The Christian life is not a playground although it is full of blessings; it is also a battle-ground.
Philippians 1:27-30: 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 28 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. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Each local church is but one generation short of potential extinction. Satan is, seeking to lead them away from “the faith.”
Here in Philippians we see there is a battle without (1:28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you) and a potential battle within (4:2:I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord).
The enemy wants to destroy people’s faith in Jesus. He has a three-fold agenda - to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10).
How can a group of Christians fight this enemy?
2 Corinthians 10:4: The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
We use spiritual weapons—the Word of God and prayer (Ephesians 6:11–18; Hebrews 4:12).
But we must also live a life worthy of the Gospel.
There are three essentials for victory in the battle to protect “the faith.”
1. Consistency
1:27a: Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
The most important weapon against the enemy is not a stirring sermon or a powerful book; it is the consistent life of believers.
The verb Paul used is related to our word politics. He was saying, “Behave the way citizens are supposed to behave.”
A while ago I was in the changing room of the gym and two guys were talking about a business deal that had gone sour. It turned out that one of them had done a deal with a third party that they both knew. But the other guy had cheated on the deal, and had cost him a large amount of money. Then their chat turned to this other guy’s faith. Apparently, he loved telling everyone one about Jesus, made sure everyone knew he was at church on Sundays, and how he could be trusted as a business man. These guys concluded that not only would they not do business with him, but that they would not do business with any Christian!
Paul was suggesting that we Christians are the citizens of heaven, and while we are on earth we ought to behave like heaven’s citizens.
He brought this concept up again in Philippians 3:20: But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It would have great meaning to the people in Philippi because Philippi was a Roman colony, and its citizens were actually Roman citizens, protected by Roman law.
The church of Jesus Christ is a colony of heaven on earth, protected by a divine covenant! And we ought to behave like the citizens of heaven.
Ephesians 4:1: As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
“Am I conducting myself in a manner worthy of the gospel?” is a great question.
- Self-examination is encouraged in the Bible (1 Corinthians 11: 28; 2 Corinthians 13:5).
- God examines the hearts of people (Psalm 11:4; 11:5;26:2; Proverbs 5:21 et al).
- Self-condemnation for those in Christ is discouraged in the Bible (Romans 8:1)
We do not behave in order to go to heaven, as though we could be saved by our good works (Ephesians 2:8-9); but we behave because our names are already written in heaven, and our citizenship is in heaven.
When we examine ourselves we are really asking, “Am I progressing in my Christian walk?”
We need to regularly review if we are growing, not necessarily daily, but at least annually.
A tree doesn't see much daily growth but over time. When fully grown it continues to add rings (strength) to its life.
Your life is the only Bible most people will read.
2 Corinthians 3:2: You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.
A local church that practices the truth, that behaves what it believes, is going to defeat the enemy.
This is the first essential for victory in this battle.
2. Cooperation
1:27b: I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel
The phrase translated “striving together” gives us our English word athletics. Paul pictured the church as a team, and he reminded them that it is teamwork that wins victories.
Keep in mind that there was division in the church at Philippi.
For one thing, two women were not getting along with each other (Phil. 4:2). Apparently the members of the fellowship were taking sides, as is often the case, and the resulting division was hindering the work of the church.
The enemy is always happy to see internal divisions in a local ministry. It is as believers stand together that they can overcome the wicked one.
Throughout this letter, Paul used an interesting device to emphasise the importance of unity. In the Greek language, the prefix sun- means “with, together,” and when used with different words, strengthens the idea of unity. (It is somewhat like our prefix co-.)
At least sixteen times, Paul used this prefix in Philippians, and his readers could not have missed the message!
In Philippians 1:27, the Greek word is sunathleo—“striving together as athletes.”
Sometimes a team has a prima-donna, someone filed with their own sense of self importance. Usually that person makes life difficult for the rest of the team. They aren’t working equally together, but are working to make one person look good. It is this attitude that makes for defeat.
Unfortunately, churches too can have prima-donnas.
3 John 9: I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us.
Even the apostles James and John asked to have special thrones (Matt. 20:20–28).
The important word is together: standing firmly together in one spirit, striving together against the enemy, and doing it with one mind and heart.
Lesson from Redwood trees: Near where we live there is a road lined with redwood trees, the tallest and widest variety of trees in the world. Although the biggest of trees, they have some of the shallowest roots of any tree. The roots of the redwood only go down about three feet but they spread out for over 80 feet parallel to the surface. Why? They are looking for other redwood trees. The roots then intertwine with the other redwoods to from a lattice of roots. From this they gain strength and can grow to enormous sizes. The strength of the redwood is not an individual strength, but is drawn from cooperating with each other.
There is one goal—to honour Christ and do His will. If we all work together, we can reach the goal, win the prize, and glorify the Lord.
There is joy in our lives, even as we battle the enemy, if we live for Christ and the gospel and practice Christian teamwork.
We are citizens of heaven and therefore should walk consistently. We are members of the same “team” and should work cooperatively. But there is a third essential for success as we face the enemy, and that is confidence.
3. Confidence
1:28: without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.
Nobody blindly runs into a fight, but then, no true believer should deliberately avoid facing the enemy.
Here are some things that will strengthen us for the battle.
- The opposition proves we are saved!
1:29: For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him
We not only believe on Christ but also suffer for Christ. Paul called this “the fellowship of his sufferings” (Philippians 3:10).
Some Christians believe that being saved is the end to their battles. It isn’t. Sure we have victory over the things that bind us, but the battle ground shifts. In fact, you become engaged in the actual battle for the community in which you live. The focus has shifted, the real battle becomes apparent.
We will have troubles in this world, but Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33).
If you want to live a godly life in Christ, you will be persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12).
- The opposition is a privilege
1:29: For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him
Paul says that this conflict is “granted” to us—it is a gift!
We suffer for him! If we were suffering for ourselves, it would be no privilege, but because we are suffering for and with Christ, it is a high and holy honour.
He suffered for us, and a willingness to suffer for Him is the very least we can do to show our love and gratitude.
- The opposition is shared
1:30: since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Satan wants us to think we are alone in the battle, that our difficulties are unique, but that’s not true.
Paul reminded the Philippians that he was going through the same difficulties they were experiencing hundreds of miles from Rome!
Knowing that my fellow believers are also sharing in the battle is an encouragement for me to keep going and to pray for them as I pray for myself.
Going through spiritual conflict is one way we have to grow in Christ.
God gives us the strength we need to stand firm against the enemy, and this confidence is proof to him that he will lose and we are on the winning side Philippians 1:28b: This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God.
The Philippians had seen Paul go through struggles when he was with them (read Acts 16:19ff.), and they had witnessed his faith in the Lord.
The word conflict gives us our word agony (agonia), and is the same word that is used for Christ’s struggle in the garden (Luke 22:44).
Wrapping this up:
As we face the enemy and depend on the Lord, He gives us all that we need for the battle. When the enemy sees our God-given confidence, it makes him fear.
You can have joy in the middle of the battle because of your consistency, cooperation, and confidence. We experience the joy of spiritual unity as we strive together for the faith of the gospel.
Note: I acknowledge the work of Warren Wiersbe and his NT commentary for the structure of some of these messages.
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