With tears Paul tells of many who walk as enemies of the cross. They have their minds set on earthly things. But, he says, our citizenship is in heaven. It may be to our surprise that Paul then says that we await Jesus from the heavens (which is in the plural, though followed by ‘it’ in the singular), instead of us waiting to go to heaven. We are much more focussed on ‘going to heaven’ than Paul is. Indeed, his ‘desire is to depart and be with Christ’, but that is not what he means by ‘pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus’. ‘Going to heaven’ after we die and ‘the upward call’ are two different things. The gospel is an empty grave, as far as Jesus is concerned and as far as we ourselves are concerned. After we have died and ‘have gone to be with the Lord’ the grave is not empty yet! The glorious transformation has yet to take place so that we will be like Him. And that will also happen to those who are alive when He comes.
Still, God’s call in Christ Jesus is upwards, heavenwards, for the very reason that the call is in Christ Jesus. The metaphor of running a race Paul uses here reflects his view of life as a task that needs to be fulfilled. It is purpose that he has in mind, not place. Hence Paul writes that he runs ‘for’ – as is the original rendering – the prize rather than a directional ‘unto’ the prize. The prize is his motivation. The life that has been granted to him in Christ now is a responsibility.
This is meant to be an encouragement for many of us who experience life as plodding on, working hard almost every day of the week, to pay the bills, a never ending routine, it seems. Now we can see our lives in the light of eternity. We live for God.

Something Paul longs to know more is the power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, in the same breath as to know Him. He has experienced God’s miraculous interventions multiple times, but to know Jesus goes beyond the miracles themselves. It is what T. Austin-Sparks calls revelation, to know Jesus by experience. It does not mean a Damascus road experience, a dream or a vision, nor an overwhelming sense of His presence, nor to feel lifted up, but to experience how certain characteristics of the Lord are the answer to crises. These situations reveal Jesus as being the exact opposite of the reality of the problem. Paul in prison – Jesus is his liberty and joy and the gospel is even more preached.
The power of His resurrection – not just resurrection power – is of course experienced the most in situations of deep suffering, but not exclusively. In Philippi there seem to be occasions for grumbling and disputing and Paul shows how Jesus is the answer. His voluntary utter humiliation resulted in glorification of the highest order possible. All disputes will be solved immediately for sure, when this is applied by the Philippian believers, when they ‘know the Lord’ in these matters. They will not only know His humility and gentleness, but they will also know His authority and how that applies to their lives, to the whole community of believers and how that results in the advance of the gospel. That is the power of His resurrection. What we sometimes call ‘the way of the cross’ has a very deep application and a very broad application. It touches every area of our lives, our very being.

The verb translated ‘to set the mind’ (ESV) occurs eleven times in this short letter, of the 26 instances in the New Testament (ten times in Romans). It is having a mindset, thinking. It is more than philosophical thinking, more than considering. It has to do with lifestyle and disposition.
This exhortation to change our mindset may sound too practical, too ethical, too rational. There is indeed a tension between what we may expect the Lord to do in us and what the Lord may expect us to do. It may even lead to confusion and frustration. And it has lead to debates among Christians. The best thing we can do is not to become dogmatic about it but see how this issue is dealt with in the New Testament contextually.
In this letter we find Paul exhorting his brothers and sisters to act and behave in a certain manner, to do so increasingly and to stand firm in the Lord, very much so in the light of the day of Christ’s return. To ‘work out your own salvation with fear and trembling’ (2:12) may sound harsh, but straight after that Paul says, ‘… for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.’ The emphasis here lies on who God is, not on what He does (‘works’ is a participle, as to say, ‘God is the working One’, or ‘the One working’). So here Paul is not explaining how living the Christian life works, but pleading for due respect towards God, on His behalf. There is no specific allusion to the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer. That is presupposed. What Paul wants to say here is that his own presence or absence should in fact not make any difference, as to say, ‘Philippians, you are not accountable to me, but to God. He is your motivation, not I. It is His work, not mine.’ It is the good work that God began in and/or among them and that He will bring to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (1:6). And it is because of that fact that obedience may be expected from them, in response to God’s faithfulness. ‘Practice these things’, Paul says in 4:9. There is no ambiguity about who should do what, God or themselves. A certain behaviour is expected from them.
‘But we cannot do it in our own strength’, is what we hear Christians say sometimes. To me that sounds too complicated. It is a phraseology that is far removed from what Paul says about ‘not having a righteousness of my own’. We obey, we ‘work out our own salvation with fear and trembling’, indeed, not in order to become righteous, but because of the righteousness that is ours in Christ. I cannot see how ‘our own strength’ or ‘our own efforts’ could be a snare in this matter. It is because we have become children of God, by His grace, that we should walk as children of God. ‘Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.’ That is having the mind of Christ.

