Philippians

Paul’s appeal in Philippians 2:1 is based on what the church already has. The ESV translates these short phrases as conditions (“if there is any….”) This does not mean Paul is unsure of the state of the church in Philippi. The Greek syntax does not express uncertainty and might be translated as “since there is…”  For example, I might say “If it is morning, if coffee is made, then I am going to drink a cup of coffee.” In this case, the sentence is really, “Since it is morning….” Paul lays out the bass of this appeal in four phrases:

Encouragement in Christ can refer to both comfort and exhortation. The noun (παράκλησις) is something that emboldens you to act (BDAG). The context will make it clear if the word refers to encouraging the timid to act or exhorting someone who needs to be corrected. One side of the word is tenderly comforting a person who is hurting, the other is a swift kick in the pants to motivate a person the right direction!

Comfort from love may refer to consoling for a person who is hurting in some way, it is a “friendly word” (TDNT 5:820) . The noun (παραμύθιον) appears in the LXX only in Wisdom 3:18, referring to people who will have no comforter on the day of Judgment. Encouragement and comfort naturally go together. In 1 Thessalonians 2 Paul uses the concepts of mothers and fathers to describe his ministry with that Church, gentle like a mother, encouraging like a father.

Participation or fellowship in the Spirit may refer to the close association all Christians have because the share in the same Holy Spirit. Since all believers have the same Spirit, they ought to have complete unity.

Affection and sympathy are both deep emotional responses one typically has for someone you genuinely love. Affection (σπλάγχνον) originally referred to the inner parts of a person, their bowels or entrails, where emotions are felt most strongly. Sympathy is also a stronger word than in English, οἰκτιρμός is the deep compassion God has for humans (1 Kings 8:50, Zech 7:9, רַחֲמִים). Taken together, the words refer to genuine, “heartfelt sympathy” for one another.

Does this mean there is no room for dissent? American culture almost requires people to have different ideas and opinions, Paul sounds like a cult leader who will squash any dissent!  One criticism Atheists sometimes use is the vast differences between the various denominations of Christianity. Which Christianity is the real one? Compare a traditional Catholic to a radical Protestant and there are very few things that seem the same.  There are good reasons for these differences, but the differences should not obscure the similarities. There are non-negotiable beliefs that make one a Christian (God, Scripture, Jesus, Atonement) and others that are simply differences created by culture and history.

Far from demanding conformity in everything, unity in the church functions like it does in a real family. There are similarities and differences, but what ultimately counts is the family!  The first believers may have been ostracized by their families when they became Christians. If that is true, the church becomes their adopted family. Paul’s description of the church as a family highlights the similarities yet allows for differences. Some have the view that the church is a kind of factory producing identical clones and squashing thought and dissent. This is not at all Paul’s point here!

Since the church is a family, the members of the family ought to be supportive of one another, characterized by the same sort of grace and forgiveness one experiences in an ideal family. This requires humble service from all members of the community, including the leaders. In fact, the best example of humble service is in fact Jesus himself.

How would a local church change if we really envisioned it as a family?

If the church is living their lives worthy of the Gospel, they will be striving together for the gospel and not frightened by any opposition they face. The verb Paul uses here is cognate of ἀθλέω, “to compete in a contest,” implying strenuous action. The book of 4 Maccabees 17:14ff uses this word group to describe martyrs, and the cognate (ἄθλησις) appears in Hebrews 10:32 to describe the hard struggles of the church at Rome as they were persecuted by civil authorities. By the end of the first century, Clement describe the apostles who had given their lives for the gospel as “contending to the death” (1 Clem 5:2).  Paul uses a form of the word stressing the unified action of a team (συναθλέω) with a prefix which is something like the English prefix co-. They are “co-strivers,” hence the ESV’s “side by side.” The related noun (συναθλητής) refers to a fellow athlete (LSJ).

The church does not have reason to be frightened by their suffering.  The verb Paul chooses to use in this verse (πτύρω) is not the usual word for fear in the New Testament. While it can be translated “terrified,” it is better translated “shy.” In secular Greek it was used of horses that were shy, easily frightened, etc (D.S.2.19). Since it always appears in the passive, and in this case the agent of the passive verb is “opponents,” it is probably best to translate this “do not let yourself be intimidated by your opponents.”

Why would the Philippians be intimidated? They are a tiny minority with a view of the world that is radical in Greco-Roman. They have no temple, priesthood, or sacrifice. They do not worship the gods in Philippi, nor do they even recognize their existence! They worship in homes, sharing food and fellowship with people of various social classes. Remember the photograph of the man in Tienanmen Square. One man stood in front of the tanks, refusing to move. This one man stood alone against an ultimately powerful force.

The Philippian church is something like that man, a single example of a Christian community in the vast work of Roman Philippi. Paul’s encouragement to Christians at Philippi is to live a life consistent with the Gospel. In the context of Philippians, this means unity of heart and mind as well as willingness to suffer for the sake of the Gospel.

