Philippians 1:27 - Exposition

Only let your conversation be . St. Paul exhorts the Philippians to steadfastness. Only, whatever happens, whether I come or no, πολιτεύεσθε , behave as citizens (comp. Philippians 3:20 , ἡμῶν τὸ πολιτεῦμα and Ephesians 2:19 , συμπολῖται τῶν ἁγίων . The verb also occurs in Acts 23:1 , "I have lived ( πεπολίτευμαι ) in all good conscience towards God." St. Paul was himself a Roman citizen; he was writing from Rome; his presence the re was caused by his having exercised the rights of citizenship in appealing to Caesar. He was writing to a place largely inhabited by Roman citizens (for Philippi was a Roman colony), a place in which he had declared himself to be a Roman ( Acts 16:37 ). The metaphor was natural. Some of you are citizens of Rome, the imperial city; live, all of you, as citizens of the heavenly country, the city of the living God. As it becometh the gospel of Christ ; rather, as R.V. margin, behave as citizens worthily of. There is a striking parallel in Polycarp's letter to these same Philippians (sect. 5). ἑὰν πολιτευσώμεθα ἀξίως αὐτοῦ καὶ συμβασιλεύσομεν αὐτῷ literally, "If we live as citizens worthily of him, we shall also reign with him." That whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit . The metaphor is military, and follows naturally from the thought of citizenship. Philippi was a military colony, its chief magistrates were praetors, στρατηγοί ( Acts 16:20 ), literally, "generals" (comp. Ephesians 6:13 and Galatians 5:1 ). Spirit is the highest part of our immaterial nature, which, when enlightened by the Holy Spirit of God, can rise into communion with God, and discern the truths of the world unseen. In one spirit ; because the spirits of believers are knit together into one fellowship by the one Holy Spirit of God abiding in them all. This distinction between spirit and soul occurs again in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 . The soul is the lower part of our inner being, the seat of the appetites, passions, affections, connected above with the πνεῦμα , below with the σάρξ With one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel ; with one soul (not mind); i.e. with all the desires and emotions concentrated on one object, all acting together in the one great work; comp. Acts 4:32 , "Striving together with one another for the faith," rather than "striving together with the faith." The personification of faith, though approved by high authority, seems forced and improbable. Faith is here used objectively; the faith of the gospel is the doctrine of the gospel, as Galatians 1:23 , "The faith which once he destroyed."