With the use of ‘even if’ translators may suggest that Paul is thinking about the possibility to be sentenced to death. But that may be too strong. ‘If indeed’ is a common rendering as well (‘Yea, if’, KJV) and suggests a more general interpretation of possible suffering, like the imprisonment Paul is undergoing right now. It is a situation he ‘indeed’ knows about. The use of the present passive indicative tense is in favour of this interpretation. A future tense would have been more likely for an unknown outcome. In 2 Timothy 4:6 Paul uses the same expression when he is in prison as well (again?) and is expecting to die soon, so there it does not refer to the death sentence itself.
Paul is describing the possibility that he suffers ‘at the sacrificial offering of your faith’. This may refer to their gift to Paul, as to say, ‘If your gift does not result in my life becoming easier than it is now …’ This interpretation flows quite naturally from the thought of running or labouring in vain in the previous sentence. But a broader meaning of ‘the sacrificial offering of your faith’ is also possible and is more likely. It may have a similar intention as ‘your partnership in the gospel’ in 1:5. The emphasis lies on the mutuality. If there is mutual hardship Paul is glad and rejoices with them and he says they should do the same, be glad and rejoice with him.
Because the emphasis lies on mutuality an application of the passage should best come from there. Having Paul as an example, we can ask ourselves how strong our connection with fellow Christians in other places is. Do we ‘yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus’? Can we say about other Christians, ‘I hold you in my heart’? What is important to know in this matter is that this affectionate love is rooted in the love of and the love for Christ and the gospel. This is true also for the – even more difficult – love for each other among the Philippians themselves. Euodia and Synteche may never have become best friends, but that is not what was expected of them. They were asked to at least ‘agree in the Lord’. Following Christ in His ‘emptying’ of Himself, they could love each other even beyond friendship. Labouring side by side for a common purpose, indeed, for a common Lord and Saviour, is what unites Christians on a practical level. The unity they already have in principle, as children of God in the Spirit, is kept, treasured, worked out, will grow and abound (1:9).

Reading through his Letter to the Philippians we cannot miss Paul’s emphasis on suffering. He mentions three kinds of suffering, suffering by persecution, by sacrifice and by illness. All three are regarded as for the sake of Christ and the gospel. We do not know if Paul deliberately narrowed down the theme in the context of the gospel because it is too broad otherwise. Maybe we can say that ‘our lowly body’ refers to a fourth, more general and broader kind of suffering, although in the context of the section in which it is mentioned it cannot be disconnected with the sufferings of Christ.
In the context of the whole letter it may not be correct to mention sacrifice as a separate kind of suffering, as it is the overarching characteristic. A choice lies behind it, a mind. This mind is in stark contrast with the ‘selfish ambition or conceit’ and with ‘his own interests’. Two ways are presented, one leading to destruction, the other to glory.
Some argue that ‘the sufferings of Christ’ is in its essence the denial of His will over against the will of the Father, with reference to Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemanee. But this is a distorted picture. Gethsemanee is not a clash between Jesus’ will and the will of the Father but rather the opposite. This has implications for us, followers of Christ. A wrong approach of our own will over against God’s will can give us a dejected impression. Paul’s admonition is not to bear with resignation the hardships that God lays on our shoulders. Taking up our cross to follow Jesus is indeed self denial, but always as a response to His cross. Self denial is not suffering; it does not shun suffering. It is with joy, faith and courage we follow Jesus, whatever the cost may be, because we know that what it will cost us can never be compared to what it has cost Him and it can never weigh up to the eternal glory that is our inheritance that He obtained for us by grace, through His resurrection. And although from God’s point of view He may expect us to commit our lives to the course of the gospel, because of the sacrifice He made to save us, and although rejecting God’s gift of salvation in Christ results in His judgement of eternal damnation, our following of Jesus remains purely voluntary.
Paul writes to the Philippians that for Christ’s sake it has been granted to them not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for His sake. Like Peter and John in Acts 5 rejoiced that they ‘were counted worthy to suffer dishonour for the name’, the Philippians should know that it is a privilege to partake in the conflict that the coming of the Kingdom of God has aroused and continues to arouse in the world.