In fact, by living a worthy life, the church will suffer for their faith (v. 29-30). Contrary to public expectations of success, a life worthy of the Gospel will lead to conflict with culture, resulting in suffering. A Roman would compete for honor, but he expected to win! Paul says here that even if the church is doing everything right, they are going to suffer loss.  This is the same conflict Paul is fighting. He is in chains on account of the Gospel of Christ, yet he has already described this “loss” as a “gain.”

“The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life finds that Christians are suffering persecution in more places today than any other religious group; between 2006 and 2012, Pew says, they were targeted for harassment in 151 countries— three-quarters of the world’s states” (Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed, see also Paul Marshall’s original story at The Weekly Standard). While it is hard to look at suffering of innocent people as a gain, from the perspective of Philippians 1, people suffering on account of their faith in Jesus Christ is a victory.

Paul’s encouragement to life a life worthy of the Gospel anticipates his description of Jesus in chapter 2. Just as Jesus humbled himself and took on the form of a servant, so too the church at Philippi must humbly serve others even if that means suffering loss of honor in Roman Philippi.

Paul begins the next section of the letter to the Philippians by calling on the church to live a life worthy of the Gospel.

By living a worthy life, the church will stand firm in one spirit (v. 27-28). One’s “manner of life” (πολιτεύομαι) refers to being a good citizen. If someone was a Roman citizen, there were a number of expectations for proper behavior in the public forum. This refers to both a legal responsibility as well as conduct in public. By analogy, a “good citizen” in America pays their taxes and votes in elections, properly registers and insures their car, etc. You cannot call a person who refuses to pay taxes, breaks the Law regularly, or runs around burning American flags a “good citizen.”

“Manner of life” can be used as a metaphor for living in accordance with the Law. In 3 Macc 3:4, for example, it describes the way of those Jews who had kept themselves separate with respect to foods, but had gained a good reputation for various good works. But these differences were so significant that they fell under suspicion as “hostile and greatly opposed to the government” (3 Macc 3:7) and eventually the government oppressed the Jews because their “manner of life” was so different than the Greeks in Egypt (3:11-30).  The same sense of the word appears in 4 Maccabees 2:8 where one whose “manner of life” conforms to the Law stands in contrast to a number of typical vices. Josephus refers to keeping the Law, but also paying the Temple tax and other civic duties (Ant. 12.142). The word appears in other Jewish literature to describe proper conduct of life with respect to the Law. It is not insignificant that the Jews in 3 and 4 Maccabees were perceived as hostile to their culture and were persecuted for their “manner of life”

To have a manner of life “worthy” of some ideal is a common way of expressing the goal of spiritual life in the New Testament. Perhaps this might be thought of as “live up to an expectation.” For Roman citizen, the expectation is to live like a Roman citizen should; for the one who is “in Christ,” they are to live worthy of the Gospel!  Paul begins the second half of Ephesians with similar words (“walk in a manner worthy of the calling”); in 2 Thess 2:12 he encourages his readers to “walk worthy of God” (cf. 3 John 6); in Col 1:10, it is “walk worthy of the Lord;” in Rom 16:2, it is “walk worthy of the saints.” Deissmann reports this word was used on inscriptions in Pergamum (Biblical Studies, 248). Athenaios, a priest of Dionysus and Sabazius, is extolled as “worthy of god.” Whatever these priests did, they were considered good examples for other worshipers.

The goal in Philippians 1:27 is the Gospel of Christ. The one who is “in Christ” is not a citizen of Rome. Nor should they conform their lives to the Law quite like the martyrs in 3 and 4 Maccabees. Their loyalty is to the Gospel of Christ only. Everything the individual Christian or local church does ought to be viewed through the grid of the Gospel.

So how does a Christian live a life worthy of the Gospel? Most will boil this down to a a few ethical demands (mostly related to who you can have sex with), but does that sort of legalistic religion really do justice to what it means to live a life worthy of the Gospel?

Paul expects that his imprisonment will not end in shame (v. 18b-20).  Paul’s desire is to be free of this legal threat, to be delivered from the charges and return to the ministry to which he has been called.

Paul’s expectation is that everything that has happened will turn out to be his salvation. The word here is used literally for getting out of a boat (John 21:9, ἀποβαίνω). The word comes to be used as a metaphor for getting an expected result: “things turn out as planned.” “Deliverance” is usually translated salvation, the word does not always mean “salvation from my sins,” sometimes it means “saved from a bad situation.”  “Eager expectation” (ἀποκαραδοκία) is a rare word only found in Christian writings, although the verb appears in Herodotus for “awaiting the outcome of a war” (vii.163, 168).  Paul used the word in Rom 8:19: all creation has an “eager expectation for revealing of the sons of God.” The impression the reader has is of Paul looking forward to his release so that he can return to his long-delayed mission.

Being under house arrest is something most people in the Roman world would consider “shameful.” Shame in the Roman world was serious, people would do all that they could to avoid something that brought them shame awhile at the same time trying to increase their honor in society. This pursuit of honor often took precedence over wealth or love. Just to be under house arrest for any reason was shameful. To be in prison for preaching the story of a man who was crucified (the ultimate shame) would be enough shame to doom most people.

