”Our citizenship is in heaven.” St Paul’s discourse on the final things in Philippians. (Phi 3:1–4:1)

Abstract

As in the Letters to the Romans and the Galatians, the foundation of St. Paul's doctrine in the Letter to the Philippians is a righteousness that comes through faith in Christ (Phil 3:9). The Apostle proclaims this truth during a confrontation with his opponents referring at the same time to the fact which accompanied his call to discipleship. Paul divides his life into two stages: the one according to the law (kata. no,mon) and the present one “in Christ”. His attitude and experience of God have the value of paradigm and example. As the Apostle of the Nations broke with the precepts of the Law he encourages the Philippians to follow his example on the way to the Gospel. The Torah and its rules should be an anachronism (3:17). According to St. Paul, the way of the Gospel stretches between what is now and what Paul calls the participation in Christ's sufferings and the hope of resurrection which is the culmination of a Christian vocation. St. Paul bases his whole message in Phil 3:1-4:1 on these two theological and literary themes. It might be expressed using the paraphrase of the Apostle's words that both the Philippians and the growing Church should await the Lord (Kuri,oj), Jesus Christ as the Saviour who will transform the body of our humiliation so that it may be conformed to the body of his glory (Phil 3:21). This truth expresses the most succinct message of Paul's eschatology coming from the pages of the Letter to the Philippians.