷ ψυχῇ presents their outward manifestation.—Comp. 2:2; , (Delitzsch, Psychologie, p. 199. ff.). Repellent peculiarities may exist even where there is an agreement in principle. Bengel: est interdum inter sanctos naturalis aliqua antipathia. The dative τῇ πίστει, for the faith, presents the object of the struggle, which the genitive τοῦ εὐαγγελίου renders more precise, and so guards it from any arbitrary misconception of friends or foes. The preposition in συναθλοῦντες refers to this co-operation of the Philippians with Paul (; ; ). Comp. vers. 7, 30; 4:3, where μοί indicates what is here sufficiently plain from the connection. It is incorrect to limit σύν only to the unity of the Philippians among themselves (Wiesinger), which μιᾷ ψυχῇ after ἐν ἑνὶ πνειύματι has already pointed out, or to exclude this reference (Meyer), or to make σύν govern πίστει (Grotius). Τῇ πίστει is not an instrumental dative (Calvin, et al.), nor should μιᾷ ψυχῇ be connected with στήκετε (Chrysostom, Luther).
Ver. 28. And in nothing terrified (μὴ πτυρόμενοι ἐν μηδενί). Καί adds another concomitant of στήκετε. The verb (properly used of horses in the race) means to turn about, to start, spring aside. Comp. ver. 20; .—By your adversaries (ὑπὸ τῶν ἀντικειμένων) gives the cause of this agitation or panic. We are to understand this of their personal enemies (comp. ver. 30), unchristian opposers of the gospel, especially among the Jews, but also among the heathen (ver. 30, etc.; sq.; 17:5 sq).—The Apostle proceeds to enforce his exhortation by appropriate motives, vers. 28:6–30.—Which to them is an evident token of perdition (ἥτις ἐστὶν αὐτοῖς ἔνδειξις ἀπωλείας). The argumentative ἥτις = since it is (), in sense points back to the thought that the church does not allow itself to be terrified, but grammatically connects itself by a familiar attraction with ἔνδειξις (). See Winer’s Gramm., p. 627. The emphatic position of ἐστίν shows that even if they (οἱ ἀντικείμενοι) do not perceive it, or in their excitement do not acknowledge it, yet the fact that the church is unterrified is an evidence (comp. ; ) of their destruction, of their exclusion from the blessed kingdom of God (). Comp. .—But to you of salvation (ύμῖν δὲ σωτηρίας). Comp. ; . For the reading see on the text. That which should awaken the fears of others with regard to their final destiny, even if it does not, is to believers a pledge of salvation.—And that of God. Καὶ τοῦτο refers equally to both clauses; for the disquietude of the adversaries before the bar of conscience, and the calmness of believers, alike come from God (ἀπὸ θεοῦ). Punishment and consolation are both from Him! To limit τοῦτο in the second member (Calvin, et al.), to understand it of humility (Hölemann), or to connect it with what follows (Rilliet), is incorrect.
Ver. 29. For unto you it was given (ὅτι ὑμῖν ἐχαρίσθη) confirms the statement in ver. 28, the last words of which (ἀπὸ θεοῦ) led the Apostle to adopt the passive form here. It is just you who are struggling and suffering together, to whom this grace [or undeserved favor] has been granted by God. Hence ὑμὶν has the emphatic position. Bengel emphasizes the verb (gratiæ munus signum salutis), but without reason, while Meyer limits the confirmation to τοῦτο ἀπὸ θεοῦ.—In the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer in his behalf (τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ, οὐ μόνον τὸ εἰς αὐτὸν πιστεύειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ πάσχειν). This clause forms the subject of ἐχαρίσθη. At first τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ πάσχειν was the thought in Paul’s mind (which expresses positively what is stated negatively in μὴ πτυρόμενοι); but the condition under which the suffering leads to salvation (σωτηρία) occurs to the writer’s mind, and he interpolates the clause οὐ μόνον …. πιστεύειν in the middle of the sentence, but afterwards resumes his first thought in τὸ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ. The faith which works such steadfast endurance of suffering clearly proves that both are from God. To Τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ is not = what concerns Christ (Beza, et al.).
Ver. 30. Having the same conflict (τὸν αὐτὸν ἀγῶνα ἔχοντες) presents the characteristic of this suffering, the participle agreeing with the subject understood with πάσχειν, as in ; , ; and . See Winer’s Gramm., p. 572. It should not be connected with στήκετε (Bengel), or be referred back to ὑμῖν for its subject (Meyer).—Τὸν αὐτόν is explained by what follows: Which ye saw in me and now hear to be in me (οἷον εἴδετε ἐν ἐμοὶ καὶ νῦν ἀκούετε ἐν ἐμοί). He refers in the first verb to his sojourn at Philippi ( sq.), and in νῦν άκούετε to the information contained in the present letter (which would be read before them) and to that furnished by the report of Epaphroditus (2:28). Ἐν ἐμοι, in me, in both instances refers to a conflict which Paul suffers, to persecutions directed against himself. The Philippians also endured the same; and it is the kind of conflict which is the same in each case. The likeness does not consist merely in the similar ground of the conflict, that is in the faith for which they suffer (Meyer). The second ἐν ἐμοί is not =de me (Vulg., Erasmus, et al.), nor is allusion made here to false teachers (Heinrichs).[7]
Doctrinal and Ethical
1. A right deportment of the Christian is the one thing which the Apostle demands of each member of the church. It is only this one thing, because this embraces all that belongs to the special circumstances, positions, and relations of life; just this alone, because it is the deportment of a citizen of the kingdom of God, including the relations of each one with every other, and finds its rule in the fundamental law of the people of God, the Gospel of Christ, to which it must correspond (ver. 27).
2. Four points here deserve especial attention, (a) The calling of the Christian is that of a warrior who retreats not; (b) It requires him to hold together and to agree together with the church; (c) It requires him to keep ever in view the object of the contest, his faith; and (d) It secures to him, in all outward afflictions, true soul-peace. In the first respect, it is not something to be won, but is a prize which having been won, the Christian is to defend; not salvation to be gained, but a possession to be kept. In the second respect, it is unity with the Apostle and with each member of the church, in the direction and impulse of the Spirit, in opposition to unchristian opponents. But the individual peculiarities of temperament, education, etc., are not to be made an occasion for separation. In the third respect, it is the holding fast of the faith which is according to the gospel; and in the fourth respect, it is the keeping watch over the soul in order that by looking to the example of the Apostle and of the Lord Himself, we may be kept from fear and despair by reason of the adversaries.
3. The intrepidity of the Christian amid the enmities of unchristian opponents, is as certainly an evidence to him of fellowship with God, as it is for them a proof that they should and may learn therein their exposure to final destruction (ver. 28).
