April 15, 2020
PHILIPPIANS 1:21, 27-30 LIVING ON MISSION
Today, we finish Philippians 1 by looking at Paul’s command to live on a mission with a heavenly perspective, standing in faith, and being united as Christians and united in purpose to glorify Christ and share the gospel.
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain….
27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28 in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. 29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, 30 experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me. (NASB)
Key takeaways:
- “striving together”
- Paul asks the church at Philippi to compete together as a team of athletes to help advance the faith that comes through the preaching of the gospel.
- Shift perspective from earthly to heavenly
- “let your conduct” is the first command of Philippians and Paul instructs them to shift their perspective from the earthly realm to the heavenly one. They should live in this world as citizens of another world, the heavenly kingdom. Their conduct should reveal their heavenly citizenship.
Verse Exposition:
Verse 21: Many people believe this verse is the most important of the entire book. It demonstrates that Christ is the source of meaning for Paul. He announced: to live is Christ. In death, the adversities of this life would be over, and he would be with Christ in heaven. Therefore, to die is gain. Paul’s main purpose in living was to glorify Christ. Christ was the essence of his life. Yet Paul knew that if he were martyred, Christ would be glorified through the promotion of the gospel which would result from his testimony in death. And Paul himself would benefit, for death would result in his being with Christ (v. 23). The words to die suggest the act of dying, not the state of death.
Section 27-30 discussion:
In this first section of commands, Paul urged the church to be true to the faith. Paul’s actual words were, “to walk worthily of the gospel of Christ.” The command may be taken broadly, but Paul’s specific concern was a unified stand for the gospel. Both of these elements were important. The church at Rome stood for the gospel, but there was no unity. That hurt its witness. The Philippians had the opportunity to witness to the world by their unified stand for the gospel. This would be particularly impressive if they stood strong through the sufferings they were called to endure
Verse 27: The apostle had the believers in Philippi on his heart. Regardless of what would happen to him—release from bonds or martyrdom—he wanted them to honor and glorify Christ. The words conduct yourselves translate a political word that would mean much to the Philippian believers. Literally, it means “live as citizens.” Because Philippi was a Roman colony, the Christian inhabitants of the city would appreciate Paul’s use of that verb. To live in a way that is worthy of the gospel of Christ (cf. Eph. 4:1) is indeed the responsibility of every child of God. This Paul exhorted the Philippians to do.
The saints embraced a common cause, for they each shared in the same body of Christ. Therefore Paul was burdened that they stand firm (cf. Phil. 4:1) in one spirit and contend as one man (lit., “in one soul”) for the faith of the gospel, the body of truth (cf. “faith,” Jude 3). Their contending (synalthountes) for the faith suggests a joint effort, like that of an athletic team.
Verse 28: Paul wanted his readers to live courageously for Christ amid opposition and persecution. True, they would be opposed but this should not frighten them in any way. Instead, they were to be reminded at such times that their own victorious Christian response would be a sign that their opposers would eventually be destroyed. At the same time, it would be a sign that the saints of God would be delivered by God Himself. This assurance would doubtless be the Holy Spirit working in their hearts.
Verses 29-30: So that being opposed would not come as a surprise, he gave them a reminder. Both believing on Christ and suffering for Him had been granted to them (v. 29). Suffering for Christ was not to be considered accidental or a divine punishment. Paul referred to a kind of suffering that was really a sign of God’s favor. The Greek word echaristhē, translated “granted,” is derived from a word which means “grace” or “favor.” Believing in Christ and suffering for Him are both associated with God’s grace.
Paul and his readers shared a similar struggle (v. 30). So Paul encouraged them as they had him. They wanted to know how he fared in Rome. He told them, so they could also be encouraged as they faced hardships.
Aside: A deeper look at verse 21:
I wrote a paper on this topic that goes into further detail that can be found here and here. But, I did want to provide a small summary of this. As far as Paul was concerned, “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” This differs from what others thought and what might have been expected. Normally, one would say to live is gain and to die is Christ, but Paul reversed these. At death, a Christian gains a more intimate relationship with the Lord. The statement “to live is Christ” is magnified by the statement “to die is gain.”
Often Paul spoke of Christ as his life. In Gal 2:20 he said, “I live by faith in the Son of God.” In Col 3:4 he stated that Christ “is your life.” These two passages differ in context and concern. The emphasis in Gal 2:20 is soteriological; in Col 3:4, Paul speaks to the mysterious union between Christ and the believer. Paul did not mean precisely either here, however. In this context, he spoke of glorifying Christ through whatever means he had, and that provides the interpretive environment. The statement is completed by envisioning death as a better state than life. Thus, “to live is Christ” must mean that Paul so totally wanted to glorify Christ that as long as he lived everything about him was to point people to Christ. This was accomplished in part by the chains which were “manifested in Christ” (1:13); but even if he were called to die, it would be an occasion for Christ to become prominent. Death was a gain because he would see the Lord, enjoy him, and no longer endure the difficulties he was called to bear on earth.