Philippians 1:27-30

 

Living in a manner worthy of the gospel

By: Scott Grant

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Magic moment

 

            One morning this summer I woke up with a vivid memory of something that happened 18 to 20 years ago. I think the Lord gave me the memory because he was showing me something about myself.

            I was the shortstop on a softball team. We had a one-run lead in the bottom of the last inning. The other team’s best hitter was up. He hit a screaming line drive to left-center field. It looked as if it would be a home run. Our left-fielder ran down the ball. I positioned myself for the cutoff. He threw a perfect strike to me. As I turned around to make the throw to home, I saw the runner rounding third and realized that we had a chance to get him if my throw was good. My throw was on the money. The catcher applied the tag. The runner was out, and we won the game.

            Nothing happened to trigger the memory. I hadn’t thought of that play in many years. I just woke up with it. I lingered with the memory for several moments and found that I was very fond of it. I enjoyed the memory so much because people came together for a common purpose and everyone did his part. For one beautiful, magical, poetic moment, everything came together. I think God gave me that memory to show me my heart for the church. I want us to come together to worship the Lord and advance the gospel. I want everyone to have a part and do it. I want everything to come together in a beautiful, magical, poetic movement of the Spirit of God.

            The gospel announcement that Jesus is Lord is a powerful force in the world. The Apostle Paul calls it the “power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16). It is powerful to save. It is also powerful to bring under its banner people of vastly different backgrounds who set aside differences and then together take up its cause. The call of Philippians 1:27-30 is to live — together, as a community — in a manner worthy of the gospel.

 

            Philippians 1:27-30:

            [27] 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.

 

Living worthy of the gospel

 

            Paul turns from his situation (Philippians 1:12-26) to the situation of his readers. He wants the Philippian believers to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. The word translated “conduct yourselves” (politeuomai) means to “live as a citizen.” It is related to the word translated “citizenship” (politeuma) in Philippians 3:20, where Paul says that “our citizenship is in heaven.” In Philippians 1, then, Paul is telling them to live as citizens of heaven. Philippi was a Roman colony, and its residents were Roman citizens. Roman citizenship carried with it prized privileges, but Paul is telling his readers that they have an even more prized citizenship.

            Such citizens should be inspired to live in a way that demonstrates the worth of the gospel. It is the “gospel of Christ,” the Messiah, the King. It’s the good news that Jesus is Lord of all creation. Those making this proclamation should live in a way that validates it.

            Living in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ presupposes that we have found worth in the gospel. Our capacity to live worthy of the gospel of Christ is commensurate to the worth we ourselves have found in it. If we don’t live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, perhaps it’s because we consider it cheap rather than priceless. If we value other things more than Christ, that will show up in the way we live. And if the way we live shows that we have devalued Christ, so to speak, it’s time for a reassessment.

            How much is the gospel of Christ worth? Everything you were made for, everything you want, every dream you’ve ever had, whether you know it or not, is answered in the gospel announcement that “Jesus is Lord.” Relationship, significance, security — it’s all there, and it’s there forever. Citizens of heaven value what heaven values: Jesus Christ and his gospel.

 

What living worthy of the gospel entails

 

            Paul proceeds to describe what it means to live as citizens of heaven, in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. For his purposes, in this case it means three things: 1) Standing firm in one Spirit. 2) Contending as one man for the faith of the gospel. 3) Not being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. Having already drawn on a metaphor from civic life, Paul now invokes military (“stand firm”) and athletic (“contending”) images.

            The word translated “stand firm” was used of solders who stood their ground no matter how severe the battle. The battle is for the gospel. The word “spirit” is probably a reference to the Holy Spirit, who is the source of unity (Ephesians 2:18, 4:4; 1 Corinthians 12:13). It is the Holy Spirit that makes us one. To stand firm in one Spirit, then, is to depend on the power of the Holy Spirit to make us one as we fight for the gospel.

            The word translated “contending” means to contend with others, side by side, as athletes on a team. Again, Paul uses the word “one,” calling for unity. The image is that of a team that works so well together that it appears to function as one man. The team goal is the “faith of the gospel” — the faith in Christ that the gospel espouses.

            In this battle and in this contest, there is opposition. In the case of the Philippians, the opposition is Rome. The gospel proclamation that Jesus is Lord confronted the Roman claim that Caesar is Lord. All the worldly power was on the side of Rome, which could — and did — imprison and execute followers of Jesus. Yet Paul says living in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ means not being intimidated by Rome.

            What does it mean for us to live as citizens of heaven in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ?

            The military and athletic metaphors suggest that we have a goal, that we are opposed and that we are in a struggle. The goal is the advance of the gospel. To live in a Roman colony such as Philippi was to bring the influence of Rome to that region. To live in a heavenly colony is to bring the influence of heaven to earth. We bring the gospel proclamation, the good news that Jesus is Lord, and all that it entails, to a hurting world that needs such news. Yet we are opposed by a wicked world system, orchestrated by Satan, that rejects the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We bump up against such opposition at every turn — and every time we turn on the television set, for that matter. The world system, as it manifests itself where we live, says, “Be your own lord.” On the one hand, we are resisted when we announce that Jesus is Lord. On the other hand, we are assaulted with the temptation to reject our own announcement and live as lords of our own lives. The world system endeavors to silence us or absorb us.

