Reading: Philippians 3-4, Psalm 11

Having given the Philippians the reason to endure suffering with joy in his great meditation on the person of Christ in chapter 2, Paul now turns to what this looks like. He will (again) address licentious living and legalism, this time in much shorter terms. He will once again address disagreement, this time between two Christian sisters, Euodia and Syntyche. Finally and most thoroughly, he will address how to face persecution and suffering by keeping in mind who and what Jesus is. Then he will close the letter with one of the most interesting throwaway lines in the Bible.

Paul gets at both licentiousness and legalism at the start of chapter 3, warning the Philippians to look out for the the dogs, the evildoers, those who mutilate the flesh. He tells the Philippians to live holy lives on the one hand, while warning them not to depend on their own righteous behavior on the other. Paul recounts his own righteous qualifications, but then says whatever I had, I count as loss for the sake of Christ. His whole purpose has become to imitate Jesus in all possible ways, which while it leads to a holy life does not depend on personal righteousness. He tells the Philippians to look at him and imitate him only inasmuch as he imitates Jesus, not as an example of holy behavior. He invites them to be like him in saying Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect. I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. His behavior is motivated by the pursuit of Jesus. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul’s point is that neither righteous behavior or wicked behavior is the measure, but the pursuit of Christlikeness. Not having yet obtained it is normal. Paul himself does not claim to have done so, but that will not stop him from pursuing it with all his might.

Paul goes on to encourage the Philippians that this is enough. It is not necessary to obtain perfection, only the gospel is necessary. Repentance from sin unto life into the name of Jesus. The deep anxiety of needing to perform to a certain level to be accepted can go out the window. The Christian life is not about appearances or performance. It is about the pursuit of our Lord, Jesus Christ. This is why Paul can tell the Philippians to be anxious for nothing. There is nothing to be anxious about. Their performance anxiety arose from needing to meet standards that they could not possibly meet, either in the law of Moses for the Jews, or in whatever laws they wrote for themselves for the gentiles. We all fail the invisible tape recorder test, not matter how hard we try. Paul says to stop worrying about it and embrace repentance as the answer to all your worries. Giving due honor in supplication and gratitude, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your heart in Christ Jesus. The promise of the gospel is a peace that is beyond understanding. This is a much better deal than worrying all the time about whether you measure up. Especially because you don’t. No one does. That is our problem.

Paul closes his letter with some more thanks for the gifts brought to him in prison by Epaphroditus, and the reassurance that both Paul and the Philippians will have all they need from God, who will supply every need of yours according to his riches in Christ Jesus. Then he does some greeting as usual, but here one of the greeting is from the household of Caesar. I have said before that I don’t think Paul actually wrote any throwaway lines. It is quite an interesting development that there are now Christians in the household of the emperor, and would be especially meaningful to the people of Philippi, a city renown for its emperor worship. If the very household of Caesar has Christians in it, surely the Philippians can endure the pressure of the imperial cult. It is a quiet and easily missed encouragement for the Philippians, showing Paul’s awareness of who he was writing to and the difficulties they faced.