4. He who believes in Christ must regard it as a grace of God that he is permitted to suffer for Him (ver. 29).
Homiletic and Practical
Compare the Doctrinal and Ethical remarks.
Starke:—Brief epitome of the whole of Christianity: faith, love, patience.
Rieger:—Although we must suffer and struggle together for the gospel, yet we often become thereby more completely linked, together. Since the disposition to yield to fear is planted so deeply in our nature, it becomes a part of the renewal of our souls into the image of God, to obtain again a steadfast courage to adhere to the right.
Schleiermacher:—Fearlessness with respect to all adversaries of the kingdom of God and all their efforts against it, must be peculiar to the Christian; for it has no other basis or other measure in him than his faith in the Redeemer and his love for Him and for His holy cause.
Heubner:—To believe in Christ is to make common cause with Him, hence also to suffer with Him.
Passavant:—Whenever Christians fall out with one another, it happens for the most part because they are unwilling to surrender their own self-will to the control of the one Spirit of the Lord, or to merge their individuality in His sovereignty.
[Robert Hall:—“Nothing terrified by your adversaries” (ver. 28). Having Jesus Christ present with the Father, as an advocate, what was there to terrify them? They knew that He was at the head of all—principalities and powers, thrones and dominions, being made subject to Him. That Christian, my brethren, who views Jesus Christ as the Lord of men, of angels, and of glory, how firm and undaunted may he look around him, and consider kings and princes but as common dust; for they must submit themselves to His authority or perish. See .—H.][8]
Ver. 27.—Only let your conversation be. St. Paul exhorts the Philippians to stead-fastness. Only, whatever happens, whether I come or no, πολιτεύεσθε, behave as citizens (comp. ch. 3:20, Ἡμῶν τὸ πολιτεῦμα and , Συμπολῖται τῶν ἁγίων. The verb also occurs in , “I have lived (πεπολίτευμαι) in all good conscience towards God.” St. Paul was himself a Roman citizen; he was writing from Rome; his presence there was caused by his having exercised the rights of citizenship in appealing to Cæsar. He was writing to a place largely inhabited by Roman citizens (for Philippi was a Roman colony), a place in which he had declared himself to be a Roman (). The metaphor was natural. Some of you are citizens of Rome, the imperial city; live, all of you, as citizens of the heavenly country, the city of the living God. As it becometh the gospel of Christ; rather, as R.V. margin, behave as citizens worthily of. There is a striking parallel in Polycarp’s letter to these same Philippians (sect. 5), Ἐὰν πολιτευσώμεθα ἀξίως αὐτοῦ, καὶ συμβασιλεύσομεν αὐτῷ: literally, “If we live as citizens worthily of him, we shall also reign with him.” That whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit. The metaphor is military, and follows naturally from the thought of citizenship. Philippi was a military colony, its chief magistrates were prætors, στρατηγοί (), literally, “generals” (comp. and ). Spirit is the highest part of our immaterial nature, which, when enlightened by the Holy Spirit of God, can rise into communion with God, and discern the truths of the world unseen. In one spirit; because the spirits of believers are knit together into one fellowship by the one Holy Spirit of God abiding in them all. This distinction between spirit and soul occurs again in . The soul is the lower part of our inner being, the seat of the appetites, passions, affections, connected above with the πνεῦμα, below with the σάρξ. With one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; with one soul (not mind); i.e. with all the desires and emotions concentrated on one object, all acting together in the one great work; comp. , “Striving together with one another for the faith,” rather than “striving together with the faith.” The personification of faith, though approved by high authority, seems forced and improbable. Faith is here used objectively; the faith of the gospel is the doctrine of the gospel, as , “The faith which once he destroyed.”
Ver. 28.—And in nothing terrified by your adversaries; literally, scared, as a frightened horse. Which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation; translate, seeing that it (your courage) is to them an evident token of perdition, but (with the best manuscripts) of your salvation. And that of God. These words are to be taken with “an evident token.” The courage of God’s saints in the midst of dangers is a proof of his presence and favour, a token of final victory (comp. ).
Ver. 29.—For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. On you it was conferred (ἐχαρίσθη) as a gracious gift, a free spontaneous act of Divine bounty. Faith in Christ is the gift of God, so is “the fellowship of his sufferings.” It is not a burden, but a privilege: “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”
Ver. 30.—Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me. These words are best taken with ver. 27, vers. 28 and 29 being parenthetical. The apostle returns to the military or gladiatorial metaphor of a contest, ἀγών. He had himself been persecuted at Philippi (; ); now the Philippians heard of his Roman imprisonment, and were themselves suffering similar persecutions.[9]
Vers. 27–30.—Practical exhortation. I. Christian conversation the condition of Christian joy. Only (the word is emphatic)—only, St. Paul says, whether he lives or dies, whether he comes again or sees them in the flesh no more, whatever happens to him or to them—let them mind this one thing, holy living. This must be, he says, your one desire, your one aim, to live as Christian men should live.
II. St. Paul addresses the Philippians as members of a Church; not isolated individuals, but members of a community, knit together into one body. 1. We are citizens of the heavenly commonwealth, under the one heavenly King. We must fight under his banner against the common enemy. There is need of united action: union is strength; we must stand fast, keeping our ground as in battle, striving together. Disunion breaks the power of the great army; it dissipates Christian energy, and impedes grievously the progress of the gospel. 2. Christian union is the unity of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God, abiding in the whole Church and in each individual Christian, is the bond of union. The spirit of the believer is the sphere of his influence. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit;” “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.” The more fully he abideth in us, the more shall we be disposed to love one another, to hate party spirit, to remember that we are one body in Christ. 3. If we preserve the unity of the Spirit, we shall strive together with one soul. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit will direct all our affections, emotions, and desires to bear on the one great object, the progress of the faith. 4. This Christian energy, this holy courage, is the gift of God. It shows that his presence goeth with the Christian host. It is the pledge of victory to his servants, of ruin to their adversaries. 5. And it implies willingness to suffer. Patience, as well as courage, is the gift of God. It is at high a privilege to be called to suffer with Christ and for Christ, as it is to work for him.
Lessons. 1. The gospel is the good tidings of God’s unspeakable gift: think of your Christian privileges, your Christian responsibilities, and walk worthily of the gospel. 2. Pray for the grace of perseverance, pray for it daily, earnestly. 3. Endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit. 4. Remember that suffering comes from our Father in heaven; he chasteneth us for our profit. Suffering meekly borne, borne in the faith of Christ and out of love for Christ, becomes a blessing.[10]
Vers. 27, 28.—Practical counsel for holy and consistent living. “Only let your manner of life be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.”
