Apr 25, 2023
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. (Philippians 1:27-30)
Paul had just concluded in the previous verses that “he knew that he would remain and continue with them.” Now he says something quite different. Now it’s qualified, uncertain. “Whether or not I come,” he says.
Paul is driving at something deeper here than travel plans. He does not desire that the faith of the Philippian church should be dependent upon him, but rather upon Christ. He desires that in the way they suffer and in the way that they contend for the faith of the gospel—as athletes working together side-by-side on one team—that in this, the society and even the persecutors around them might see Christ. When neighbours look at the Philippian Christians, their witness should not be to Paul or Paul’s support, or Paul’s strength of faith, but rather to Christ.
This will be the witness, the sign to these others that they might be destroyed. It's not that the church is to preach this destruction and it's not that the church is to seek to enact it by being cruel or retaliatory toward those that persecute them. Rather, in the way that these Christians bear their suffering in the same humble way of Christ, they are to witness to the fact that there is something they have in God through Christ that is greater than any threat of life or death that the state or the world around them could hang over them.
Older baptismal traditions have a beautiful way of symbolizing this. There's a old stone baptistry in Philippi where those being baptized would walk down steps into the waters of a running river. They would take off their old clothes as they descended into the water—a sign of dying to themselves and their old way of life in the death of Christ. Then, having been baptized, they would walk up the other side out of the water. On their ascent, they would be given a new white robe signifying the new life of Christ to which they had just been united.
It was a mystery to Caesar and his subjects as to why the Christians could stand and face martyrdom willingly, even with joy. But the thing is, you just can't scare dead people. These Christians were already dead in the death of Christ. They had nothing to fear. All that was on display within them was the life of Christ then: the joy, peace, patience, and persevering love—all the fruit of the Spirit.
We too are baptized saints: baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To those around us—whether we are suffering or living in relative peace and joy—do they see this clear witness to Christ within us? That we are a people who live without fear? That contend together as one for the faith of the gospel? That live in the fruit of the Spirit and the life of Christ no matter what we face? Paul's prayer and invitation is that we do.