Gospel Worthy Lives

“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel” (Philippians 1:27).

“We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!” Those words are very familiar if you’re a fan of “Wayne’s World.” Mike Myers and Dana Carvey created the characters Wayne and Garth, a couple of goofy high school kids from suburban Chicago. These two were a team. Whether they were playing street hockey or hosting their low budget, cable access show. And anytime something awesome would happen (like the time Aerosmith played a surprise concert in the breakfast nook), they would fawn worship and announce their unworthiness. Wayne and Garth knew without a doubt that they didn’t deserve it. But that didn’t stop them from fully enjoying it together. 

Now I’m pretty sure Paul didn’t have a prophetic view of “Wayne’s World” when he was locked up in a Roman prison. But here in this letter, the apostle encourages his friends in Philippi to live a “life worthy of the Gospel of Christ” (v27). You can almost hear the Philippians shout in response, “We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!” Let’s face it, who really is worthy of what Jesus has done them? Go ahead and list them. I’ll wait. That’s right, nobody. But that doesn’t stop us from diving into the deep end of the Gospel pool and enjoying everything that Christ has given us. Paul let’s us know that this only happens when God’s people live in community and work together as teammates. “One spirit…one mind…striving side by side” (v27). We live Gospel worthy lives when we play hard as a team for the cause of Jesus.

After telling the folks back in Philippi that he can’t wait to hang out with them again and watch them grow in their relationship with Jesus (Phil 1:26), the apostle gives them instructions in what to do until he gets there. “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ” (v27). Sure, Paul. Piece of cake. We’ll knock that out this afternoon. At first glance this would seem to be equivalent to asking them to bail the Titanic with a teacup. Who on the planet can live a life worthy of what Jesus has done for us? In the words of Wayne and Garth, “We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!”

But when we take a closer look at the original language, we see something very cool. In the first part of the command, the man from Tarsus encourages his readers to “let your manner of life” (v27). These five English words are actually a single Greek verb, politeuomai). It means to live as a citizen or as a member of a particular community. It’s a description of how we live in relation to others when we belong to a certain group of people. A good way of understanding this is citizenship. A little bit later, he reminds us that “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:20). We might live in a particular country but we’re actually citizens of something greater. While we’re on this side of eternity, Paul is telling us to be good citizens of God’s kingdom.  

We do that living a life “worthy of the Gospel of Christ” (v27). Seems like we’d better have a good handle on what it means to be worthy. The Greek word here (Gr. axios) talks about doing something in a manner suitable, appropriately, properly, corresponding to a particular standard. It comes from a root word that has the idea of equal weight. Does my life carry Gospel weight? Am I pulling my weight in Christ’s kingdom? No, I don’t mean have I earned my citizenship by passing some sort of test or racking up enough points for supernatural merit badge. But does my life demonstrate to the rest of the world just how much value I place on Jesus? 

What does a Gospel worthy life look like? Paul encourages Colossian believers “to walk in a manner worthy (Gr. axios) of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col 1:10). In other words, a Gospel worthy life produces good fruit and has a growing personal relationship with God. From his Roman prison cell, the apostle writes the same idea to the church back in Ephesus and then goes on to give practical examples of what it means to Gospel worthy. “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:1-3). A Gospel worthy life is humble, gentle, patient, loving, and works to keep the team together in the Holy Spirit. In other words, we’re to give the same grace, love, and forgiveness Jesus has given us. We’re to shiners of His light. We’re to be spreaders of His salt. That’s what it means to live a life that’s Gospel worthy.

Paul’s optimistic that he’s about to be released from Caesar’s superman in Rome but he can’t be 100% sure. He tells them to live Gospel worthy lives “whether I come and see you or am absent” (v27). Ultimately it doesn’t make any difference for the man from Tarsus if he never leaves the slammer. What does matter to him is the teamwork of the Philippians in and for the Gospel of Jesus. He hopes to get word that they are “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel” (v27). They’re standing firm as a team. Nothing can knock them off their feet. “One spirit…one mind” (v27). Sure sounds a LOT like what we’ll read a few verses later. Nothing would make Paul happier than if his readers were “of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (Phil 2:2). Everyone’s on the same page. Everybody’s pulling in the same direction. To win the fight for the faith, we must work as a team, well-oiled, Gospel worthy machine.

Paul opens the playbook for a closer look at teamwork among Jesus’ followers. We’re to be “striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel” (v27). Once again, it takes the translators of the ESV four words to get the meaning across of one Greek verb (Gr. sunathleo). It’s compound term that means to fight together, struggle as a team, or play hard as teammates. Later Paul talks about two female teammates on the Philippian squad named Euodia and Syntyche “who have labored side by side (Gr. sunathleo) with me in the Gospel together” (Phil 4:3). I see a group of offensive linemen on a football team. When they are working their butts off opening up holes, big things happens for their team. They double team certain opponents. They pick up blitzing linebackers their teammates don’t see. They bulldoze defensive backs on a screen pass. But it’s all done together. They work as a team. If one goes rogue, the play breaks down. Five fingers together are a fist. In the same way, Jesus calls us to work our tails off as a team for the Gospel. We live Gospel worthy lives when we play hard as a team for the cause of Jesus.

