These indeed out of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the glad tidings;
From a Roman prison, Paul has just described two kinds of preachers: some work from envy and rivalry, others from goodwill. This verse is about the second kind — their motive, and what they knew about the prisoner.
The phrase "put here for the defense of the gospel" carries a military picture, and it explains how Paul read his own imprisonment.
"Set for the defence of the Gospel" pictures a soldier posted at a certain spot to defend it. The Captain of Salvation had posted Paul in a Roman prison to defend the Gospel. Paul could rejoice even in such a post. His Captain had put him there, and it was for the defence of the Gospel. Back in verse 7 we read about the defence of the Gospel too, and about the share the Philippian believers had in it. Now the believers in Rome are sharing in it as well.
A soldier is posted because an enemy is coming. One writer names the gospel's enemies, shows which of their attacks does the most damage, and says what form the love of these preachers took.
Wherever people preach the true Gospel of God in this world, others are sure to attack it, both openly and in secret. Traditional religion and the empty claims of philosophy are both its enemies. And the enemy usually does most damage to the truth by sly corruption rather than by open opposition. Paul knew his schemes well, and he stood watch to defend the Gospel entrusted to him against the devil's many methods. So he rejoiced warmly when he found in others the same appreciation of the matchless excellence of the truth itself and of the dangers it faced. Here the love of these right-minded believers took the form of a shared discernment, in them and in him, of the infinite value of God's words.
Some older Bibles number these two verses the other way round. The word used here for the preachers' motive is worth a pause.
The better Greek reading reverses the order of verses 16 and 17, so the description of those who preached out of goodwill comes at once. It is a joy to see that they preached out of love, and it is the stronger word for love, not just affection. The Apostle had once said, "For the love of Christ controls us." Now it is love that constrains these believers in Rome to preach Christ. May we not suppose that this little word "love" includes the love of Christ, love for Christ, and love for the Apostle? And love is the only true motive for preaching the Gospel. It must not be a cold duty, done every so often, but a burning love that comes from the heart.
These preachers stand against a group whose zeal was real but whose motive was rivalry. The problem was not the message but the self mixed into it.
The people the apostle means could not preach Christ without bringing themselves into the service. They made it an occasion for pushing themselves forward, for being ambitious, for seeking the first place among their fellow believers. The news of this self-seeking reached the apostle, and it saddened him, because it spoiled a good confession and ruined a good work. They were preaching Christ, but oh, how badly! They preached Him out of contention and strife, not out of His constraining love.
The warning here is not only for Paul's rivals. It reaches everyone who serves.
But what a serious warning for our own souls, to make sure that love is the true and real motive behind every service. A spirit of rivalry and envy may stir up great zeal and energy. God may still choose to bless His Word when someone preaches it with such motives, yet the one who preaches this way will have to answer to Him for them.
Paul knew what both groups were doing. One writer shows what his chains actually proved.
His chains only proved how completely the liberty of grace stands free of everything man or Satan can rage against the person who holds firm in it and keeps Him before his heart... Paul was not blind to the feelings of some, whose zeal did nothing to hide their malicious desires. But nothing weakened the spring of his joy in God, nor his thankful sense that, whatever man meant by it, the testimony of grace was going out far and wide with power, and Christ was held up and exalted more and more.
- Posted. "Put here for the defense" is soldier's language. The prison was the post his Captain gave him.
- Guarded. Enemies attack the gospel openly and by quiet corruption. That is why the post mattered, and why Paul welcomed everyone who shared the watch.
- Loved. These preachers acted out of love — love of Christ, love for Christ, love for Paul. Love is the only true motive for preaching.
- Contrasted. The other group could not preach without pushing themselves forward. That spoiled a good work, even though the message stayed true.
- Answerable. God may still bless His word preached from a wrong motive. The preacher will answer to Him for that motive.
but those out of contention, announce the Christ, not purely, supposing to arouse tribulation for my bonds.
Paul writes from prison, and his chains have spread the message. But some preachers proclaimed Christ hoping to make his imprisonment harder — which raises two questions: why would anyone preach for such a reason, and how could Paul be glad about it?
Older versions translate Paul's word here as "strife." One writer explains what it covers, then finds the same thing close to home.
The word for "strife" really means "Partisanship," or "Rivalry": "Faction, Party-spirit, Intrigue" all belong to this word. Perhaps it is hard to imagine how anyone could do that. Yet I am sorry to say we find the same thing very often today... even among the saints of God at home, who love the Saviour and preach the Gospel, we have seen rivalry, jealous competition, and party spirit come in.
Whatever their motive, these men were not preaching a different message. One writer weighs them against the teachers Paul condemned in his letter to the Galatians.
Some have thought that the people acting this way were the same kind as those who preached the law to the Galatians. But surely the Apostle would never have called such preaching "the Gospel." He tells us it is "a different gospel, not that there is another one." What those men in Galatia preached was no Gospel at all. These men, on the other hand, "preached Christ." Paul could put a curse on those men, and he said it twice. Over these men he could rejoice. And so we must conclude that it was true Gospel, preached by untrue men, or, in an untrue way.
"Not sincerely" points to what these preachers carried in their hearts. One writer turns this into a test for anyone who preaches today.
First, these preachers were active and eager, but God had not sent them. God's inspired servant at once denied the call they claimed to have. They pushed themselves forward. No true zeal for God drove them, and no sincere love for other people either. Other things than Christ and His saving grace were in their hearts while they freely traded in His name... Second, some men today run unsent. They know they can think and speak fluently, so they take up the work of an evangelist in a spirit of self-will. They fall under the same spiritual censure.
They wanted Paul's imprisonment to hurt more. The word Paul chose shows the picture in their minds, and his reply follows.