I. The gospel of Christ is the true standard of Christian piety as well as “the power of God to salvation.” It is so: 1. By virtue of the doctrines it reveals for our comfort. 2. By virtue of the precepts it inculcates for our guidance; for it embodies in itself that which is at once “the law of Christ,” “the law of love,” “the law of liberty.” 3. By virtue of the privileges it confers to secure holy living. 4. By virtue of the prospects it holds out as “a recompense of reward.”
II. Christian life must be ordered according to this standard. The original term suggests membership in a society, according to the idea of privilege which makes believers “fellow-citizens of the saints.” Our practice must accord with our profession. Like the gospel of Christ, we must be true and faithful, peaceful and loving, gracious and humble. Our walk must be consistently the same, whether our religious guides are present or absent.
III. The Christian walk is to manifest itself in a firm and solid unity. “That ye stand fast in one spirit.” There were divergences of action, if not of thought, manifest among the pious Philippians, which made it necessary to counsel them to a steadfast unity of position and effort. We cannot grow in grace unless we live in peace, and we cannot hold our ground against the rushing tides of worldliness and sin which threaten to overwhelm us unless we are strongly rooted in Christ and his gracious gospel. This stability of position will have a twofold effect. 1. It will enable us to fight in concert for the faith of the gospel. “With one soul striving in concert with the faith of the gospel.” If there was to be striving at all, it must not be in a way of contention, but of united endeavour to promote and defend the cause of Christ. Unity immensely enhances the power of the truth. This language implies (1) that there is “one faith;” (2) that it is worth striving for, as it contains the message of mercy to man; (3) that it is injurious to piety to undervalue truth; (4) that the stability of Churches as well as individuals depends much upon unity of faith; (5) that there may be a oneness of heart under intellectual differences. 2. It will make you superior to the fears of adversaries. “And in nothing terrified by your adversaries.” There will be no wavering on your part, through the assaults of unbelieving Jews or Gentiles. There is a double argument or encouragement here presented: “seeing it [your fearlessness] is to them an evident token of destruction, but to you of salvation, and that of God.” (1) Their fearless maintenance of the truth, implying as it did the power of the gospel in their hearts, would be a proof to the adversaries that they merit destruction by rejecting it and by continuing steadfast in their wickedness. The sentiment is parallel with that in the Thessalonian Epistle, in which the suffering endured through the envy of the Jews was “a token or proof that God will inflict heavy punishment on the adversaries of the Christian faith” (). (2) It was also a proof that the God who now sustained them would finally reward them. This implies (a) that suffering Christians will certainly be saved, (b) and that their salvation will be great as well as certain.—T. C.
Vers. 29, 30.—The privilege of suffering. There is reason given, by way of encouragement, for their steadfastness in suffering. “For unto you it was freely given on the behalf of Christ, not only to believe upon him, but also to suffer for his sake.”
I. The dispensation of suffering assigned to the saints. Their sufferings fall not out by chance. They are divinely ordered. They are even divinely given. 1. Their ability to endure these sufferings is the gift of Christ. “In the world ye shall have tribulation; in me ye shall have peace.” “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” 2. Their comforts in suffering are the gift of Christ. Thus they are led to rejoice in tribulation, for he has sent his Comforter to dwell in their hearts. 3. The sufferings in question are profitable to themselves as well as honouring to the Lord. He doth not afflict willingly, but for our profit. Through our suffering we may glorify the Lord by encouraging and confirming the faith of others. 4. The sufferings will not be without reward. “If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him” (). “Blessed are you when men persecute you … for great is your reward in heaven” (, ).
II. Faith in Christ must go before suffering for him. “Unto you it is given … to believe upon him.” 1. Faith is God’s gift, as it is the first effect of regeneration, which is God’s work. Christ purchased for us, not merely salvation, but all the means thereunto. It is the Lord who opens our eyes, renews our wills, and persuades and enables us to accept Christ in the gospel. 2. It is by this faith we are enabled to suffer patiently. Without the shield of faith we could not resist the anger of persecutors. By faith we are made strong at the root like the seaweed that grows on the rock, no matter how much it may be lashed hither and thither by the ceaseless action of the waves.
III. Encouragement to patient perseverance by the example of the apostle. “Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.” There must be a right spirit as well as a good cause to suffer for. 1. The similarity between the sufferings of the apostle and those of his converts. (1) It was in the same place—Philippi. (.) (2) It was, probably, from the same adversaries, Gentiles and Jews. (3) It was a conflict in both cases trying to flesh and blood. 2. The sufferings of the ministers of Christ ought to encourage their people to like patience and firmness.—T. C.[11]
3. Exhortation to Christlike Character (1:27–2:18)
This verse begins a new section of the epistle. A change of tone signals a change of direction. Paul moved from information to exhortation, and three primary exhortations occur: 1:27–30; 2:1–4; 2:12–18. Both before (1:12–26) and after (2:19–30) the exhortations, Paul shared information about himself. The word “only” (“whatever happens,” NIV) also marks a change, such as seen in . Paul’s concerns about Christian relationships surface during this discussion.
(1) A Unified Stand (1:27–30)
27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
In this first section of commands, Paul urged the church to be true to the faith. Paul’s actual words were, “to walk worthily of the gospel of Christ.” The command may be taken broadly, but Paul’s specific concern was a unified stand for the gospel. Both of these elements were important. The church at Rome stood for the gospel, but there was no unity. That hurt its witness. The Philippians had the opportunity to witness to the world by their unified stand for the gospel. This would be particularly impressive if they stood strong through the sufferings they were called to endure. Two matters need to be discussed: the nature of their stand (1:27–28) and Christian suffering (1:29–30).
The Nature of the Philippians’ Stand (1:27–28)
1:27–28 The main verb “conduct yourselves” (politeuesthe) called the church to appropriate conduct. It is an unusual term, and the verb form occurs only here and in . Normally Paul used the verb “walk” (peripateō) to describe a Christian’s conduct. Here he used the verb “conduct yourselves as citizens” (politeuō). Scholars differ as to the exact force of the word in this text. It was a word built upon the Greek polis (city) and had overtones of citizenship responsibilities. Paul made conscious use of the term. The noun form occurs in 3:20 in calling the Philippians to appropriate ethical conduct. There he stated that “our citizenship is in heaven.” No doubt the readers would have associated the word with the Roman citizenship which they prized so much. This was Paul’s way of reminding them of the obligations of people who participate in a society. In this case, the society was of Christians whose strongest ties were in heaven.
Paul expressed his concern for the church earlier (1:24–26). He so longed for its maturity that he was convinced that God would leave him on earth to help it grow in faith. In reality it could grow with or without him, and now he spoke of the possibility that he would not come. If he were absent, perhaps because of the unfavorable verdict in his trial or unexpected delays, he still longed to hear of its good spiritual condition. Paul had no inflated ideas about his importance. The church was capable of standing for the gospel.
