Philippians 1:27–30
27 1:27Only let your manner of life be worthy1 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 1:28and 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 1:29For 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 1:30engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
1 Greek Only behave as citizens worthy
Section Overview
This passage both begins the body of the letter and contains its main point: believers are to “behave as citizens worthy of the gospel” (1:27 ESV mg.). The passage works both backward and forward. First, it works backward through the profound connection between 1:12–26 (Paul’s update) and 1:27–30 (the update he wants to hear from them). Just as they have now heard that he is standing firm for the spread of the gospel despite his suffering, he now wants to hear from them that they too are standing firm in the gospel despite their suffering. God has brought good out of Paul’s suffering, and Paul wants the Philippians to be confident that God will bring good out of their suffering as well. God has graciously given both the gift of faith and the gift of suffering. They should stand firm and strive forward in gospel faith, not shrink back in faithless fear. The opponents will be destroyed; the Philippians will be saved.
Second, this section looks forward. As noted in the Introduction, three terms that we find here appear again at the end of the body and thus have a bookend (inclusio) effect (table 2.3).
TABLE 2.3: The Bookend Effect in Philippians 1:27 and 3:20–4:3
| 1:27 | 3:20–4:3 |
|---|---|
| “Only behave as citizens [politeuomai] worthy of the gospel” (1:27 ESV mg.) | “our citizenship [politeuma] is in heaven” (3:20) |
| “I may hear of you that you are standing firm [stēkō] in one spirit” (1:27) | “stand firm [stēkō] thus in the Lord” (4:1) |
| “striving side by side [synathleō] for the faith of the gospel” (1:27) | “who have labored side by side [synathleō] with me in the gospel” (4:3) |
The rarity of these terms makes their reappearance later in the letter all the more striking.1 The parallels become even more impressive when examining additional repeated terms found in 1:27–2:4 and 3:15–4:3. Letter writers often place parallel words at the beginning and end of a section to mark it off as a literary unit. The parallels seen in table 2.4 show Paul’s intentionality in binding this section together as a unit of thought.
TABLE 2.4: Parallels in Philippians 1:27–2:4 and 3:15–4:3
| 1:27–2:4 | 3:15–4:3 |
|---|---|
| “Only behave as citizens worthy of the gospel” (1:27 ESV mg.) | “our citizenship is in heaven” (3:20) |
| “I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit” (1:27) | “stand firm thus in the Lord” (4:1) |
| “striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” (1:27) | “labored side by side with me in the gospel” (4:3) |
| “This is a clear sign to them of their destruction” (1:28) | “Their end is destruction” (3:19) |
| “but of your salvation, and that from God” (1:28) | “from it [heaven] we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (3:20–21) |
| “complete my joy” (2:2) | “Therefore, my brothers. . . . my joy and crown” (4:1) |
| “by being of the same mind [to auto phronēte]” (2:2) | “I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree [to auto phronein] in the Lord” (4:2) |
The list would expand further if we included conceptually similar terms found in both sections, such as “opponents” (1:28) and “enemies” (3:18). Paul clearly intends us to make this connection because he uses the same word to describe the end both of the opponents and of the enemies: “destruction” (apōleia) (1:28; 3:19).
Section Outline
- II.B. Main Body (1:27–4:3)
1 The verb politeuomai occurs only one other time in the NT (Acts 23:1), while the noun form politeuma occurs only in Philippians 3:20, as shown here. The verb stēkō is fairly common, but the third term, synathleō, occurs only in the two places shown here.
Response
Faith and Persecution Are Often a Package Gift
Faith and persecution are often a package gift; when the flame of faith shines in a dark place, the darkness will try to douse that faith and snuff it out. God writes a persecution story for his church so that mankind will be pointed back to the greatest story: the death and resurrection of Christ. Persecution is a parable that puts the death and resurrection of Christ on display again and again. Persecutors try to kill the faith of believers like they tried to kill Jesus, but faith rises just like Jesus did. When persecutors try everything in their power to kill faith, but faith refuses to die, resurrection power is on display. Opponents should fear, because they are actually fighting God, and they will lose. God’s power preserves our faith. He who began the good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Christ (Phil. 1:6), and nothing in all creation will be able to separate believers from his almighty grip of grace.