It is a short passage, almost a
transition to the great poem of the second chapter, and therefore often
ignored. But it should not be so:
(Phil 1:27-30 NIV) 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.
The Absolute Call of the
Gospel
One of the most disturbing
aspects of the call of Christ is its absolute nature. It is quite clear that
Christ must come first in all circumstances. "Reasonable" people
find this offensive - because it denies them first place. But the child of God
sees it as proper.
Whatever happens
This phrase is more often
translated "only." The Greek word is monon, from which we get
our English prefix "mono." It is a simple word with a deep meaning:
- Who can separate us from God?
This alone is cause enough for us to be "mono-minded." We
belong to him and nothing anyone else can do can change that. So,
whatever happens, let us cling to that.
- Who controls this universe
anyway? Do you not believe in the God of creation, the omnipotent one?
Why, then, do you let your circumstances bother you so much?
- Why indeed? Because of your
expectations. Like the evil man in Psalm 10, you feel entitled to
permanent happiness. If we expect only what the Lord promises, we shall
find ourselves much more content.
Whether
Meaning, whether Paul is with
them or not - or for that matter any other person. Does our faith depend upon
the presence of another sinner? If it does, then we are indeed failing
miserably. There is great danger here.
- There is the danger of
"environmental religion." This is the religion of those who
will say grace in a coffee shop with the preacher but won't take time for
private prayer. It is a self-deceiving religion.
- There is the danger of
"hereditary religion." The church becomes a club; one joins it
and becomes important in it without really believing, because Dad expects
you to. Then you pass the habit along to your children.
- There is the danger of
"partner religion." You come to church because your wife likes
it. It pleases her and makes her easier to get along with.
Without being frightened in
any way
The weapon of our enemy is fear;
but we are told that perfect love casts out fear. So in what way does our enemy
try to frighten us?
- In some ways there is the use
of force. This is not as common as it was in Paul's time, but there are
still Christians in the world today who know that their faith can get them
killed.
- More often, for us, it is
ridicule. How could you be so stupid?
- If ridicule won't work, there
is the more subtle method of social pressure. Fashionable people do know
how to party late on Saturday night.
But who should we fear?
(Luke 12:5 NIV) But I will show you whom you should fear:
Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell.
Yes, I tell you, fear him.
"Fear God, ye saints, and ye
shall have nothing else to fear."
Unity in the Gospel
Paul, in his words here, has
encouraged the church to have "one spirit." We know that the church
has the Holy Spirit, but I think that Paul here might be extending the concept
to mean the enthusiasm and steadfastness with which they are to approach the
world. He tells them to contend "as one man." It is a unity of action
he is speaking of. An example of this was given to us in the early church:
(Acts 4:32 NIV) All the believers were one in heart and
mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared
everything they had.
Paul's own recipe for unity in the
gospel is given in Romans 12:16-21. It boils down to these four ideas:
- Don't be proud or conceited.
Think about it: how do you feel about people who are arrogant? What does
that do for the unity of the church?
- Don't take revenge, or repay
evil for evil. This is actually a positive command; we are to take all
steps to break the "payback cycle."
- Do what appears right to
others. Don't take advantage of your Christian liberty to irritate
others, but be courteous to them and encourage them by your example.
- Live at peace with all, as far
as you are able.
In his letter to the Ephesian
church, Paul describes the seven unities of the church:
- One body - though we are
different members, we must work together as one.
- One Spirit - the source of our
morale, the invisible glue of our group.
- One hope - that of the
resurrection. Think of the glory of that day!
- One Lord - we all are under his
command. We all know that well run organizations have one person in
charge.
- One faith - the teachings and
practices given the Apostles.
- One baptism - you have been
through the same death, burial and resurrection in symbol, soon to be in
fact.
- One God and Father - which
makes us brothers and sisters, a family.
A Life Worthy of the Gospel
The word used for "conduct
yourself" in this passage originally meant that we were to act as
citizens. This would have a special meaning for the Philippians, who were
Roman colonists in a Greek land. How do we conduct ourselves in such way as to
live a life worthy of the Gospel?
Rejoice in suffering
As verse 30 makes clear, Paul was
suffering for the gospel. But tell me: has he been honored for that
suffering? Indeed yes! And if God will honor Paul for that, he will honor all
who suffer for the name. Remember these teachings of our Lord:
- The life lost for the gospel is
a life saved eternally.[1]
- What you lose for the gospel
here is repaid a hundred times over later.[2]
- Suffering is the way you share
in the glory of Christ.[3]
The character of the Gospel is
to be reflected in us
We are the living representatives
of the gospel, and as such when people see us, they should be able to draw some
conclusions about the gospel of Christ from it. What kind of conclusions? Let
us consider what kind of gospel it is!
- It is a gospel of grace[4]. Are we people
who are gracious and forgiving?
- It is a gospel of peace[5]. Are we people
who show the peace of God in our dealings with others every day?
- It is a gospel of righteousness[6]. Not our own
righteousness, but the righteousness of God. So we should be righteous as
we are able, and accepting of grace to obtain God's righteousness.
The Power of the Gospel
Verse 28 tells us that our
standing firm will be a sign to our enemies that they are the ones destined for
hell. What, then, is the power of the gospel?
- The gospel did not come weakly
- but came with power through the Holy Spirit (remember Pentecost?) and
with great conviction.[7]
- Indeed, the gospel is the power
of God used to accomplish one purpose - salvation.[8]
- And - perhaps most awesome of
all demonstrations of power - it is through the gospel that death itself
is destroyed and immortality is brought to light.[9]
Like explosives, such power must
be handled most carefully. In many passages it is referred to as the
"gospel of Christ."[10]
It is his; it belongs to him. He will not deal lightly with those who add to
it or take from it.
Summary
It comes down to this:
- In whatever circumstances you
find yourself - whatever is happening to you, whoever you are with,
whatever fear is thrown at you -
- You must stand united with the
church, recalling the character of those who encourage unity and the
things of God which support it, so that you
- Live a life worthy of that
gospel. You are the ambassador of Christ. As such, you must rejoice in
suffering, reflecting the character both of the gospel and of your Lord.
Remember, this is not weakness; this is power made perfect in weakness.