Philippians 3:15–4:1
15 3:15Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 3:16Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
17 3:17Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 3:18For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 3:19Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 3:20But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 3:21who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
4 4:1Therefore, my brothers,1 whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
Section Overview
Paul calls for the Philippians to embrace his pattern of thinking (3:15–17) from the previous passage (3:12–14). He calls them to emulate his example and keep their eyes on others who walk in a similar manner (3:17). There are two ways to walk, leading to two radically different destinations. Some walk as enemies of the cross (3:18), setting their minds on earthly things; their end will be destruction (3:19). True believers do not set their minds on earthly things, for their citizenship is in heaven (3:20). Their end will be bodily transformation and resurrection when Jesus returns (3:21). Paul closes this section (“therefore”) by expressing his love for and joy in the Philippians, urging them to stand firm in the Lord (4:1).
Four similarities tie 3:1–14 and 3:15–21 together. First, the present passage (3:15–17) calls upon the Philippians to share Paul’s pattern of thinking demonstrated in the previous passage (3:4–14) (“think this way”; 3:15). Second, 3:15 says Paul already possesses something partially (“maturity,” teleios) that 3:12 says he will one day possess fully (“become perfect,” teleioō). Third, Paul shows that Christians and their opponents are polar opposites. In 3:2–3 he demonstrated that Christians are the true circumcision (peritomē), while their opponents are the false circumcision, the mutilators (katatomē). In 3:19–20 Paul presents the believers and their opponents as operating from opposite spheres: the earthly and the heavenly. Fourth, the language of “conform” (“become like”) provides verbal links connecting the two passages, while the resurrection provides thematic unity. Paul longs to be “conformed” (symmorphizō) to Christ’s death (3:10) in order to attain the resurrection (3:11), while later he stresses that the believer’s transformed body will “conform to,” or “be like” (symmorphos) Christ’s glorious body (3:21). The first passage is all about Paul’s personal longing for the resurrection (3:11–14), while the second concerns the corporate longing of believers for the resurrection (3:20–21).
Further, as seen in table 2.12, five vocabulary links connect this section to the thesis section of 1:27–30.
TABLE 2.12: Five Vocabulary Links between Philippians 1:27–30 and 3:15–4:1
| 1:27–30 | 3:15–4:1 |
|---|---|
| “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). |
| “This is a clear sign to them of their destruction (apōleia)” (1:28). | “Their end is destruction (apōleia)” (3:19). |
| “your salvation (sōtēria), and that from God” (1:28). | “we await a Savior (sōtēr), the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (3:20–21). |
Section Outline
TABLE 2.13: Comparison of Philippians 1:27 and 3:20
| “behave as citizens (politeuomai) worthy of the gospel” (1:27 ESV mg.) | “our citizenship (politeuma) is in heaven” (3:20) |
Heaven’s citizens await the return of their heavenly Savior (sōtēr). Roman emperors viewed themselves as the “saviors”3 of Rome’s citizens, but heaven’s citizens know that Caesar is a counterfeit savior. Jesus alone is Savior (3:20) and Lord (v. 8). Jesus is unparalleled as Savior in part because he has the power to do what counterfeit saviors are powerless to do: transform the believer’s body of humility “to be like” (or “to be similar in form to”; symmorphos) the body of Christ’s glory. This act of power is in keeping with the fact that Christ has unparalleled power that “enables him even to subject all things to himself” (v. 21).
4:1 Paul takes most of this verse to express his affection for the Philippians in a fourfold way. The Philippians are: (1) “brothers,” (2) those whom Paul loves and longs for, (3) Paul’s “joy and crown,” and (4) “beloved.” These words of affection sweeten the exhortation to “stand firm thus in the Lord.” Recall that this is the second term in this section echoing the thesis of 1:27 (see table 2.14).
TABLE 2.14: Comparison of Philippians 1:27 and 4:1
| “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). |
We argued that the “one spirit” of 1:27 was a reference to the Holy Spirit. Here Paul stresses that the place to take one’s stand is “in the Lord.” Paul thus brings back to mind his single-minded focus on Christ from 3:4–14 and the warning not to drift into following the earthly mind-set of some (3:19) or the confidence-in-the-flesh mind-set of the false teachers (3:2–6).
1 This echo is somewhat unclear; the LXX has atimia (“dishonor”) instead of Paul’s term aischynē (“shame”).
2 So also Harmon, Philippians, 376. It is also possible that the two groups are similar in that their lifestyle does not match their profession.
3 Even the Jewish historian Josephus refers to the emperors Augustus (Jewish Wars 1.625) and Vespasian (Jewish Wars 3.459) as “Savior.”
Response
A Theology of Hope Takes the Long View
Paul wants the Philippians to stand firm without fear, for the outcome of the war between earthly citizens and heavenly citizens is sure. It is easy to forget that God is in control because at times it looks like the church is losing, not winning. But we must not lose heart. The opponents of the church will be destroyed, while believers will be saved. The gates of hell will not be able to withstand the advance of the gospel (Matt. 16:18). The whole “earth will be filled with the . . . glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Hab. 2:14). Life is short. Eternity is long. Hell is hot. Heaven is real. The battle is won. Jesus is Lord. And he is coming soon. Stand firm (Phil. 4:1).
C. H. Spurgeon compares the battle before us to the ebb and flow of the tides:
You never met an old salt, down by the sea, who was in trouble because the tide had been ebbing out for hours. No! He waits confidently for the turn of the tide, and it comes in due time. Yonder rock has been uncovered during the last half-hour, and if the sea continues to ebb out for weeks, there will be no water in the English Channel, and the French will walk over from Cherbourg. Nobody talks in that childish way, for such an ebb will never come. Nor will we speak as though the gospel would be routed, and eternal truth driven out of the land. We serve an almighty Master. . . . If our Lord does but stamp His foot, He can win for Himself all the nations of the earth against heathenism, and Mohammedanism, and Agnosticism, and Modern-thought, and every other foul error. Who is he that can harm us if we follow Jesus? How can His cause be defeated? At His will, converts will flock to His truth as numerous as the sands of the sea.1
1 Spurgeon, An All Round Ministry (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1960), 395.