Philippians

1:18d-26

2. Paul's personal situation. 1:12-26

ii] Through Paul's personal difficulties Christ is glorified

Paul begins his letter to the Philippians with a thanksgiving and prayer for the church, 1:3-11. He then touches on his personal situation, 1:12-26. Having spoken about "the attitudes of others, both those who are for him and those who are against him, [Paul] now proceeds, with serene nobility, to speak of his reactions toward all of them", TH. The passage before us reminds us that in our day-to-day living, as in the day of our dying, let Christ be exalted.

Paul is sure that he will be delivered from his present difficulties, 1:18d-20. Paul knows that Christ will never be put to shame, but rather exalted, and this whether Paul's situation should lead to his death or his ongoing life.

alla kai "Yes" - but also. The conjunction alla is not adversative here, but climactic. Paul has just stated that he rejoices, whether the situation is evil or good, because Christ is preached. He now reinforces his state of joy with a "not only so, I will rejoice."

carhsomai (cairw) fut. pas. "I will continue to rejoice" - I will rejoice. Usually treated as a durative future, as NIV.

gar "for" - for. Expressing cause/reason.

oJti "[I know] that" - Introducing an object clause / dependent statement of perception expressing what Paul knows.

dia + gen. "through" - through, by means of. Instrumental.

epicorhgiaV (a) "help given" -supply, provision. "Resources", Phillips.

tou pneumatoV (a) "by the Spirit" - of the Spirit. Is this a subjective or objective genitive? i] Objective = the Spirit is given, "the Spirit of Jesus Christ is given me for support", NEB, Williams, Moffatt, ...; ii] Subjective = the Spirit does the giving, so NIV, TEV, CEV, ... "the Spirit of Jesus Christ supplies me with all I need", NEB, alt. An adjectival sense seems best where the "bountiful supply is limited by "the Spirit / the Holy Spirit" - not just any resources are in mind.

Ihsou Cristou (oV) gen. "of Jesus Christ" - This second genitive is possibly in apposition to "Spirit", "the Spirit who is Jesus Christ", or more likely descriptive / epexegetic. Which Spirit? The Spirit who is one with Christ Jesus, the divine Spirit.

touto pro. "what has happened [to me]" - this. "This state of things, these perplexities and annoyances", Lightfoot. The recent trial, but also possibly the dangerous future.

apobhsetai (apobainw) fut. mid. "will turn out" - will go away, depart. Producing the sense will "result in", "end in" and so + eiV = "lead to."

swthrian (a) "deliverance" - salvation. Personal safety is possibly Paul's intention here and in particular, his release from prison; "the outcome of this, I know, will be my release", Moffatt. If this is the sense then it is modified by Paul's "hope", v20, which hope rests on God's will. The other possibility is that the trial he is undergoing will serve an eternal end: i] his shaping toward eternity, "spiritual welfare", Williams; ii] Paul's future eschatological redemption.

kata + acc. "-" - according to. "According to / in accord with my eager expectation and hope." This phrase modifies "what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance", v19, which deliverance is "in accord with", possibly even "as a result of / on the basis of" "my expectation and hope."

thn apokaradokian (a) "eagerly expect" - the eager expectation, earnest desire. With focused attention, deep desire for ... Possibly a single expression when linked with elpida, "hope", so "confident hope", REB. Used in a typical Old Testament sense of a sure confidence that God will act for the welfare of his people according to his revealed word / covenant promises.

oJti "that" - Introducing an object clause / dependent statement of perception expressing the content of Paul's "confident hope."

en oudeni "in no way" - in nothing. Adverbial use of the preposition expressing manner. The literal "in nothing I will be ashamed" is best expressed "I will not be put to shame", NAB, or even better "I will never", Barclay.

aiscunqhsomai (aiscunw) fut. pas. "I will [in no way] be ashamed" - [in nothing] will I be ashamed = pas. disgraced, "disgraced" in regard the realization of the promises of God as they pertain to Paul. The word is set to oppose pash/ parrhsia, "all boldness, courage, confidence / frankness, plainness" with the adversative alla "but"; "that I shall never fail in my duty, but ..... I shall be full of courage", TEV. The "courage" is probably a boldness of speech, so "frankness". The preposition en, "in [all boldness]", is adverbial, modal / manner. "In a totally free and open way", Reumann.

wJV .... kai ..... "[now] as [always]" - as [always] and [now] = "as always so now." Introducing a comparison.

megalunqhsetai (megalunw) fut. pas. "[Christ] will be exalted" - will be magnified, enlarged, lengthened, increased. Although passive, an active causative translation makes better sense; "bring honor to Christ", CEV, cf. 2Cor.4:10, 1Cor.6:20. Whatever happens to him, Paul wants Christ magnified, rather than himself.

en tw/ swmati mou "in my body" - in the body of me. Simply, "in me", REB, "in my person."

eite ..... eite "whether ..... or ......" - either .... or.

dia + gen. "by" - by means of. Instrumental / agency. "Either through living or through dying", Berkeley.

eite dia zwhV eite dia qanatou "life [or by death]" - weather through life, or weather through death. "Weather I live or die", TEV.