The Christian’s stand is “in one spirit.” This is the first of the several words for unity that bind together 1:27–2:4. The word “spirit” is used in parallel with the word “soul” (1:27b; “as one man,” NIV), and thus refers to the attitude that should characterize the church. It naturally cannot refer to the Holy Spirit, nor does a combination of the Holy Spirit working to strengthen the human spirit satisfy the parallel constructions. Paul drew on the imagery of persons to describe the function of the body of Christ. It is unnecessary to distinguish between “spirit” and “soul” here. They both explain the immaterial part of persons, and the point Paul made was that the church was to unite inside and out. Both “one spirit” and “one soul” mean that there was no divisiveness. The differences between the words are minimal.
The stand is explained in two complementary ways. The positive statement is “contending” for the faith of the gospel. The imagery changes again. Before, Paul used the idea of a Greek polis to explain the Philippians’ relationship to the Lord. Then he used the metaphor “stand,” which was taken from the military. Paul’s mind moved to the athletic games where he had seen team sports in action. The metaphor is rare, occurring only twice in the New Testament (cf. ). If the Roman military element appreciated the military associations with the word “stand,” the Greek population would identify with the necessity of “contending as one man” as was demanded in athletic games. It does little good for individuals on a team to contend individually rather than as part of the team. Similarly, the church was to contend “as one man.” Complete harmony of purpose and coordination of various elements was necessary to achieve God’s purposes.
The struggle was described in positive terms. The Philippians were to contend “for the faith of the gospel.” The expression “faith of the gospel” has many possible interpretations, and there is little clear precedent in the New Testament that favors any one of them. The context assumes that people opposed the church and its message. That means that this construction probably relates to its taking the gospel to the world. Paul must have meant “contending for the advance of the gospel.” The NIV translators have captured that meaning by the statement “for the gospel.”111 The team effort supplied by the church would present the gospel to the world. Together the members also would explore the implications of the gospel in each other’s lives.
1:28 The second explanation of standing firm is negatively stated: “without being frightened.” The term occurs only here in the New Testament and suggests a reflex action resulting from being startled. The church was to have an unflinchable steadfastness, even in the midst of persecution. Whoever the opponents were at this point, they were not to intimidate the Philippians.
The fact that the church stood fast became a sign. The question is, To whom was it a sign? Scholars have taken two positions regarding the rest of this verse. First, some see the steadfastness as a confrontation to unbelievers and a confirmation to believers. Therefore, the same situation produced a twofold result. Unbelievers would see the stand of the church and know that destruction was coming. They would be warned to accept the truth. On the other hand, the church would be encouraged by its own stand, knowing that God strengthened it and that salvation was sure. This interpretation contrasts the words “to them” (autois) and “of you” (hymōn) in 1:28.
Others interpret the construction with reference to the non-Christian world entirely. They point out that the words “to them” precede the rest of the sentence and must mean that both aspects of the church’s steadfastness were a sign to unbelievers. Thus, they would know of their destruction and the believers’ salvation. This makes better sense of the passage. The fact, then, that the Philippians could stand firm in the face of adversity proved their relationship to the Lord. Others could see a hidden strength. Paul did not enumerate the ways he knew the church would be confronted by such a proof. Apparently it was the inner strength to live and die for what the Philippians believed. Such strength had to come from God himself, not from mere human resources.
Christian Suffering (1:29–30)
The reason unbelievers would arrive at that conclusion is that God granted suffering to Christians. The text makes a direct connection between “the sign” and suffering, using a Greek word which must be taken as providing a reason. These verses speak to the nature of Christian suffering (1:29) and the Pauline model of suffering (1:30).
The Nature of Christian Suffering (1:29)
1:29 Paul spoke straightforwardly about Christian suffering. In this text he clearly said it was a privilege, that God had in fact graced them with suffering. That raises serious questions, and it is necessary to understand Paul’s thought carefully. The suffering was “on behalf of Christ,” as stated twice in 1:29. The words “on behalf of” appear to be vicarious, i.e., in his place. The words recall , where Paul stated that he suffered eschatologically, “for the sake of his body.” The phrase does point out that Paul had in mind the specific suffering that comes to Christians as they serve Christ.
The fact that suffering was connected with believing reinforces Paul’s claim that it is a grace gift. Paul lived with persecution, and he realized its redemptive value, but here he did not address that. The key to this phrase “on behalf of Christ” is where Paul revealed his deepest desire of knowing Christ. That knowledge involved knowing resurrection power and the fellowship of suffering. Suffering confirms Christians’ faith, brings them into closer contact with the Lord, and provides a vehicle for making commitment real and tangible. It is one thing to accept suffering and resign oneself to it. It is another to realize the privileges that come through it.
The Pauline Model of Suffering (1:30)
1:30 Paul’s life provided the model of the suffering he identified here. In 1:30 he used athletic imagery again (“struggle,” agōna) to remind the believers that they would go through what he did. In a parallel, , Paul explained that his suffering related to calling the Gentiles to Christ so that they could be saved. The universal nature of the gospel presented a problem to Gentiles, who had their own religions, and to Jews, who wanted the Gentiles to accept Judaism. The result was that Paul suffered at the hands of both groups, and the church at Philippi would do so as well. Paul had to develop a theology of suffering. He did so without becoming calloused to human need and without accepting suffering as good. The danger for Christians at Philippi and elsewhere was that as they endured suffering they would have one of those reactions. Suffering is evil because it comes from sin in the world. Paul stopped far short of mixing good and evil, which would make evil (suffering) a good thing. He did, however, realize the benefits and privileges of being involved in a battle for the truth and that battle scars were inevitable. The supreme model of that was Christ. Similarly, Christians should remember that general suffering sometimes comes because they live in a world which suffers as a result of sin, that Christians are called to a unique Christian suffering because of their identification with righteousness in an evil world, that it is a divinely given privilege to be involved in this battle, and that the struggle becomes redemptive in attesting the grace gift in their own experience. The Philippians were, therefore, to take heart if they were called to suffer. Their steadfastness would demonstrate the reality of their relationship to God.[12]
3. Adversity Encourages Believers (vv. 27–30)
1:27–28. God was in control of the situation. Paul could be released from prison or killed by the Romans. Just as he wanted to maintain his testimony for Christ, he longed for the Philippians to remain faithful, too. They would show faithfulness by living a life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Such a life would not just be legalistic, obeying moral laws. It would show forth the spirit and love of Christ in every human relationship. Paul had faced opposition to his efforts for the cause of Christ without fear. He exhorted the Philippians to do the same even as they faced opposition. They could do so but only if they did so together. The world must see a united front defending and proclaiming the gospel. No longer would divided motives of love and selfishness do. The church must face the world in one spirit. A fearless, unified church will astound the world. They will see the truth of the gospel. Opposing the gospel, the world faces God’s destruction. Proclaiming the gospel, the church waits for God’s salvation.