In Philippians 3:1-4:1 Paul gives his testimony in contrast with the ‘dogs’ he urges the believers to look out for. The surpassing worth of knowing Jesus has made everything else rubbish in his eyes. That is why no matter how, by any means, he wants to attain the resurrection from the dead. In a wordplay he says it is because he has been obtained by Christ Jesus (3:13). He says in fact that the more he realizes that he is not his own but Christ’s the more he enjoys the power of Christ’s resurrection. The resurrection will be a sudden event, I believe, but its influence can and should be experienced in our daily walk with the Lord. Without the resurrection we are unable to walk with the Lord. Although Paul does not mention the Holy Spirit much in this letter, He plays a vital rol in this life in connection with the resurrection. He is the Spirit of the resurrection, not just as a promise, assurance, guarantee and hope, but as the very source of our life.

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Devern Fromke once said at a family conference in Richmond, Virginia, that he had come to a stage in his life that he found that to be purpose driven was no longer satisfactory, in his walk with the Lord. To be purpose driven did not really work. What he found to be more fruitful was to be person centred. And that person was, of course, the Lord Jesus. This seems to be in line with Paul’s testimony and admonitions in his letter to the Philippians. At first glance he seems to be purpose driven. We hear him speak in terms of pressing on towards the goal, straining forward, ‘that I may attain …’ It is the resurrection what he has in mind, but not as a thing or an event. It is in the first place to know the Lord Jesus. This is important to notice.
I struggle with those terms Paul uses, obtaining and attaining. When I look at my own life I do not seem to obtain anything or to have attained to a certain level of spiritual maturity. This is, of course, for others to judge, or rather for the Lord Himself. Maybe I forget to forget what lies behind? In order to ‘hold true to what we have attained’ (3:16) we need a strong foundation on which to build the next level. And the thing is that the foundations I had, as far as teachings are concerned, have turned out to be unstable. Over the last ten years I have had to repudiate quite a great deal of my ‘structure’ and more or less start all over again. At least, that is how I have experienced this proces. I must add that these teachings do not have such a bad effect on everybody as it has had on me, but the point is that they are not based on sound contextual exegesis, but on ideas backed up with a collection of Bible verses. So when these Bible verses are interpreted within their context the whole structure of these teachings collapses. And those believers who trust in them may collaps as well when they come to understand the passages concerned.
I believe that one of the reasons why God has given us the New Testament (the gospels, Acts, the letters and Revelation) is to help us avoid confusion and develop a sound understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. Because there is such a jungle of Christian thought it is important to be rooted and grounded in the basics of the New Testament. Of course, over the years we grow in insight and we change our views and interpretations here and there, but that does not need to be so thoroughly fundamental as some of us have experienced and are still experiencing. The good thing is that when we can settle down in sound Biblical teaching we will not be ‘tossed to and fro’ so easily and we develop an ability to ‘handle’ error with love, wisdom and patience. Following Jesus makes us humble. This brings us back to Paul’s letter to the Philippians and its Christ-centredness.

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.

