A Letter to the Church of Philippi-Pt. 4

Let’s finish Chapter 1…

²⁷Whatever 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

(((Joel Thoughts)))  I love the phrase “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel.”  It sort of reminds me of my mom saying stuff like, “we raised you better than that.” or “that’s not the way we brought you up” or “remember, that you are representing our family.” Its interesting because the Greek verb that Paul uses here is politeuesthe, which literally means “to live as a citizen.”  Paul is reminding the Church that even though the believers in Philippi were citizens of the Roman Empire, they had a much higher and more important citizenship as joint heir of the Kingdom of God.  If you know me at all, you know that I think nationalism is a dirty word and very often cheapens Christ and His much more important and Highest Kingdom.  Paul is calling the believers of the early Church and today to remember our true citizenship is in Him and not in the Roman Empire or America.

²⁸without 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.

(((Joel Thoughts))) Paul again encourages the Philippian believers to stand firm in the face of their persecutors.  Paul ensures the Philippians that God does win and the truth and love that is the Gospel does prevail.  Stand firm in the face of the enemies and have faith that you win and sadly the will be punished for their lack of relationship with the True God.

²⁹For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,

(((Joel Thoughts))) This a great verse that scares the living youknowwhat out of Christians living in “comfortable” places such as America.  Scripture is clear that if you follow Christ you will suffer for Him.  There is no doubt in my mind that Paul considered suffering for Christ a means to which he found himself much closer to God.  He felt this way because Christ’s life was completely marked by suffering and not comfortability.  This has been hitting me upside the face sooo much lately.  How do we in America share in the suffering of Christ when things are so comfortable and safe? I think it would be to our benefit and the world’s benefit to find the answer to this question (a blog post in itself!!!)

³⁰since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

(((Joel Thoughts))) Paul was pleased that the Church was sharing in the same sort of suffering that he had become so accustomed to because again it was a sign that the Church was truly following Jesus.  Maybe, just maybe, Pastors are too grateful when troubles pass their congregations and should pray that “hard” life circumstances happen more often so that they could rejoice in the true joy and comfort that is Jesus and his gospel.  Wow, I probably sound too radical there, but in reality the Apostle Paul saw suffering and persecution of the early Church as a sign of true discipleship. Let that one soak in for awhile.

On to Chapter 2.