3. The Expected Outcome — Reunion in Philippi (1:25-26)
3. The Expected Outcome — Reunion in Philippi (1:25-26)
25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue1 with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
This sentence serves as the transition from "my affairs" (v. 12) to "your affairs" (v. 27). As with vv. 18b-20, the bulk of the sentence expresses what Paul "knows,"2 here based on his "persuasion" that the alternative expressed in v. 24 will materialize. The sentence takes the form of two clauses. In verse 25 Paul picks up his conviction from v. 24 and offers the first, more immediate reason3 for his release: it is for the Philippians' "progress and joy in the faith." In v. 26 he offers the ultimate reason: that his release and coming (parousia) to them will cause their "boasting" in Christ Jesus to overflow.4 Although this sentence deals with his remaining alive for their sakes and is thus "quietly transitional,"5 its content fully anticipates the two major sections of exhortation that follow (1:27-2:18 and 3:1-4:3), both of which have to do with their present "progress" and concomitant "joy" with regard to their "faith."6
25 Both the "and" and the word order ("and this convinced of"),7 with which Paul begins, reveal the close connection between this sentence and "what is more necessary for them" in v. 24, namely his release from imprisonment. That the preceding "soliloquy" is just that, expressing his personal longing but unrelated to his actual expectation, is demonstrated by the strength of the verb "convinced," which expresses a persuasion that has evolved into conviction.8 This passage (and 2:24) makes it certain that the preceding has little to do with some "deep struggle" within Paul and everything to do with Paul's eschatological outlook — and yearning — which he undoubtedly wants the Philippians to share.
His conviction is that "I will remain and will continue with all of you."9 The paired, compound verbs (menō/paramenō; "will remain" and "will continue") is a play on words10 which expresses, first, his conviction that he will "remain" in the sense of "remain alive" (v. 22), and second, his conviction that he will "remain" in the sense of "staying with you" (v. 24).11 The surprise comes from the qualifier, that "I will continue with all of you." This otherwise unnecessary mention of "all"12 most likely points to the friction that is currently at work among them;13 that it occurs just before he takes up this issue seems scarcely accidental.
Paul concludes this first clause with the reason why this alternative is "more necessary for you," namely, "for your progress and joy in the/your faith."14 The "your," which modifies both "progress" and "joy," stands in the emphatic first position, thus putting the accent first of all on the Philippians themselves. It is for their sakes that he expects to be released, which he now elaborates to mean specifically for their "progress" and their "joy." These two words together summarize his concerns for them in this letter: the first refers to the quality or character of their life in Christ, and especially to their "advancing," moving forward, in such; the second denotes the quality of their experience of it. And both of these are "with regard to15 the faith," which may refer to their own faith in Christ, as in 2:17, but in this context more likely refers to the gospel itself.16
This long reflection began (v. 12) on the note of the "progress of the gospel," referring to evangelism; it ends on a similar note, only the concern now is more personal — with the Philippians' own "progress" regarding the faith. In this letter that will include their "contending as one person for the faith of the gospel" (v. 27) — in the face of opposition and doing so "in one Spirit." Such "progress regarding the faith" will manifest itself as their love for one another increases (1:10; 2:2), as in humility they consider the needs of others ahead of their own (2:3-4), as they "do all things without grumbling and complaining" (2:14), and as they keep focused on the eschatological prize (3:14-21). This is what it means for them to "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (2:12).
The concomitant of such "progress" is "joy," which they will experience as they "progress regarding the faith." This is now the fourth mention of joy in the letter; the former three (vv. 4, 18 [2x]) had to do with Paul's joy, first in the context of his thanksgiving and prayer for them, and second in the context of two expressions of opposition (by fellow believers [vv. 15-17] and by Rome [vv. 19-20]). His concern here is with the joy that is theirs in the gospel itself, although they will undoubtedly also experience joy in seeing Paul again.17
26 If the first reason Paul is convinced that he will "continue with all" of them focuses on the Philippians themselves — their own progress and joy regarding the gospel — the ultimate reason for all of this (his release and their progress) is expressed in terms of how it affects Christ.18
Here in particular the three-way bond that holds the letter together is in full evidence. Thus (literally): "your grounds for glorying19 will overflow20 in Christ Jesus in me." Although a bit strained in its expression, the sense of this clause is straightforward enough. The occasion of Paul's coming to them again (thus "in me") will cause their "glorying/boasting" to overflow, and all of this takes place "in Christ Jesus." This is how Christ's being glorified "through life" (v. 20) is to find fulfillment.
