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Berean Expositor Volume 4 & 5
"What then?"
"What then? notwithstanding every way,
whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached,
and I therein rejoice, yea and will rejoice" (Phil. 1: 18).
pp. 82-84
The words "what then," taken alone, have little or no meaning, but read in the light of
the context in which they occur in Phil. 1:, a very precious lesson may be learned.
Possibly the day had been when the apostle would have been roused by the miserable
pettiness of those who refrained not from making the sacred proclamation of Christ a
means of adding affliction to his imprisonment, and of seeking to make a party in
opposition to the blessed unity which the apostle so loved. But now he had learned that
the wrath of man even in the cause of truth hindered but never helped. He had learned to
find his cause of rejoicing in "things above," and to seek to know "the fellowship of His
sufferings" as something far more precious than the peace and quietness of earth. The
grand yet difficult lesson of this passage is the complete subjection of everything
personal. This is seen very clearly in the structure of the passage which is as follows:--
Phil. 1: 12-26.
A | 12, 13. What Paul would have them know. Bonds were for furtherance of gospel.
B | 14-18-. "Christ is preached." Personal consideration,
such as "envy and strife," lost sight of.
C | -18. Paul rejoicing in result of bonds.
C | 19-20-. Paul expecting deliverance from bonds.
B | -20-24. "Christ shall be magnified." Personal consideration,
such as "life and death," lost sight of.
A | 25, 26. What Paul knew. His contiuance was for their furtherance of faith.
The two members "B" ("Christ is preached") and "B" ("Christ shall be magnified")
are the two foci around which the other passages are arranged. Some were preaching
Christ even of envy and strife. Each of the words "envy," "strife," and "goodwill" occur
nine times in the New Testament. Envy moved the leaders of Israel to deliver the Lord
Jesus to death (Matt. 27: 18). It is found in the midst of abominations (Rom. 1: 29),
and is the work of the flesh (Gal. 5: 21). So also strife is found in Rom. 1: 29 and
Gal. 5: 20. It was prevalent among the carnal Corinthians (I Cor. 1: 11; 3: 3;
II Cor. xii.20).
Goodwill, on the other hand, is a fitting frame for heralding Christ and His gospel
(Luke 2: 14). The heart's desire of the apostle to those who were moved with envy and
malice against himself was for their salvation (Rom. 10: 1). Goodwill (good pleasure
A.V.) is the grand setting of the glorious purposes of God according to Eph. 1: 5 and 9.