Part 3
Philippians 1:27–30
Propositio: Citizens United in an Alternative Commonwealth
Introductory Matters
In 1:27–2:18 Paul turns from “the things about me” (1:12) to the “things about you” (1:27)—from questions about his presence or absence (1:25–26) to their conduct, whether he is present or absent (1:27). In the imperative “live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel” (1:27 NRSV), Paul employs a verb that he uses nowhere else in his letter. His most common verb for ethical conduct is peripatein (lit. “walk around”), a term drawn from Jewish ethical discourse (cf. Rom. 6:4; 8:4; 13:13; 1 Cor. 3:3; 7:17; Gal. 5:16; Phil. 3:17; Col. 2:6; 4:5; 1 Thess. 4:1, 12). Here, however, he employs the verb politeuesthai, which is drawn from political life and means literally “conduct yourselves as citizens” (U. Hutter, EDNT 3:130) or “administer a government.” It is used for someone who lives according to the norms of the polis. The verb anticipates the noun politeuma (3:20), which indicates that the community’s citizenship (politeuma) is in heaven.
A politeuma is a community or civic body or political entity; the word is frequently used for citizens of the same place in the midst of a foreign state (TLNT 3:130). Josephus speaks of the Jewish politeuma of Cyrenaica and Antioch (Ant. 12.28–33; J.W. 7.441), and the Letter of Aristeas (310) speaks of the “delegation of the politeuma of Alexandrian Jews (cf. Philo, Flacc. 74–80; Legat. 194; TLNT 3:131). It often refers to a colony of foreigners or relocated veterans. This term, used only in Philippians, may suggest that believers, living in the Roman colony of Philippi, are colonists in an alternative commonwealth (Geoffrion 1999, 43).
While Paul probably chose the verb politeuesthai and the noun politeuma because the Philippians lived in a Roman colony where the image would resonate, he employed metaphors that also had a significant history in Hellenistic Judaism. Philo spoke of the heavenly politeuma, in which the righteous are citizens. Joseph says, “I am not a slave, but as highly-born as any, one who claims enrollment among the citizens of that best and greatest state [politeuma], this world” (Jos. 69). The Jews are “enrolled in the greatest and most perfect commonwealth [politeuma]” (Opif. 144). Philo speaks of two kinds of cities—one based on justice and the other based on injustice. Good people are enrolled in the former type of state (politeuma), while the evil are enrolled where injustice prevails (Conf. 109).
Philo uses the verb to describe rulers who conduct government (politeuomenois) as they should (Flacc. 81) or live according to the standards of their commonwealth. He claims that, for the wise, the heavenly regions, where their citizenship is (ton ouranion chōron en hō politeuontai), is their native land (Conf. 77–78; cf. Agr. 81) and that Moses gave laws to direct their civic life (politeusontai, Decal. 14). “With such instructions he tamed and softened the minds of the citizens of his commonwealth [politeuomenōn] and set them out of the reach of pride and arrogance” (Virt. 161). He speaks of the law (Spec. Leg. 4.226), declaring, “Indeed so great a love of justice does the law instill into those who live under its constitution [politeuomenois] that it does not even permit the fertile soil of a hostile city to be outraged by devastation or by cutting down trees to destroy the fruits.” He speaks of living “with our fellow citizens [politeusasthai] in peace and law observance” (Mut. Nom. 240). Elsewhere he says that the law is accepted “by those who enjoy their citizenship” (politeuomenōn, Prob. 47; cf. Conf. 109).
A politeuma has its own laws and obligations. The image played an important role in Jewish consciousness. To be citizens of a politeuma is to be involved in a certain way of life corresponding to the politeuma of which one is a part (TLNT 3:131). Thus Paul’s imperative politeuesthe means literally “engage in public life” or “live out your citizenship.” To live one’s life by the standards of the alternative commonwealth is to come into conflict with the way of life of the majority culture. As the Maccabean literature indicates, those who conduct themselves according to the laws of an alternative state run into conflict with the dominant state. According to 2 Maccabees, “the king sent an Athenian senator to compel the Jews to forsake the laws of their ancestors and no longer to live by the laws [mē politeuesthai] of God” (6:1 NRSV). King Antiochus V writes to Lysias, having heard that the Jews have not adopted Greek customs, requesting that the Jews be allowed to “live according to the customs [politeuesthai] of their ancestors” (2 Macc. 11:25 NRSV). Earlier, when Antiochus IV urged the Jews to eat pork, Eleazar replied, “We, O Antiochus, who have been persuaded to govern our lives [politeuesthai] by the divine law, think that there is no compulsion more powerful than our obedience to the law” (4 Macc. 5:16 NRSV). This usage occurs in Paul’s speech before the Sanhedrin, when he says, “I have lived my life [pepoliteumai] with a clear conscience before God” (Acts 23:1 NRSV).
