Philippians 1: 27-30
(27) Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ,
Live your lives with an attitude of submission to others, as Christ submitted to the will of the Father. Live like the children of the King, as His family all hold the same values.
so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you
No matter if he comes or not, he will either see how they are doing, or hear about it. Either way, he will know.
that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
He expects them to be loyal to one another as they are to Christ, supporting one another and defending one another in defense of the truth of the gospel.
(28) in no way alarmed by your opponents--which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.
Then anyone who opposes them, attacking with other ideas, will not be able to rile them up, having the peace of Christ and standing firm in the truth.
This strength seen in God's people will show that those who are willingly in error will be judged, when the Lord returns, if not before.
And God's people will be rewarded.
(29) For to you it has been granted
This opposition as well as other lessons and benefits have been given to us as gifts.
for Christ's sake,
Because of, as a result of, what Christ has accomplished as our Substitute.
not only to believe in him,
Our belief, our faith, our trusting in Jesus is a gift of God, not of ourselves.
but also to suffer for His sake,
When we are rejected by others, persecuted by others, it's not to make us victims, but to grant us victory over the works of our enemy.
So the faith we have in Jesus to take our place in death in payment of our debt is a gift from God, as He draws us into trusting Him.
And when we are persecuted and martyred, that is also a gift from God. We may see suffering as other people making us victims, but God grants us this as a means of growing us up to be mature adults in His family, and we will reap the benefits as He receives the glory.
(30) experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
They are not alone in their suffering, as Paul also is undergoing the same. And God's people have always been subjected to the same kind of opposition and persecution from the world and the devil, as history attests, and is still ongoing even today.
If someone has slandered you, or spoken against your witness for Christ, or has opposed you in any way; then pray for that person to come to know the Truth, for they have most likely been deceived, and are lashing out from their own misery. Hurt people will hurt other people. Show them kindness and compassion, as you refute their errors.
O my Father, You are still working out Your plans for Your creation. You are still saving those who turn to You, and protecting Your children. You are still using our choices to further Your plans, and granting us all the consequences of our decisions, whether for our benefit or their destruction.
O father, strengthen Your sons and daughters against the attacks from the enemy and his minions. Grow us up and mature us to respond to them in Your goodness and graciousness, to win them over by our gentleness, by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
Father, continue to send out Your children as messengers of Your gospel, to preach Your gospel of love to every living being, and to find all Your lost sheep. Enable us to rescue all of Your embryonic children from the brambles of entangling sin, and the pits of enticing deceit. Help us to pull them lovingly out of the destructive attitudes that are destroying them, and draw them into the safety and healing of Your one fold with one Shepherd.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
