SEV Biblia, Chapter 1:27
¶ Solamente que conversis como es digno del Evangelio del Cristo; para que, o sea que vaya a veros, o que est ausente, oiga de vosotros que estis firmes en un mismo espíritu, unnimes obrando juntamente por la fe del Evangelio,
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Philippians 1:27
Verse 27. Let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel] The apostle considers the Church at Philippi as a free or imperial city, which possesses great honours, dignities, and privileges; and he exhorts them to act, axiwv, worthy of or suitably to those honours and privileges. This is the idea that is expressed by the word politeuesqe, act according to the nature of your political situation, the citizenship and privileges which you possess in consequence of your being free inhabitants of Christ's imperial city, the Church. The apostle resumes the same metaphor, Phil. iii. 20: hmwn-to politeuma en ouranoiv uparcei? For our citizenship is in heaven; but in this last verse he puts heaven in the place of the Church, and this is all right; for he, who is not a member of the Church of Christ on earth, can have no right to the kingdom of heaven, and he who does not walk worthy of the Gospel of Christ cannot be counted worthy to enter through the gates into the city of the eternal King. Whether I come and see you] Leaving the matter still in doubt as to them, whether he should again visit them.
In one spirit] Being all of one mind under the influence of the Holy Ghost.
Striving together] sunaqlountev? Wrestling together, not in contention with each other, but in union against the enemies of the Gospel faith - the doctrine of Christ crucified, and freedom from all Mosaic rites and ceremonies, as well as from sin and perdition, through his passion and sacrifice.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 27. Only let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ , etc.] Or behave as citizens worthy of the Gospel; for not so much their outward conversation in the world is here intended, which ought to be in wisdom towards them that are without; so as to give no offence to any, and to put to, silence, the ignorance of foolish men, and them to confusion and: shame, who falsely accuse their good conversation in Christ; though this is what is highly becoming professors of the Gospel; and a moral conversation proceeding from principles of grace, under the influence of the Spirit of God, is very ornamental to the Gospel, being what that requires and powerfully teaches; but the conversation of the saints one with another, in their church state, is here meant. The allusion is to cities which have their peculiar laws and rules, to which the citizens are to conform; and such as behave according to them act up to the character of good citizens, and becoming, and worthy of the charter by which they hold their privileges and immunities. A church of Christ is as a city, and is often so called; the members of it are citizens, fellow citizens, one with another, and of the household of God, and have laws and rules according to which they are to conduct themselves; as such do who walk worthy of their calling, and becoming the charter of the Gospel by which they have and hold their freedom and privileges, as citizens of the new Jerusalem: and such a Gospel walk and conversation lies in such things as these; constant attendance on the preaching of the Gospel, and on the administration of Gospel ordinances; a strict observation of the rules of behaviour towards persons that have given offence, either in public or private; a just regard to the discipline of Christ's house, in admonitions; reproofs, censures and excommunications, as cases require; cultivating love, unity, and peace; keeping the ordinances as they were delivered; retaining and striving for the doctrines of the Gospel; holding the mysteries of it in a pure conscience, and adorning: it by a becoming life and conversation. This the apostle recommends as the only, the main and principal thing these saints should attend to; and as what would give him the greatest joy and pleasure to hear of, whether he should ever come and see them again or not: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs . The Vulgate Latin version reads hear of you; and so do the Syriac and Ethiopic versions: that ye stand fast in one spirit ; meaning either the Gospel, which is the Spirit that giveth life; so called because it is from the, Spirit of God, and that by which he is conveyed into the souls of men, and contains spiritual things: this is one, uniform, consistent scheme of truths; find in this believers ought to stand fast, and should abide by it, and never give up, or part with anyone branch of it; and so to do is one part of their Gospel conversation; for the apostle in this and the following things points out the several parts of that conversation he exhorts to: or else the holy Spirit of God is intended, who as he is the beginner of the good work of grace on the soul, is he also who carries it on and will perfect it; and therefore to him should the people of God look for grace and strength, to enable them to stand fast in the profession of their faith, to hold fast without wavering, and to persevere to the end; who is that one Spirit by which they are baptized into one body, and become fellow citizens with the saints: or the spirit of love, unity, and peace is here meant: true Christian love makes the saints to be of one heart and soul; and in this single affection to one another should they stand fast; brotherly love should continue, and all endeavours be used to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace; which is another branch of becoming Gospel conversation: the apostle adds, with one mind , or soul; either signifying the same as before, or else that they should be of one judgment in the doctrines and ordinances of the Gospel, and abide therein; which is necessary to their harmonious walk and conversation together, as citizens of Zion: striving together for the faith of the Gospel : by the faith of the Gospel, may be designed the grace of faith, which comes by the Gospel; as the means of it, and by which the Gospel becomes useful and beneficial to the souls of men, and which has the Gospel for its object; for faith comes by hearing the word, and that is only profitable when it is mixed with it, and is that grace which gives credit to every truth of it, upon the testimony of divine revelation: now as the doctrine of faith is that which the saints are to strive for, the grace of faith is that by which they strive for it; by which they resist Satan, oppose false teachers, and overcome the world; and agreeably to this sense the Arabic version reads, by the faith of the Gospel: though rather the doctrine of faith is intended, that word of