            The struggle would seem hopeless if not for the fact that God has given us each other. We come together because we have all found worth in Jesus Christ. We have found so much worth in Christ that we want to bring his love to the world. The gospel is worth fighting for. It’s also worth uniting for. You can’t follow Jesus for very long in this world before coming to the conclusions that you need to be part of a community of fellow followers and that if you are to “contend for the faith of the gospel,” you need to do it as part of a community. To invoke Paul’s images, you need to be part of a city, part of a military unit, part of a team. It isn’t “me against the world.” It’s the community bringing to the world the news it needs to hear. It gets a little messy at times because we’re all different, but our common love for Christ and our common desire to bring his love to the world motivate us to live and work together.

            Let’s bring Paul’s metaphors up to date. You can get in to the Army fairly easily these days. Not that many people really want to be in the Army, so the Army recruits people. There are lots of people who’d like to play on a professional sports team, but there aren’t many of those jobs available. When I was in school, many of the guys that I grew up with wanted to play on one of the teams but didn’t make the cut. The community of God, which comes together to advance the gospel, is different. Everyone makes the cut, and our mission is the greatest one ever given to anyone, anywhere: to make disciples of all nations. Everyone here today who wants to be on the team is on the team. And everyone who wants to get in the game can get in the game. It can take some time for you to feel things out, but there are plenty of opportunities for front-line ministry and ministry that supports those on the front lines, both in this fellowship and in this church.

            Let me tell you about one of them. We have a hospitality team headed by Oliver and Tiffany. Here’s their vision: “To make YAF an open and welcoming community where we can encourage one another in our faith and be a light to those who don’t know Christ.” That’s very much in keeping with Paul’s desire that we stand firm in one Spirit and contend as one man for the faith of the gospel. If God enables us to make this vision a reality, and we become a more open and welcoming community, the gospel will advance through this fellowship. Oliver and Tiffany are looking for people to help them implement this vision. If it appeals to you, seek them out.

            The community strengthens you, and you strengthen the community. We spur each other on. We encourage each other to stay in the fight. And the Holy Spirit helps us as he teaches us the truth, humbles us, causes us to set aside our differences and helps us find our place — in short, as he empowers us to be a united front in the advance of the gospel. As a community we make belief in the gospel possible for the world.

 

What living worthy of the gospel indicates

 

            Paul then uses imagery from the legal system to say that this three-fold way of living as a citizen of heaven will serve as a “sign” from God of destruction for opponents. The clause literally reads, “ ... which is to them a sign of destruction but your salvation, and this from God.” The fact that we as a community continue to present the gospel to the world, which can’t silence us or squeeze us into its mold, is a sign that something of God is at work among us. It is not a sign that those in opposition will be destroyed; it is, literally, a “sign of destruction.” It’s a sign that they’re on the road to eternal destruction, away from the presence of God (2 Thessalonians 1:9), and it is therefore an opportunity to repent.

            Paul earlier talked about, literally, “my salvation,” equating it with the exaltation of Christ through his boldness, which would serve to vindicate him and his faith (Philippians 1:19). Now he talks about  “your salvation.” The boldness of the Philippians to live in a manner worthy of the gospel is here equated with salvation. Through our boldness, God vindicates us and our faith and assures us of our eternal destiny.

           

What living worthy of the gospel results in

 

            Beginning with the word translated “for” in verse 29, Paul gives further incentive for living in a manner worthy of the gospel. The sign of their salvation — their boldness to live worthy of the gospel — is from God. Now something else comes from God: suffering. When we continue to advance the gospel in the face of opposition, we will likely suffer. Paul says that such suffering is a gift. It has been “granted” to us. He speaks as if suffering is something to be received with gratitude. We can only appreciate suffering this way if we see it as a gift “on behalf of Christ” and “for him.”

            God has left us here in the place of Christ, as his representatives. Of course, it’s not as if Christ isn’t here. He’s with us and in us, through his Spirit, to empower us to be like him in the world. That means he empowers us to suffer as he did. How did he suffer? He suffered for the world that the world might live. We bring the gospel to the world — a world that needs it but for the most part doesn’t want it. We face opposition. We suffer, bringing the gospel to a world that is opposed to it, that the world might live (1 Corinthians 4:13, 2 Corinthians 4:12). Our willingness to suffer in this way demonstrates the worth of the gospel and our love for the world. If the people of the world see that we’re willing to suffer for them to give them something we think is priceless, they’ll be more likely to see it as priceless as well.

            How is such suffering a gift from God? Anything that God gives us to do on behalf of Christ is a gift. Christ suffered for us. The opportunity to suffer for him has to be considered a gift. He’s worth it. So is the world. On the one hand, we hate suffering. On the other hand, we are hungry to believe in something that’s worth suffering for. Christ is it.

            The apostles understood suffering as a gift. After being arrested and flogged for preaching Christ, they rejoiced “because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace” for Christ (Acts 5:51). That’s how much they valued Christ. We can pray that we too would value Christ so that we might receive suffering for him as a gift from God.

            The Philippians saw Paul suffer for Christ when he first came to their city. He was beaten and imprisoned for preaching the gospel in Philippi (Acts 16:19-24). And he is currently in prison as he writes this letter. As elsewhere in the letter, Paul holds himself up as an example, and he does so here to show that he and they are together in this.

 

Standing firm, contending as a community

 

            Paul’s challenge is to live as a citizen of heaven, which means to live in a manner worthy of the gospel, which means to stand firm and contend for the gospel as a community. Are we going to be a community worthy of the gospel? The gospel is worth it.

 

SCG / 12-9-01

 

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Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

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