Stand Together, Don’t Be Intimidated, Trust Christ
Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.
Phil 1:27-30
The Benefits of Being in Christ
So then, if there is any comfort in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tendernesses and compassions, fulfill my joy, that you think the same, having the same love, one in soul, minding the one thing, doing nothing according to party spirit or self-glory, but in humility, esteeming one another as surpassing themselves; each not looking at the things of themselves, but each also the things of others.
Phil 2:1-4 (Literal Version)
You may notice that I have switched the versions on you and changed the title of the segment above. Below I have given you Paul’s opening to the second chapter of Philippians in the Message Version. I thought Eugene Petersen’s handling of the start of Philippians 2 exceptionally good. I would give it the title of:
The Benefits of Being a Christian
If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favour: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
Phil 2:1-4 (The Message)
Being “in Christ” is Paul’s typical way of describing our state once we have made the decision to follow Christ, live life as God intended it, i.e. becoming a Christian. The Literal Version captures well the connection between this new segment and the paragraph that went before it. “So then” in the Literal Version is a good way of translating the Greek conjunction [oun] to indicate the sequential, logical follow on with what went before it. But then I thought Eugene Petersen’s translation of the body of the text of Philippians 2:1-4 captured the nature of Paul’s point well. I changed the title for us because Paul’s use of [ἐν Χριστῷ] “in Christ” is his normal way of putting the notion of us being a Christian by us being in Christ. I therefore made the assumption that if Eugene Petersen were giving this little segment a title he would most likely call it Being a Christian. But I can’t ask him as I once did because he is now living the Life of the Age to Come.
Petersen has gathered the essential elements of Paul’s fourfold link well:
- If there is any comfort [παράκλησις]
- If there is any consolation of love [παραμύθιον ἀγάπης]
- If there is any fellowship of the Spirit [κοινωνία Πνεύματος]
- If there is any tenderness and compassion [σπλάγχνα καὶ οἰκτιρμοί]
This set of the four-fold benefits of being a Christian (in Christ) all come from how Paul closed the last chapter of his letter. It all flows on from the call to preserve the unity, love, caring and fellowship (commonwealth or citizenship) of the Spirit. This is what it means to being in Christ. That is the sense of unity of purpose the Philippians had and the reason why they supported Paul so strongly and stood with him in his ministry of the Gospel. If you do all of those things then do me a favour (and do yourselves a favour) by being like-minded.
- Agree with each other
- Love each other
- Be deep-spirited friends
- Don’t push your way to the front
- Don’t sweet-talk your way to the top
- Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead
- Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage
- Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand
I am sure you can see what I have done here. I have simply taken all of the elements of the way Eugene Petersen broke down the theory into eight practical applications of what Paul was saying and listed them out for you. That in my opinion sums up Paul’s meaning well. Don’t forget to link the two references to being like minded.
Cooperation is more than a good idea; it is a command. “Make every effort to keep unity of the Spirit” (Eph 4:3).
Love thy neighbor is not a piece of advice, it’s a command.
Heavenly Father, make me a billboard of your grace, a living advertisement for the riches of your compassion.
The Gospel does two things: it comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.
David Pawson