Phil 1:27–30
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This Sunday, we’re going to get political. In Phil 1:27, Paul writes, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ....” This statement might not seem political on the surface, but a little digging will show you what I mean.
The ESV includes a footnote which says "Greek ‘Only behave as citizens worthy’”. That’s because the Greek word Paul uses here (πολιτεύεσθε) doesn’t have an easy English equivalent (hence, “let your manner of life be....”) But, if we take a cue from the footnote and read the rest of Philippians with our ears open for citizenship language, we’ll find some in Philippians 3:20. “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” The sentences look unrelated in English, but are connected in Greek. If we poke around in Philippians 1:27–30 and 3:20–4:3, we see more shared vocabulary and concepts (stand firm, agree, strive/labor side by side, etc.). This means that Paul wrote Philippians 1:27–30 and 3:20–4:3 with similar themes in mind and we should read Philippians 1:27–30 with those themes in mind (especially citizenship).
The one thing, then, Paul wanted the Philippians to get was this: “Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.” (Phil 1:27 NLT). This is how Paul summarizes the Christian life: “Be a good citizen.” This brings up a host of questions. How are we good citizens? What does it mean to be “worthy” of the gospel? Why did Paul think this was the most important thing for the Philippians (and us) to do? We’ll answer these questions and more this Sunday. Join us at 10am at the Skyline Plaza to marvel that our citizenship is in heaven and to learn what it means to be a good citizen of heaven here on earth.