5 Biblical Elements of a Missional Spirituality

The Philippian Christians most certainly prayed that Paul would be delivered from prison, and he seems to address this matter when he states his confidence that “through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance” (Phil 1:19).

However, the scholarly consensus is that Paul took heart in the Philippians’ praying for something much more significant than his physical deliverance, namely, his ability to persevere in the faith during such a trying time. This judgment is based on understanding the term sōtēria in its full eschatological context, not simply as a reference to deliverance from present trouble.

Thus Paul not only asks for their prayers, but also trusts that his divinely appointed future somehow rests in their prayerful hands. Frank Thielman provides a helpful observation in this regard: “Although it grates against Western notions of the autonomy of the individual, Paul did not conceive of sanctification and ultimate salvation as solely private enterprises. Individual Christians need the prayerful intercession of their brothers and sisters for their spiritual well-being so that they ‘may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ’ (1:10).”

Thus, such congregational and missional prayer is critical to Paul’s own spirituality and to gospel advancement.

4. Missional Suffering

The book of Philippians also points to the sober reality of missional suffering. Paul refers to the theme often, even mentioning his own imprisonment four times in the first chapter (Phil 1:7, 13, 14, 17). Paul himself is in prison because of his commitment to the mission, and he is grateful that the Philippians have stood by him (Phil 1:7).

Many did not, as Paul relates how he suffered persecution from fellow evangelists: “The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains” (Phil 1:17).

While the exact nature of their attempt to rub salt in Paul’s prison wounds is contextually vague, the very fact that gospel evangelists would leverage Paul’s situation to their own advantage is disturbing. Kent Hughes states the feeling of indignation well: “The sheer cussedness of this is astonishing.”

Paul’s reaction, however, sidesteps the personal affront altogether and instead focuses attention on the ground gained through the spread of the gospel: “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice” (Phil 1:18).

This is not a noble attempt at positive thinking, nor making the best of a bad situation. Paul’s use of the term rejoice resembles that of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:11‑12) and thus demonstrates that Paul “can and does submit his own personal interests to those of the wider horizon of the gospel.”

Likewise, Paul’s frequent usage of the terms rejoice and joy in the letter shows that joy is not only a dominant theme in his life, but also an attitude that should characterize Christians—in all situations, even missional suffering.

Thus Paul can hedge between the choice of living or dying. Knowing as he does that Christ will be honored either way, and admitting that being in the presence of Christ is far better (Phil 1:20‑21), he ultimately prefers to live “for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me” (Phil 1:25‑26). Paul endures suffering for the sake of the gospel and the sake of God’s people, thereby adding to their joy in the Lord.

By putting the interests of the Philippians above his own, Paul can easily transition to asking members of the Philippian church to do the same. Indeed, his clarion call for the church to live worthy of the gospel urges them to stand firm in unity, strive together side by side, and not be frightened by their opponents (Phil 1:27‑28). The conflict was real and nerve-racking, but Paul reminds the church that “it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him” (Phil 1:29).

Paul embodied missional suffering, and it was necessary for the Philippian church to embody it as well.

5. Missional Unity

An often forgotten but major aspect of missional spirituality is church unity. Church unity is important for many reasons, but one key reason is that unity affects the church’s mission.

Paul integrates the missional nature of church unity into the whole of the letter, often linking it to other missional matters. For example, missional unity is linked to missional giving, which displays and extends missional unity and partnership (Phil 1:3‑8; 4:10‑20).

Missional unity is similarly linked to missional praying, which also displays and extends the unity and partnership (Phil 1:3‑11, 19‑26). Missional unity is likewise linked to missional holiness, as the unity and holiness foster both the shining as lights in the world and the commitment to the word of life (Phil 2:1‑16).

Missional unity is particularly stressed in Paul’s charge to live worthy of the gospel (Phil 1:27‑30). He urges the Philippians to stand firm “in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel” (Phil 1:27). His concern for unity is highlighted against the backdrop of potential divisions, including a conflict between Euodia and Syntyche (Phil 4:2).

Paul’s solution is to call the Philippians to look not “to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Phil 2:4). The call to displace one’s sense of being in the right for the sake of unity is counterintuitive to the ways of the world, but kingdom disciples have an example in the King himself, who being in very nature God … humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Phil 2:6, 8)

Thielman correctly avers that Jesus’ “equality with God led him to view his status not as a matter of privilege but as a matter of unselfish giving.” This act of selfless service was the ultimate act of humility and became Paul’s model of humility in the service of congregational unity as he called the Philippians to “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (Phil 2:3).

Although humility is not often on display in heated church disputes, kingdom citizens are called at every stage of life to embrace the beatitudes and corresponding reversal of human values that Jesus expressed in the Sermon on the Mount. Disciples thus avoid disunity in the church when they depend on God, live meek lives, and seek to be peacemakers; consequently, the church does not negate its witness to the world by internal divisions becoming public scandals.

Paul therefore reminds the church of the importance of unity in its mission: “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky” (Phil 2:14‑15).

Taken from Spirituality for the Sent edited by Nathan A. Finn and Keith S. Whitfield. Copyright (c) 2017 by Nathan A. Finn and Keith S. Whitfield. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426. www.ivpress.com

Order this book on Amazon.com »

Keep Calm and Minister

Can you pass the "Timothy Test?"

4 Ways God’s Spirit Leads His People

We don't always have the full picture, but discerning how God is leading you is not unclear.

Fit for the Kingdom

The Lord prompted Reardon to think about combining Christian fellowship with fitness in order to create a new small group for men.