For Roman authorities, Paul’s instruction, “Live out your citizenship worthily of the gospel,” would have been a revolutionary demand (Pilhofer 1995, 137), suggesting the disloyalty of people who were expected to live “worthily” of the Roman state. The residents of a Roman colony recognized the importance of living worthily (axiōs) of their citizenship. Peter Pilhofer (1995, 137) offers examples from epigraphic sources for the use of axiōs to describe the responsibilities of the citizens of a state. In an inscription from Gazoros (about 50 km from Philippi) are the words “worthy of the king and the citizens” (axiōs tou te basileōs kai tōn politōn; cf. Wojtkowiak 2012, 128). From other regions he finds the words axiōs tēs hēmeteras poleōs (“worthy of our city”; Pilhofer 1995, 137; IG IV 7, 387, line 6). Thus Paul employs common usage to describe the life worthy of a city. To live worthily of the gospel was, therefore, the alternative to the life worthy of the Roman colony of Philippi. Their norms are not those of the Roman state, according to which they once conducted themselves, but those of the alternative commonwealth (Wojtkowiak 2012, 129). This alternative way of life brought believers inevitably in conflict with Romans, who required that they live “worthily of the colony” of Rome.
This conflict is reflected in the description of the obligations of citizenship in 1:27–30, which has a concentration of terms reflecting a community engaged in a difficult struggle. Images drawn from athletics (agōn, 1:30) were commonly employed to describe the personal struggle of the individual, military conflict, and the struggle of those who were persecuted. Paul’s imagery may be compared to Philo’s description of instruction in the law (Praem. 4), “Having schooled the citizens of his polity [tous politeuomenous] with gentle instructions and exhortations . . . they advanced into the sacred arena and showed the spirit in which they would act bared ready for the contest [agōn].” He adds (Praem. 5) that it was found that the true athletes of virtue did not disappoint the high hopes of the laws that had trained them. For Philo, as for Paul, those who receive instruction in good citizenship in God’s commonwealth enter the arena and engage in the contest (agōn).
Paul employs athletic images that were used metaphorically in antiquity for the struggle. The purpose clause “that you stand firm” (hoti stēkete) is a military image for the unit that forms a line together in the face of the enemy in contrast to those who flee in the presence of opposition (Geoffrion 1999, 55). Paul uses the term always in the imperative (see 1 Cor. 16:13; Gal. 5:1; Phil. 4:1), commonly indicating that one stands firm in the midst of opposition.
Two participial phrases provide the positive and negative dimensions of standing firm. “Striving side by side with one mind in the faith of the gospel” (1:27) is the positive aspect. “Striving side by side” (synathlēsan) is an athletic image that Paul employs again in 4:3 but nowhere else in his correspondence. The related athletic image is found in Heb. 10:32 for the “hard struggle” against opposition that the readers had endured. Philosophers employed the image for the struggle for self-mastery. Paul’s imagery is probably derived from the portrayals of the martyrs in the Maccabean literature.
The negative side of standing firm is not to be intimidated by the opponents (antikeimenoi). Paul nowhere else uses the verb ptyromai, a word that was commonly used for the frightening of horses in the midst of battle (LSJ 1549). As the language of martyrdom suggests, the opponents are not believers (i.e., the opponents of 3:2) but the local populace, who are now persecuting believers. They are probably the same as those who abused Paul when he was in Philippi (1 Thess. 2:2). Like the Thessalonians, the Philippians share in various forms of persecution (cf. 1 Thess. 1:6; 3:3). Indeed, Acts probably reflects accurately the common charges against Christians: “These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe” (Acts 16:21 NRSV). Believers who live out their citizenship in another politeuma inevitably come into conflict with the local government. As Paul indicates, the surrounding society is “a crooked and perverse generation” (Phil. 2:15). As in Paul’s other churches, the believers face persecution in their local communities (cf. 1 Thess. 3:2–5) as the consequence of their alternative way of life (De Vos 1997, 263).
