The meaning of worthy
Philippians 1:27, “Only
let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I
come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you
stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith
of the gospel” (NKJV).
What is implied in
Paul's exhortation “only let your manner of life be worthy [axios] Of
the gospel of Christ? In English versions of the New Testament, the
Greek word axios is usually translated “worthy”. But its flavour is
expressed elsewhere when it is translated “in keeping with” (Matthew
3:8, Acts 26:20). Like many other words, there is a picture lying behind
the origin of the Greek word axios. It means “properly, bringing up the
other beam of the scales, bringing into equilibrium, and therefore
equivalent.
The basic idea is that
a life that is worthy of the gospel of Christ expresses in the form of a
lifestyle what the gospel teaches in the form of a message. Such a life
takes on a character that reflects the character of the lord Jesus
Christ.
When I was a boy, my
morning chore before school was to collect some of the provisions our
family would need for the meals of the day. One of my tasks was to go to
the local butcher. My mother charged me to ask for a specific cut of
meat and a specific weight of it. In those now far off days our butcher
would use old-fashioned scales with two pans. On one he placed weights
to the amount I asked for. On the other he measured out to meet, adding
to it or subtracting from it until the central pointer indicated a
perfect balance between the two pans. It was fun to watch him add or
subtract the meat in order to get just the right balance. Simple but
ingenious!
That is the picture the
word axios conveys. On the one hand, here is the gospel. And on the
other hand, here is your life. And Paul's exhortation is this: live in
such a way that your life weighs the same as the gospel! Live in a way
that is in keeping with the gospel that matches the gospel. This is what
the balanced Christian life looks like. The gospel is the message of the
good news of Jesus Christ, and our lives are to be the embodiment of
that good news. Put another way, the gospel is the power of God for
salvation, (Romans 1:16) and we are to live in a powerfully saved way!
For Paul this was
neither a trivial nor an optional matter. It was instead a one and only
kind of thing, an essential.
A Kind of
Citizenship
But worthy is not the
only picture word Paul uses here. When he writes let your manner of life
be worthy of the gospel, he uses the Greek word ‘politeuomai’. It is
derived from the word for a city (polis, The source of our word
politics). It literally means live as a citizen.
Paul could have used
the verb meaning walk as he does in Ephesians 4:1, “walk worthy of the
calling with which you were called” and Colossians 1:10, “walk worthy of
the Lord”. But you can probably guess why he uses citizenship language.
Philippi was a Roman colony; Its civic life was structured according to
Roman law and the Roman way of life. Citizens of philippi were Roman
citizens. That was why the local magistrates there had been so alarmed
when they discovered that the man whose garments they had torn off and
whom they had beaten with rods without due process of the law and then
thrown into prison was in fact a Roman citizen. No wonder they came to
Paul eating humble pie. (Acts 16:22-23, 37-40)
Paul may simply have
been saying in philippians 1: 27, as citizens in philippi live your life
in a way that reflects the gospel. But there is almost certainly more.
Was Lydia, who had first welcomed him still there? The jailer and his
family whom Paul had pointed to Christ Shurely were. And perhaps to the
young slave girl Paul had rescued from abusive men and abusive spirits
was listening. Paul was reminding them our citizenship is in heaven.
Philippians 3: 20.
Philip I was not in
Italy but in Macedonia. But a Philippian lived there as a citizen of
Rome, according to Roman law, following the patterns of life in the
capital city. Paul's message then was that while his friends were living
in Philippi, their real citizenship was heavenly. Their church family
was a colony of heaven here on earth. And because that was true, they
were to live not according to the pattern of life of any earthly city,
but according to the pattern of life of the heavenly city, the new
Jerusalem.
In short, the Christian
life is to be a version of heaven on earth. This privilege could not be
greater, and the standard could not be higher. For that reason, the
summons could not be more demanding. Nothing less than all embracing.
And yet, for all that, paul's exhortation is 1,000,000 miles from
legalism because he understands how the gospel works.
The grace of God in
Christ provides us with a new identity, a heavenly 1; it follows that
this, and not our natural identity, determines everything we do. Our
identity, our citizenship, is heavenly. As Paul says elsewhere, our
lives are hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3) And when Christ
appears, to bring about our final transformation into his likeness, then
our true identity will become clear.(Philippians 3: 20-21; Colossians 3:
4; 1 John 3: 1-2). What then could be more logical or more compelling
than to live in this world as those who are citizens of another world?
Like Daniel in the Old Testament, we are called to live out the
lifestyle of the Jerusalem (above) to which we belong, even when we live
in the babylon (below) where we don't really belong.
So we are the seeing
the Lord song in a foreign land. Salm 137: four. That's not a matter of
legalism, for his commandments are not burdensome. One John 5: three
period Jesus tells us that being yoked to him, the meek and the lowly
one, brings ease, not disease, and rest, not restlessness, for our
souls. Matthew 11: 28-30.
So what should it look
like if we are living lives worthy of Our Calling?
Morning to Paul there
are four qualities we should exhibit. Ephesians 4: 1-2
1.
Humble, lowly
2.
gentle, meek
3.
patient
4.
bearing with one another in
love
What is humility?
Humility is not thinking lowly of yourself,
but rather not thinking of yourself at all. True humility is not putting
ourselves down but rather lifting up others. If we concentrate on
lifting up others, putting down ourselves will take care of itself.
Don't be selfish, don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of
others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own
interest, but take an interest in others too. Philippians 2: 3-4 (NLT).
True humility is not in reality, a loss of
stature. It is not a loss of honor. It is a lifting up of others it is
not a weak man's surrender, but a strong man's rejection of selfishness
and determination to be actively concerned with the needs and interests
of others.
Be Gentle
1.
Enduring injury with patients
and without resentment.
2.
Deficient in spirit and
courage.
The first sense of the
word is the biblical sense. Here's how a Greek linguist explains the
word: make this denotes the humble and gentle attitude which expresses
itself, in particular, in a patient submissiveness to offense, free from
malice and desire for revenge. It is controlled strength, the ability to
bear reproaches and slights without bitterness and resentment; The
ability to provide a soothing influence on someone who is in a state of
anger, bitterness and resentment against life. The obedient
submissiveness to God and his will.
At the end of the day,
he calls us to be gentle with everyone.
Titus 3: 1-2, “remind
the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to
be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and
considerate, and always be gentle toward everyone.”
Be Patient
The Greek word here is
a compound word: makro-thumia, long temper. To be patient is to have a
long fuse.
As Albert Barnes
observed, no virtue, perhaps, is more frequently demanded in our
intercourse with others.
William Barclay wrote,
as the Greeks used it, usually meant patients with people. It is the
ability not to lose patience when people are foolish, not to grow
irritable when they seem unteachable. It is the ability to accept the
folly, the perversity, the blindness, the ingratitude of men and still
to remain gracious, and still to toil on.
One commentator said
that the word macro- tumia might also be translated as, large emotions,
signifying wells of endurance that will not dry up, no matter how much
is drawn from them.
How do you get that?
Often through suffering. Romans 5: 3
so don't just call
yourself a Christian, but live up to the name.
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