Philippians 1:28

And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. TERRIFIED, [ pturomenoi (G4426)] - said of horses suddenly scared: so of sudden consternation in general. BY YOUR ADVERSARIES: WHICH (1 Corinthians 16:9) - 'the which': your not being terrified, seeing it is. EVIDENT TOKEN OF PERDITION - if they would only perceive it (2 Thessalonians 1:5). It attests this-that in contending against you, they are only rushing on their own perdition, not shaking your united faith. TO YOU OF SALVATION. 'Aleph (') A B re...

28_And in nothing terrified_. The second thing which he recommends to the Philippians is fortitude of mind, (84) that they may not be thrown into confusion by the rage of their adversaries. At that time the most cruel persecutions raged almost everywhere, because Satan strove with all his might to impede the commencement of the gospel, and was the more enraged in proportion as Christ put forth powerfully the grace of his Spirit. He exhorts, therefore, the Philippians to stand forward undaunted, and not be thrown into alarm. _Which is to them a manifest proof_. This is the proper meaning of the Greek word, and there was no consideration that made it necessary for others to render it _cause. _For the wicked, when they wage war against the Lord, do already by a trial-fight, as it were, give a token of their ruin, and the more fiercely they insult over the pious, the more do they prepare the...

27-30 Those who profess the gospel of Christ, should live as becomes those who believe gospel truths, submit to gospel laws, and depend upon gospel promises. The original word "conversation" denotes the conduct of citizens who seek the credit, safety, peace, and prosperity of their city. There is that in the faith of the gospel, which is worth striving for; there is much opposition, and there is need of striving. A man may sleep and go to hell; but he who would go to heaven, must look about him and be diligent. There may be oneness of heart and affection among Christians, where there is diversity of judgment about many things. Faith is God's gift on the behalf of Christ; the ability and disposition to believe are from God. And if we suffer reproach and loss for Christ, we are to reckon them a gift, and prize them accordingly. Yet salvation must not be ascribed to bodily afflictions, as...

Verse 28. _IN NOTHING TERRIFIED BY YOUR ADVERSARIES_] So it appears that the Church at Philippi was then under persecution. _WHICH IS TO THEM_] Ἡτις αυτοις εστιν. Some very judicious critics consider ητις as referring to πιστις, the faith of the Gospel, which they, the heathen, considered to be a token of perdition to all them who embraced it; but, as the apostle says, it was to them the Philippians, on the contrary, the most evident token of salvation; for, having embraced the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, they were incontestably in the way to eternal blessedness....

AND IN NOTHING TERRIFIED BY YOUR ADVERSARIES - Adversaries, or opponents, they had, like most of the other early Christians. There were Jews there who would be likely to oppose them (compare Acts 17:5), and they were exposed to persecution by the pagan. In that city, Paul had himself suffered much Acts 16; and it would not be strange if the same scenes should be repeated. It is evident from this passage, as well as from some other parts of the Epistle, that the Philippians were at this time experiencing some form of severe suffering. But in what way, or why, the opposition to them was excited, is nowhere stated. The meaning here is, “do not be alarmed at anything which they can do. Maintain your Christian integrity, notwithstanding all the opposition which they can make. They will, in the end, cer

EXPOSITION PHILIPPIANS 1:1 PAUL AND TIMOTHEUS. St. Paul does not assume his official title in writing to the Macedonian Churches, Philippi and Thessalonica; it is used in all his other Epistles, except the short letter to Philemon. His relations to the Philippians and Thessalonians were those of the deepest personal affection; there was no need of a formal introduction, especially in an Epistle which has so little of an official character as this to the Philippians. He joins the name of Timothy with his own, as in 2 Corinthians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon. Thus Timothy is associated with St. Paul in every Epistle in which another name is found except 1 Corinthians, where Sosthenes only is mentioned; this shows the intimate affection that bound St. Paul to his "own son in the faith." There was a special reason f

AND IN NOTHING TERRIFIED BY YOUR ADVERSARIES,.... Not by Satan, though a roaring lion, for Christ is greater than he; nor by the world which Christ has overcome; nor by false teachers, though men of art and cunning; nor by violent persecutors, who can do no more than kill, the body; let not the power, the rage, the cunning, or the violence of one or the other, move, discourage, or affright from a close attachment to the Gospel and the truths of it: WHICH IS TO THEM AN EVIDENT TOKEN OF PERDITION; when men wilfully oppose themselves to the truth, and show a malicious hatred to it, and hold it in unrighteousness, and either turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, or persecute it with rage and fury, it looks as if they were given up to reprobate minds, to say and do things not convenient; as if they were foreordained to condemnation; and were consigned over to destruction and perdition;...

Philippians 1:12. _But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the thing, which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; and many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear._ Notice the beautiful self-forgetfulness of the apostle Paul. So long as the, gospel could be more widely published, he did not mind where he was, or what he suffered. He was able to witness for Christ among the Praetorian guards, who had the charge of the prison where he was confined, and who also, in their turn, were on duty in Caesar's palace; so Paul says that, through his being in bonds there, the particulars concerning his imprisonment were talked about even in the imperial palace, and by that means the gosp

SALVATION See note, (_ See Scofield) - (Romans 1:16). _...

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. CHRIST, THE CONTROLLING PRINCIPLE OF THE BELIEVER'S LIFE CHAPTER 1 _ 1. The introduction (Philippians 1:1)_ 2. The fellowship in the gospel (Philippians 1:3) 3. The apostle's prayer (Philippians 1:9) 4. Paul's victory (Philippians 1:12) 5. Paul's life and confidence (Philippians 1:21) 6. Exhortation to walk worthy of the gospel (Philippians 1:27