“Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:”
My Notes
What Does Philippians 1:15 Mean?
Paul makes a stunning acknowledgment: some preach Christ out of envy and strife. Not out of love. Not out of calling. Out of jealousy and rivalry. And yet — they preach Christ. The motive is corrupt. The message is genuine. Both are true at the same time.
The phrase "some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife" means the proclamation of Jesus isn't always pure. Some preachers are motivated by jealousy of Paul. Some by rivalry with Paul. Some by the desire to cause Paul trouble (verse 17: "supposing to add affliction to my bonds"). The preaching is real. The motivation is hostile.
"And some also of good will" provides the contrast: other preachers have pure motives. They preach from love (verse 16). From genuine concern for the gospel. From partnership with Paul's mission. The two groups coexist: the envious preachers and the loving ones. Both preach Christ. Both are real.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Can you rejoice when Christ is preached by someone whose motives you know are corrupt?
- 2.Does Paul's response (rejoicing over the preaching, not the motive) model how to handle impure-but-genuine gospel proclamation?
- 3.Where have you seen the gospel advance through messengers with questionable motives?
- 4.Does 'Christ is preached' being the bottom line (not 'Christ is preached purely') challenge your standards for ministry?
Devotional
Some preach Christ from envy. Some from love. Both preach Christ. And Paul is okay with both.
The most surprising confession in Philippians: not all gospel-preaching is purely motivated. Some preachers proclaim Jesus out of jealousy — jealous of Paul's influence. Some out of rivalry — competing with Paul for attention. Some out of hostility — hoping to make Paul's imprisonment harder by building their own platforms while he's in chains.
And Paul says (verse 18): what of it? Whether from pretense or truth — Christ is preached. And I rejoice.
"Even of envy and strife" — phthonos kai eris — jealousy and rivalry. The ugliest human motivations aimed at the noblest possible message. The gospel of grace preached from a heart of competition. The good news delivered by bad motives. The truth proclaimed by people who'd rather Paul were forgotten.
"Some also of good will" — the pure motivators. People who preach Christ because they love Christ. Who serve because they share Paul's mission. Who speak because the gospel compels them. The good-will preachers do the same thing the envious preachers do. The action is identical. The heart is opposite.
Paul's response to both: rejoice. The fact that Christ is preached — regardless of motive — is worth celebrating. The envious preacher's corrupt heart doesn't prevent the gospel's power. The message works even when the messenger's motivation is broken. God's word doesn't depend on the preacher's purity. It depends on God's power.
This doesn't excuse corrupt motives (God will deal with those). It does relativize them: the message matters more than the messenger's heart. Christ preached from envy is still Christ preached. And Christ preached is always worth rejoicing in.
Some preach from love. Some from envy. And the gospel advances either way.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Some, indeed, preach Christ,.... That is, some of them, as the Arabic version reads; some of the brethren, that were…
Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife - What was the ground of this “envy and strife” the apostle does not…
Some - preach Christ even of envy and strife - These must have been the Judaizing teachers, who insisted on the…
We see here the care the apostle takes to prevent their being offended at his sufferings. He was now a prisoner at Rome;…
Some indeed Here he refers to members of that Judaistic party, or school, within the Church, which followed him with…
Cross References
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