INTRODUCTION: Philippi was, early on in Roman history, a city held in high esteem, having a port nearby and considerable gold mines that were still profitable. Paul the apostle left Troy and entered into Europe on his second missionary journey, due to a vision he received from GOD and first preached in Philippi (located in the province of Macedonia) and established the first church in the region, starting with a convert by the name of Lydia, an affluent woman, a trader in fabrics and dyes.
We read about Paul’s time in Philippi in ACTS 16:12-40.
It was during his first internment in Ephesus (or possibly Caesarea or perhaps even Rome) that he wrote this epistle to the Philippians. While he was quite hopeful for a release, it was far from a certainty. This might have meant an end to his ministry had not the LORD intervened!
Doctor Luke was from Philippi (but most likely born in Antioch) and probably attended a school there where he studied medicine, which would explain his affinity for this city and the church there. He joined the missionary team that the apostle assembled and helped to minister to the relatively new church but then remained behind to continue ministry there when Paul and Company moved on. Note the “we” in ACTS 16:10 – implying that the writer of ACTS (being Luke himself) – joined the team but then remained in Philippi once Paul moved on by the “they” in ACTS 17:1. There’s textual evidence that Luke rejoined the team on two subsequent occasions.
Paul returned to visit Philippi after he left Ephesus, again traveling to the region of Macedonia (2 COR 2:12-3; 7:5) and once more sometime later (ACTS 20:3). The apostle maintained regular communication with the Philippian church by way of messengers as well (ACTS 18:5; 19:22; 2 COR 11:9; PHIL 2:25).
The theme for this epistle has long been known as “joy in the midst of suffering” and we will see this theme again and again through this letter.
PHILIPPIANS 1:1
Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
Paul’s missionary journey that led him into Macedonia, and to the city of Philippi in 51 AD was followed by a close, endearing relationship between the apostle and the saints there. This epistle of his was written about ten years after his first visit.
Paul expresses himself as a bond-servant – a doulos in the Greek. A review of Old Testament Scripture reveals that a bond servant is one who was previously indentured to but then became a devoted servant of their master for life (EXOD 21:6). However, such a service was never to be compulsory but volitional (LEV 25:39).
The doulos has no personal rights of their own, nor are they the focus of their own lives, but rather, they are entirely focused on the needs of their master.
Not only does Paul consider himself a doulos, but he identifies Timothy as one also. The apostle Peter does the same (2 PET 1:1), as does James (JAMES 1:1) and John (REV 1:1) and Jude (JUDE 1:1).
If we as saints consider ourselves “sold out” to the LORD Jesus, that is to say, “our life is not our own!” then we will surrender all that we are: body, mind and spirit, and all that we have: our relationships, our properties, our plans, objectives, desires, etc., to the Person of the LORD Jesus Christ.
Where He tells us to go, we will go! What He tells us to say, we will say! We will love and serve Him with the intention of obeying Him with the motive of love, out of a desire to please Him above all others, even in contradiction to any and all others!
In a sinful world, this can and likely will get the saint into a lot of trouble! Yet the LORD tells us to “be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world” though in the world we shall have tribulation (JOHN 16:33).
He addresses this epistle “to all the saints… with the bishops and deacons.” Any and all of which may be doulos, but it must always apply to deacons, and especially the bishops (those who are pastors, overseers, elders, etc.) as these are saints who are recognized for their spirituality and devotion.
PHILIPPIANS 1:2
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The way this Greek phrase is constructed, it reveals a comparative between GOD our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ, equating the One with the Other. The quality of grace and peace from the Father is equal to that bestowed by the Son. Who can offer such grace and peace but GOD? And Who can match that same quality but GOD Himself? Hence GOD the Son grants that which GOD the Father also brings to all who will come to Christ.
This weary world is searching, ever searching for peace of mind, for tranquil contentment. And they may find such things in this world apart from GOD, but those worldly sources are short lived. The thrill they once offered, the excitement, the joy, the peace and satisfaction eventually “gets old”. It fades, it withers away.
What the LORD Jesus had to say to the Samaritan woman referring to water drawn from Jacob’s well is true for any source that quenches our thirsts in life:
JOHN 4:13The truth of the matter is that nothing of this world can ever satisfy the human soul, because we were created to have a meaningful, abiding relationship with our Creator. As its been said before, “We have a ‘God-shaped hole’ at the center of our being, and the only One Who can fill that hole completely is GOD Himself. The testimony of every soul that’s been born again after repenting of their sin and coming to Christ is one of contentment and peace, as a result of receiving the grace of GOD (unmerited, undeserving favor) through the LORD Jesus Christ. They experience a satisfaction that nothing in this world can afford – a veritable fountain of eternal life that gushes forth with potent vitality from our being (JOHN 7:38)!
Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,
JOHN 4:14PHILIPPIANS 1:3-5
"but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,
Here we see the first indication of the depth of affection and caring from the apostle. To think that all of this started as a result of the vision GOD gave to Paul (ACTS 16:9). How blessed apostle and Philippian saints were when this awesome communion and fellowship began!
