so that your
proud
confidence in me may
abound in
Christ
Jesus
through
my
coming to you
again:
hina
to
kauchema
humon
perisseue (3SPAS)
en
Christo
Iesou
en
emoi
dia
tes
emes
parousias
palin
pros
humas (2:16,
2:17
2:18
3:1
3:3;
4:4,
4:10;
Song5:1;
Jn16:22;16:24
2Co1:14;
5:12;
7:6)
"so that you may have
still further grounds for boasting in Christ because of me, when once
again I come to visit you." (Barclay)
"and that you on your part may have in me fresh cause for boasting in
Christ, when you see me present among you once more." (Lightfoot)
"So
you can look forward to making much of me as your minister in Christ
when I come to see you again!" (Phillips),
"In order that your rejoicing may abound in Christ Jesus through me by
reason of my personal presence with you again." (Wuest),
"so
that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will
overflow on account of me" (NIV),
"Then,
when I visit you again, you will have good reason to take great pride in
Christ Jesus because of me." (CEV),
"that your boasting may
abound in Christ Jesus through me by my presence again with you."
(Darby),
"that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus
Christ by my coming to you again" (NKJV)
So by coming to you
again, I want to give you even more reason to have pride in Christ Jesus
with me." (GWT)
"So
that" marks a
specific purpose, the giving to the Philippians saints of an abundant
ground for boasting.
"Proud
confidence" (glorying)
(kauchema) is the result of boasting. This verse is
somewhat difficult to understand in the NASB translation. The old ASB
(1901) is easier to understand:
"that your glorying may abound
in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with you again."
A T Robertson emphasizes that
"In Christ Jesus” as the basis
for the glorying"
Vine
writes that
"it looks as if the pronoun “your” points to their
glorying in Paul. But in the original (Greek) the
case may be the objective, and the presence of the article with “glorying”
indicates that the meaning is, “the glorying in you [that is, “his
glorying in them”] may abound in me in Christ Jesus.” Either meaning is
possible."
The idea seems to be that
the saints in Philippi would glory, boast or exult because the one who
had taught them about Christ would be with them again and that their
"proud confidence" or exulting would ultimately be
in Christ Jesus,
the Source of true joy
for all believers.
Thus the NIV translates it as
"your joy (literally "your boasting") in Christ Jesus will overflow
on account of me".
The BBE offers a well worded compromise
translation
"So that your pride in me may be
increased in Christ Jesus through my being present with you again."
Expositor's comments that
"The emphasis is not on the action itself, but
on the basis for it. As the Philippians would experience the progress
and joy that Paul's labors among them would produce, they would have new
and greater reasons for overflowing with joy. This reason for glorying
(their "proud confidence") would be found "in
Christ Jesus," Of course,
but its immediate occasion would be "on account of me" (en emoi), said
Paul. His ministry among them would enable them to see more clearly the
riches of their salvation in Christ."
MacDonald
adds that
"Through his being spared for longer life and service on earth, the
Philippians would have added cause for rejoicing in the Lord when he
would visit them once again. Can you not imagine how they would throw
their arms around him and kiss him, and praise the Lord with great joy
when he would arrive at Philippi?"
Barnes
notes that
"Through the mercy and grace of Christ, if he (Paul) was spared, his
deliverance would be traced to Christ, and they (saints in Philippi) would rejoice together in One (Christ Jesus) Who had so
mercifully delivered him. Their joy would not only be that he was
delivered, but that he was permitted to see them again."
"Abound"
(perisseuo) be in excess, overflow and is a favorite of Paul in this
epistle to the Philippians (Click
here for all 4 uses in Php)
The
point is, as Paul lived on fruitfully, their joy and confidence would
continue to overflow because of Christ’s working in him, not because of
anything he himself did by his own ability.
Paul wanted their proud confidence, glorying or exultation to
continually overflow, to exceed a fixed number or measure, to exist in
abundance and to be over and above. A synonym we might use today would
be the "abundant" Christian life. Do you have a mentor like Paul who was
gone for some time and now has returned with the result that you are now
overflowing with exultation to Christ Jesus?
"In
Christ Jesus"
as
Wuest notes indicates that
"Christ
Jesus is the Sphere in which these blessings are enjoyed, the Sphere in
the sense that He made them possible through the blood of His Cross, and
in the sense that He is the joy of the believer’s life, the One who
completely satisfies. Paul is the human instrument through whom God
works to bring these joys to the Philippians by means of his personal
presence with them again." Christ Jesus ultimately is the only One in which we
should boast (1Cor1:31)
The boasting of the Philippian
saints did not center on Paul, but had Christ as the Object, for He was
the One Whose Person, righteousness, and salvation were continually
emphasized by Paul for their focused attention and their comfort. These
saints would rejoice with overflowing if and when Paul returned to them
but even then their rejoicing
as has been repeatedly emphasized would ultimately be in Christ Jesus.
As
Matthew Henry reminds us
"All
our joys should terminate in Christ. Our joy in good ministers should be
our joy in Christ Jesus for them, for they are but the friends of the
bridegroom, and are to be received in His name, and for His sake."
“Coming”
(3952)
(parousia from para
= with + ousia =being = the participial form of the
verb eimi = to be) (Click
in depth word study on
parousia) literally means a "being
beside" or a presence. Parousia in the NAS is translated
"coming" 22 times and as "presence" twice.
The 24 uses of parousia:
Matthew
4x;
1 Corinthians
2x;
2 Corinthians
3x;
Philippians
2x;
1 Thessalonians
4x;
2 Thessalonians
3x;