Live as Gospel Citizens

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that – whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent – I should hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel, and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of their destruction, but of your salvation – a sign which is from God. For it has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him, since you are encountering the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing (Philippians 1:27-30).

Philippi was a Roman colony in Macedonia (part of modern Greece); Paul first visited the area and preached Jesus around 51 (cf. Acts 16:11-40). Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi most likely around 60-61 from Rome while living under house arrest there (cf. Philippians 1:1). The church had appointed elders and had deacons serving them, and had sent Epaphroditus to provide support and service to Paul (cf. Philippians 1:1, 2:25-30, 4:18). Paul thanked the Philippian Christians for their joint participation in his ministry and prayed for them to abound in love and make good decisions to share in Jesus’ praise at His return (Philippians 1:2-11). He explained how his circumstances had worked to advance the Gospel; if he were to die, he would go and be with Christ, but he was confident he would continue to faithfully serve God, and the Philippian Christians, while in the body (Philippians 1:12-26).

It was customary to maintain a propositio in Greco-Roman letters: a concise statement in which the author would present his primary point regarding what he would be discussing. We might call it the proposition or thesis. True to form, Paul set forth his propositio to the Philippian Christians in Philippians 1:27:30.

Paul began with his primary emphasis, the point from which the rest of the propositio, and his Letter to the Philippians, would flow: to politeuesthe in a way worthy of the Gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27). Politeuesthe literally means “to live as citizens,” thus, to reflect the behavior, integrity, and standards of a free citizen in a city or state. Thus, to live as a citizen of the Gospel of Christ would demand to live according to the behavior, integrity and standards which God has made known in Christ through the Spirit; the NET translation of “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ” well conveys the point.

But Paul’s appeal for the Philippian Christians to live as citizens of the Gospel remains notable. When Paul wanted to convey something regarding the Christian life, he tended to use the standard metaphor of the way or journey, to walk in accordance with the Gospel, of Christ, and/or of the Spirit (e.g. Romans 8:1-11). Only in Philippians did Paul decide to go with the metaphor of citizen, and such was likely a very deliberate rhetorical decision. Philippi, as a Roman colony, was very proud and protective of its status; from the use of this image, it would seem many Philippian Christians were Roman citizens themselves, or, if nothing else, regarded citizenship quite highly.

To this end, Paul appealed to the Philippian Christians to live as citizens of the Gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27). It would be highly unlikely for Paul to use the metaphor if he wanted to cast aspersions on the concept of citizenship or holding citizenship within an earthly nation-state; nevertheless, he was also, at some level, contrasting their Roman citizenship with citizenship in the Kingdom of God in Christ, which would be made explicit in Philippians 3:20-21. The Philippian Christians well understood what it meant to live appropriately as a Roman citizen; Paul wanted them to take that understanding and reframe it around the Gospel of Christ. While Paul may not have been casting aspersions on having citizenship or being a citizen, he most assuredly was casting aspersions, to some degree, regarding the level of loyalty the Philippian Christians should have toward Rome. They should live as citizens, indeed; but of the Gospel of Christ. In many respects, being citizens of the Gospel of Christ would make them good Roman citizens; but in many others, especially in terms of honoring the gods and upholding the Roman hierarchy and “order of things,” the Philippian Christians would be challenged to maintain their loyalty to the ways of Jesus over the ways of Rome.

While the rest of the letter will detail what it would look like for the Philippian Christians to live as citizens of the Gospel of Christ, Paul would go on to immediately present a picture of what it looks like: whether he was able to visit the Philippians or would remain separated from them, he would hear they were standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, contending side by side for the faith of the Gospel, and not at all intimidated by opposition they would encounter (Philippians 1:27-28).

Paul therefore wanted the Philippian Christians to persevere in what they were already doing: to stand firm together in the Gospel. Both elements were quite important: the Philippian Christians needed to maintain and deepen their joint participation in Christ and with one another. Paul would soon expand upon standing firm in one spirit and with one mind in Philippians 2:1-11; his concern regarding contending side by side for the faith of the Gospel should illuminate our understanding of Philippians 3:1-21, and therefore we should not assume his warnings about those introducing “Judaizer” teachings were more theoretical than practical.

Paul did not want the Philippian Christians to be pturomenoi by opponents or adversaries. This is the only use of the Greek verb pturo in all of the New Testament; Classical authors would use the term to describe horses affrighted by something which startled them (Philippians 1:28). The term is certainly evocative, and it well communicates Paul’s concern. We cannot know exactly what kind of resistance or opposition the church in Philippi had experienced at the time, but especially in light of Philippians 3:1-16, it would not be hard to imagine some “Judaizing” teachers visiting the assemblies of the Philippian Christians, promoting their distortion of the Gospel and catching the Philippian Christians relatively unprepared for them. Philippi did not seem to have a very large Jewish population, and it is quite likely the Philippian Christians had not yet encountered the “Judaizers.”

Paul’s concern about these matters was manifest by his continued discussion: if the Philippian Christians were not at all afraid or intimidated by their opponents, it would be a sign of the destruction of the adversaries and the salvation of the Philippian Christians (Philippians 1:28). Paul then quite literally brought home the message of his own travails: the Philippian Christians were granted the opportunity not only to believe in Jesus but suffer with Him, experiencing the same conflict which they had watched Paul endure (Philippians 1:29-30).

Paul thus foresaw some level of suffering and difficulty for the Philippian Christians. Considering Paul would later warn the Philippian Christians regarding Judaizing teachers, and Paul’s most recent experiences of persecution and imprisonment came from the Jewish people, it would make the most sense for Paul to be warning the Philippian Christians regarding the kind of hostility and opposition the Philippian Christians would encounter from Jewish believers seeking to induce them to Judaize (cf. Acts 21:27-36, Philippians 3:2-3).

Perhaps Paul was concerned the Judaizing teachers would abuse the Philippian Christians in some way; perhaps he was concerned they would attempt to stir up the rest of Philippi against the Christians. We also cannot discount the possibility, however, that Paul did not have Jewish or Judaizing opponents in mind at all; perhaps the concern was with their fellow, yet pagan, Roman citizens in Philippi.

No matter who their opponents might be, Paul wanted the Philippian Christians to stand firm and be ready for them. The Philippian Christians had shared in Paul’s work, and thus his sufferings, through their support; Paul now expected they would also share in those sufferings more substantively. Thus it was all the more important for them to live as citizens of the Gospel of Christ and display their greater loyalty to Jesus over Caesar, come what may.

Paul’s propositio for his Letter to the Philippians appropriately summarized all he would go on to discuss in Philippians 2:1-4:23, and we do well to make appropriate reference to Philippians 1:27-30 when exploring the rest of the letter.

We are not Christians living in Philippi in the middle of the first century, but we can maintain great confidence Paul would also encourage us to live as citizens of the Gospel of Christ, to stand firm with one mind and spirit, contending side by side for the faith of the Gospel, and not proving intimidated by any form of opposition. We are to conduct ourselves in ways consistent with our joint participation and sharing in Christ; our primary loyalty must be to Jesus and His ways above and beyond the nation-state in which we might live. We must stand firm in the Gospel: we must defend the truth of God made known in the Gospel, yet above all we must embody its truth and display what the community of the people of God in Christ should look like. We can only do that together, contending and striving side by side. We will encounter opposition; it should not come as a surprise to us. But we should always glorify God in Christ in how we relate to opposition and adversity. Our citizenship is in heaven from which we await our Savior and the resurrection; may we conduct ourselves appropriately so we might share in it!

Ethan R. Longhenry