Book 11 - PAUL'S LETTER TO
THE PHILIPPIANS
With people,
places, definitions, map ......
Writer: The apostle Paul
Date: c AD 61 or 63, either before, or after the Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and to Philemon
Where written: Under house arrest in Rome
Readers: The church at Philippi founded by Paul during his Second Missionary Journey (Acts 16:12-40);
Why: Philippi is a caring and generous church (2 Corinthians 8:1-5), for whom Paul has a special affection. Its members probably included Lydia, the dealer in purple cloth, the Phillipian jailer and his family, and perhaps Luke. In this Letter, Paul shows his joy in spite of his imprisonment, his love for the church, his overwhelming devotion to Christ and all he means, and his concern that the Phillipians will drift away from all they have been taught.
Map - Paul Writes from Prison in Rome
Map Key: Letter for Philippi sent from 1 to 5
GREETINGS AND THANKSGIVING
GREETINGS TO BISHOPS, DEACONS AND ALL CHRISTIANS
Philippians 1:1-2 - Paul and Timothy, true servants of Jesus Christ, to the bishops ....
Bishop (or overseer) - "Bishop" from overseer, "episkopos" in Greek. In the New Testament, the word "overseer" - traditionally "bishop" - is only used a few times, often in association with deacon and with no clear definition of its function. The present role of bishop only developed later in the life of the Church. In the J B Phillips version, "guardian" or "having oversight" is sometimes found -
...., deacons ....
Deacons - This the first time this term is used in the New Testament, although some of their duties were outlined earlier in Acts 6:1-4 -
.... and all true Christians at Philippi, grace and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord!
PAUL GIVES THANKS FOR THE PHILIPPIANS; HIS AFFECTION AND PRAYERS FOR THEM
Philippians 1:3-11 - I thank God for you Christians at Philippi whenever I think of you. My constant prayers for you are a real joy, for they bring back to my mind how we have worked together for the Gospel from the earliest days until now. I feel sure that the one (God) who has begun his good work in you will go on developing it until the day of Jesus Christ.
It is only natural that I should feel like this about you all - you are very dear to me. For during the time I was in prison as well as when I was out defending and demonstrating the power of the Gospel we shared together the grace of God. God knows how much I long, with the deepest Christian love and affection, for your companionship. My prayer for you is that you may have still more love - a love that is full of knowledge and wise insight. I want you to be able always to recognise the highest and the best, and to live sincere and blameless lives until the day of Jesus Christ. I want to see your lives full of true goodness, produced by the power that Jesus Christ gives you to the praise and glory of God.
PAUL'S IMPRISONMENT AND CONTINUING MINISTRY
PAUL'S IMPRISONMENT FURTHERS THE GOSPEL
Philippians 1:12-18a - Now, concerning myself, I want you to know, my brothers, that what has happened to me has, in effect, turned out to the advantage of the Gospel. For, first of all, my imprisonment means a personal witness for Christ before the palace guards ...
- Drawn from the 10,000 strong Imperial Praetorian guard in Rome. Philippians 4:22 following, refers to members of Caesar's household who have also become Christians -
... not to mention others who come and go. Then, it means that most of our brothers, somehow taking fresh heart in the Lord from the very fact that I am a prisoner for Christ's sake, have shown far more courage in boldly proclaiming the Word of God. I know that some are preaching Christ out of jealousy, in order to annoy me, but some are preaching him in good faith. These latter are preaching out of their love for me. For they know that God has set me here in prison to defend our right to preach the Gospel. The motive of the former (.. perhaps the "Judaisers") is questionable - they preach in a partisan spirit, hoping to make my chains even more galling than they would otherwise be. But what does it matter? However they may look at it, the fact remains that Christ is being preached, whether sincerely or not, and that fact makes me very happy.