Paul reflects on the options that are coming his way, whether he will continue to live, or to die, v21-24. To live entails serving Jesus; to die is to be with Jesus.

gar "for" - Expressing cause/reason. Christ is exalted in either Paul's living or his dying, v20, "so / for ......."

emoi dat. pro. "to me" - Emphatic by position, dative of interest, advantage; "to me, whatever it may be for others, ...."Reumann.

to zhn (zaw) pres. inf. "to live" - to live. Articular infinitive functioning as the subject of the sentence. The tense is durative expressing continuation, so "live" in the sense of living life, "to continue to live."

CristoV (oV) "is Christ" - Christ. The verb to-be is usually supplied in translations and is understood as "life means Christ", Bruce; "I live only to serve him, only to commune with him, I have no conception of life apart from him", Bengel.

to apoqanein (apoqnhskw) aor. inf. "to die [is gain]" - to die [gain]. The tense indicating a single action, "die" as in suffering death. Death has profit or advantage because then we will be eternally one with Christ. Again the verb to-be is usually supplied, and the sense taken as "death means gain." Presumably the gain is for Paul, but possibly the gospel. "I will gain even more", CEV.

de "-" - but, and. Probably slightly adversative; "but then, if it is to be life", Moffatt.

ei "if" - Introducing a conditional clause, 1st class, where the condition is assumed; "if, as is the case, [to live in flesh] then [this for me fruit]." The NIV then commences a new sentence, but the rest of the verse could still function as an extended / multiple apodosis of the conditional clause. The usual indicative verb is missing and so "I am" is often supplied, as NIV. It is possible that the construction is simply expressing indecision. Lightfoot's suggestion that the form implies interrogation is quite possible. Literally, "what if to live in the flesh is fruit of my work to me? What I shall choose I know not." So, something like "there is certainly a great advantage in death. Yet, what if there is still much I can do for the Lord? What then is best?" The final clause is usually treated as the result of the life/death dilemma; "I'm unsure."

to zhn (zaw) pres. inf. "to live" - The articular infinitive is substantival, functioning as the subject of the sentence. Living in (en local) the flesh/body expresses natural life, as opposed to spiritual/heavenly/eternal life. "Flesh", often with a negative connotation, is neutral here.

touto pro. "this will mean" - this. Referencing the articular infinitive, neut. sing. nom., ie., "to live", so "this ongoing life in the flesh." Probably introducing the apodosis of the conditional clause, so "then this." Again there seems to be an ellipsis requiring a verb, as NIV, "will mean"; "then I will have the chance to go on doing (= "this" = to go on living in the body) useful work", Barclay.

ergou (on) gen. "[fruitful] labor" - fruit [of labor]. The genitive is adjectival limiting "fruit", the type of fruit that comes from Paul's work, namely the souls gathered by his missionary work.

moi dat. pro. "for me" - Dative of interest, advantage, as NIV = "this means there is fruitful missionary work for me still to do."

kai "yet" - and. Usually taken to introduce a new sentence in the form of an abrupt indirect question, as NIV.

aiJrhsomai (aiJrw) fut. "[what] shall I choose" - I will choose. Not that Paul could choose either life or death; this lies in the will of God. The dilemma lies in not knowing which is for the best.

ou gnwrizw pres. "I do not know" - I do not declare, make known / understand, know. In New Testament Greek the word usually means "make known", but the less common "understand" is best here. "I am not aware of God's will on this matter"; "I cannot tell", Goodspeed.

de "-" - but, and. Zerwick suggests the conjunction is explanatory here; "indeed, ...."

sunecomai (sunecw) pres. pas. "I am torn" - I am hemmed in, constrained, hard-pressed / torn apart, pulled. Note the two possible meanings which, of course, are reflected in the different translations offered for this verse. We might say something like "I am drawn between the advantages of both life and death and find it difficult to know where the advantage lies." "I am in a dilemma", Moffatt.

ek + gen. "between [the two]" - from [the two]. The preposition here possibly expresses cause, "I am torn because of the two options, either life or death, namely desiring to depart ......v23b, but [desiring] to remain ....... v24."