1:29–30. Adversity is a part of the Christian life and should come as no surprise. Those that follow Christ should expect opposition. Believers have two privileges: to believe on him and to suffer for him. Both are an integral part of Christian living. The apostle had faced opposition on many occasions throughout his ministry. The Philippians had to face the same struggle and wanted to know how Paul had coped with these difficulties. He encouraged them to face their adversity in the way that he had, in Christ with joy.
Main Idea Review: God can use our afflictions to further the gospel and exalt the Lord, so we should live exemplary lives in the face of our own afflictions.
III. Conclusion
The Press Box of Life
The feature occupant of the press box of life is not an assistant coach but God himself. God is trying to do for you exactly what that assistant coach is trying to do for that quarterback—give you the big picture. That is the challenge of the Christian life. Our problem as believers is really not our circumstances. Our problem is our perspective on our circumstances. The vantage point from which we view our situations determines whether we have joy or despondency. To have joy, we must find a way in our minds and hearts to step off the field and get a press box view of the entire field in the game of life. Then we will understand that God is bigger than our circumstances. God’s perspective will give us great joy even in the midst of problems and adversity.
This joy has one important appendage. To have joy in the midst of adversity, we must be in close contact with God in heaven. Paul summarizes this intimate relationship in verse 21: For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. What does he mean? He means that Christ is his entire life. His whole life was wrapped up in knowing Christ and promoting Christ.
Only by being on the phone to God, who is in the press box, can we have joy. This final perspective—that is not dependent on outward circumstances—brings great joy. Someone has said, “Joy is the flag over the castle of the heart announcing that the king is in residence.” When “Christ is your life” and on the throne of your heart, then you can know a steadfast, abiding joy. The challenge for each of us today is to get ourselves to the place where we can say, “For me to live is Christ.”
Principles
• God is bigger than my circumstances.
• From on high God understands why!
• Proper perspective produces praise.
• In Christ, life or death is a win-win situation.
• When we are ready to die, we are best prepared to live.
Applications
• Rest in the fact that God is with you in the midst of difficulties.
• Ask God to help you see his vantage point in your circumstances.
• Hold a steady course in the midst of perplexing problems by trusting God.
• Thank God that a Christ-centered, eternal perspective brings joy.
IV. Life Application
The Passage of Death
A cemetery in Indiana has a tombstone which is more than one hundred years old. The epitaph reads:
Pause, Stranger, when you pass me by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be,
So prepare for death and follow me.
To which someone added:
To follow you I’m not content,
Until I know which way you went.
Death is life’s only certainty, a certainty which most people don’t like! Most people feel about death like Woody Allen, who said, “It’s not that I’m afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” It is so ultimate. It is so final. It is so utterly inescapable.
Someone has said:
When we look at death, we are like a hen before a cobra. We find ourselves incapable of doing anything at all in the presence of the very thing that seems to call for the most drastic and decisive action. The disquieting thought, that stares at us like a face with a freezing grin, is that there is, in fact, nothing we can do. Say what we will, dance how we will, we will soon enough be a heap of ruined feathers and bones, indistinguishable from the rest of the ruins that lie about. It will not appear to matter in the slightest whether we met the enemy with equanimity, shrieks, or a trumped-up gaiety, there we will be (Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, ed. Michael Green, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1984, 90).
Yes, most people view death with fear. It looms as a huge shadow over all of life. Not so for the Christian. One of the great blessings for us who have accepted Christ as our Savior is that we don’t have to fear death. Like Paul, we can say, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” This confidant assurance that God has a place for us in heaven brings great joy.
If you know Christ as your personal Savior, then you don’t have to fear death. You can see it as a home-going, a graduation, a passage. Death is a door through which we pass from this life to the next. At the point of physical death, our physical body may die, but in God’s mysterious providence we are with the Lord.
Loraine Boettner, in his book Immortality, wrote:
I am standing on a sea shore. A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean blue. She is an object of beauty and strength, and I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come down to meet each other. Then someone at my side says, “There, she is gone.” Gone where? Gone from my sight, that is all. She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side, and just as able to bear her load of living weights to its place of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her, and just at the moment, when someone says, “There she is gone,” on that distant shore there are other eyes watching for her coming and other voices ready to take up the glad shout, “Here she comes,” and such is dying (Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, 92).[13]
c. Perspective that adversity encourages believers (vv. 27–30)
(1) To stand firm (v. 27)
(2) Not to fear (v. 28)
(3) To accept suffering (v. 29)[14]
4. PAUL EXHORTS THE SAINTS TO LIVE IN A MANNER WHICH IS WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL (1:27–30)
Verse twenty-seven
The word “only” connects Paul’s statement that the assurance which he has that he will be given his freedom, comes from the fact that the Philippian saints need his ministry, with his exhortation to them to conduct themselves worthy of the gospel. Since their need of his ministry is the only reason for his wishing to remain on earth, it behooves the Philippian saints to receive that ministry with an open heart, obey his Spirit-given exhortations, and grow in their Christian experience.
The rest of the letter therefore has to do with the spiritual needs of these saints. As we study these exhortations, we discover what things were lacking in their lives and what things needed to be corrected. The basic, all-inclusive exhortation is, “Let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.”
The word “conversation” deserves special attention. Today the word refers to the interchange of connected discourse between two or more persons. At the time the Authorized Version was translated, it meant “manner of life,” “behavior.” While the Greek word from which it is translated means that, yet it means more than that. It is the word politeuo (πολιτευο). From it we get such words as “politic, political.” It referred to the public duties devolving upon a man as a member of a body. Paul uses it in where he answers the charge of having violated the laws and customs of the Jewish people and so subverting the theocratic constitution. He says, “I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” The words “have lived” are the translation of this word. Paul said in effect by the use of this word, “I have fulfilled all the duties devolving upon me as a member of the nation Israel in its relation to God.” Polycarp, writing to the Philippians, and using this same word says, “If we perform our duties under Him as simple citizens, He will promote us to a share in His sovereignty.” The word “conversation” is the translation in the New Testament of another Greek word anastrepho (ἀναστρεφο), in such places as and , and means “manner of life, behavior.” This Greek word means literally “to turn hither and thither, to turn one’s self about,” and thus has come to refer to one’s walk, manner of life, or conduct. But Paul uses a specialized word here which is directly connected with the city of Philippi and its citizens. The word anastrepho (ἀναστρεφο) speaks of one’s manner of life considered as such, but the word Paul uses in Philippians speaks of one’s manner of life seen as a duty to a body or group of which one is a member, and to the head of that group to whom he is responsible. It is a more inclusive word.