This is why Paul could literally say, “I thank my God upon every remembrance…” as he joyously, fervently prayed for his fellow saints! He was truly thankful for them all – and this speaks to the mutual blessing that the minister and those that they minister to share in a blessed joy in the LORD.
We often think of the minister blessing the congregation, seeing it as a unilateral experience, but nothing could be further from the truth, as any faithful minister of the Word will tell you.
As the servant of the LORD pours into those that they love, caring for them, ministering to their needs (whether those needs are spiritual or practical), they are truly just as blessed as those who receive from them, and perhaps even more so!
ACTS 20:35Those were the last words apostle Paul spoke to the elders of Ephesus before they prayed together and Paul left them, convinced that this would be their final meeting. He was persuaded that he was on the road to martyrdom, and nothing the elders said would dissuade him.
"I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'
Paul was ready not simply to give of himself in ministry, but to offer up his life in sacrificial death for the sake of the Gospel.
ACTS 21:11-13Paul testified that those who give themselves up in the “ultimate sacrifice” (which utterly pales before the Sacrifice of the LORD Jesus Christ!) will be immensely blessed and receive a reward vastly disproportionate (in the saint’s favor) to their martyrdom (2 COR 4:17).
11 When he [the prophet Agabus] had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'" 12 Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."
Another bond that apostle and Philippian saint shared – this bond of fellowship that involved the suffering of persecution. Again, it must be noted that this epistle’s theme is “joy through suffering”. It seems counter-intuitive that one could experience joy in the midst of suffering – peace, maybe, but joy?!
The peace of GOD goes beyond our ability to understand how we can experience it in the midst of adversity (PHIL 4:7). It’s the same with joy. These spiritual sensations are the fruit of the Spirit, and are spiritual, not emotional in nature.
In other words, the peace of GOD, and His joy goes far deeper than an emotional experience: they are the result of the Spirit of GOD and the growth He promotes in the lives of His saints. Emotions stem from our souls, but the experiencing of the love of GOD, His peace and joy stem from our inner most being where the Spirit of GOD dwells in the hearts of every born again believer.
I can experience deep sorrow emotionally, yet still have the peace of GOD, His joy, His grace.
Let it be understood though, that the peace of GOD must be preceded by the grace of GOD, and the grace of GOD comes only through the LORD Jesus Christ and being born of His Spirit. There are no corners that can be cut, no “work-arounds”, no alternate routes (ACTS 4:12).
The grace of GOD is dispensed to sinners who humbly repent and turn to GOD for salvation by the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and then we have “peace with GOD” (ROM 5:1). As condemned sinners, we are under GOD’s righteous judgment and wrath. But once a repentant sinner turns from their life of sin and to Christ, receiving salvation, all criminal charges against them are summarily dropped – only because Christ Himself assumed all punitive actions, Who suffered the wrath of GOD on our behalf!
The righteous and holy Judge Who would have no alternative but to judge and condemn us, declares us righteous in the Person of Christ, and GOD becomes our heavenly Abba, and we His children! We literally join the family of GOD’s saints!
Once this happens, one may begin experiencing the peace of GOD as we abide in Christ (JOHN 15:4-5,7,9-11).
PHILIPPIANS 1:6
being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
This is one of my life verses – because I always regard the truth of this verse: GOD is the One that began this work in us. I didn’t take the initiative, He did! I did nothing to save myself – it was entirely on GOD. In this verse it clearly states that He (not myself) will complete this work!
Too many Christians think that since GOD saved me at the point of repentance and receiving Christ, that somehow the rest is up to me! That I, by my own efforts (myself, my flesh) alone, my will power alone, my motivation alone will pick up where GOD left off.
GALATIANS 3:2-3The Jewish believers that apostle Paul is addressing here were attempting to add the works of the Law to the righteousness already applied to them through Christ. Essentially, Paul is saying: You can’t perfect what Christ already accomplished for you by adherence to the Law.
2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?
Our own powers were entirely deficient in accomplishing the work of salvation to begin with; they can do nothing at all to perpetuate this work, much less complete it.
Does this mean that the Christian simply lays down, and does nothing at all? Just let “GOD to all the work”? GOD does do all the work, yes! But just as GOD does the work of justification TO us according to our faith in Christ (and then once justified) GOD does work THROUGH us by sanctification (ROM 12:1-2). And this requires our cooperation. Just as we heard, believed, and obeyed the Gospel that resulted in our justification, likewise we hear, believe and obey the Word of GOD that tells us “Be holy for I am holy” (1 PET 1:15-16). We yield to the LORD in His work of growing holiness in us:
ROMANS 6:12-18“…do not let sin reign… do not present…” To “let” is to permit, to present, to allow, to yield: this is something we are NOT to yield to, that is, sin.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
“…you became slaves of righteousness…” We were not coerced into slavery (the life of a doulos: one of voluntary service that’s motivated by our love for Christ) but yield to the LORD in devoted service to our King and His Kingdom!
