What does it mean to be a worthy citizen of the gospel?

Explanation:

When Paul calls the Philippians to live a life worthy of the gospel, he uses the verb to be a citizen to denote living a worthy life. That is, Paul literally calls the Philippians to be citizens worthy of the gospel. When we reach Philippians 3:20, we notice that Paul uses the related noun citizenship when he exhorts the Philippians not to set their minds on earthly things, because their citizenship is in heaven. Likely there is a connection between Philippians 1:27 and Philippians 3:20.³ That is, given that the Philippians are citizens of heaven, when Paul calls the Philippians to live as citizens worthy of the gospel, he likely means the Philippians ought to live as citizens of heaven.

Counterargument:

The problem with using Philippians 3:20 to understand Philippians 1:27 is that it falls outside the immediate context. And when we consider the immediate, we notice that Paul calls on the Philippians to suffer for the sake of Christ (Philippians 1:29). Likely what he has in mind is that the Philippians live as good citizens of Philippi, even if that means suffering for Christ. That is, if the officials in Philippi charge the Christians for not following Roman customs, the Christians should follow the regular legal procedures even if this means they may be thrown in prison and suffer, as Paul does.

Response to counterargument:

Unfortunately, the immediate context does not support the notion that Paul calls on the Philippians to live as good Roman citizens. Rather, he calls on the Philippians to suffer for the sake of Christ (Philippians 1:29). To suffer for the sake of Christ is not to live as a good Roman citizen, but to live as a good citizen of heaven. For it is not the Romans who suffer for Christ but the citizens of heaven who do. Thus, when Paul calls the Philippians to live as citizens of the gospel of Christ, we should take him in the literal sense that the Philippians should live as citizens of heaven.

Explanation:

Philippi was a Roman colony and the residents had Roman citizenship.⁴ That was a matter of great pride, for Roman citizens had privileges that other citizens did not enjoy.⁵ Paul knows that the Philippians were proud of their Roman citizenship, so he purposely uses the unique verb to be a citizen to characterize how a Christian ought to live. That is, he knows that the Philippians were dutiful Romans, but he wants them to be dutiful Christians instead. Thus, he uses the verb to be a citizen when he calls them to live a life worthy of the gospel so they will renounce their Roman citizenship and pledge allegiance instead to Jesus Christ.⁶

Counterargument:

It is possible that Paul uses the verb to be a citizen in order to encourage the Philippians to renounce their Roman citizenship. It is also possible that he uses the verb because he wants them to live as good Roman citizens. That is, he does not tell the Philippians to renounce their Roman citizenship to live as heavenly citizens. Rather, he tells them to live as citizens worthy of the gospel of Christ. We know from the context that Paul is in prison, and that his imprisonment has advanced the gospel so that the whole praetorian guard is aware that he is in prison for Christ (Philippians 1:13). Thus, living out one’s faith in the community advances the gospel. With this in mind and given the fact that the Philippians were proud of their Roman citizenship, it is likely that Paul is exhorting the Philippians to live as good Romans. That is, they ought to live according to the laws of Rome because such a life reflects the gospel of Christ.

Response to counterargument:

There are two problems with this argument. First, while it is true that through Paul’s imprisonment the gospel has been advanced to the whole praetorian guard, this is not likely because Paul is living as a good citizen of Rome. Rather, the gospel has spread because he is living as a good citizen of heaven. Second, when one considers the immediate context, one can deduce that Paul calls the Philippians to live as citizens of heaven, not Rome. For Paul explains the Philippians ought to live as citizens worthy of the gospel of Christ so that Paul may hear that they are standing firm in one Spirit for the faith of the gospel. In other words, he wants to hear that they stand firm for the faith of the gospel, not that they stand firm as Roman citizens.

The one weakness of this view is that it does not take into account the civil nature of the verb to be a citizen. Given the civil nature of the verb, one could deduce that to be a citizen of the gospel of Christ is to be a citizen of Philippi as one who is under the sphere of the gospel of Christ. In other words, be a Christian Philippian. On the other hand, given the historical fact that the Philippians were proud Romans, the civil nature of the verb might strengthen Paul’s call to live as citizens of heaven because it would speak directly to his readers.

Explanation:

Normally when Paul calls on his readers to live a life worthy of the gospel, he uses the verb to walk.¹⁰ That is, Paul calls the readers to walk according to the gospel. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 2:12 he calls the Thessalonians to walk in a manner worthy of God. And in Romans 13:13 he says, Let us walk properly as in the daytime. Thus, when he calls the Philippians to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ, we expect him to use his usual verb to walk, but instead he uses the verb to be a citizen. That likely signals that he has something more than living as a Christian in mind.¹¹ Likely he has in mind that the Philippians be good citizens of the gospel of Christ in the sense that they live as good citizens of Philippi as Christians. That is, likely he has in mind that the Philippians are dual citizens. They are citizens of both Philippi and heaven, and they ought to live as such.¹²

Counterargument:

While it might be that Paul often uses the term to walk to denote living according to the gospel, this does not mean he cannot use a different term to mean the same thing. Maybe he knows that the Philippians pride themselves on being Roman citizens, and he wants them to recognize that their true citizenship is in heaven. Thus, Paul uses the verb to be a citizen instead of to walk because it suits the orientation of his readers.

Explanation:

Paul calls the Philippians to be citizens of the gospel of Christ. Most likely he means that the Philippians should live as good Christian and Philippian citizens. That is, he means that the Philippians should live as Christians and live as proper Philippian citizens, because by so living, the Philippians will display Christ to their neighbours and possibly win converts.¹³ Why should we think that being a citizen of the gospel of Christ means living as a Christian Philippian? A closer look reveals that one theme in Paul’s letter to the Philippians is that by living out the gospel in one’s community, one can win converts for Christ. Thus, one ought to live as a Christian and a good citizen. For example, Paul is in prison and he explains that by living out the gospel in prison, the gospel has become known to the whole praetorian guard (Philippians 1:12–13). Relatedly, in Philippians 2:14–15, Paul calls the Philippians not to grumble but to be blameless in the midst of a crooked generation, shining like stars. In other words, Paul encourages the Philippians to live as dual citizens. They are to be blameless and shine as stars, which is to live as citizens of heaven, but they are to shine as stars as citizens of Philippi, so that the reason for their blamelessness will be known to all.¹⁴

Counterargument:

While it might be true that a theme of Paul’s letter is winning outsiders, one might argue that the way to win outsiders is by living not as citizens of Philippi but as citizens of heaven. That is, if the Philippians were to live as good citizens of Philippi, it is hard to see how such conduct would do anything to advance the gospel, for presumably there were many pagans who lived as good citizens of Philippi. Rather, the real way for the Philippians to win converts is if they live as citizens of the gospel of Christ. That is, when they come to grips with the fact that they are citizens of heaven (Philippians 3:20) and begin to live that way, their conduct will be unique and will serve to advance the gospel.

The problem with this view is that living as a citizen of the gospel of Christ implies living as a good citizen of Philippi. That is because citizens of heaven love God above all and their neighbour as themselves. Of course, by following through on these items one inevitability lives as a good citizen, insofar as living as a good citizen does not conflict with the faith.