Philippians - Verse-by-Verse Biblical Exegesis

y my (Poss. Gen.) face-to-face (prep. accompaniment) return
(Abl. Means) to you (Acc. Adv.) again (Temporal Adv.).
WHO
Philippians 1:26 i[na to. kau,chma u`mw/n perisseu,h| evn Cristw/| VIhsou/ evn evmoi. dia. th/j evmh/j
parousi,aj pa,lin pro.j u`ma/j
VUL
Philippians 1:26 ut gratulatio vestra abundet in Christo Iesu in me per meum adventum
iterum ad vos
LWB Philp. 1:27 Only [at all costs] always lead your life responsibly [as citizens of heaven] in
a manner worthy of the Gospel about Christ [royal family honor code], so that whether I
come and see you or whether I remain absent, I may hear from time to time things
[reports] about you all, that you have been and are continuing to be stabilized [holding
your ground] by means of one and the same spirit [maturity] and by means of one and the
same soul [teamwork], continually fighting together [angelic conflict] for the doctrine of
the Gospel.
KW Philp. 1:27 Only [since my only reason for remaining on earth is for your pioneer advance in
the Christian life], see to it that you recognize your responsibility as citizens [of heaven] and put
yourselves to the absolute necessity of performing the duties devolving upon you in that
position, doing this in a manner which weighs as much as the good news concerning the Christ,
in order that, whether having come and having seen you, or whether being absent, I am hearing
the things concerning you, namely, that you are standing firm in one spirit, holding your ground,
with one soul contending as a team of athletes do, in perfect co-operation with one another for
the Faith [the Christian system of belief], namely, the good news.
KJV Philippians 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that
whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in
one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
TRANSLATION HIGHLIGHTS
Whether Paul remains in prison (Durative Present tense) or is freed to go to Philippi (Futuristic
Present tense), he wants them at all costs to lead responsible lives as members of the royal family of
God (Gnomic Present tense), in the only manner that is worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Believers are called to a high standard of thinking and behavior as citizens of heaven. It doesn’t
matter to Paul whether he is present with the Philippian believers or absent from them, he
encourages them to live according to this honor code. And the manner he uses to encourage them is
to remind them that they are citizens of heaven, not earth. They are mere sojourners on earth, living
in another country that is not their own. Therefore, our code of conduct is derived from heaven and
not earth; we are to live by divine viewpoint and not by human viewpoint.
Paul is not certain of his future. Maybe he will see the Philippians again (Latin: video) and maybe he
won’t. In any case, he hopes (Potential Subjunctive mood) to hear (Latin: audio) frequent positive
reports (Iterative Present tense) about them. He wants to hear that they are stabilized (Durative