I often say with tongue-in-cheek, “It’s GOD’s ‘fault’ that I got saved and it’ll be His doing that His work in me is completed!
But here’s the thing – He WILL complete His work in us, whether we yield to Him or not, He can’t deny His Word! However, what will determine our rewards in heaven is whether we yield to the LORD or not (and for those who make a lifestyle of not yielding, not obeying the LORD: such a person’s claim of being saved is at the very least suspect (1 JOHN 2:4; 4:20).
If we yield and allow the LORD to work His nature more fully in us – which in turn empowers us to do the work of GOD He has ordained for us (EPH 2:10) then we’ll receive reward on that Day because our motive was love for GOD and love for others (Just as the LORD Jesus operates in His ministry).
Aside from the LORD Jesus Christ, the next best example (in my mind at least) is the apostle Paul, who yielded so completely to the LORD in His service and to His church (PHIL 2:17)!
PHILIPPIANS 1:7-8
7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. 8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.
In verse 5 Paul mentioned the “…fellowship in the gospel…”
This fellowship, (koinonia in the Greek) entails a partnership, participation, intercourse, communion, benefaction between two or more people. This interaction can be between saints (Paul and the saints of Philippi) or between the LORD and His body, the church (1 JOHN 1:7 generally applies to fellowship among saints, but it can also refer to fellowship with the LORD Who is Light, and His saint). This trust the saints employ among themselves and with the LORD is an intentional openness, and vulnerability, sharing without fear of rejection.
We often think of fellowship as inviting some Christians over for a (Christian) movie and popcorn. That’s social activity, centered around a film and a snack. Real fellowship has at its center, the LORD Jesus Christ, His Word, encouraging one another in the LORD, praying for one another, helping and leading those in need.
All of this is as a result of believing the Gospel. The apostle takes this fellowship one step further: fellowship in suffering. The church at Philippi had already endured a significant level of suffering and persecution. Paul here identifies with them as “…partakers with me of grace.” And these all identify with the LORD Jesus Christ Himself as the Supreme Example of the suffering Servant. As we also enter into fellowship due to persecution against our stand for Gospel Truth, we enter into “…the fellowship of His suffering…” (PHIL 3:10).
The apostle speaks of “…the defense and confirmation of the Gospel.” The word used for defense is apologia, and it’s the same word used in 1 PETER 3:15 – it’s actually the very idea of a defense attorney clearing the name of the defendant: to provide evidence to exonerate them.
When we present the Holy Scriptures, GOD’s unique Revelation to mankind and we are met with skeptics, we want to present the Word in a way that reveals its trustworthiness and integrity. Our intention is to demonstrate how this is not merely one religious book among countless others, but the very inspired Word of GOD (2 TIM 3:16-17).
Verification and confirmation are useful to us to undergird and reinforce our beliefs. There are times when we as Christians come under doubt and find ourselves unable to answer naysayers and cynics as they attack the Bible (something quite prevalent among University campuses these days).
Studying apologetics is a great way to explore the Scriptures, to behold with awe its integrity and infallible truth and confirm the faith we’ve placed in the central figure of the Scriptures, the LORD Jesus Christ.
Check out these websites for some extremely helpful apologetics!
CARM
Once-Lost
TTUF
Other Sites For Your Consideration (TTUF doesn't necessarily agree with everything on each of these sites.
Paul’s affection for the saints is no doubt coupled together with the very affection that Christ has (whose Spirit dwells in the apostle, as with all the saints) for His beloved.
In any and all relationships we have as saints, there is the love we have one for another, but there is also the deeper love that motivates us that stems from the very heart of our LORD Who loves His bride so much, He willingly laid down His life for her!
This love is not based on conditions exhibited by the ones loved, that is to say, it’s not conditional love: “I love you because you’re kind to me… because you’re beautiful… because you make me feel good… etc. It’s the sort of love that is entirely unconditional.
This love (agape) is so powerful, that it enables us to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute – even martyr us!
MATTHEW 5:43-48“Perfect” here is not sinless perfection but exhibiting spiritual maturity – as children grown up enough that they begin to resemble their father, we should resemble more and more the heart of our “Father in heaven”.
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 "And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 "Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
He demonstrated such love to sinners (those accounted as His enemies) already:
ROMANS 5:8-11Paul demonstrates this selfless, sacrificial love nowhere better than when addressing his love for his countrymen, the Jewish nation:
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
ROMANS 9:1-3In the KJV the word for “affections” is “bowels” – the Greek specifies the intestines: a very soft, sensitive, tender organ in our bodies. This displays the kind of love the apostle has for these saints: tender gentleness and sensitivity with compassion. Often in Scripture when it says that someone was “moved with compassion” it includes the sense of yearning to help, to comfort, to meet needs and encourage. We see this most prominently in the ministry of the LORD Jesus Christ:
1 I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh,
MATTHEW 9:36There are nine times in all four Gospel accounts where the compassion of JESUS our LORD was specifically mentioned in His desire to forgive sins, bring healing, to meet needs.
But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
We'll end Part One here, and pick up from verse 9 in Part 2!
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