Because citizens are expected to conduct themselves worthily of their citizenship, that is, to conform to the norms of their politeuma, Paul instructs those whose commonwealth is in heaven to live worthily of the gospel. Elsewhere he challenges readers to live worthily of God (1 Thess. 2:12; cf. Eph. 4:1; Col. 1:10). Here the good news has its own norms, which Paul will describe in 1:27–2:18; 4:1–9. These norms have already been alluded to in 1:9–11. Whether he is present or absent alludes to the two possibilities that he has mentioned in 1:23–24.
Paul is probably recalling the Maccabean literature, in which the martyrs were the noble athletes. The image is developed at length in 4 Maccabees when the author describes the torture and persecution of the martyrs in athletic terms: “The tyrant was the antagonist, and the world and the human race were the spectators” (17:14 NRSV). God gave the crown to the noble athletes (17:15–16). This image continues among the Apostolic Fathers to describe martyrdom (Ign. Pol. 1.3; 3.1; 1 Clem. 5.1).
Peter Oakes (2001, 89–95) has described the various ways that the local church was marginalized and persecuted by the local populace. Withdrawal from the emperor cult could cause social and economic consequences. Alienation from families undoubtedly also played a role, as it did elsewhere in the early churches. Pilhofer indicates also that the international character of these communities was perceived as a threat to Roman order (1995, 137). While the cults in Philippi were local in nature, the Philippian church was connected to other communities throughout the empire. Although Paul gives no indication of arrests or incarceration in the city, the members were the subject of ostracism and various forms of harassment, even sporadic violence (Oakes 2001, 106–7). The statement that “it has been granted to you not only to believe, but also to suffer” (1:28) indicates the reality of persecution in Philippi.
Paul assumes that the readers will share in his sufferings as he participates in the sufferings of Christ (2 Cor. 1:5–7; Phil. 3:10). In his catechetical instruction to new converts, he indicates that “we are destined” for suffering (1 Thess. 3:3). As Phil. 1:28–30 indicates, to imitate Paul is to imitate him in suffering.
The parallel phrases “in one spirit” and “in one soul” (1:27) and the compound synathlountes (“striving side by side”) indicate the solidarity of the community as it engages in the difficult struggle. Paul conjures up the notion of soldiers standing side by side, ready to face the opponent as a single unit (Geoffrion 1999, 62) as the natural component of standing firm.
The focus on unity raises the question about the presence of division within the church. Paul refers later to the conflict between Euodia and Syntyche (Phil. 4:2–3). Some interpreters have suggested that the outward threats are the source of division within the church, maintaining that some wish to accommodate to the larger society, while others choose to be a direct challenge to the larger society (cf. Peterlin 1995, 55). However, the call for unity is not occasioned by division within the community but is the obvious necessity for a community that faces an external threat.
Tracing the Train of Thought
1:27–30. The thanksgiving (1:3–11) and the autobiographical reflection (1:12–26) lay the foundation for the letter’s propositio (1:27–30), the basic thesis of this letter of encouragement. Having prayed for their moral formation (1:9–11) and offered his own example (1:12–26) of faithfulness in the midst of suffering, Paul instructs his community to live out your citizenship in the heavenly commonwealth worthily of the gospel (1:27). The propositio in 1:27–30 is one compound sentence in Greek. Paul elaborates on the main clause “live out your citizenship” (1:27) with two participial phrases, giving the positive and negative dimensions of this existence (contending together . . . not being intimidated by the adversaries [1:27–28]) and a theological reason for this conduct (For [hoti] it has been graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing, but also of suffering for him as well [1:29]). As the propositio indicates, living out the heavenly citizenship brings conflict with the citizens of the Roman commonwealth. Paul elaborates on this conduct in 2:1–18.
Paul’s use of the verb politeuesthai rather than the usual peripatein to describe ethical behavior is no coincidence. He elaborates on the norms for this new existence in the remainder of the letter. The gospel is the narrative of Christ described in 2:6–11. Thus the life worthy of the gospel conforms to this narrative.