WHETHER PAUL LIVES OR DIES, HE LONGS TO SERVE CHRIST
Philippians 1:18b-26 - Yes, and I shall go on being very happy, for I know that what is happening will be for the good of my own soul, thanks to your prayers and the resources of the spirit of Jesus Christ. It all accords with my own earnest wishes and hopes, which are that I should never be in any way ashamed, but that now, as always, I should honour Christ with the utmost boldness by the way I live, whether that means I am to face death or to go on living. For living to me means simply "Christ", and if I die I should merely gain more of him. I realise, of course, that the work which I have started may make it necessary for me to go on living in this world, I should find it very hard to make a choice. I am torn in two directions - on the one hand I long to leave this world and live with Christ, and that is obviously the best thing for me. Yet, on the other hand, it is probably more necessary for you that I should stay here on earth. That is why I feel pretty well convinced that I shall not leave this world yet, but shall be able to stand by you, to help you forward in Christian living and to find increasing joy in your faith. So you can look forward to making much of me as your minister in Christ when I come to see you again!
A CALL TO LIVE IN UNITY, LOVE AND HUMILITY
HE ENCOURAGES THE PHILIPPIANS TO STAND FIRM IN THEIR FAITH
Philippians 1:27-30 - But whatever happens, make sure that your everyday life is worthy of the Gospel of Christ. So that whether I do come and see you, or merely hear about you from a distance, I may know that you are standing fast in a united spirit, battling with a single mind for the faith of the Gospel and not caring two straws for your enemies (whether Gentiles or Jews). The very fact that they are your enemies is plain proof that they are lost to God, while the fact that you have such men as enemies is plain proof that you yourselves are being saved by God. You are given, in this battle, the privilege not merely of believing in Christ but also of suffering for his sake. It is now your turn to take part in that battle you once saw me engaged in, and which, in point of fact, I am still fighting.
A CALL TO LIVE IN UNITY, LOVE AND HUMILITY
BE LIKE CHRIST; LIVE TOGETHER IN LOVE, HUMILITY AND SELFLESSNESS
Philippians 2:1-11 - Now if your experience of Christ's encouragement and love means anything to you, if you have known something of the fellowship of his Spirit, and all that it means in kindness and deep sympathy, do make my best hope for you come true! Live together in harmony, live together in love, as though you had only one mind and one spirit between you. Never act from motives of rivalry or personal vanity, but in humility think more of each other than you do of yourselves. None of you should think only of his own affairs, but should learn to see things from other people's point of view.
Let Christ be your example of humility
Let Christ himself be your example as to what your attitude should be. For he, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to his prerogatives as God's equal, but stripped himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal man. And, having become man, he humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extent of dying, and the death he died was the death of a common criminal. That is why God has now lifted him so high, and has given him the name beyond all names, so that at the name of Jesus "every knee shall bow", whether in Heaven or earth or under the earth. And that is why, in the end, "every tongue shall confess" that Jesus Christ" is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
CONTINUE YOUR CHRISTIAN JOURNEY; SHINE LIKE LIGHTS IN A DARK, FALLEN WORLD
Philippians 2:12-18 - So then, my dearest friends, as you have always followed my advice - and that not only when I was present to give it - so now that I am far away (in a Roman prison) be keener than ever to work out the salvation that God has given you with a proper sense of awe and responsibility. For it is God who is at work within you, giving you the will and the power to achieve his purpose.
Do all you have to do without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be God's children, blameless, sincere and wholesome, living in a warped and diseased world, and shining there like lights in a dark place. For you hold in your hands the very word of life. Thus can you give me something to be proud of in the day of Christ, for I shall know then that I did not spend my energy in vain. Yes, and if it should happen that (I am executed in Rome, and ....) my life-blood is, so to speak, poured out upon the sacrifice and offering which your faith means to God, then I can still be very happy, and I can share my happiness with you all. I should like to feel that you could be glad about this too, and could share with me the happiness I speak of.
PAUL'S MESSENGERS
TIMOTHY WILL VISIT PHILIPPI SOON
Philippians 2:19-24 - ... I hope in Jesus Christ that it will not be long before I can send Timothy to you (... if Timothy's visit to Philippi took place, it is not referred to in the New Testament), and then I shall be cheered by a first-hand account of you and your doings. I have nobody else with a genuine interest in your well-being. All the others seem to be wrapped up in their own affairs and do not really care for the business of Jesus Christ. But you know how Timothy has proved his worth, working with me for the Gospel like a son with his father. I hope to send him to you as soon as I can tell how things will work out for me, but God gives me some hope that it will not be long before I am (released and) able to come myself as well.