The use of this word has to do with the fact that the city of Philippi was a Roman colony. Lightfoot says of its use: “Appreciating its strategical importance of which he had had recent experience, Augustus founded at Philippi a Roman military colony with the high-sounding name ‘Colonia Augusta Julia Philippensis.’ At the same time he conferred upon it the special privilege of the ‘jus Italicum.’ A colony is described by an ancient writer as a miniature likeness of the Roman people; and this character is fully borne out by the account of Philippi in the apostolic narrative. The political atmosphere of the place is wholly Roman. The chief magistrates, more strictly designated duumvirs, arrogate to themselves the loftier title of praetors. Their servants, like the attendant officers of the highest functionaries in Rome, bear the name of lictors. The pride and privilege of Roman citizenship confront us at every turn. This is the sentiment which stimulates the blind loyalty of the people: that is the power which obtains redress for the prisoners and forces an apology from the unwilling magistrates.2 Nor is this feature entirely lost sight of, when we turn from St. Luke’s narrative to St. Paul’s epistle. Addressing a Roman colony from the Roman metropolis, writing as a citizen to citizens, he recurs to the political franchise as an apt symbol of the higher privileges of their heavenly calling, to the political life as a suggestive metaphor for the duties of their Christian profession.” Paul uses the word in its noun form in 3:20 where he says, “For our conversation is in heaven,” or as one could more fully translate, “For the commonwealth of which we are citizens has its fixed location in heaven.”
The use of this specialized word colors the entire epistle, and gives to it a heavenly atmosphere. It teaches us that Christians are citizens of heaven, having a heavenly origin, and a heavenly destiny, with the responsibility of living a heavenly life on this earth in the midst of ungodly people and surroundings, telling sinners of a Saviour in heaven who will save them from their sins if they but trust Him. The ethics in the letter are invested with heavenly standards. The saints are reminded that as a colony of heaven, they are to live heavenly lives on earth, representing their Sovereign by a life which reflects Him. They are taught that obedience to the ethics of the Pauline epistles is not merely obedience to ethics as such, but involves a duty which they are responsible to discharge as citizens of a heavenly kingdom, and as subjects of a heavenly King. The earthly counterpart of this was the institution of emperor worship, in which the subjects of Rome were not only obligated to obey the laws as a political duty, but to obey them as a religious one, since the emperor was worshipped as a god.
Paul says “Let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ.” The expression could be variously translated: “Behave as citizens.” “Live as citizens.” “Perform your duties as citizens.” It is in the middle voice, which voice is defined as follows: When a verb is in the middle voice, the subject acts upon itself. For instance, “the man is prodding his own conscience.” Here, the Philippian saints are exhorted to act upon themselves in recognizing their duties with respect to their heavenly citizenship, and holding themselves to them. It is a stronger exhortation than merely that of commanding someone to do something. In the latter kind of exhortation, the person obeys the one who exhorts. But in the form in which Paul gives the exhortation, the person exhorted is to recognize his position as a citizen of a heavenly kingdom, and while obeying the exhortation as a matter of obligation to God, yet at the same time realize his responsibility to obey it because of the privileged position he occupies, and literally exhort or charge himself to do the same. One could translate therefore: “Only see to it that you recognize your responsibility as a citizen and put yourself to the absolute necessity of performing the duties devolving upon you in that position.”
The Greek word translated “becometh” is most interesting. When it is used with the genitive case, it means “having the weight of (weighing as much as) another thing.” It means, “of like value, worth as much.” Other meanings are “befitting, congruous, corresponding.” The saints are to see to it that their manner of life weighs as much as the gospel they profess to believe, or their words will not have weight. That which gives weight to a Christian’s words, is the fact that his manner of life befits, is congruous to, corresponds with the gospel he preaches.
In the Greek word translated “stand fast,” the ideas of firmness or uprightness are prominent. It means “to stand firm and hold one’s ground.” The implication is clear that when one holds one’s ground, he does it in the face of enemy opposition. They are to stand fast in one spirit. The word “spirit” here refers to the unity of spirit in which the members of the church should be fused and blended. The Greek word “spirit” is used at times of the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of anyone. It is so used here. This unity of spirit when present among the members of a local church, is produced by the Holy Spirit.
The word “mind” is the translation of the Greek word “soul.” The soul is that part of man which on the one hand receives impressions from the human spirit, and on the other hand, from the outer world. It is the sphere of the emotions, the reason, and the will. It is that in and by which the exertion here spoken of would take place. “Striving” is the translation of a Greek word used of an athletic contest. We get our words “athlete” and “athletics” from it. A prefixed preposition implying co-operation, makes the total meaning of the word refer to an athletic contest in which a group of athletes co-operates as a team against another team, working in perfect co-ordination against a common opposition. Paul is exhorting the members of the Philippian church to work together in perfect co-ordination just like a team of Greek athletes. This illustration was not lost upon the Greek readers of Paul’s letter. This is the first intimation in the latter that there were some divisions in the church. Paul had somehow gotten out of a possibly reluctant Epaphroditus, that all was not well in the Philippian church. The words, “the faith,” are a technical term referring to Christianity.
Translation: Only (since my only reason for remaining on earth is for your progress in the Christian life), see to it that you recognize your responsibility as citizens (of heaven), and put yourselves to the absolute necessity of performing the duties devolving upon you in that position, doing this in a manner which is befitting to the gospel of Christ, in order that whether having come and having seen you, or whether being absent I am hearing the things concerning you, namely, that you are standing firm in one spirit, holding your ground, with one soul contending (as a team of athletes would) in perfect co-operation with one another for the faith of the gospel.
Verse twenty-eight
“Terrified” is from a word used of the terror of a startled horse. The Greek word translated “adversaries” gives us a picture of these enemies of the gospel, namely, “those who are entrenched in their opposition against” you. These were the pagan Greeks at Philippi who were idolators and very devout. These would oppose a faith which forbade idolatry. “Which” refers to the fact of the Philippian saints not being terrified. It has in it a qualitative aspect, emphasizing the nature of the act. The words “evident token” are the translation of a Greek law term, denoting proof obtained by an appeal to facts. Thus the failure of the saints to be terrified by the antagonism of their adversaries, was clear evidence of such a nature as to convince these pagans that they were on the road to utter destruction, and clear evidence of the salvation of the Philippian believers.
The word “that” refers back to the words “evident token.” This clear evidence was from God, on the one part to the pagans, on the other to the believers. Vincent connects the words “evident token” with the phrase “that of God;” “Lightfoot finds here an allusion, in accord with striving together, to the sign of life or death given by the populace in the amphitheater when a gladiator was vanquished, by turning the thumbs up or down. ‘The Christian gladiator does not anxiously await the signal of life or death from a fickle crowd. The great Director of the contest Himself has given him a sure token of deliverance’.”