Only (monon, 1:27) focuses the attention on the most urgent matter in this difficult situation, indicating that “only this matter is important” (Landmesser 1997, 554). The image of an army closing ranks, standing in one spirit and contending together with one soul (mia psychē) introduces the theme of unity that will dominate the letter (Krentz 1993, 120). A breaking in the ranks or panic among some would be devastating for the community. The specific content of this behavior is introduced by so that, which is then interrupted by the parenthetical statement, whether I come to see you or am absent, a continuation of the presence-absence theme of 1:23–24. Paul hopes to hear that they stand firm in one Spirit, and elaborates on this with two participial phrases: “contending together in one spirit . . . and not being intimidated by the adversary” (1:27–28). The images suggest the severe struggle that the church faces against opposition. Paul regularly uses the verb stēkō (stand firm) in the imperative (1 Cor. 16:13; Gal. 5:1; Phil. 4:1; 1 Thess. 3:8). The verb normally refers to standing firm in the midst of a threat (Gnilka 1968, 99; Krentz 1993, 120). Interpreters debate whether “one spirit” refers to the human spirit and is parallel to “one soul” (NRSV “one mind”). However, “one spirit” is also used elsewhere for the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). Paul also speaks of the “help of the Spirit” (1:19) and the “sharing in the Spirit” (2:1) Thus he probably describes the need to stand firm in the Holy Spirit, the source of strength for the distressed community. This unity in the community will be the result of Paul’s prayer that they love each other more and more (1:9–11). Paul elaborates on this conduct in 2:1–5, describing the “sharing of the Spirit” (2:1) and the “one mind” (2:2, 5) in which no one behaves from selfish ambition.
Interpreters have recognized in Paul’s words the echoes of the ancient conversations on friendship (Fitzgerald 1996, 144). According to Aristotle, friends are of “one soul” (mia psychē, Eth. nic. 9.8.2). Friends are so similar that they are two bodies sharing one soul (Diogenes Laertius, Lives 5.20). Paul encourages believers to meet this challenge by striving with one mind (mia psychē, lit. “one soul”). Luke describes the ideal community as “one soul” (Acts 4:32), and Paul challenges the Philippians (2:2) to be “souls together” (NRSV “being in full accord,” sympsychoi). The church meets the challenge with unity.
Greeks and Romans could not conceive of friendship without the presence of enemies (Stowers 1991, 113). In the Greco-Roman social system, there were no neutral parties, for friends shared not only their possessions and time together but also their enemies. Thus for the Philippians, the threats from opponents necessitated that the believers come together as friends. However, they are more than friends, for they are a new family of brothers and sisters.
Paul’s challenge is to place the believers’ suffering in a new light (1:28), declaring first that their suffering is a sign of their salvation (sōtēria), but of the opponents’ destruction (apōleia). (“Which” [hētis] refers to their suffering.) He assumes the common theme of eschatological reversal, according to which the suffering people will ultimately be saved, while the oppressors will be destroyed. As he points out in Phil. 2:6–11, Jesus’s death on the cross was the prelude to his exaltation (cf. 2 Cor. 13:3–4). At the center of his proclamation is “Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23; 2:2). He himself participates in the sufferings of Christ (Phil. 3:10; cf. 2 Cor. 1:3–7; 4:10–11; Gal. 6:17; 1 Thess. 2:1–2; cf. Col. 1:24) in the physical abuse he receives from his proclamation (cf. 2 Cor. 6:4–10; 11:23–30) and in his imprisonment (Phil. 1:7, 14, 17). He does not suffer alone, however, for suffering is a part of Christian existence (cf. Rom. 5:2–5; 8:18–30) and the prelude to glory. His churches are in his heart, “to live together and die together” (2 Cor. 7:3). His converts receive the gospel in the midst of persecution, imitating him in his sufferings (1 Thess. 1:6; cf. 3:3–4). The salvation (sōtēria) here is eschatological salvation when the Savior (sōtēr) returns (Phil. 3:20), and those who inhabit the body of lowliness will be transformed. The destruction (apōleia) is the eschatological wrath of God on the oppressors. Those who put their minds on earthly things will face destruction (Phil. 3:19). Paul expresses this view also in 1 Thess. 2:14–16. One may compare the day of wrath in Rom. 2:5, 9. Because of the assumption of eschatological reversal, the present suffering is a sign (endeixis) of the Philippians’ future salvation (Fowl 2003, 174).
