What does it mean that Paul’s imprisonment is manifest in Christ?

Explanation:

Paul says in Philippians 1:12 that his imprisonment has served to advance the gospel. That helps us understand what he means when he says that it has been made known that his chains are in Christ. He means that it has become made known that the reason Paul is in prison is not that he belongs to Caesar but that he belongs to Christ.³ In fact, we can imagine how it could become known to the guard that Paul is imprisoned because he belongs to Christ. Imagine a guard asks Paul why he is in prison, and Paul explains that Christ died on the cross to save us from our sins, rose on the third day, and that Paul has been imprisoned for preaching about what Christ has done.⁴ It’s not hard to see that such opportunities to preach would serve to advance the gospel, as the contents of the gospel are made known to the guards who watch him.

Counterargument:

While there is no doubt that Paul’s imprisonment advanced the gospel, it is not clear that it has advanced the gospel because everyone knew that Paul was in prison for being a Christian. Rather, it could be that Paul embodied Christ as one who suffered graciously.⁵ By suffering graciously Paul was nothing like the other prisoners, and this piqued the interest of the guards. Once their interest was piqued by the fact that Paul suffered as Christ suffered, he was able to explain the contents of the gospel.

Response to counterargument:

The problem with this counterargument is that it ends up collapsing into this interpretation. The interpretation has it that when Paul says his chains have become manifest in Christ, he means that it has become known that he is in prison because he follows Christ. This counterargument suggests that Paul is not saying it has become known that he is in prison for Christ, but that he suffers as Christ suffered. Of course, it then explains that the only way for the guards to understand what it means to suffer like Christ is if Paul explains to them the gospel so that the guards understand that Paul is imprisoned for Christ. In other words, given that Paul has to explain the gospel so that the guards could understand the significance of Paul’s suffering, and Paul is essentially saying that it has become known that he is in chains for Christ. That is, the counterargument collapses into the view that it is trying to reject.

• Explanation:

  To understand what Paul means when he refers to the fact that his chains are in Christ, it is important to understand the result that follows from his being chained in Christ. What follows is indicated by the infinitive of the verb to be, which indicates the actual result of Paul’s chains in Christ.⁶ And what is the actual result of Paul’s chains in Christ? The result is that the whole praetorium guard has come to know that Paul’s chains are in Christ. Interestingly, we can deduce how it could be that the whole praetorium guard came to know that Paul’s chains were in Christ. For the guard changed every four hours, and this would give Paul an opportunity to explain the gospel to many soldiers as they rotated through the prison to guard the prisoners.⁷ Thus, that the result of Paul’s chains in Christ is knowledge in the minds of the guards, suggests that in Christ has to do with the notion that Paul was imprisoned on account of the gospel of Christ.

  Counterargument:

  Unfortunately, this interpretation does not show that in Christ means that Paul was in chains for the sake of Christ. Rather, it shows that the whole guard came to know that Paul was in chains in Christ. Of course, the question is not whether all the guards came to know that Paul was in chains in Christ, for Paul explicitly tells us that the whole guard came to know that he was in chains in Christ. Rather, the question is what Paul means by in Christ. That is, does he mean that all the guards came to know that he was in chains for being a Christian, or did they come to know that his chains represent what it is to suffer as Christ suffered? Unfortunately, this view cannot say.

  Response to counterargument:

  It is true that the whole guard’s coming to know that Paul was in chains in Christ does not reveal what Paul means by in Christ. But when we combine Philippians 1:13 with Philippians 1:12, a clearer picture emerges. For we know from Philippians 1:13 that Paul’s chains in Christ became known to all the guards, and in Philippians 1:12 he explains that his imprisonment has advanced the gospel. In other words, the guards’ learning that Paul was in prison in Christ has advanced the gospel. The most likely way that Paul’s imprisonment would advance the gospel is by him explaining the contents of the gospel. That is, the guard has learned that Paul is in prison because he is a Christian, and by using the opportunity to explain what it means to be a Christian to the guards, the gospel was advanced.

  The infinitive of the verb to be expresses the result of Paul’s imprisonment.

