Philippians 1:27

Philippians 1:27. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. ‘Conversation' of the Authorised Version is used very frequently for a different Greek word, and so should not be employed here. The sentence is best understood from the literal rendering, ‘Behave as citizens worthily of the Gospel.' From the first, Christianity was shown to be a fellowship and communion, and the figure of citizenship is not unfrequently employed to represent its character. The citizen must remember that he docs not live for himself alone, that he is under a law, enjoys great privileges, which in turn lay upon him great responsibility. A man so minded will know that in his actions the interests of others are involved as well as his own, and will by that knowledge come to deserve the title of ‘brother' so much adopted by the first Christians. As Christ in the Gospel fulfilled the law by giving, as in the Sermon on the Mount, its complete significance to every precept, so the Christian who aims to live worthily of the Gospel will not rest content with what was said ‘to the men of old time,' but will be ever seeking to hear Christ's voice and to follow when he hears the ‘I say unto you' of the Master.

that whether I come and see you or be absent. Even when the apostle regained his liberty, it was but a small portion of his time that he could give to the Philippians alone. He would come and see them, but after that, other duties would call him away.

I may hear of your state. The Greek is literally ‘the things about you,' and seems to imply a deep interest in the whole life of the congregation. All their surroundings as well as their doings and condition were of account in the mind of him whose children they were in the faith.

that ye stand fast. He is coming to the thought that the Philippians are not without their adversaries, and that they, like himself, have to do battle for the faith, and so in his exhortation he uses the language of the conflict, and urges them to stand their ground against all foes.

in one spirit. This is the only real way to stand fast, that all be moved by one impulse. Of this God is the giver; but the apostle is thinking of the hearts of men, rather than of the Spirit of God.

with one soul. Better than ‘with one mind.' And in the present context, our thoughts can hardly fail to be carried to the earliest days of the church (Acts 4:32), when the whole multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul. and so great grace was upon them all.

striving together for the faith of the gospel. The figure is from athletic combats, and signifies being fellow-combatants, fighting all on the same side, and thus it becomes an expansion of the ‘one spirit' and ‘one soul' which precedes, though of course it also implies that they are united with St. Paul also, This word is only used here and below in Philippians 4:3, but the apostle has a similar word (Romans 15:30) of being joint-wrestlers in prayer to God. The various rendering, ‘with the faith of the Gospel,' represents the faith as being engaged in a contest with unbelief, and the Philippians as taking part in the struggle for the cause of the faithful. But it seems better to take ‘the faith' as that for which all the members of the church are joint-combatants, rather than to make it a fellow-struggler with them. ‘The faith' is more commonly used alone for the Christian religion.