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Who is he? I would like to suggest he is one of the male overseers of the Church in Philippi, or a ‘deacon’, a helper, as Paul explicitly mentions the overseers and helpers in the letterhead. Paul’s ‘Indeed, you also …’ may point to him being no exception as a man, compared to the two female squabblers. Paul is asking him to help these women, reminding him of their hard work. We do not know the exact situation. We can only guess. What comes to the surface is that Church leadership was – and is – labour indeed and it was – and is – labour together.
This is the only letter written by Paul in which he addresses the overseers and helpers in the letterhead, at least the only one we have. Leadership in the Kingdom of God has been an important theme right from the start of Jesus’ mission on earth. And again He is the perfect example of a true leader. Right from the start disciples have been arguing with each other and by the time that Jesus ascended to the Father’s throne they knew what an unworthy, hard hearted bunch of people they were, totally unfit for the task that lied ahead of them, but with Jesus’ words ‘You have not chosen Me, I have chosen you’ still ringing in their ears and with the picture of Jesus kneeling before them and washing their feet still clear on the retina; plus the shock of Judas’ betrayal, and the sad story of Peter’s denial, their unbelief on different occasions, their lack of understanding their Master, James and John still ashamed of their uncontrolled indignation. The coming of the Holy Spirit was surely worth waiting and praying for in that upper room. ‘Put no confidence in the flesh’, is the message, but have ‘the righteousness from God that depends on faith’ (3:9), ‘worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus’ (3:3). Whether leaders or not, let all of us be true fellow-labourers for the sake of the gospel on the ground of God’s unfathomable grace, knowing that we all have our peculiarities and things that may irritate others, not taking the love and support from others for granted, but taking it as a miracle.

Paul is not so much concerned about those believers in Rome who preach the gospel out of selfish ambition, in regard to his imprisonment. If they feel more free – this is my guess of the situation – to say what they want to say, without being corrected or criticized by a heavy weight apostle, so what. Such an attitude is not what Paul commends to the Philippians though, but rather the humility of Christ. What Paul is more concerned about are the ‘dogs’ who go about in Azia and may come to Philippi also to influence the community of believers with their pseudo-gospel. Maybe they will not deny Christ’s death and resurrection, but they will deny the consequences and implications this has for living a righteous life by faith and with the help of the Holy Spirit and replace it by Jewish law.
To counter the threat of these enemies of the cross Paul urges the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord. Knowing the Lord Jesus is, in spite of the suffering that comes with it inevitably, worth so much more than this seemingly attractive law based worship of God. Paul does this by way of giving his testimony. Rejoicing in the Lord will not only protect them against outward threats, it will also help the Philippians to stand and work together, united in one mind, in spite of some disagreements. The enforcement of Jewish law will certainly result in a certain kind of unity, but not in the unity of the Spirit. Love will not be the driving force in the Church, but an insisting on conformity. This is why Paul starts his letter with saying that he prays for them that their love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment. Euodia and Syntyche are both entreated ‘to agree in the Lord’ (4:2, italics mine).
There will always be some kind of conformism in groups of believers, maybe in the way they speak or dress. That is normal and we cannot help it. We can have our own subcultures, as long as we are aware of them and can put them into perspective. To insist on conformism is not only sectarian, but it pushes aside Christ’s all sufficient work of redemption and grace as well. Disagreement, ‘if anything you think otherwise’ (3:15) is not a threat to true spiritual unity when there is love and humility, the disposition of putting others first.

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‘Hey!’ a member of our little Bible study group remarks after hearing another member read Philippians 1:15-18, ‘your Bible is different from mine!’ Our leader quickly intervenes. ‘We won’t discuss what is original and what isn’t, now. Let us concentrate on the message.’ He has some experience in leading Bible study groups and does not want to spend another evening playing the referee between a ‘TR-camp’ (Textus Receptus) and a ‘CS-camp’ (Codex Sinaiticus).
It was probably on this level of different Christian camps within the Roman community of believers that we find envy and rivalry mentioned in this passage. Some preachers were, for selfish reasons, happy to see Paul in prison. It does not become clear from the text what exactly were their reasons to see Paul as a rival. For Paul it did not really matter. They preached Christ and if his imprisonment added to their zeal in preaching the gospel he was happy.
It is clear that ‘selfish ambition’ is contrary to the mind of Christ. God has to deal with it. I am convinced that preaching the gospel is most effective when it is done with a heart that has the same concern about a sinner’s destiny as Jesus had when He died for him. Likewise, with Bible study groups, we should do our best to formulate the most plausible interpretations, and at the same time and for that particular occasion discern (see Philipp. 1:9) what is most profitable for the group, or, as Paul would put it, for the advance of the gospel.

