Philippians 1:21-30
This text is used for the Lectionary Year A on September 24, 2017.
When I deal with Paul’s letter to the Philippians, I try and keep several matters in mind.
First, though situated in Macedonian, Philippi was a Roman colony town. Its citizens enjoyed the rights of Romans and tended to view life from a Roman perspective. Second, Paul partnered with Lydia—who was a God-fearer and a business woman—to found the church at Philippi. Third, while small and under pressure from the surrounding society, the church consistently supported Paul’s missionary work.
Fourth, Paul wrote them while imprisoned, most likely in Rome, where he would have lived under a form of house arrest. Fifth, he sought to encourage them to remain faithful, thank them for their support, and deal with tensions and division in the congregation.
Keeping such factors in mind, let’s unpack Philippians 1:21-30.
Paul has already assured the Philippians that his imprisonment has helped spread the gospel and encouraged others to share Christ with boldness (Philippians 1:12-14). His primary concern is that his own conduct will continue to exalt Christ, whether he is set free or condemned to execution (Philippians 1:20).
He insists neither life or death defines him. His life finds its meaning, purpose, and hope in Christ. Christ is with him both in life and death. Death means being with Christ more immediately and intimately than in life, and that would be good. Life, though, enables Paul to continue his labors and help the Philippians and others grow in Christ.
Paul confesses to feeling hard pressed between the two good possibilities. Neither is to be feared or rejected. If he had only himself to consider, he would prefer to “to depart and be with Christ” (Philippians 1:23). He, though, believes the Philippians still need him. Knowing and embracing as his own the self-sacrificial way of Christ, Paul assumes God will orchestrate his release so that he might live and work to strengthen the faith of the Philippians.
Philippians 1:27 gains force and meaning from Paul’s self-sacrifice of his own desires in favor of living that he might help the Philippians. When they hear “Only live your lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,” the Philippians cannot help but think of Paul, whose spirit of self-denial defines what it means to do so.
Perhaps Paul hopes the Philippians will be challenged by his example to examine themselves, discover and admit wherever self-centeredness might be influencing them, and lay such self-centeredness aside in favor of self-sacrifice. If they do so, they may develop a unity of spirit, the kind which springs from a shared focus on knowing, growing in, and sharing the gospel.
They will need such a unity if they are to stand firm against their opponents. Who are the opponents? The most likely candidates are a sub-set of Jewish Christians, who insist gentile converts must keep all facets of the Law, including circumcision and the food laws. Don’t discount, though, the possibility of danger from the surrounding gentile population of Philippi, given that Paul himself had been arrested and flogged in the town. Regardless of the nature of the opposition, Paul’s primary point is that unity resulting from a self-sacrificial spirit is the best way to strengthen the Christian community for all contingencies.
Philippians 1:29-30 calls the Philippians to opt not only to trust Christ but to choose to suffer as Christ suffered. Paul’s example reveals something of what such a life entails.
How might we connect the text to our congregations and the present day? I think several approaches might prove useful.
Try asking why we want to live and what we expect of death. Do we approach either possibility concerning which would best advance the work of Christ, or do we operate on the basis of other concerns? What would change about how we spend time and resources, speak, interact with those outside the faith, handle the interpersonal dynamics of church life, and frame failure and success, if we became persons who could say and mean, “For me living is Christ, and dying is gain?”
Another approach might center on how to measure a congregation’s success. To an outsider’s eyes, the church at Philippi must have seemed a small thing, a failure by almost any standard of measurement. What are the metrics by which we evaluate a congregation’s success? Do they differ in any significant way from the standards of the business world? If not, why not? Does Paul’s metric of faithfulness, unity, and sacrifice guide our evaluation of a congregation?
Finally, what are the opportunities afforded by adverse circumstances and suffering embraced in the spirit of Christ? Might we grow in Christ, and if so, how? What doors into the lives of others might be opened, and how might we walk through them? Is it possible to follow Christ, develop genuine unity in the Body of Christ, and be Christ unto the world without embracing Christ-like suffering?
Michael A. Smith
Senior Pastor
Central Baptist Church of Fountain City, Knoxville, TN
msmith@cbcfc.org
Tags: success, neither life nor death, gain, center, christ