EGW SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7

2/80

Philippians

Chapter 1

21 (Galatians 2:20; see EGW on Galatians 6:14; Revelation 3:1). What Is a Christian?—When the apostle Paul, through the revelation of Christ, was converted from a persecutor to a Christian, he declared that he was as one born out of due time. Henceforward Christ was all and in all to him. “For to me to live is Christ,” he declared. This is the most perfect interpretation in a few words, in all the Scriptures, of what it means to be a Christian. This is the whole truth of the gospel. Paul understood what many seem unable to comprehend. How intensely in earnest he was! His words show that his mind was centered in Christ, that his whole life was bound up with his Lord. Christ was the author, the support, and the source of his life (The Review and Herald, October 19, 1897). 7BC 903.2

(2 Corinthians 11:26, 27; Ephesians 4:13.) Paul's Moral Stature—Paul attained to the full moral stature of a man in Christ Jesus. By what a process was his soul developed! His life was a continual scene of hardship, conflict, and toil [2 Corinthians 11:26, 27 quoted] (Letter 5, 1880). 7BC 903.3