ecwn (ecw) part. "-" - having [the desire]. The participle is adverbial, probably causal. It agrees with the nominative "I" of "I am torn"; "I am torn ........ because [on the one hand] I have the desire to depart ......... de "but [on the other hand] [I have the desire] to remain in the flesh which is more necessary for your sake."

eiV "to" - Here expressing purpose, "in order to depart."

to analusai (analuw) aor. inf. "to depart" - to break camp, pack up and move on, depart. Used literally, or as here, figuratively of death. The articular infinitive forms a substantival phrase, object of the verb "I desire" / dependent statement of perception, hoping, so also the infinitive of the verb to-be; "I desire to leave this life and [to] be with Christ", TEV. It is interesting how Paul maintains both the immediacy of union with Christ upon death, as here, but at the same time he can speak of sleeping in Christ as he awaits the day of resurrection. Again we see how death transcends time.

pollw/ mallon kreisson "which is better by far" - much much better. A positive, comparative, superlative adj. A very interesting triple comparative. "A better thing, much more than a better thing", Knox.

de "but" - but, and. Here adversative, as NIV; "nevertheless", AV.

anagkaioteron (anagkaioV) comp. adj. "more necessary" - The comparative adjective carries the verbal sense of this clause / verse, with the infinitive serving as its subject; "to remain is more necessary." "For your sake the greater need is ...", REB.

dia + acc. "for [you]" - because of, on account of.

epimenein (epimenw) pres. inf. "that I remain" - to remain, abide, in the sense of continue to abide in the body. The sense is: remain in this present life. "I should stay here on earth", Phillips.

en + dat. "in [the body]" - in [the flesh]. Local. "To go on living in this world", Barclay.

Paul expects to live through the present difficulties and continue his missionary work, particularly as this relates to the Philippians, v25-26.

pepoiqwV (peiqw) perf. part. "convinced [of this]" - having been persuaded of. Genitive absolute participle, usually forming a temporal clause, but here probably causal. Either, i] Paul is confidently persuaded that his life will be spared and that he will continue to minister to the church, "I am sure I shall remain", REB; or ii] Paul is sure that his view expressed in v24 is the most advantageous, "I am convinced of this and I know ..", Weymouth.

oida perf. "I know" - I know. "Know" in the sense of personal conviction.

oJti "that" - that. Introducing an object clause / independent statement of perception expressing what Paul knows.

paramenw fut. "I will continue" - abide beside, continue beside. "I shall stay on and serve you all", Goodspeed.

eiV "for" - to. Here expressing result; "for your progress and joy, but possibly purpose, "to promote your advancement and enjoyment of the faith", Berkeley.

thn uJmwn prokophn kai caran "your progress and joy" - the your progress and joy. These two nouns joined by kai, given that only one article is provided, possibly convey a single idea, qualifying both "your" and "faith", ie. a hendiadys; "happy furtherance", Knox.

thV pistewV (iV) gen. "in the faith" - of the faith. There are different ways to understand this genitive. i] "The happy furtherance of your life of faith", genitive of description - "faith" is used here in the sense of "trust"; ii] "The happy furtherance of your life that develops from your faith", genitive of source; iii] "Your happy furtherance in the faith", objective genitive - "faith" in the sense of "Christian truth." Option [iii] is usually favored, ie., Paul knows that staying is the best, as it enables him to build up the church with the knowledge of Christ. Yet, option [ii], an ablative genitive of source, seems best, ie. their progress and joy in the Christian life comes from / derives from their faith, a) their belief, confident trust/reliance on Christ, or b) their body of belief, that which is believed = the teachings of Paul.

iJna + subj. "so that" - that [ ...... may abound]. Introducing a purpose clause, as NIV; "in order that."

dia + gen. "through [my being]" - through, by means of, [my presence]. Instrumental. "When I come again to visit you", Knox.

proV "with [you]" - to, from [you again]. Here expressing association; "in company with."

to kauchma "[your] joy" - the pride, boast [of you]. Here "ground for boasting", so something to exalt about.

en Cristw/ Ihsou en emoi "in Christ Jesus [will overflow] on account of me" - [may abound] in Christ Jesus in me. It is unclear whether Paul, or Christ, is "the ground of boasting" and so translators follow both possibilities. Probably, "that you may have much more to boast about in Christ Jesus through my presence with you again", cf. JB, RSV, NRSV, Moffatt, ... That Paul should be their ground of boating (his missionary service) is possible, but unlikely; "I want to visit you again and so to give you the opportunity to have still more Christian pride in me", Barclay.

perisseuh (perisseuw) "will overflow" - abound. The ground for boasting will overflow ..... you will have much more to exalt about.

Philippians Introduction

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