Christ Proclaimed in Pretense or Truth
I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel: The whole imperial guard and everyone else knows that I am in prison for the sake of Christ, and most of the brothers and sisters, having confidence in the Lord because of my imprisonment, now more than ever dare to speak the word fearlessly. Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment. What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:12-19).
Many would have looked at Paul’s situation and seen it as challenging, dire, and perhaps even hopeless. Paul would not have denied the challenge but chose to focus upon how it was all working to advance the Gospel and glorify God in Christ.
Philippi was a Roman colony in Macedonia (part of modern Greece); Paul first visited the area and preached Jesus around 51 (cf. Acts 16:11-40). Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi most likely around 60-61 from Rome while living under house arrest there (cf. Philippians 1:1). The church had appointed elders and had deacons serving them, and had sent Epaphroditus to provide support and service to Paul (cf. Philippians 1:1, 2:25-30, 4:18). Paul thanked the Philippian Christians for their joint participation in his ministry and prayed for them to abound in love and make good decisions to share in Jesus’ praise at His return (Philippians 1:2-11).
According to standard conventions of letter writing in the Greco-Roman world, Paul followed up his greeting and exordium with a narratio, or story, in Philippians 1:12-26. In the narratio, a letter’s author would explain the situation which has compelled him or her to write. Sometimes, as in 1 Corinthians, the narratio focused primarily on what was going on with the Christians themselves; sometimes, as in Galatians, the narratio would involve both Paul’s situation as well as that of the Christians to whom he wrote. Yet Paul’s narratio to the Philippian Christians focused primarily on his own situation, as was made vividly apparent in Philippians 1:12-19.
Paul wanted to shift the narrative from what the Philippian Christians had imagined and/or heard: his situation was actually leading to the advancement of the Gospel (Philippians 1:12)! The praetorium, or imperial guard, and many others knew Paul was imprisoned for the sake of Jesus (Philippians 1:13); while a few want to suggest this could refer to a contingent of the imperial guard located in other parts of the Empire, this detail provides strong evidence by which we associate the Philippian letter with Paul’s imprisonment in Rome. Paul also made it known how most of his fellow Christians in Rome gained in confidence because of Paul’s imprisonment to feel comfortable in speaking the word more fearlessly (Philippians 1:14). This represented a very different situation than the one in which Paul would find himself in 2 Timothy 1:15, in which most Christians from Asia completely abandoned Paul while in Rome. It might be possible these represent the same situation, but it would seem highly doubtful, and would give more credence to the belief Paul experienced two Roman imprisonments at different times with very different outcomes. The days of 2 Timothy remain in the future at this point; Paul can maintain a more cheerful optimism with the Philippian Christians because his current plight was not as terrible as might be imagined.
Paul then focused on the preaching of the Gospel in Rome for a moment (Philippians 1:15-17). Some did preach the Gospel with sincerity and out of love, unashamed of Paul’s imprisonment for the Gospel; but some were preaching Jesus as Christ out of envy and rivalry, motivated by selfish ambition and gain, imagining they would cause Paul greater trouble in his imprisonment by doing so (Philippians 1:15-17).
Some seem to suggest these envious preachers were in Philippi, but it makes far more sense to understand these preachers as dwelling in Rome. Exactly what their message would sound like, and to what end, are not revealed. Perhaps they spoke of Jesus as the Christ, or King, in mocking or derisive ways, seeking to make fun of the message of Jesus at the expense of Christians. We have explicit evidence of this kind of mockery from a later source: a graffito has been discovered near the Palatine Hill in Rome, dated to around 200, of a donkey-like figure on a cross with the inscription, “Alexamenos worships his god.” Nevertheless, it would be hard to imagine how going about and mocking the Christian message would cause trouble for Paul in prison; by making Christianity seem more ridiculous, it might even make it seem more ludicrous and preposterous to keep Paul imprisoned. Therefore, it is more likely these “rivals” went about preaching Jesus as the Christ in ways which may have seemed sincere even though they actually were not. They would have tried to “thread the needle,” sufficiently bold to insinuate Paul was a danger to Roman law and order but in such a way to make sure the proclaimer did not end up in prison along with him.