Translation: And not being affrighted in even one thing by those who are entrenched in their opposition against you, which failure on your part to be frightened is an indication of such a nature as to present clear evidence to them of utter destruction, also clear evidence of your salvation, and this evidence from God.
Verse twenty-nine
The words “it is given” are from the word used of God when He in grace freely and graciously bestows on believing sinners the gift of salvation. The words “in the behalf of” are the translation of the Greek preposition used of the substitutionary aspect of our Lord’s death on the Cross. It means not only “for the sake of,” but “in the place of.” It has been graciously given the saints to suffer not only for the sake of but in the place of Christ. It should be clear that we cannot share in His expiatory sufferings on the Cross, much less endure those in His stead. The sufferings to which Paul refers here are Christ’s sufferings for righteousness’ sake while on earth in His humiliation. He says in that he fills “up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ” in his flesh “for His body’s sake.” Our Lord’s sufferings for righteousness’ sake which He endured as a result of human antagonism against Himself, ended with His death on the Cross. He has left with the Church the message of salvation, the preaching of which draws the antagonism of the world. Thus, as the saints suffer for righteousness’ sake, they substitute for their absent Lord not only in the task of preaching the message He has given them but also in suffering for His sake and in His stead.
The word “for” connects the words “in nothing terrified” with “to suffer for his sake.” The prospect of suffering was apt to terrify the Philippian saints, but when they viewed suffering in its true light, they discovered that it was a gift of God’s grace instead of an evil. But not only is suffering a gift of God’s grace, but the act of placing one’s faith in the Lord Jesus is a gift of that same grace ().
Translation: And the reason why you should not be terrified is because to you that very thing was graciously given for the sake of Christ and in His behalf, not only to the believing on Him, but also to be suffering for His sake and in His behalf.
Verse thirty
The word “conflict” is the translation of a Greek word used of an athletic contest. Our word “agony” comes from it. “Life is in reality an Olympic festival. We are God’s athletes to whom He has given an opportunity of showing what stuff we are made of.” The word was used in later Greek of an inward struggle. Paul uses it to describe his own life in the midst of his untiring work for the Lord Jesus.
Translation: Having the same struggle which ye saw in me and now hear to be in me.[15]
3 Urgent appeals
(1:27–2:11)
Paul has given thanks for the Philippians and shared his prayer for them. He has also shared with them his reasons for rejoicing in his imprisonment. Now he calls them to discharge important duties
Concerning the faith of the gospel (1:27–30)
He has celebrated their fellowship in the gospel; he has rejoiced in the furtherance of the gospel; now he calls them to join him in contending for the faith of the gospel (v. 27).
What is the faith of the gospel? It is the truth of the gospel. Paul’s exhortation, then, is the same as the one Jude issued to his readers when he urged them to ‘contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints’ ().
Many would have us believe that the gospel is so ambiguous and nebulous that no one can speak with certainty about it. They would have us believe that it is one thing to one person and something quite different to another and no one can say who is right and wrong.
It seems that we love precision in every area of life. We want the surgeon to be precise; we don’t want him just to be ‘in the neighbourhood’ when he opens us up to remove a tumour. We want precision in sports; we don’t want the referee to signal a touchdown when the ball carrier is still ten yards away from the goal line. We want precision in our banking; we don’t want our bank to short-change us by a few hundred dollars or pounds.
But when it comes to the truth of God, our love for precision seems to disappear. The reason is not hard to identify. If the gospel cannot be defined, we are absolved of responsibility. We are off the hook!
While we comfort ourselves with the thought of an imprecise gospel, the Bible insists on the opposite. The gospel is the good news of the precise details of what God has done in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. It is the message of the holy God providing in Christ the righteousness that sinners must have in order to stand acceptably in the presence of God. It is the message of God propitiating or appeasing his wrath against sinners by pouring out that wrath upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s not hard to see why so many find this gospel objectionable. It assumes our sin and our meeting a holy God. It speaks of the reality of God’s wrath. It insists on the finality of Jesus Christ.
Standing fast as soldiers (v. 27)
This gospel has always been assaulted and attacked and continues to be to this day. Because it was being attacked in his time, Paul urged the Philippians to ‘stand fast in one spirit … for the faith of the gospel.’
With these words Paul calls his readers to unite around the faith of the gospel as soldiers and athletes. The Philippians would have immediately understood the words ‘stand fast.’ They would have thought of the phalanx in which the army was able to withstand the advance of the enemy because each soldier stayed in his place and did his job. Warren Wiersbe pointedly writes: ‘The Christian life is not a playground; it is a battleground. We are sons in the family, enjoying the fellowship of the Gospel (); we are servants sharing in the furtherance of the Gospel (); but we are also soldiers defending the faith of the Gospel’.
Christians must resist Satan’s attacks on the truth of the gospel by refusing to break rank and flee the battlefield.
Striving together as athletes (v. 27)
With the words ‘striving together’ Paul takes his readers from the realm of military endeavour to that of athletic endeavour. His emphasis is still on unity. The athlete is not to compete for himself alone but for the good of the team.
Paul’s point is clear. Soldiers and athletes cannot succeed apart from when they are united. They have to be characterized by one mind and one spirit as they work to achieve a single objective and so it must be with the church.
Standing and striving without fear (vv. 28–30)
Christians are not to live in fear of their adversaries, powerful as they may be. Why are we not to give way to fear? Paul gives the following reasons:
• the opposition of our adversaries is temporary. Their opposition to Christians constitutes opposition to God, and that opposition will finally end in perdition or destruction ().
• the opposition of our adversaries proves our salvation. Matthew Henry notes that believers have been given two ‘precious gifts.’ One is to believe in Christ. The second is to suffer for Christ. The fact that our adversaries cause us to experience the second gift indicates that we have truly received the first. While suffering is never pleasant, it is a privilege and honour to suffer for the Christ who suffered so very much to save his people.[16]
1:27–30
Endure in Hope
1:27. “Conduct yourselves” uses the Greek language of a citizen in a free state (cf. 3:20), language that Jewish writers used to describe their people obeying God’s law (as in ). On the athletic image (here undoubtedly implied in the Greek word that KJV and NASB translate “striving together”), see comment on .
1:28. The confidence that Paul suggests here alludes to the Old Testament and Jewish hope that God would destroy his people’s enemies in the end time but vindicate and save his people.
1:29. Although Jewish people sought to avoid persecution when possible, they extolled the martyrs who preferred death to disobeying God. (One could perhaps distinguish public attitudes, such as praise for past heroes, from personal attitudes, such as the price individuals paid in daily life for their convictions. In the case of Paul, however, he was daily confronted with the personal choice and in his own life modeled commitment to the point of martyrdom.) Paul regards suffering for Christ as a privilege (cf. similarly ). The idea of sufferings indicating the nearness of the end (as in Jewish thought) might also be present here.