Explanation:

When Paul writes that his imprisonment has served to advance the gospel (Philippians 1:12), he explains what he means with a unique grammatical phrase that states literally, My chains have become manifest in Christ.¹⁰ So what does it mean that Paul’s chains have become manifest in Christ in the whole guard and all the rest? We know the phrase in Christ is a somewhat technical term for Paul that has to do with sharing in Christ’s suffering.¹¹ Thus, Paul is saying that in his chains he suffers as Christ suffered, and that this suffering has advanced the gospel.

Counterargument:

It is not right away clear that the phrase should be rendered, My chains have become manifest in Christ. That is because it is not right away clear what it means for Paul’s chains to become manifest in Christ. That is, even if we take in Christ to be a technical term that means sharing in Christ’s suffering, it is not clear what it means that Paul’s chains have become manifest in sharing Christ’s suffering. Thus, given that word order in Greek is flexible, it is much more intuitive for in Christ to modify my chains.¹² If this is right, then Paul is saying that his chains in Christ have become known. That is, it has become known that Paul is in prison for the sake of Christ.

Response to counterargument:

While the phrase may be awkward, the fact is that the Greek construction suggests that it is the correct translation.¹³ Given that the Greek favours the translation my chains have become manifest in Christ, we ought to see if such a translation can be meaningfully interpreted. In fact, it can. For we can take Paul to mean that his imprisonment has become known in Christ in the whole imperial guard. In other words, it has become known that Paul suffers for the sake of Christ in the whole imperial guard, and this suffering for Christ’s sake has served to advance the gospel.

Explanation:

Paul says that it has become known to the whole guard that he is in chains in Christ.¹⁴ Why does he say that he is in chains in Christ rather than for Christ? He says he is in chains in Christ because his point is that he is in chains as one who shares in Christ’s suffering. We can deduce this for two reasons. First, the phrase in Christ is a technical term for Paul, which includes the notion of sharing in Christ’s suffering. We know this because in Philippians 3:9–10, Paul explains that he desires to be found in Christ, which has to do with sharing in Christ’s suffering and becoming like him in his death.¹⁵ Second, we know that Christ’s suffering was the advancement of God’s work.¹⁶ That is, Christ suffered the punishment for our sin, and this suffering advanced God’s redemptive plan. Thus, it makes sense that Paul’s suffering in prison, as a participation in Christ’s suffering, would also advance God’s redemptive plan.

Counterargument:

This view has it that we should translate ἐν Χριστῷ as in Christ. But it is important to notice that the preposition ἐν can carry a number of meanings; it can be used in a spatial, cause, or instrumental sense.¹⁷ Thus, if we take the phrase to denote something like cause, then Paul is saying that the whole guard knows that the cause of his imprisonment is Christ. Of course, this serves to advance the gospel because it demonstrates Paul’s commitment to Christ, that he would willingly go to prison for his faith. On the other hand, it is hard to see how the notion that it has become known to the whole guard that Paul suffers as Christ suffered would advance the gospel. For unless the guards understood something about the gospel message, that is, why Christ suffered as he did, it is not clear why the guards would care that Paul suffered as Christ suffered. But if they understood that Paul suffered for the content of the gospel, this certainly could advance the gospel.

Response to counterargument:

It could be that the graciousness of Paul’s suffering was evident, so that Paul is not saying that his suffering advanced the gospel, but his suffering like Christ. That is, Paul shares in Christ’s suffering in that he suffers as one who does the will of God and so retains his composure, joy, and grace. The guards notice that Paul suffers differently than the other prisoners. Given that Paul’s suffering mimics Christ’s suffering, and it can be said that Paul’s suffering advances the gospel.

The weakness of this view is that it is not the natural interpretation. That is, it makes intuitive sense to see it that the gospel is advanced because the guard knows that the reason Paul is imprisoned is because he is a follower of Christ. On the other hand, it does not make intuitive sense to think that the reason the gospel advanced is because Paul suffered in prison the way Christ suffered. For the guards would not have any idea what it means to suffer as Christ suffered, so that suffering like Christ is not an intuitive way for the gospel to advance.