EPAPHRODITUS IS RETURNING TO PHILIPPI
Philippians 2:25-30 - I have considered it desirable, however, to send you Epaphroditus. He has been to me brother, fellow-worker and comrade-in-arms, as well as being the messenger you sent to see to my wants. He has been home-sick for you, and was worried because he knew that you had heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, very dangerously ill, but God had mercy on him - and incidentally on me as well, so that I did not have the sorrow of losing him to add to my sufferings. I am particularly anxious, therefore, to send him to you so that when you see him again you may be glad, and to know of your joy will lighten my own sorrows. Welcome him in the Lord with great joy! You should hold men like him in highest honour, for his loyalty to Christ brought him very near death - he risked his life to do for me in person what distance prevented you all from doing.
Epaphroditus - Not to be confused with Epaphras in the Letter to the Colossians in Asia Minor Colossians 1:7). This Epaphroditus has been sent by the Philippian church in Macedonia with gifts for Paul in Rome (Philippians 4:18). After recovering from his illness, he is now returning to Philippi with Paul's Letter.
FOR PAUL NOTHING MATTERS IN LIFE BUT CHRIST
PAUL WARNS THEM ABOUT THE "JUDAISERS"; HE IS AS MUCH A JEW AS THEY YET ALL THAT MATTERS IS KNOWING JESUS
Philippians 3:1-6 - In conclusion, my brothers, delight yourselves in the Lord! It doesn't bore me to repeat a piece of advice like this, and if you follow it you will find it a great safeguard to your souls.
The "circumcision" party are the enemies of your faith and freedom
Be on your guard against these curs, these wicked workmen, these would-be mutilators of your bodies (through physical circumcision)! We are, remember, truly circumcised when we worship God by the Spirit, when we find our joy in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in what we are in the flesh.
I was even more of a Jew than these Jews, yet knowing Christ has changed my whole life
If it were right to have such confidence, I could certainly have it, and if any of these men thinks he has grounds for such confidence I can assure him I have more. I was born a true Jew, I was circumcised on the eighth day, I was a member of the tribe of Benjamin, I was in fact a full-blooded Jew. As far as keeping the Law is concerned I was a Pharisee, and you can judge my enthusiasm for the Jewish faith by my active persecution of the Church. As far as the Law's righteousness is concerned, I don't think anyone could have found fault with me.
PAUL'S INFINITE COMMENDATION OF ALL THAT JESUS CHRIST MEANS
Philippians 3:7-11 - Yet every advantage that I had gained (as a true Jew) I considered lost for Christ's sake. Yes, and I look upon everything as loss compared with the overwhelming gain of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord. For his sake I did in actual fact suffer the loss of everything, but I considered it useless rubbish compared with being able to win Christ. For now my place is in him, and I am not dependent upon any of the self-achieved righteousness of the Law. God has given me that genuine righteousness which comes from faith in Christ. How changed are my ambitions! Now I long to know Christ and the power shown by his resurrection: now I long to share his sufferings, even to die as he died, so that I may perhaps attain as he did, the resurrection from the dead.
ALTHOUGH STILL WELL SHORT OF PERFECTION, PAUL PRESSES ON TOWARDS CHRIST
Philippians 3:12-16 - Yet, my brothers, I do not consider myself to have "arrived", spiritually, nor do I consider myself already perfect. But I keep going on, grasping ever more firmly that purpose for which Christ grasped me. My brothers, I do not consider myself to have fully grasped it even now. But I do concentrate on this: I leave the past behind and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal - my reward the honour of being called by God in Christ.
My ambition is the true goal of the spiritually adult: make it yours
All of us who are spiritually adult should set ourselves this sort of ambition, and if at present you cannot see this, yet you will find that this is the attitude which God is leading you to adopt. It is important that we go forward in the light of such truth as we have ourselves attained to.
