Rachel Workman: 27 Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting
yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I
come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are
standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the
faith, which is the Good News. 28 Don’t be intimidated in any way by your
enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but
that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. 29 For you have been given
not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of
suffering for him. 30 We are in this struggle together. You have seen my
struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.
I liked verse 28, don't be intimidated in any
way by your enemies. In ANY way do not be intimated by your enemy. The enemy is
dead set to destroy us. Don't be intimidated by your negative thoughts or
anything that makes you stumble. Satan may be against us but Jesus is for us.
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Krista Cook: How are you living today? In a
way worthy of the gospel of Christ? We, as Christians, must stand fast
and strive together, not afraid of suffering for Him.
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Allen Michaels: 27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner
worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear
about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit,
contending as one man for the faith of the gospel Paul encourages the
believers to be unified, as they “stand firm in one spirit, contending as one
man for the faith.” How sad that much time and effort is lost in some churches
by fighting against one another instead of uniting against the real opposition.
We need to maintain the common purpose of serving Christ.28without being frightened
in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be
destroyed, but that you will be saved--and that by God. 29 For it has been granted to you on
behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, Paul considered it a privilege to suffer for Christ. We do
not by nature consider suffering a privilege. Yet when we suffer, if we
faithfully represent Christ, our message and example will affect us and others
for good. I have a close friend who has suffered several trials over the years
and I have watched closely hoping to understand. I have prayed and offered what
little scripture I knew at the time. I often asked “why this person? Even
though this person just accepted it and relied on prayers. This I didn’t
understand. But eventually I began to see changes for the good. This was when I
first really witnessed God’s changing of this person. This person’s struggle
(they eventually came out of it) actually caused me to see that God does listen
to prayers and will answer them in time. If it wasn’t for watching this person
struggle I may still be angry with God for not giving me that “ah ha moment”
that I thought everybody received. When we suffer for our faith it doesn’t mean
that we have done something wrong. In fact, the opposite is often true – it
verifies that we have been faithful. Use suffering to build your character. Don’t
resent it or let it tear you down. 30 since you are going through the same struggle you saw I
had, and now hear that I
still have. Like the Philippians, we are in
conflict with anyone who would discredit the saving message of Christ. All true
believers are in this fight together, uniting against the same enemy for a
common cause.
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