Worthy of the Gospel

Observe the verbs. Conduct yourselves. Stand firm. Strive together. Do not be frightened. All of them are plural. Paul is describing a community's behavior, not a series of individual achievements. The word for conduct yourselves carries the sense of living as citizens, which would have landed in Philippi, a Roman colony proud of its citizenship. Paul is saying that their true citizenship is elsewhere, and their life together should show it.

Interpret the surprising line in verse 29. It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him. Granted is a word for a gift. Paul puts suffering in the same category as faith, something given by grace. He is not saying suffering is pleasant. He is saying it is not a sign of God's absence. The Philippians were going through the same struggle they had seen in Paul, and he wants them to read it correctly.

Apply this by asking what your church's shared conduct says about where your citizenship lies. The gospel is worthy of a certain kind of life, and that life is lived together, standing in one Spirit.

In what ways does your congregation strive together, and in what ways does it merely gather? When opposition or difficulty has come, have you read it as a gift or as a sign that something has gone wrong? What would it mean this week to conduct yourself as a citizen of somewhere else?