Philippians 1:16Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

“The former preach Christ from rivalry, not sincerely,” that is, not without an admixture of falsehood, and not for the work itself. But why? “Thinking to add affliction to my bonds.”

Thinking in this way to cast me into greater trouble, they add sorrow to sorrow. O cruelty! O diabolical operation! They saw that he was in bonds and confined in prison, and still they plotted evil.

They wanted to increase his misfortunes and subject him to greater wrath. The Apostle rightly said, “thinking,” because it did not happen so. They thought by this to grieve me, but I rejoiced in the success of the preaching.

“The one preach Christ from rivalry, not sincerely.” That is, not honestly and not for the sake of the good itself. “Thinking to increase the weight of my bonds.” He says that they think thereby to expose me to greater danger and to add sorrow to sorrow. But this contrivance will not succeed for them, because through this the preaching becomes more glorious, and my joy will increase through it. Do you see that a good work must not be done without a good disposition? It is possible not only to receive no reward, but even to incur punishment.

Is Christ preached to you from envy? Look to Christ, but turn away from envy. Do not imitate the bad preacher, but imitate the good that is preached to you.

Let Christ be preached by some from envy. What does envy mean? A terrifying evil. Through this evil the devil fell, and a most destructive contagion cast him down.

Although some preachers of Christ were stricken by it, the Apostle nevertheless entrusts them with preaching. Why? Because they preached Christ.

The one who envies hates. And what is said of the one who hates? Hear the Apostle John: “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer” (1 Jn 3:15).

But some also preach Christ from goodwill and good intention. Others do so out of love for us, knowing that we are appointed to make a defense of the Gospel. According to the synodal Russian translation: “The one preach Christ from rivalry, not sincerely, thinking to increase the weight of my bonds; but the others from love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the Gospel” (Phil 1:16-17).

Since they saw that those enslaved to impiety were greatly displeased by the success of the Gospel and considered the divinely wise Paul the cause of it, some began to preach Christ boldly in the marketplace to provoke greater wrath. They did not care for the salvation of their hearers, but prepared new dangers for the Apostle.

Paul said that some experience envy. Since because of it they compete with us, envy itself is the greatest evil. Some people preach Christ from rivalry and thereby harm us.

While openly denying Christ, they pretend to preach Him, so that we, who considered and regarded them as our opponents, may be grieved because they preach the same thing as we do.

Paul says that they preach Christ not in a holy and pure manner, but from rivalry, in order to cause us torment, suffering, and lamentation. They wish to show how glad they are over the punishments and chains that have befallen us.

They do this from envy, and not after reflection or by their own true desire. If the first preach Christ because they envy and compete, then the others, who are good people, preach Christ from good will.

They understand rightly, have no envy toward us, know what is good, and possess a good will directed toward the Gospel.

“Granted,” the Apostle adds, “not all do this from love. Granted, some do this not sincerely,” that is, not only not from love for me, but on the contrary “from envy and rivalry, thinking to increase the weight of my bonds.” How is this so? It must be that these petty men, out of zeal, wished to outstrip the Apostle and leave him behind. Or they even acted against him, contrary to his directives and plans (Bishop Theophan).

Together with the true preachers of the faith, people not called to this also began speaking about Christ. But the Apostle is not troubled by this.

He looks to the essence of the matter, the spread of the Gospel in its chief content. He leaves the details to be clarified in the further movement of Christian preaching.

At the same time, the preachers had different motives. Some preached from faith and sympathy for the Apostle, in order to support his work. Others did this from envy, to acquire their own glory.

Others found a way to speak about the Gospel of Christ so that through this they would only increase the Apostle’s sufferings.

Yet, while depicting the beneficial effect of his bonds, the Apostle does not wish to be silent about some of their sorrowful consequences.

Among the Roman Christians there were some who, during Paul’s imprisonment, began to preach about Christ while being guided by immoral motives. They acted from envy of the success of Paul’s preaching and from hostility.

This hostility was stirred in them by certain features of the teaching of the Apostle Paul. In all likelihood, the Apostle has in mind a few teachers of a Judaizing tendency.

The Apostle is also not entirely satisfied with those preachers who were guided in their activity only by a subjective feeling of attachment to his teaching. They did not have firm and well-founded conviction in its truth.

The first proclaim Christ from zeal, out of rivalry, wishing to get ahead of me, leave me behind, or act contrary to me, my arrangements, and my plans.

Therefore they proclaim Him impurely. This does not mean that their teaching had an admixture of falsehood. It means that they acted without a good heart, morally impurely and not blamelessly, which denies purity of heart.

“Thinking to add affliction to my bonds” means hoping to grieve me, since I am in bonds. How could they hope to grieve St. Paul?

If they preached falsehood, it would be obvious how they could grieve him. But since they did not err in doctrine, but only in motive and manner of acting, one may suppose the following.

Paul lists the variety of preaching. Some, encouraged by his bonds, preach more boldly. Others do this from envy. Some evaluate speeches. Most preach from love, while only some preach from rivalry.

There are also those who preach Christ from hostility. Here he considers the variety of judgments that gives rise to such different states of soul.

All this is reflected in the state of the soul, yet it does not lead to a variety of mysteries. It affirms one Christ and one God, regardless of the cause that moves one to preach.

Therefore the Apostle says, “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, and will rejoice.”