What Is Distinct About the Theology of Philippians?
This article is part of the Distinctive Theology series.
Our Greatest Joy and Our Union with Christ
If we ask what is distinct about the theology of Philippians, on one very important level, the answer is: nothing. The theology of Philippians is the same Christ-centered, God-glorifying theology that fills all of Paul’s letters, the NT, and the whole Bible. Having said that, however, we can identify a few key themes that take a prominent place in the letter.
To begin, some might point to the distinctive place that joy plays in the theology of Philippians. Philippians is sometimes even called the “epistle of joy.” While it is certainly true that this is an important theme in Philippians, this is not the only place in Paul’s letters where we see this emphasis (cf., for example, 1 Thess. 5:16; Gal. 5:22; Col. 1:24). However, in Philippians, there is a clear link between the suffering of Christ, our union with him, and the deep joy that results from this.
The famous hymn recounting the humiliation of Christ in Philippians 2 provides us with one of the clearest pictures of both Christ’s humiliation and exaltation in the NT. Christ, who was and is equal to God, added a human nature (without losing any part of his deity) and became obedient to death on the cross. His suffering is both an example to us and the foundation and ground of our salvation. Because Christ has suffered, everyone who is united with him joins in both his sorrow and his joy. Or, put a different way, the risen Jesus joins us in both our sorrow and our joy because we are truly united to him.
Sharing Christ in Joy and Sorrow
Chris Bruno
Exploring the theology and themes of Philippians, Sharing Christ in Joy and Sorrow illustrates how believers have unity with the suffering and exalted Christ, encouraging them to live joyfully amid all life circumstances.
In his Institutes, Calvin reminds us that union with Christ is at the center of salvation:
That joining of Head and members, that indwelling of Christ in our hearts—in short, that mystical union—are accorded by us the highest degree of importance, so that Christ, having been made ours, makes us sharers with him in the gifts with which he has been endowed. We do not, therefore, contemplate him outside ourselves from afar in order that his righteousness may be imputed to us but because we put on Christ and are engrafted into his body—in short, because he deigns to make us one with him. For this reason, we glory that we have fellowship of righteousness with him.1
At the foundation of our salvation, in every way, is the reality of our union with Christ. Though other Pauline letters emphasize this theme as well, Philippians uniquely shows us the link between suffering, union with Christ, and our greatest joy. The letter begins and ends with references to union with Christ. As Paul greets the Philippians, he first identifies them as “the saints in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:1). Their fundamental identity is that they are found in Christ. An important implication of this is a contrast between citizenship in heaven and in Rome (Phil. 3:20). More fundamental than citizenship, however, is union with Christ. Paul’s theology in Philippians is rooted in the risen Christ, who is himself the divine Son of God who humbled himself to the cross and is now exalted as Lord (Phil. 2:5–11).
At the foundation of our salvation, in every way, is the reality of our union with Christ.
If the risen and exalted Christ is the foundation for Paul’s biblical theology in this letter, and the first description he gives of the Philippians is those who are united to Christ, then it follows that union with Christ is the foundation for how the Philippians are to conceive of themselves in all situations. As the letter unfolds, this identity is the basis for their attitudes toward Christian ministry, toward each other, toward outsiders, and for their own conduct. All the instructions that Paul will give to the Philippians in the rest of the letter are grounded in this fundamental identity. Near the end of his final greetings and instructions in chapter four, Paul instructs the church to “Greet every saint in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:21). We might be tempted to read this final greeting as incidental. It is not uncommon for me to receive an email or letter with the closing “In Christ” or “Love in Christ.” When we use these signature lines, our intent is usually not to communicate a deep love that is found in our mystical union with the risen Messiah; consequently, we tend to think of this line in a similar way, as an incidental closing. However, given the parallels with the letter opening, it is likely that Paul intended to connote a deep love that is found in our mystical union with the risen Messiah.
From this union with the risen and exalted Christ, Paul can call the Philippians (and us) to have the deepest and most lasting joy. This mystical reality of union with Christ will often move beyond our abilities to explain it, but the believer who is enduring suffering or loss can, in a very real sense, say this sorrow becomes a path to being found in him more deeply and sharing the sufferings of Christ more truly. This deeply experiential knowledge of Christ transcends what we can learn from a textbook, becoming the most important means of knowing Christ we encounter in this life, especially in suffering.
The call for the Philippians—and to all of us when faced with suffering and loss—is to count it as joy rather than seeking to avoid it no matter the cost, for as we endure suffering as those who are united to Christ, our suffering becomes a means of greater joy; it intensifies the experience of our union with Christ. For all of us, but especially those of us who live in the Western world, this is an important call. The core value of our society seems to be a desire to avoid suffering or sorrow at all costs. Whether we medicate it away; try to eat, drink, or exercise our way out of it; or just ignore it, we are conditioned to do anything but count loss as joy for the sake of Christ. But for those who are in Christ, our suffering and loss become the very means of knowing him more, being kept by him, and ultimately, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Our suffering becomes the very means by which we attain the deepest and most lasting joy.
Notes:
- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (trans. John T. McNeill; ed. Ford Lewis Battles, 2 vols. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1960), 3.11. 10; 1.737.
Chris Bruno is the author of Sharing Christ in Joy and Sorrow: A Theology of Philippians.
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