The Bible Book

304

I WANT TO

KNOW CHRIST

PHILIPPIANS 3:10, THE POWER

OF THE RESURRECTION

P

aul wrote his letter to the

Christians in Philippi while

imprisoned, preparing his

defense in rebuttal of charges of

treason against the Emperor Nero.

The charge arose because early

Christians affirmed that “Jesus

is Lord,” refusing Roman oaths of

loyalty, because they considered

them blasphemous. To their

enemies, however, their refusal

suggested subversive intent.

A critical part of Paul’s defense

would have been that loyalty to

Jesus did not foster rebellion, but

instead produced virtuous citizens.

Philippi, a military colony, was

mainly populated by retired Roman

soldiers or their descendants—an

outpost of loyalists with a duty to

secure the province of Macedonia.

Demonstrating that Christians

were exemplary citizens in a city

unquestionably loyal to the Empire

would persuade the Romans to

tolerate the new religion.

Paul seemed to have this in

mind when he urged the people to

“conduct yourselves”—literally, live

out your citizenship—“in a matter

worthy of ... Christ” (Philippians

1:27). The key to Paul’s defense

was the moral behavior of the

Christians in Philippi. Yet he

St. Paul holding the sword of the

Spirit. This painting is attributed

to the Italian Renaissance artist

Macrino d’A l ba, 1490 –1527.

IN BRIEF

PA S SAGE

Philippians 3:1–14

THEME

The power of Christ’s

resurrection

SETTING

c. 50 ce Philippi, a Roman

colony in Macedonia.

KEY FIGURES

Paul The Apostle, who

founded the church in Philippi.

According to the letter, he

is a prisoner at the time of

writing—most likely in Rome.

The Philippians Christians

in Philippi, most of whom are

Gentile converts.

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305

See also: The Empty Tomb 268–71 ■ The Road to Damascus 290–91 ■ Paul’s Arrest 294–95 ■ Armor of God 302–03

ACTS, EPISTLES, AND REVELATION

notes that their good character had

been threatened by “false teachers,”

who claimed that righteousness

depended on keeping the Mosaic

Law of circumcision. Paul was

writing to the Christians in Philippi

to testify against this belief, and

argue that Christians received their

righteousness from God.

Alive in Christ

Christians believe they become

righteous when faith leads them to

experience “the power of [Christ’s]

resurrection” (3:10). This means the

power of God that raised Jesus

from the dead similarly transforms

the spiritually “dead” (sinners) into

“living” saints. Indeed, Paul saw

any person’s conversion to faith in

Jesus as a manifestation of the

power of the resurrection.

In a letter to the Colossians,

Paul writes that although believers

once lived in sin, their sins have

been buried, and they have been

reborn through Jesus. By coming

to know God, they now share in his

resurrecting power. In Colossians

3:3–4, for example, Paul writes

“for you died, and your life is now

hidden with Christ in God. When

Christ, who is your life, appears,

then you also will appear with

Him in glory.”

Paul teaches that the power of

the resurrection drives the entire

Christian way of living: Jesus’s

resurrection enables His people

thereafter to live new, transformed

lives, characterized by obeying

God’s laws in all that they do.

Peter’s teaching echoes this idea:

“His divine power has given us

everything we need for a godly life”

(2 Peter 1:3). Even in difficult times,

such as those faced by the early

Christians, belief in Christ’s

resurrection would transform

the character of the converts to

make them exemplary citizens in

Philippi—justifying the claim that

“Jesus is Lord” (Philippians 2:11).

The final resurrection

Paul concludes that ultimate

experience of “the power of His

resurrection” will come in the

future, at the Second Coming

of Christ from heaven—which

is the true place of Christian

citizenship. At that time, the

dead will rise, and the living will

be brought up to meet Christ

in the air, in physical bodies like

that of the resurrected Lord.

In that moment, Paul writes,

the appearance of the resurrected

savior will complete the process

of eliminating sin and perfecting

righteousness in Christians. ■

Paul’s influence

on Christianity

Paul molded Christianity more

than any other Apostle, paving

the way for it to become a major

world religion. Although Peter and

Philip converted the first Gentiles,

it was Paul’s tireless missionary

journeys that brought the Gospel

to thousands across the eastern

Roman Empire and finally in

Rome itself. Crucial in this quest

was Paul’s insistence, against

considerable opposition, that all

believers—Gentile and Jewish—

had equal status and that

Gentile converts should not be

made to submit to the rite of

circumcision and Jewish dietary

laws. This helped Christianity

to spread throughout the Greek

and Roman worlds, rather than

merely remaining the faith of

a small Jewish sect.

Paul’s other legacy was

his letters. Thirteen of the

27 books of the New Testament

are attributed to him. These

letters elaborate much of the

New Testament’s theology and,

for Christians, act as a guide for

the application of its teaching

in a practical context.

An illustration of the preaching

of the first missionary Apostles,

after a 15th-century Arras tapestry

in Tournai Cathedral, Belgium.

At the name of Jesus

every knee [shall] bow ...

and every tongue

acknowledge that

Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God

the Father.

Philippians 2:10–11

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