Gosh, it’s been years since I’ve read this book.
Definitely a believer
The first thing that strikes me is how much joy Paul speaks with. He’s writing from prison, and he acts as if nothing could be better. I think this is a telling sentence – he says “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. For me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer.” [1:20-22]
The man writing this letter has made his life about Christ. He has made Christ so central to his existence that he has not a thought for himself outside of Christ. That is rather incredible. He is a true believer. There can be no doubt about that.
In a way, he sounds crazy. And perhaps true believers have to be a bit crazy.
I once heard that humans will define anyone we either really don’t like or really don’t understand as crazy. It is definitely hard to understand what joy a man might see in the message of Christ that they are so joyful at the prospect of dying. More so, it is intriguing. It makes me want to learn more about what the message of Christ is that has so overtaken Paul.
Following Christ & acting that way
So what does it mean to Paul when he talks about believing in Christ? He talks very strongly about how we who believe in Christ should act.
He says: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you not look to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” [2:3-5]
He then goes on to say that Christ, though equal with God, chose to humble himself as a human, a slave, to the point of his death. Then he was exalted by God.
It sounds like humility comes now; reward comes later. Paul seems to talk very specifically about the sense of a reward coming later after death. The reward comes through believing in Christ.
In a final exhortation of the letter, Paul tells his readers: “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” [4:8-9]
At the risk of sounding vulgar after such eloquence, it sounds like Paul is talking about good stuff. The way he is saying that those who believe in Christ should live — it’s a good way to live. The kind of acts and attitudes he describes are beautiful, good, from a space of love. They are a good way to be. They are a way that I would want to be. They are the way that I try to be.
I see what my one friend meant about Philippians being “Christianity in a nutshell”.
Questions remain
I feel like I want to learn more about Judaism and the Roman authority. If Paul was accepting Christ and getting persecuted for it, there must have been something that Christ offered that him more. Something he wasn’t getting elsewhere. I would like to learn more about what that was.
