Philippians – Our lowly body, 3:21
06/12/22 08:29
Is Paul succumbing to the Greek dualistic philosophies of his day when he speaks of ‘our lowly body’? When we look at the Greek text we may notice that the word translated ‘lowly’ (ESV, NIV) is a noun, as is the word for ‘glorious’ in the same clause. Literally it renders ‘the body of our humble state’ (NASB95) or ‘the body of our humiliation’ (Darby) and ‘the body of His glory’. The lowly state of the body refers to its condition or situation, not to its character, worth or order. Not one second Paul was thinking of our bodies being ‘vile’ (KJV). That is typical for us who sing it loud, ‘Lo, He abhors not the virgin’s womb’, quite contrary to what the psalmist has to say about this matter (Ps. 139:13-14). We should not be like those who’s ‘god is their belly’, but to think of our bodies as of an inferior kind of order is utterly wrong and is an insult to our Creator, as are all forms of asceticism, religious abstinence, victorian refinement and sublimation. Those things have nothing to do with following Christ.
But dualism was a matter of concern in Colossae, not in Philippi, as fare as we know. In Philippi it was ‘joy’, ‘rejoicing in’ or glorying, boasting in, that needed to be urged on, and unity.
There was a difference between my two grandmothers. They were both struggling with disease, one with rheumatism, the other with heart problems. And although the one with rheumatism had a smile on her face, there was a sadness about her, unlike the one with heart problems, whom we grandchildren nicknamed ‘granny-clap-your-hands’. I can still feel the warm but twisted hand of the sad granny, who always seemed to be in survival mode. She endured life. Granny-clap-your-hands was different. I remember that during a family stroll she suddenly stood still, put her hand on her chest and breathed with difficulty and then laughed. And I remember how her children, my mother included, rebuked her for not wanting to see a doctor and told her not to do silly things like scrubbing off dirty words from fences and walls in her neighbourhood. She took life as an opportunity and rejoiced in the Lord. That was Paul’s approach. To depart and be with the Lord was far better, but to stay alive and labour for the gospel and serve his brothers and sisters in Christ was more necessary. Let us not just hang around, not even in a Christian way, but redeem the time and serve the Lord today.
But dualism was a matter of concern in Colossae, not in Philippi, as fare as we know. In Philippi it was ‘joy’, ‘rejoicing in’ or glorying, boasting in, that needed to be urged on, and unity.
There was a difference between my two grandmothers. They were both struggling with disease, one with rheumatism, the other with heart problems. And although the one with rheumatism had a smile on her face, there was a sadness about her, unlike the one with heart problems, whom we grandchildren nicknamed ‘granny-clap-your-hands’. I can still feel the warm but twisted hand of the sad granny, who always seemed to be in survival mode. She endured life. Granny-clap-your-hands was different. I remember that during a family stroll she suddenly stood still, put her hand on her chest and breathed with difficulty and then laughed. And I remember how her children, my mother included, rebuked her for not wanting to see a doctor and told her not to do silly things like scrubbing off dirty words from fences and walls in her neighbourhood. She took life as an opportunity and rejoiced in the Lord. That was Paul’s approach. To depart and be with the Lord was far better, but to stay alive and labour for the gospel and serve his brothers and sisters in Christ was more necessary. Let us not just hang around, not even in a Christian way, but redeem the time and serve the Lord today.
