From the very outset of his letter to the Philippians, Paul has maintained a focus on the church as a whole, with an attempt to promote unity. In his opening address in 1:1 he addresses the whole church and not just those who are living right. He says, “to all the saints in Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons.” He regards them all as saints. Further, he attempts to promote humility and unity through his own example in the introduction when he includes both himself and Timothy together under the title “servants of Christ Jesus.”
It is only after addressing them as a unified whole (1:1-2), praying for them to this end (1:3-11), and giving his own life as a model (1:12-26), that Paul turns in 1:27-30 to urge them to lives worthy of the gospel of Christ; they are to stand firm by contending for the faith as one man and by not being frightened in any way by those who persecute them. The emphasis in 1:27-30 is on unity in the face of pressure from without.
Philippians 1:27 – 30 (ESV)
27
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,
28
and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.
29
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
30
engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
27 – (Verses 27-30 are one long sentence in the Greek with politeuesthe as the main verb.)The only command that appears in this section is conduct yourselves (here in the ESV “
manner of life”)(
politeuesthe)—an unusual term for Paul. Generally, the apostle uses another term to describe living the Christian life, namely, “walking” (peripateo; Rom 13:13; Eph 4:1; Col 1:10; 1 Thess 2:12). But here he chooses a term which originally carried the idea of taking a personal, active role in the political affairs of the “state” (polis). It concerned the actions of those who were citizens of Rome and who also had certain responsibilities as well. The fact that the church was composed of Roman citizens may well indicate a play on words where Paul uses their Roman citizenship as a picture of their heavenly citizenship and responsibilities in the church and to the gospel.
Worthy - (
axios is the word “worthy” in Greek, and means “having the same weight as another thing”.) He is exhorting them to live their lives like what they are citizens of heaven, so their conduct in a sense "weighs as much as" the gospel they preach. In other words, they are to practice what they preach. Warren Wiersbe tells the following story illustrating a worthy walk... “We have some neighbors who believe a false gospel,” a church member told his pastor. Do you have some literature I can give them?” The pastor opened his Bible to 2 Corinthians 3:2, You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men. He said, “The best literature in the world is no substitute for your own life. Let them see Christ in your behavior and this will open up opportunities to share Christ’s Gospel with them.”
Standing fast - conveys the ideas of firmness or uprightness & means “to stand firm and hold one’s ground." The word indicates the determination of a soldier who stands his ground not budging one inch from his post.
Mind (psuche) is the Greek word translated elsewhere as "soul". One "soul" indicates that unity must extend down to the soul. They were to maintain a single "souled" (minded) focus in the face of opposition. Christians face a common foe & should not fight each other but should unite against the enemy.
The word Paul uses for "strive" is
sunathleo. The word athleo is where we get our word athlete. It's the word used in 2 Timothy 2:5 where Paul says, "An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules." It's also used in Philippians 4:3 where Paul tries to get Euodia and Syntyche to be reconciled with each other after their dispute, "I ask you, true yokefellow, help these women, for they have labored side by side with me [that's the same word] in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life."
The image is of people engaged in spiritual warfare (imagery that will hardly be lost on those who live in a military colony!), standing their ground firmly by the power of the Holy Spirit, who as the one Spirit is also the source of their unity.
28 –
Frightened (
pturo) pictures a frightened horse shying away on the battlefield and about to stampede. Do not be fearful as the result of being intimidated. Don't be afraid, scared, frightened or terrified like a horse shying in battle.
But what kind of opposition would possibly intimidate the Philippian believers? Although we cannot be certain, the best guess is related to the fact that Philippi was a Roman military colony, whose populace was devoted to the emperor. The cult of the emperor, whose "divine" titles were "lord" and "savior," apparently flourished in Philippi, so that every public event also served as an opportunity to proclaim "Caesar is lord"--in very much the same way as "The Star-Spangled Banner" is sung before public events in the United States. If a believer attended an event such as this (or if they didn’t attend, that may raise suspicion), and not proclaim Caesar’s divines title, that would be like staying seated during the national anthem. Additionally, their Lord had been crucified by the Roman "lord," thus branding him forever as an enemy of the state, of the insurrectionist type. Thus believers in Christ could scarcely be more out of touch with the sympathies of the local populace than in a place like Philippi.
Sign - First, the sign shows that the enemies of God and His people are under His judgment (everlasting suffering in hell, eternal punishment, not annihilation). Secondly, opposition to the gospel gives evidence of the salvation of those who suffer hostility. In other words, persecution for the sake of Christ proves believers belong to Him. Therefore persecution that tends to be discouraging to believers should in fact be a source of confidence and joy because it shows they are saved.
29 – “Granted” in Greek it is the same root word as “grace”. Suffering in behalf of Christ is one of God's gifts to us. John 15:18-21
Thomas à Kempis said – “Jesus has many who love his kingdom in heaven, but few who bear his cross. He has many who desire comfort, but few who desire suffering. He finds many to share his feast, but few his fasting. All desire to rejoice with him, but few are willing to suffer for his sake. Many follow Jesus to the breaking of bread, but few to the drinking of the cup of his passion. Many admire his miracles, but few follow him in the humiliation of the cross.”
30 – Phillips translation render this verse as follows: “It is now your turn to take part in that battle you once saw me engaged in, and which, in point of fact, I am still fighting.”
Conflict (agon - our English "agony") was a familiar term in Paul's day which pictured the well-known struggle of athletes in Greek Olympiad(boxing, running, wrestling).
“The conflict which you saw in me” refers to the hostile opposition and persecution he and Silas faced when they were imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:16–40). “And now hear to be in me” refers to Paul's present imprisonment in Rome mentioned in (Phil 1:12–18).
27 – 29 Summation: One who professes salvation from sin and who has received imputed righteousness should live in a godly life style. Paul wants the saints to live as citizens of another kingdom & to do this, believers are called to STAND (v27), STRIVE (v27) & SUFFER (v29) all for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Gordon Fee writes “One of the reasons most of us in the West do not know more about the content of Philippians 1:29-30 is that we have so poorly heeded the threefold exhortation that precedes (Phil 1:27)"
Questions and Applications:
1. If you are not suffering, what does it mean for you to walk worthy of Christ? (Col 1:10-11).
2. How do we respond to people who oppose us or our message? What would it look like for us to stand firm in our faith? (1 Pet 3:15)
3. What positive results did Paul expect from the Philippian believers who stood firm and worked together? What is the goal of this way of living?
4. When Paul mentions suffering, the idea is that is that in His grace God grants believers the privilege of suffering for His sake. How can suffering be a gracious gift?
5. How committed are you (we) to sharing the gospel and advancing the kingdom of God? When was the last time you shared your faith?
6. Paul was deeply committed to the gospel and those who came to trust in Christ. He agonized over new believers’ growth in the Lord and used all his available energy (which he received from the Lord), to help those Christians. Each of the letters he wrote can in some way be deemed a “follow-up” letter, written in order to bless, direct, encourage, and in short, “to mature,” those Christians. Are we willing to undergo stress to help other believers in the faith?
One of the songs is called "Abolished". Here are the lyrics.