Yet Paul He has “full courage” that “Christ will be honored in my body,” implying that things might not go as well as he hopes. Even if he should die as a result his trial, death is still a gain! (v. 21-24) This is one of the most cherished passages in Philippians because it expresses the hope that when we die, we will be with Christ, which is “far better.” Paul’s life is defined as “Christ.” Whatever he does in this life is for Christ and Christ alone. Roman life was defined by their pursuit of honor. Whatever a Roman might do in order to gain honor for themselves, yet Paul willingly gives up in order to reach others for Christ.

“To die is gain” runs counter to how a Roman person would think. If Paul dies, then he proves his shame! Many famous Romans chose to commit suicide rather than accept greater shame, “death before dishonor.” Socrates is an example of this, although much closer to the time of Paul Cato the Younger killed himself in 46 B.C. because his army was defeated by Julius, so too Brutus, who killed himself in 42 B.C. after it was obvious Octavian would prevail (Brutus participated in the assassination of Julius, Octavian’s adopted father). Both Seneca and Nero killed themselves a few years after Philippians was written (A.D. 65 and 68).

This anticipates what Paul will say about Jesus in the next chapter. Jesus is the ultimate example of “to die is gain.” Paul is not talking about a “noble suicide.” Just as Jesus gave his life on behalf of others, Paul is also willing to lay down his life so that the Gospel will continue to advance.

Paul is “hard pressed” between these two good things. If he lives, he can continue the ministry to which God has already called him, especially to continue working with the Philippian church in order to build it up spiritually. Paul is not expressing some sort of morose acceptance of his impending death, nor is he giving up on this life because of his hardships. If he is not executed, he will continue his mission; if he is executed God has already raised up other leaders who will continue to preach the Gospel.

Because he expects the gospel to continue to advance, he prays for the Philippian church to continue to grow spiritually (v. 25-26). In spite of his imprisonment and competition of rival preachers, all that matters to Paul is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul’s imprisonment may have been controversial, allowing an opportunity for rivals to “afflict” Paul.  When your rival in business has troubles, you benefit. When Toyota recalls a million cars, other car companies benefit because Toyota’s public image is shamed. So it is with some Christians. When one denomination gets caught in a scandal, the rest of us like to snicker and point judgey fingers and claim to be better than them. This is not the case for Paul. If the Gospel is preached, he glorifes God even if his opponents are successful! So who are the opponents of Paul in Philippians?

First, Paul’s rivals preach the gospel out of envy and strife, not good will. Envy or jealousy (φθόνος) usually appears in vice lists along with strife (ἔρις, Romans 1:29, 1 Cor 3:3). This word is always negative, there is another word for zealous/jealous. Strife (ἔρις) is a rare word, but in the wisdom literature it is the opposite of wisdom (Wisdom 6:23) “Strife” describes the Corinthian church (1 Cor 1:11, “quarreling”). The Romans could think of themselves (ideally) as ruling without “jealousy or strife” (1 Macc 8:16). 3 Macc 6:7 describes Daniel as subject to “jealous (φθόνος) slander.”

Second, they preach out of selfish ambition (ἐριθεία), thinking to afflict Paul, not out of sincerity. Ambition is not bad, but this word refers to a self-seeking ambition and usually has the sense of a “feeling of hostility or opposition” (LN 39.7). The word originally referred to a day-laborer and became associated with the “attitude or disposition of the day laborer” (TDNT 2:660). In Philippians 2:3 Paul will encourage the congregation to do nothing out of self-ambition, but rather seek the needs of others first. Someone who is a “team player” is usually respected because they are willing to sacrifice their own honor and statistics in order to help the team win. Someone who only tries to increase their own honor often hurt the team.  In contrast, the idea preacher of the Gospel does so out of sincerity. This adverb refers to purity of motives. Think of a kid who gives his parent a gift totally unexpected; the first thought might be, “what do you want?” For Paul, there is no ulterior motive for the preaching of the Gospel, he is not trying to build his own reputation or personal wealth.

Third, the rivals preach out of pretense, not from love and truth. A pretense or pretext (πρόφασις) is the reason someone has for doing something. There is a difference between “a reason” and an “excuse.” This word has a little bit of a negative connotation carried by the English word excuse. Perhaps they have some sort of a hidden agenda, some other reason for preaching the Gospel other than the advance of the gospel. This pretense may not be particularly bad or sinful. There are other places where Paul attacks a false teacher for their greed (such as opponents in 1 Timothy, for example).

Who are these rival preachers?  Paul does not identify them, other than saying they preach the genuine gospel. These rivals are not the same as his opponents in Galatia who do not preach the gospel at all, or like the opponents in Colossae who have such theological errors that they cannot really be considered “Christian” anymore. These rivals are at least preaching the Gospel, even if their motivations are wrong.

Paul concludes by saying he rejoices in the successes of his rival preachers while he is in prison! It is a wonderful thing that they are bringing the Gospel to new parts of the world, planting churches and training leaders.