The Greek word kauchēma ("grounds for boasting/glorying"; NIV, "joy") is especially difficult to render into English. Although it can lean toward "joy," there is no reason to think it here means other than what it ordinarily means in Paul, to "boast" or "glory" in someone. But "boast" is full of pejorative connotations in English — which it can also carry in Paul when one's boasting is wrongly placed. Paul's usage comes directly out of the LXX, especially from Jer 9:23-24, where the truly wise person "boasts" not in "wisdom, might, or wealth,' but "in the Lord." "Boast," therefore, does not mean to "brag about" or to "be conceited"; rather, it has to do first with putting one's full "trust or confidence in" something or someone and thus, second, in "glorying" in that something or someone. Hence a false "boast" (in the flesh; 3:3-6) lies at the heart of Paul's understanding of sin, whereas its opposite, "boasting/glorying in the Lord," is the ultimate evidence of genuine conversion. In cases such as this one, where the boast is "in someone," the "boast" is still "in Christ." What he has done in and for Paul serves both as the ground for their "glorying in Christ" and the sphere in which such boasting overflows.21 Thus this part of the clause accents the relationship he and they have with Christ.
But such an overflow of glorying will be the direct result of the other bond, between him and them, that permeates the letter. In this case that finds expression in Paul's parousia (= coming, or presence) with them yet once more. Thus this sentence (vv. 25-26) looks beyond the present moment to the time of their joyful reunion; but there is also an "in the meantime" that concerns Paul very much, which what he now turns to address in v. 27 (through to 2:18).
1. The MajT, with no early support, reads συμπαραμενώ, which puts the emphasis on remaining with the Philippians. Meyer, 10, adopts the reading for the sake of an idiosyncratic understanding of the clause (see η. 11 below).
2. Indeed, although probably not intentional and lacking the complexity, this sentence has several formal similarities to the sentence with which the section began (vv. 18b-20). Besides the fact that the larger pan of both sentences is the object of οίδα, the content of what Paul "knows" in both cases is in two clauses, the first modified by (only one in this instance) a compound prepositional phrase, and the latter modified by three phrases.
3. This is a clear telic use of εις. For this combination of είς followed by a ϊνα clause, see 1 Cor 5:5 (and the discussion in Fee, First Corinthians). In this construction the only true purpose clause is the final one (the ϊ να clause); the prepositional phrase with είς expresses prior purpose or result, hence in this case the penultimate reason, which gives way to the ultimate reason of "boasting in Christ Jesus."
4. The section thus ends similarly to how it began (in v. 12) and how the prayerreport concluded (in v. 11): on the note of "progress" — theirs in this case — and of "glorying" — in "Christ Jesus" in this case (rather than "God").
5. I do not now know to whom I am indebted for this expressive phrase.
6. E.g., 1:27-2:18 is concerned especially with their "progress" regarding the gospel in the face of opposition in Philippi and in light of some internal unrest; it concludes by noting that even though their "faith" is currently undergoing stress because of suffering (2:17), they should nonetheless rejoice (v. 18). The next major section (3:1-4:3) is then framed by the imperative to "rejoice in the Lord," as it takes up the issue of their remaining steadfast in their faith in Christ, by maintaining their focus on the future (hence their "progress" in the faith).
7. Gk. και τοΰτο πεποιθώς. The NIV typically translates out the "and," which is fine for reading, but misses the close connection to vv. 23-24. On the verb see on v. 14 (cf. v. 6) above (n. 41).
8. Which is exactly how he expresses it again in 2:24 (πέποιθα έν κυρίφ).
9. As to whether it happened or not depends in part on how one interprets the Pastoral Epistles. In any case, it is probably too skeptical to argue from our hindsight that we know better than Paul would have and thus to deny that he was in fact released, when :24 implies that he has every good reason to believe that he will — and there is no evidence that he was not!