Some translations say these preachers meant "to add affliction" to his chains. The better reading is to "arouse," or "raise up," or "stir up" affliction. The word they used suggests they expected "a tightening of the chain" that held Paul. And what is Paul's answer to such a cruel motive? Oh, grand answer! "What then?" he asks... "in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, CHRIST IS PROCLAIMED, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice."
Another writer explains why they expected preaching to hurt him.
Envious of Paul, they evidently supposed that he would suffer more in prison, the more Christ was preached. It was subtle evil, but they had not reckoned with the great power of God, or with the firm faith of the apostle.
Paul did not excuse these men or argue with them. He handed the whole matter to the Lord.
A preacher might have impure motives, a faulty manner, and methods that came from the flesh. Paul could leave all of that for the Lord to deal with in His own time and way. But he could rejoice in the fact that Christ was preached.
Leaving it with the Lord does not mean the matter is dropped. The preacher still faces a reckoning, even where God has used his words.
A spirit of rivalry and envy may stir up great zeal and energy. God may still, in His sovereignty, bless His Word even when someone preaches it with such motives. Even so, the man who preaches that way will have to answer to Him for them.
- Rivalry. The word behind "selfish ambition" means partisanship, faction and intrigue. The same spirit still shows up among people who love the Saviour.
- Rivalry with a target. These men wanted a tightening of Paul's chain. They thought Paul would suffer more the more people preached Christ.
- Rivalry, but real gospel. The teachers in Galatia preached no gospel at all, and Paul cursed them twice. These men preached Christ: true gospel from untrue men, so he could rejoice.
- Rivalry unsent. God had not sent them. They carried other things than Christ in their hearts while they traded in His name. The same censure falls on anyone who runs unsent today.
- Rivalry answered. Paul left the motives and methods to the Lord and rejoiced that Christ was preached. The motives are not forgotten: the preacher himself will answer for them.
What is it then? at any rate, in every way, whether in pretext or in truth, Christ is announced; and in this I rejoice, yea, also I will rejoice;
Paul writes from prison. Some preachers are using his chains as their chance. They preach Christ out of rivalry, hoping to make his imprisonment hurt more. His reply is not a rebuke but a verdict: what does it matter, so long as people hear of Christ?
Paul had every human ground for anger, and the striking thing is what he does not say. One writer sets the scene by asking what we would have expected from him:
He tells us of believers who took advantage of his chains and preached out of rivalry, thinking this would make his imprisonment hurt more. What was his attitude to this? What these men did was monstrous. Would it surprise us if the Apostle had burned with anger at their conduct and asked heaven to defeat them? ... This was no mere rejoicing on paper. No mere rejoicing with the lips. It was real, genuine joy that Christ was preached. He grieved over the motive that drove these men, but he rejoiced that they preached the gospel.
The fault in these men lay in their spirit, not in their message. That distinction is what makes Paul's joy possible:
He was not blind to the feelings of some men whose zeal did nothing to hide their spiteful desires. But nothing weakened the spring of his joy in God. Nothing weakened his thankful sense that, whatever people meant, the testimony of grace was going out far and wide with power, and Christ was lifted up and honoured more and more. This was no question of doctrine. There is no ground to think that even the quarrelsome men preached anything unsound. Paul's thoughts were on the good that God intended, whatever was in their thoughts.
This verse is not a blanket tolerance of anything preached under Christ's name. Elsewhere the same apostle pronounced a curse, and a commentator points to the contrast to fix the boundary:
Some have thought that the men acting this way were like those who preached the law to the Galatians. But the Apostle would never have called such preaching "the Gospel." He tells us it is "a different gospel — not that there is another one." What those men in Galatia preached was no Gospel at all. These men, on the other hand, "preached Christ." Paul could pronounce a curse on those, and he said it twice; over these he could rejoice. So we must conclude that it was a true Gospel, preached by untrue men, or in an untrue way.
The reason Paul is not crushed is not thick skin. It is that one Person filled the whole horizon:
It is beautiful to see how Christ is the sole object before the apostle. He is glad even when men preach Christ in a spirit of rivalry, as long as they preach Him. "In that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice." A converted person may live in a way that does not dishonour Christ. It is another thing to have Christ as the motive for everything. When the soul is in that second state, it always lifts the mind above sorrow.
Paul was sidelined; the gospel was not. He read his own imprisonment as a move in a larger conflict, and saw who was actually winning it:
Christ, and even souls, were more precious to Paul than carrying on the work himself. God was carrying it on. So it would be a triumph for Paul, who linked himself with the purposes of God. He understood the great conflict going on between Christ (in His members) and the enemy. The enemy seemed to have won a victory by putting Paul in prison. Yet God was using that very event to advance the work of Christ through the gospel.
The verse is left standing as a test of our own hearts when the work is done by people we would not have chosen:
In some places there is a tendency to look down on evangelism. May the Lord in mercy keep us from such a spirit! ... If we were all as near the heart of Christ as Paul, we would say, even of faulty workers, "Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice."
- Christ preached — Paul weighs the message here, not the motive. There is no reason to think these men preached anything unsound.
- Christ the boundary — In Galatia the message itself was corrupt, and there Paul cursed instead of rejoicing. Joy over a preacher is never joy over a different gospel.
- Christ the object — Having Christ as the motive for everything lifts a heart above sorrow. That, not indifference, is the source of Paul's gladness.
- Christ advancing — Paul valued Christ and souls above his own share in the work. So a prison that looked like the enemy's win became the gospel's spread.
- Christ still preached — A heart close to Christ rejoices when faulty workers make Him known: grief over the spirit, gladness over the Name.