Philippians - Verse-by-Verse Biblical Exegesis

contentious), are also proclaiming Christ (Durative Present tense). These believers do not love Paul
and are in fact trying to harm his reputation while he is in prison. They have ulterior motives in their
preaching, not only to promote themselves above Paul, but to cause strife and divisions everywhere
they preach. Every time they plan their next speech (Iterative Present tense), they hope to add
psychological stress (Tendential Present tense) to Paul’s soul. They know that as long as he is in the
custody of the Roman court, he cannot meet them face-to-face in the street and refute their errors. So
they are doing their best to apply mental pressure (Purpose Infinitive) to his already existing physical
discomfort. In other words, they may be preaching Christ, but they are doing it in a devious manner
for the added purpose of making Paul miserable. If Paul succumbs to their tactics, he will be
constantly out of fellowship; but he passes the twin tests (mental & verbal sins) by switching to
impersonal love.
This is a big test for me personally. I work for a Fortune 100 corporation headquartered in New
York City. It is absolutely saturated with “leadership” that operates with false motivation: self
promotion fueled by inordinate ambition. Many of you survive in politically charged environments
like this, and you know that it is a constant test to (a) avoid becoming like “them” and to (b) avoid
mental and verbal sins. When I succeed at something, there are always malcontents in the shadows
trying to take the credit for themselves and run me down in the process. There are differences
between us and Paul, of course, since he was tested while preaching the gospel and we are merely
doing our job. But the same type of testing is used and the same problem-solving devices are to be
applied. When subordinates malign you and bosses try to make your life miserable, the most difficult
thing to do is to ignore their false motivation and keep on working as unto the Lord – that is what we
are called to do by Paul’s example. The flesh wants to take over and “solve the problem” with its
own resources, but the answer is to leave the situation in the Lord’s hands.
REVELANT OPINIONS
They must be Christians who bore no love for the apostle personally, who were anxious to see him
remain in prison, and who intended to make that imprisonment as galling and irksome as possible.
(R.P. Martin) “I am set” (keimai) is a military term, emphasizing the point that in prison he is
enduring hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and as much “on duty” as the guards who are
posted to watch over him are on duty in the service of Rome. (R. Martin) Now that Paul is down
they jump on him in mean and nagging ways. (A.T. Robertson) Paul's deep and bitter opposition
wished to rub salt in his wounds, but Paul treated this unfriendly attitude with indifference. (F.F.
Bruce)
The one is inspired by love, the other by a spirit of faction and intrigue. The action of the two groups
is sustained by what the one “knows” and the others “imagine.” One group identifies with Paul in
proclaiming Christ, doing so out of true Christian love. The motivation of the rival group proclaims
Christ from motives of selfish ambition because an arrogant spirit of self-seeking grips them. The
rival group ought not to be regarded as Gnostic, heretical teachers or Judaizers. They are labeled
Christian preachers, and Paul does not condemn the substance of their message. Paul stops short of
rejecting them as outright heretics, but he is thoroughly derogatory of them, casting aspersions on
their tactics as well as their attitudes. In our judgment the most satisfactory explanation of Paul’s