It would not be hard to imagine how such a proclamation could cause Paul trouble in his imprisonment. Suetonius, a Roman historian, bore witness to how Claudius expelled the Jewish people from Rome because they were making disturbances at the instigation of “Chrestus” (Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Claudius 25); this was probably the same decree to which Luke made reference in Acts 18:2, and many believe “Chrestus” is a distortion of “Christ,” and thus the Jewish people were all expelled because there had been some disputes going on regarding Jesus as the Christ. The same Suetonius related how Nero inflicted punishments on Christians around 64, and spoke of them as “given to a new and mischievous superstition” (ibid., Nero 16). We tend to believe Philippians was written only a couple of years before 62; nevertheless, the situation for Christians in Rome was manifestly quite precarious, and it would not have been challenging to stir up hostility toward Christian leaders by going out and speaking of Jesus as the real Lord and King.
One might expect Paul to respond to such proclaimers with hostility and prejudice. Instead, however, Paul rejoiced in how Jesus was proclaimed as the Christ, whether done in pretense or sincerity (Philippians 1:18). Paul remained confident all of these things would lead to his salvation through the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ and the supplications of the Philippian Christians (Philippians 1:19). We have good reason to believe Paul understood his “salvation” as deliverance from his imprisonment in this particular context; while his words might allow for a darker, more ominous conclusion, his further explanation in Philippians 1:20-26 would confirm the more optimistic scenario.
Paul began his narratio for the Philippian Christians as he did for good reasons. He remained under imprisonment in Rome, even if it were house arrest. As a prisoner, it would be assumed he had done something sufficiently wrong as to warrant being a prisoner. Presumption of being a criminal and possibly guilty of upsetting the laws and customs of the land remains a severe burden even in modern times; it would be all the more shameful and challenging in the eyes of good Roman citizens who earnestly desired to uphold their standing and the Roman way of life. The Philippian Christians would have good reason to imagine Paul was experiencing very difficult conditions for himself and a very hostile climate for the proclamation of the Gospel. Their association with him would have been seen as shameful and an embarrassment to their fellow Philippians.
Paul did not lie to the Philippian Christians, but he did focus on the positive. The Gospel was not being hindered by Paul’s imprisonment; he found ways to advance it, making sure the imperial guard and many in the imperial household well understood who he was and what he was about. Paul did not deny some people were proclaiming Jesus as the Christ in Rome with a view to cause Paul greater difficulty in prison. But Paul put it all in perspective: even if in pretense, Christ was being proclaimed, and Paul rejoiced in that. Even if it caused him greater trouble in prison, at least Jesus was being proclaimed.
We should always be on guard against shaming or toxic positivity: Paul did experience moments of distress and grief and spoke openly about them (e.g. 2 Corinthians 1:3-11). But Paul’s witness regarding his situation and the Gospel in Philippians 1:12-19 should well remind us to step back and look at the greater picture. We are often tempted toward dismay when we see and hear many preaching Jesus out of rivalry, envy, and selfish ambition. We scold and shame and point out how they are doing it wrong. While we do need to proclaim the Gospel in its fullness with all sincerity in love, we also should embody the spirit of Paul: whenever Jesus is proclaimed as the Christ, we should rejoice. Many lament regarding the condition and state of Christianity these days, but nevertheless, almost two thousand years after His life, death, and resurrection, people around the world still speak of Jesus as the Christ, and Christ is proclaimed in all kinds and sorts of ways, and in that we should rejoice.
When we look at our current predicament, we can always find reasons for discouragement and despair. We can always find ways things could be going better in the advancement of the Gospel. But we should well heed Paul’s example in Philippians 1:11-19 and find ways to see how God is working through His Spirit, and rejoice in it. May we work to advance the Gospel of Jesus in sincerity and truth and obtain life in God in Christ through the Spirit!
Ethan R. Longhenry
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