Calvin's Commentary - Philippians 1:27-30

I've discovered I like commentaries on Philippians 1 a lot more than I do on Philippians 2. Perhaps it's just my experience as I don't know/read many. It just seems to me that they lose momentum coming into chapter 2. They make beautiful encouragements about salvation at then end and *bam* hit the wall of focusing on (dis)unity.

Oh! If you only knew how joyous unity is IN salvation! Perhaps you could then sing the hymn of praise Paul sings to Christ in verses 5-11. But that assumes I have a grasp on it, which I certainly do not. Please help me to not lose sight of Jesus, Father!


Here is some of the beauty though (Calvin's thoughts on 1:29):

'To you,' he says, 'it is given, not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for him. Hence even the sufferings themselves are testimonies of the grace of God; and, since it is so, you have from this source a token of salvation.' Oh, if this conviction were fixed in our minds, that persecutions are to be reckoned under god's benefits, what progress would be made in the doctrine of godliness! And yet, what is more certain than that it is the highest honour of the Divine grace, that we suffer for His name either reproach, or imprisonment, or miseries, or tortures, or even death, for in that case he decorates us with his insignia. But more will be found who order God and His gifts to be gone rather than to embrace the cross readily when it is offered to them. Woe, then, to our stupidity!