1:30. Like many Greek moralists, Paul applies the language of ancient athletic competitions (“contest” or “conflict”—KJV, NASB) to the life of the moral person. Here the issue is persecution; on the Philippians’ sharing in Paul’s fate, see comment on 1:19.[17]
Word and Phrase Study
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1:27-30
27Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28in no way alarmed by your opponents which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too , from God. 29For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
1:27 “only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel” Verses 27–30 form one extended sentence in the Greek text. This is a PRESENT MIDDLE (deponent) IMPERATIVE from the Greek root for city (polis cf. 3:20; ; ). It could be translated “you must continue to live as citizens” (cf. 3:20). This is reflected in several English translations: (1) The Berkeley Version of the New Testament (Gerrit Verkuyl); (2) The New Testament: An American Translation (Edgar J. Goodspeed); and (3) The Emphasized New Testament: A New Translation (J. B. Rotherham). This would have reflected the historical setting of Philippi as a Roman colony. It also implies theologically that believers are citizens of two worlds and have obligations in both. Paul’s usual metaphor for the Christian life is the word “walk” The early Christians were first called “the Way” (cf. ; ; , ; ; , ). Believers are to live worthy lives (cf. , ; , ; ; ).
“so that whether I come and see you or remain absent” This same truth about the need for consistency in our Christian life can be found in 2:12 and in as Paul admonishes Christian slaves to be diligent whether they are being watched by their masters or not. God is always present!
“that you are standing firm in one spirit” This is a PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE. Paul often uses the phrase “standing firm” in one of two senses: (1) our position in Christ (cf. ; ); or (2) our need to maintain Christlikeness (cf. 4:1; ; ; ; , , ; ; ). This is a call to church unity (cf. ; ).
The concept of “one spirit” has been greatly debated. It can refer to the human redeemed spirit, or to the Holy Spirit. This context, as well as 2:1, combines both aspects. Notice believers are to stand in one spirit, in one mind (psuchē). Unity is crucial (cf. ).
“striving together” This is a PRESENT ACTIVE PARTICIPLE. This syn compound is either (1) an athletic term for a team’s participation in the Greek games; or (2) a military term. We get the English term “athlete” from this Greek word (cf. 4:3; ). The Christian life as a spiritual battle is discussed in ; .
Notice NJB translation “battling, as a team with a single aim, for the faith.”
“For the faith of the gospel” The DEFINITE ARTICLE is present which makes it “the faith.” The context demands that this is used in the sense of Christian truths (cf. ; I Tim. 4:20; and , ).
Believers ask many questions that the Bible does not address. Everything that is necessary for salvation and an effective Christian life has been revealed. Holy curiosity must not demand more than what has been given (revelation).
1:28 “in no way alarmed by your opponents” This is a PRESENT PASSIVE PARTICIPLE which is used to describe a stampede of animals (cf. , ; ). The opponents could be (1) local Jews, although there was no synagogue mentioned in Philippi; (2) traveling Jewish opponents, as in , or like the Judaizers of the Galatian churches (cf. ); (3) local pagans (cf. ); or (4) local civil authorities (cf. ).
“which is a sign of destruction for them” This Greek term, “sign,” meant proof based on evidence (cf. , ; ). “Destruction” was a military metaphor which meant “to loose” or “bring to nought” or “destroy.” The Christians’ fearless testimony and lifestyle were witnesses to the judgment of the opponents and the salvation of the believers.
“but you” The “you” in both verse 28 and 29 is emphatic. What a contrast exists between believers and non-believers.
“of salvation for you” This term is rather ambiguous, as in 1:19. It could be used (1) in its full salvatory sense or; (2) in its OT sense of physical deliverance (cf. ). In the context of false teachers and external persecution it is difficult to choose between the two options.
“and that too , from God” The terms “sign” and “salvation” in v. 28 are both FEMININE while the term “that” is NEUTER. Therefore, the term “that” may refer to the courage God gives believers to face these opponents. This is a similar construction to , where the “that” referred not to “grace” or “faith,” which are also FEMININE, but to the whole process of salvation.
1:29 “for to you it has been granted” This is an AORIST PASSIVE INDICATIVE from the root charis (cf. 2:9; ). God’s gracious gifts are the key both to salvation and the Christian life (cf. v. 28).
“not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for His sake” These are two PRESENT INFINITIVES which specify what God has given believers in Christ. One relates to continuing faith and the other to continuing maturity. It is hard for believers in modern western culture to discuss suffering. In the NT it was often the norm of the Christian life (cf. ; ; ; ; ; ). A brief breakdown of some of the purposes of suffering might be: (1) it was beneficial for Christ (cf. ; ), therefore, (2) it will be beneficial for believers (cf. 2:10; ; ; , ); and (3) it brings joyous assurance of believers’ place in Christ (cf. ; ; ; ; and 4:12–16).
1:30 “experiencing the same conflict” The Philippian believers were undergoing persecution. The term “struggle,” used so often by Paul, was either an athletic or military metaphor. We get the English word “agony” from this Greek word.
“which you saw in me” We learn something of Paul’s persecution at Philippi from and . Paul modeled Christianity for them and us.
Discussion Questions
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. What is Paul asking the believers to do in v. 27?
2. Who are the opponents that are mentioned in 1:28?
3. How are suffering and persecution beneficial to believers?[18]
[1] Anders, M. (1999). Vol. 8: Galatians-Colossians. Holman New Testament Commentary (219). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[4] MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (A. Farstad, Ed.) (). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[5] Lightner, R. P. (1985). Philippians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), . Vol. 2: The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck, Ed.) (652). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[6] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: Complete and unabridged in one volume (). Peabody: Hendrickson.
[7] Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Braune, K., & Hackett, H. B. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Philippians (28–30). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[8] Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Braune, K., & Hackett, H. B. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Philippians (30). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[9] Philippians. 1909 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.). The Pulpit Commentary (6–7). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
[10] Philippians. 1909 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.). The Pulpit Commentary (12). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
[11] Philippians. 1909 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.). The Pulpit Commentary (19–21). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
[12] Melick, R. R. (1991). Vol. 32: Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. The New American Commentary (88–92). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[13] Anders, M. (1999). Vol. 8: Galatians-Colossians. Holman New Testament Commentary (211–213). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[14] Anders, M. (1999). Vol. 8: Galatians-Colossians. Holman New Testament Commentary (219). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[15] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest's word studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English reader (). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
[16] Ellsworth, R. (2004). Opening up Philippians. Opening Up Commentary (31–34). Leominster: Day One Publications.
[17] Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
[18] Utley, R. J. (1997). Vol. Volume 8: Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, then later, Philippians). Study Guide Commentary Series (173–175). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International.