10. Gk. μενώ και παραμένω (cf. έπιμένω, v. 24), which could otherwise be synonyms (the second expressing a slight intensification), but here must be nuanced toward "remaining alive" and "abiding with you," especially because of the way the second is qualified. Lightfoot suggests "bide and abide," but that is now too archaic to be helpful. Some (Lohmeyer, Bonnard, Martin) take the (altogether unlikely) view that the second verb emphasizes that Paul expects to remain until the Parousia.
11. Meyer, 54, who is not often given to such idiosyncrasies, adopts the reading συμπαραμενώ (see η. 1) and understands Paul to be saying, "I shall with you be preserved in temporal life."
12. See on vv. 1, 4, and 7 above, esp. the comments on "all the saints" in v. 1.
13. So also Lohmeyer, 67; Hendriksen, 79, suggests the improbable view that Paul intends more than the church in Philippi.
14. Gk. είς τήν ΰμών προκοπήν xαί χαράν της πίστεως. For this very compressed phrase Pauline usage is decisive: the single preposition and article control both nouns and hold them together as a single thought unit, while the "your" that precedes and the genitive "of the faith" that follows are to be understood as qualifying both nouns. On this usage, see v. 19 above (although the ύμών functions differently there; see nn. 26 and 27); cf. 2 Thess 2:17 ("every good work and word"). So most interpreters; otherwise Kennedy, 429.
15. The nuance of the genitive της πίστεως is more difficult to assess. Since it almost certainly refers to both nouns (see preceding n.), most likely it is a "genitive of reference" (Dana-Mantey, Manual Grammar, 78; cf. Beekman-Callow, Translating, 259, "A is done with regard to B"); thus, "progress and joy, both with regard to the faith, that is, the gospel." On the other hand, if it refers to their faith, as it well might, then it is a more pure genitive (= "your faith's progress and joy").
16. This is also a difficult call. In light of 2:17 and 3:9, one is tempted here to see a reference to "their faith = trust in Christ" (as, e.g., Vincent, Moffatt, Michael, Müller), which in any case may not lurk very far behind if the primary reference is to the gospel. What primarily favors "faith = the gospel" (cf. Hawthorne, O'Brien) is v. 27, where Paul picks up this phrase and specifies it as "the faith of the gospel." Some argue that the definite article (vis-à-vis the personal pronoun, as in 2:17. where he does refer to their faith) also favors this view. But that seems not totally relevant in this case. Since Paul has already used the personal pronoun with "progress" and "joy," it is unlikely that he would repeat it with "faith," since the definite article would serve that purpose.
17. For the significance of this theme regarding the Philippians themselves, see the discussion on 2:18, 28; 3:1; and 4:4.
18. This is now the sixteenth occurrence of the word "Christ" in the letter to this point, not including "in the Lord" in v. 14. If for Paul, "to live is Christ," so, too, for his beloved friends in Philippi — or he will consider himself to have "run and labored in vain" (2:16).
19. Gk. τό καύχημα ύμών; cf. 2:16 (εις καύχημα έμοί) and 3:3 (καυχώμενοι έν Χριστώ Ιησού). This is a Pauline word in the NT (55 of 59 occurrences). See the entry in EDNT, 2.276-79 (J. Zmijewski) and NIDNTT, 1.227-29 (H. C. Hahn); cf. R. Bultmann, TDNT, 3.645-54. In contrast to καύχησις, which denotes the act of glorying, καύχημα denotes the "grounds" for such. Most interpreters have rightly rejected the possibility that the "our" is objective, thus referring to Paul's grounds for boasting in them. Everything in the grammar and context of this sentence is against this view.
20. Gk. περισσεύη. For this word see on 1:9; cf. 4:12, 18 and the adverb in 1:14.
21. The fine distinction between Christ as the "object" or "sphere" of their boasting in this case is brought about by the awkwardness of the syntax, where "in Christ" immediately follows "overflow." No doubt that it "overflows in Christ"; but that makes sense precisely because he is first of all the grounds for any and all such boasting.