HIS WARNINGS AGAINST EARTHLY LIVING; HIS CALL TO STAND FIRM AND LIVE AS CHRISTIANS
Phillipians 3:17-4:1 - Let me be your example here, my brothers: let my example be the standard by which you can tell who are the genuine Christians among those about you. For there are many, of whom I have told you before and tell you again now, even with tears, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ. These men are heading for utter destruction - their god is their own appetite, their pride is in what they should be ashamed of, and this world is the limit of their horizon. But we are citizens of Heaven; our outlook goes beyond this world to the hopeful expectation of the saviour who will come from Heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will re-make these wretched bodies of ours to resemble his own glorious body, by that power of his which makes him the master of everything that is.
(Chapter 4 ....) So, my brothers whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, do stand firmly in the Lord, and remember how much I love you.
ADVICE, THANKS AND FAREWELLS
A PLEA FOR PERSONAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TWO WOMEN TO BE SETTLED
Phillipians 4:2-3 - Euodius and Syntyche ....
Euodias (Euodia) & Syntyche - Both women probably held office, perhaps as deaconesses, in this the first church established by Paul in Europe. The first member was also a woman - Lydia -
... I beg you by name to make up your differences as Christians should! And, my true fellow-worker (or possibly Syzygus, the name of an actual person) help these women. They both worked hard with me for the Gospel, as did Clement ....
Clement - Some sources link him with Clement, bishop of Rome at the turn of the 1st century and writer of the Epistle to the Corinthian church (c AD96). However, Clement was a common name at that time -
.... and all my other fellow-workers whose names are in the book of life.
CHRISTIAN CONDUCT
Philippians 4:4-5 - Delight yourselves in God, yes, find your joy in him at all times. Have a reputation for gentleness, and never forget the nearness of your Lord.
PEACE, also PRAYER, WORRY
Philippians 4:6-7 - Don't worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.
CHRISTIAN CONDUCT
Philippians 4:8-9 - Here is a last piece of advice (from Paul). If you believe in goodness and if you value the approval of God, fix your minds on the things which are holy and right and pure and beautiful and good. Model your conduct on what you have learned from me (Paul), on what I have told you and shown you, and you will find the God of peace will be with you.
PAUL THANKS THEM FOR THEIR CONCERN; HE REVEALS THE SECRET OF HIS CONTENTMENT
Phillipians 4:10-13 - It has been a great joy to me that after all this time you have shown such interest in my welfare. I don't mean that you had forgotten me, but up till now you had no opportunity of expressing your concern. Nor do I mean that I have been in actual need, for I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances may be. I know now how to live when things are difficult and I know how to live when things are prosperous. In general and in particular I have learned the secret of facing either poverty or plenty. I am ready for anything through the strength of the one (Jesus Christ) who lives within me.
THE CONTINUING GENEROSITY OF THE PHILIPPIANS
Phillipians 4:14-20 - Nevertheless I am not disparaging the way in which you were willing to share my troubles. You Philippians will remember that in the early days of the Gospel when I left Macedonia (... after visiting Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea, c AD50 during his Second Journey, Paul was forced to leave the province, and went south to Athens, Acts 17:15), you were the only church who shared with me the fellowship of giving and receiving. Even in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1) you twice sent me help when I was in need. It isn't the value of the gift that I am keen on, it is the reward that will come to you because of these gifts that you have made.
Now I have everything I want - in fact I am rich. Yes, I am quite content, thanks to your gifts received through Epaphroditus (... another example of the care and concern shown by the Christians of Philippi). Your generosity is like a lovely fragrance, a sacrifice that pleases the very heart of God. My God will supply all that you need from his glorious resources in Christ Jesus. And may glory be to our God and our Father for ever and ever, amen!
FINAL GREETINGS AND BLESSINGS
Phillipians 4:21-23 - Greetings to every true Christian, from me and all the brothers here with me (in Rome). All the Christians here would like to send their best wishes, particularly those who belong to the emperor's household (... another measure of the impact of the Gospel).
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
PAUL
on to Colossians with "people, places etc ..." OR back to J B Phillips with Notes