Jude Drops Mic

“to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (v25).

I’m not sure hone or where it started, but comedians and hip hop artists began dropping the mic after dropping the truth. Jude ends his little letter with the first century version of the mic drop. He erupts in praise for God and all that He’s done through Jesus. He points to Christ. He applauds. He shouts a few incredible items from His divine resume. He’s the one and only God. He’s our Savior. Jesus is Messiah and Lord. He’s the only one who deserves the cheers. Glory! Majesty! Dominion! Authority! This ovation started before creation and will never, ever stop. THUNK! Jude drops mic.

This all starts when Jude reminds us that our applause are “to the only God” (v25). There is only one God. When you make a list of all the gods who’ve ever existed, it’s a rather short list. It’s an exclusive club. It’s one and done. It’s God. Period. All the other contenders are just pretenders. They are either demons or the don’t exist. Over and over and over on page after page after page of the Bible, God makes it clear that He stands alone (Dt 6:4; 32:39; 2Sam 7:22; 1Ki 8:60; 2Ki 5:15; 1Chr 17:20; Neh 9:6; Is 37:16-20; 44:6-8; 45:21; 46:9; Hos 13:4; Joel 2:27; Zech 14:9; Mk 12:29-34; Jn 17:3; Rom 3:30; 1Cor 8:4-6; Gal 3:20; Eph 4:6; 1Tim 1:17; 2:5; James 2:19). There is one God. Period. 

Our one and only God is “our Savior” (v25). He’s our Rescuer. He’s our Hero. Let’s face it, if you could ask anyone to save your bacon, it would be the most powerful Being in the universe. If you’re like me, I tend to limit my view of the Trinity and see Jesus as my Savior. But the Old Testament lets me know that He’s been in the rescuing business ever since we’ve been on the planet. God made it clear that dark day in Eden that He was coming to crush heads and kick butt (Gen 3:15). He busted His people loose from slavery in Egypt in spectacular fashion (Ex 3-15). King David wrote a hit song in which the opening lyrics try to describe his Hero in every way possible. “The LORD is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer, my God, my Rock, in Whom I take refuge., my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my Stronghold and my Refuge, my Savior; You save me from violence” (2Sam 22-3; Ps 18:2). Yahweh told the prophet Isaiah that He was not just the one and only God but our Savior as well (Is 45:21).  And He’s still in the saving business.

Jude connects the dots between God our Hero and his big Brother Jesus. God saves “through Jesus Christ our Lord” (v25). Again, the author doesn’t play the “God is my big Brother” card. I can tell you that if I were in Jude’s sandals, I would have told everybody I met! But he doesn’t. He sees the One he shared a bedroom with back in Nazareth for whom He really is. He’s the Christ. This is the NT way of referring to God’s anointed Messiah. Jesus is the Hero that God has been promising since the garden (Gen 3:15). He personally executed the greatest search and rescue mission in all of history. He came to seeking and saving those who were lost (Lk 19:10). He’s talking about you and me. Not only is our God is our Hero, my God is my Hero. I could have never gotten out of this self-made mess without His supernatural help. And because that, He’s my Lord. He’s my Leader. Out of worship and thankfulness for His amazing rescue, I willingly submit myself to His authority. 

At this point, Jude explodes with a literary standing ovation for God. He’s the only One who deserves “glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever” (v25). He unleashes a series of words like he’s got his finger pressed hard on the trigger of an automatic weapon. Glory. Majesty. Dominion. Authority. Just like Jude doesn’t hype himself by claiming a family tie to Jesus, the author makes sure all eyes are on the right Person in the room. He shines the spotlight on God. He alone gets the glory. He alone is majestic. He alone rules the universe. He alone is in complete control. God gets the applause because He’s only One worthy. He’s the only one who’s legit. And this is not a one time occurrence. Jesus is not just have a really good game, good series, or good season. He’s awesome forever. From “before all time and now and forever” (v25). Before anyone was around to worship Him, God was worthy. He certainly is now. And that’s never, ever going to change. For everybody else, the crowd eventually stops whooping and hollering. For God the cheers never stop.

Jude closes by saying, “Amen” (v25). This isn’t just the way to sign off a prayer. This isn’t just a super spiritual way of saying “over and out.” No, this ancient word means that something is absolutely and positively true. After unleashing this incredible list of praise for God, there’s really no reason to say anything else. This is the truth about the Truth (Jn 14:6). Not surprisingly, Jesus calls Himself “the Amen” in a letter to the church in Laodicea (Rev 3:14). Jude’s use of “amen” is a first century way version of dropping the mic and walking off stage. 

Do I see see God as my Hero? Do I worship Jesus as my Hero? Do I give Him the ovation, the applause, the credit, and the ovation He deserves? This standing O has been going on for as long as anyone remembers. And it’s not going to stop. When I think of all He’s done for me, I can’t help but stand and cheer.