Useful Bible Studies > Philippians Commentary > chapter 1
Philippians 1:30 describes the Christian life as a struggle or a fight. It is like that for all Christians, and not just their leaders. It is hard to live the kind of life that truly pleases God. In fact, without God’s special help, we would all be much too weak to live for him. At all times Christians must depend on the strength that comes from Christ (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
All Christians share the same struggle, although their experiences may be very different. For example, one person may suffer from the cruelty of the people who oppose him. Another Christian may struggle because of the circumstances of a difficult life. One Christian may suffer from much illness and pain; another Christian may suffer greatly because of his inner thoughts. However, they all join together in the same task: to live as pleases God in this evil world. They all struggle until God will finally establish his complete rule over all things (Romans 8:23-26). Then, at last, their struggle will end (Revelation 21:1-4).
This is not a struggle against other people (Ephesians 6:12), although people may cause many of our troubles. It is not a struggle that we can win by any amount of human effort. Rather, Christians overcome because of Christ’s death, when they declare their agreement with God’s word (Revelation 12:11). God provides their weapons, which are their tools in this fight. Those weapons include truth, right attitudes, trust in God, God’s word, and prayer (Ephesians 6:13-19). In this way, through Christ who loves them, they overcome the devil’s attacks (Romans 8:37).
Next part: Why Christians should love each other (Philippians 2:1)
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© 2020, Keith Simons.