Because the necessity of suffering for one’s religion was totally foreign to ancient religiosity, it was undoubtedly a disorienting factor for new converts in Philippi (Wojtkowiak 2012, 238–39). Paul offers further motivation for the readers, declaring, “It has been graciously granted [echaristhē] you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well” (1:29). To believe is a gift (cf. Rom. 12:3; 1 Cor. 12:9), but to suffer for Christ is also a gift. The passive echaristhē suggests that God is the one who grants the suffering. The God who graciously gives suffering is the one who gave (echarisato) to the exalted Christ a name above every other name (2:9). To suffer for Christ is the equivalent of participating in the sufferings of Christ (3:10), to be crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:19). As Paul indicates in 1 Thess. 3:3, suffering is the destiny of believers. To suffer for Christ is to participate in the same struggle (agōn, 1:30) in which Paul is involved (Wolter 2009, 233). Paul has provided a model for the believers’ understanding of suffering (1:12–26), and in his frequent autobiographical statements in Philippians, he calls on the community to imitate him (see 3:17; 4:9; cf. 1 Thess. 1:6). The community shares in the sufferings of Christ, imitating Paul in what it sees and hears in him. Indeed, imitation of Paul is a major theme of Philippians.
This suffering is an agōn, a term drawn from athletics to describe the struggles of the people of God in times of conflict. The Philippians have observed Paul’s agōn, and his imprisonment is another dimension of the struggle. The Philippians share the struggle with Paul. Their suffering is neither unexpected nor a sign of failure. To suffer for religion was unheard of in ancient society. Paul places their suffering in a different light by indicating that he shares suffering and that it is the prelude to glory.
Theological Issues
Paul’s choice of the verb politeuesthai (lit. “live as citizens”) rather than his customary peripatein (lit. “walk”) as the verb for moral conduct suggests the political implications of the gospel. Paul does not mention the community’s obligation to the civic institutions but suggests only that the ultimate loyalty of believers is to an alternative commonwealth (cf. 3:20). From the time when Jesus was asked about obedience to Caesar (Mark 12:13–17) until now, believers have attempted to determine their place within two kingdoms. Augustine wrote of the two cities—the city of God and the city of humankind—that had separate responsibilities. The Reformers spoke of the separate responsibilities of the two kingdoms in which the believer could be loyal to both. Paul’s exhortation to “stand firm in one spirit,” his acknowledgment of the suffering of believers (1:28), and his reference to their agōn (“struggle,” 1:30) indicate that living “worthily of the gospel” evokes the hostility of the wider populace. H. Richard Niebuhr describes the constant tension between Christ and culture (1951, 8), concluding that “the political problem such monotheism presents to the exponents of a national or imperial culture has been largely obscured in modern times, but became quite evident in the anti-Christian and especially anti-Jewish attacks of German national socialism.” He adds,
The Christ who will not worship Satan to gain the world’s kingdoms is followed by Christians who will worship only Christ in unity with the Lord whom he serves. And this is intolerable to all defenders of society who are content that many gods should be worshipped if only Democracy or America or Germany or the Empire receives its due, religious homage.
The hostility from the larger society to believers who will not bow down to the gods of nationalism, pluralism, or political ideologies has been a consistent factor in the history of Christian faith and remains a reality today. When the facade of Westminster Abbey was removed in 1998, niches that had been empty since the Middle Ages were filled with the sculptures of ten martyrs of the twentieth century, including Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Oscar Romero, and Martin Luther King Jr. These sculptures represent only a fraction of Christian martyrs throughout the centuries (Migliore 2014, 75). Because those who have “lived out their citizenship worthily of the gospel” have rejected the values of the larger society, they have been rejected in their own community.
When Paul declares that “it has been granted [echaristhē] to you” not only to believe, but also to suffer for Christ (1:29), he does not suggest that all suffering is a gift, but only the suffering that believers freely choose as they participate in the destiny of the one who suffered first. This dimension of grace (charis) is largely ignored in the consumer-driven Christianity of the twenty-first century. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer argued in The Cost of Discipleship, the biblical doctrine of grace becomes “cheap grace” that dispenses benefits for the believer without making demands. Bonhoeffer speaks of grace without discipleship. True grace “is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life” (1963, 47).