The phase in this passage ‘conduct yourself’ in a general sense means to do everything in your power to be a good citizen. It’s root word comes from the word that we get ‘politics’. Paul’s readers would get what he’s saying: do individually what is necessary for the good of the whole. Blue Letter Bible defines the phrase as this: ‘to conduct oneself as pledged to some law of life’.
Paul defines what Christian conduct entails right in this passage. Biblically, one aspect of being part of the Christian community of believers is to walk in unity with one another. We don’t live on an island where we play by our own rules. We live in relationships with one another, and Paul is calling Christians to be unified. Believers often have some of the most complex personal interactions with each other. Sometimes we shoot our own wounded. We stab one another in the back. We’re often our own worst enemies. Why is this happening?
This should not be a surprising concept: conduct worthy of the gospel, according to Paul in this passage, is that we must be ‘standing firm in one spirit’. Instead of strife and discord with one another, Paul shows us a different way: one mind, striving together. Not that we walk lock step with one another, because we’re all unique and are at different stages of growth. Paul is talking about going after the same goal, working together, unified around the truth. Christ and the glorious gospel are the goal, and the truth of the Scriptures are the means by which we achieve the goal. There is a unity of spirit as a result of rallying around the truth.
Establish my footsteps in Your Word ~ Psalm 119:133 