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Some scholars are so occupied with the idea that Philippians 2:5-11 is a kind of hymn that they forget to dwell on its content and the importance of it. It forms the hart of a (sub)section that is marked or bracketed by ‘whether I am present or absent’ (1:27-2:13). It is as if Paul wants to say, ‘I have set an example for you, but do not look at me; look at Jesus. My presence or absence should not make any difference in how you live.’ Or rather, he expects them to be even more obedient (to the Lord) in his absence.
As young brothers we would come home from a week’s conference, spiritually uplifted and excited about we had heard and then wanting to preach ourselves, just like the conference preacher, his message, in his way of speaking and even imitating his looks and gestures. A week later we would find ourselves being plunged into our daily routines again and into the harsh reality of our weaknesses. Our ‘spirituality’ had faded and we were left with a feeling of disillusionment. If we would have followed Paul’s advice to have that mind of Christ in us to be willing to go down, down down, we would have been spared those disappointments.
Of course we cannot literally do as Jesus did, but we can change our ‘mind-set’ to that of the humble and loving Servant. In this Jesus is not only our example, but also our authority. By going all the way through death on the cross Jesus has been glorified to the highest possible position. He is Lord of all. Not following His example would therefore be a serious offence against His law of love.
‘Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all!’
(Isaac Watts)
The way up is to go the way down. This is what Jesus has taught us by going that way Himself in its ultimate form. He knows what He is talking about. He has a right to speak.
Some believers shudder at the thought of ‘doing as Jesus did’. To be a Christian, they argue, is about who your are in Christ, and then behave accordingly. Even Bible translators try to find a way around the simple thought of taking on the mind that we see in Christ, by grouping the words ‘in Christ’ with ‘you’, making it a sophisticated technical construction which the Philippians could never have understood. The ESV reads, ‘Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus’. Again, this is too complicated. This cannot be what the original readers, or hearers rather, must have understood from Paul’s statement. Paul simply says, ‘Think!’ as he does at the end of the letter (4:8). What can be seen in Christ can be seen in Paul (4:9) and he is asking the Philippians – and us – to put that into practice.

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At the open market where my wife and I had a stall we have met some older people of whom we thought they must be Christians. They were so warm and friendly and well mannered. One day my wife asked such a person, ‘Are you a Christian?’ The answer was no. He was a humanist, he said. One could tell this man had gone through difficulties, which must have formed his fine character. I imagined him to be one of those people who have learned not to allow bitterness or resentment to creep into their heart but have used suffering as an opportunity to grow in character and morality, showing interest in other people and kindly helping them with their life’s experience and wisdom. In Biblical terms this man had become more Christlike. But a man who does not believe in Christ cannot be called Christlike, can he?
In his letter to the Philippians Paul shows that there is a parallel between his own life and the life of Christ. What was gain to him he counted loss and Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied Himself. His fellowship of the sufferings of Christ implies the fellowship in Christ’s resurrection and glorification. But this fellowship is more than following an example, more than just an imitation; that is to say, more than imitation as we use the word in modern day to day English. Paul uses it frequently (e.g. 1 Cor. 11:1), more or less as a synonym for becoming a follower (see KJV).
As far as character and morality are concerned there are similarities with our old humanist man at the open market. But there are essential differences as well. It is because of his being in Christ and his ministry of the gospel that Paul experiences what he going through, not because of anything concerning himself. It is for Christ’s sake and for the sake of the gospel. Paul urges his Philippian friends to imitate himself, but not just for the sake of good character or to become a good Church, but for the sake of the gospel, ‘a manner of life worthy of the gospel of Christ’ (1:27). Paul pleads for unity and harmony among the believers, not just for the sake of their own existence, but ‘striving side by side for the faith of the gospel’.
Another difference between the gospel and humanism in its most excellent form is the perspective of eternity. It is what Paul calls ‘the mark’ (3:13, KJV), ‘the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus’ (ESV). It is ‘the day of Christ’ which he mentions so often in this letter. It is the awaited (3:20) Kingdom of God. The gospel painfully excludes all human efforts to become righteous as a way to be justified before God, by the cross of Christ. The only thing that counts for God is His own righteousness He gives by grace on the ground of faith in Christ Jesus (3:9).
May we never become ‘enemies of the cross’ (3:18) by striving to be showpieces of human life, not even as a Church. It is not being polished, or becoming a well oiled machinery, what Paul has in mind when he speaks of perfection (3:12), but it is completion by holding fast to the word of life and keeping on preaching it, whatever the cost may be.

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