faith, or faith, which is the Gospel itself, and which is often so called; and for this, in all its parts and branches, believers should strive; as for all those doctrines of faith, which concern the unity of God, the trinity of persons in the Godhead, the divine sonship of Christ, the proper deity and distinct personality of him and the blessed Spirit; and for all such doctrines as regard the state and condition of men by the fall of Adam, as that the guilt of his sin is imputed to all his posterity, the pollution of nature by it derived and communicated to them, that the bias of man's mind is naturally to that which is evil, and is averse to that which is good, and that he is impotent to everything that is spiritually good; and for all those doctrines which regard the free and distinguishing grace of God; of election, as eternal, personal, and irrespective of faith, holiness, and good works, as motives and conditions of it; of the covenant of grace, as from everlasting, absolute and unconditional, sure and firm; of redemption, as particular, and as proceeding upon a full satisfaction for sin to law and justice; of justification by the righteousness of Christ; of peace and pardon by his blood; of regeneration, conversion, and sanctification, as entirely owing to powerful and efficacious grace, and not to man's free will; of the saints' final perseverance, the resurrection of the dead, a future judgment, and eternal life, as the free gift of God: striving for these, as wrestlers do with one another, to which the allusion is, supposes persons to strive and wrestle against; and they are such as oppose truth and themselves unto it; as all such that deny divine revelation, or the authority of the Scriptures; that say that Jesus is not the Messiah; or that Christ is not the natural and eternal Son of God; or that deny his proper deity, his satisfaction and righteousness; that reject the efficacious grace of God, and the operations of the Spirit as unnecessary, to regeneration and conversion; that advance and plead for the purity of human nature, the power of man's free will, and ascribe justification and salvation to the works of men: all such are to be contended with and strove against, and that not with carnal weapons, but with spiritual ones, with the Scriptures of truth; by which a good warfare with them may be warred, and the good fight of faith fought with much success; and the whole requires great care and solicitude, earnestness, zeal, constancy, and courage: striving together for these, intends either striving with the apostle, and as they had him both as a fellow soldier, and for an example; or rather striving one with another, their ministers with their members, and their members with their ministers; the one by preaching, writing, and disputing more especially, the other by bearing a constant testimony to truth, and praying for the success of it; and both by dying for it when required; and so to do is to have the conversation as becomes the Gospel of Christ.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 27-30 - Those who profess the gospel of Christ, should live as becomes thos who believe gospel truths, submit to gospel laws, and depend upo gospel promises. The original word "conversation" denotes the conduc of citizens who seek the credit, safety, peace, and prosperity of their city. There is that in the faith of the gospel, which is worth strivin for; there is much opposition, and there is need of striving. A man ma sleep and go to hell; but he who would go to heaven, must look abou him and be diligent. There may be oneness of heart and affection amon Christians, where there is diversity of judgment about many things Faith is God's gift on the behalf of Christ; the ability an disposition to believe are from God. And if we suffer reproach and los for Christ, we are to reckon them a gift, and prize them accordingly Yet salvation must not be ascribed to bodily afflictions, as thoug afflictions and worldly persecutions deserved it; but from God only i salvation: faith and patience are his gifts __________________________________________________________________
Greek Textus Receptus
μονον 3440 αξιως 516 του 3588 ευαγγελιου 2098 του 3588 χριστου 5547 πολιτευεσθε 4176 5737 ινα 2443 ειτε 1535 ελθων 2064 5631 και 2532 ιδων 1492 5631 υμας 5209 ειτε 1535 απων 548 5752 ακουσω 191 5661 τα 3588 περι 4012 υμων 5216 οτι 3754 στηκετε 4739 5719 εν 1722 ενι 1520 πνευματι 4151 μια 1520 ψυχη 5590 συναθλουντες 4866 5723 τη 3588 πιστει 4102 του 3588 ευαγγελιου 2098
Vincent's NT Word Studies
27. Only. This one thing I urge as the only thing needful Let your conversation be (politeuesqe). Only here in Paul's writings, and elsewhere only Acts xxiii. 1. The verb means to be a citizen. Lit., Be citizens worthily of the Gospel. Rev., Let your manner of life be. Margin, Behave as citizens. Compare Eph. iii. 19, and see on ch. iii. 20. The exhortation contemplates the Philippians as members of the christian commonwealth. The figure would be naturally suggested to Paul by his residence in Rome, and would appeal to the Philippians as a Roman colony, which was a reproduction of the parent commonwealth on a smaller scale.
Ye stand fast (sthkete). Compare Eph. vi. 13; 2 Thess. ii. 15. For the verb, see on John i. 26; viii. 44.
Spirit - mind (pneumati - yuch). See on Rom. viii. 4; xi. 3.
Striving together for the faith (sunaqlountev th pistei). The verb occurs only here and ch. iv. 3. The figure is that of an athletic contest, and is in keeping with standfast. Not to be rendered striving in concert with the faith, thus personifying faith, and making the faith signify the gospel teaching. 177 For the faith as christian doctrine, see on Acts vi. 7. Faith is to be taken in its usual subjective sense of trust in Christ or in the Gospel. Together refers to the mutual striving of the Philippians; not to their striving in concert with Paul.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
1:27 {Let your manner of life} (politeuesqe). Old verb from polites, citizen, and that from polis, city, to be a citizen, to manage a state's affairs, to live as a citizen. Only twice in N.T., here and #Ac 23:1. Philippi as a colony possessed Roman citizenship and Paul was proud of his own possession of this right. The Authorized Version missed the figure completely by the word "conversation" which did refer to conduct and not mere talk as now, but did not preserve the figure of citizenship. Better render, "Only do ye live as citizens." {Striving} (sunathlountes). Rather, "striving together" as in an athletic contest. Late and rare word (Diodorus). "The very energy of the Christian faith to produce energetic individualities" (Rainy). "Striving in concert" (Lightfoot). {For the faith} (tei pistei). For the teaching of the gospel, objective sense of pistis (faith).
