With this verse begins a section in which Paul exhorts the Philippians to live and struggle as Christians in everyday life. First, he calls them to live according to the gospel of Christ. They must behave in a manner that is worthy of the gospel. The gospel of Christ
not only refers to the gospel that Christ himself spoke but is broadly understood as the gospel that Paul preached about Christ, in which words of Christ also have a place.
Paul likes to see that when he visits them, or hear about them (when he is not with them), they are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.
For striving,
Paul uses a word from competitive sport (the word athlete
is derived from this word). He often uses the word striving
in connection with the gospel and faith. An example is Philippians 4:3, where he mentions that two sisters and other co-workers laboured for the gospel with Paul.
27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,