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Preface
Introduction: The Letter to the Philippians
Part I: Paul’s Situation
Chapter 1: Paul’s Initial Greetings (1:1, 2)
Chapter 2: Paul’s Prayers (1:3–11)
Chapter 3: Paul’s Chains (1:12–18a)
Chapter 4: Paul’s Choice (1:18b–26)
Part II: The Call to a Worthy Life
Chapter 5: A Share in Paul’s Struggle (1:27–30)
Chapter 6: The Mind of Christ (2:1–11)
Chapter 7: Joy and Suffering (2:12–18)
Part III: Paul’s Coworkers
Chapter 8: Faithful Helpers: Timothy and Epaphroditus (2:19–3:1)
Part IV: Confidence in Christ Alone
Chapter 9: Confidence in the Flesh (3:2–6)
Chapter 1 0: Paul’s Profit-Loss Statement (3:7–11)
Chapter 1 1: The Race and the Prize (3:12–16)
Chapter 1 2: Enemies and Citizens (3:17–4:1)
Chapter 1 3: Rejoice in the Lord (4:2–9)
Part V: Personal Conclusion
Chapter 1 4: Plenty and Want (4:10–13)
Chapter 1 5: A Fragrant Offering (4:14–20)
Chapter 1 6: Paul’s Final Greetings (4:21–2 3)
Part VI: Looking Back at Philippians
Chapter 1 7: Lasting Impressions
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Philippians has always been my favorite of Paul’s letters. Many years ago, I memorized this letter to recite to students in my classes. I wanted students to experience listening to Paul with their ears in the way early Christians would have first encountered his letters. (Paul, of course, had no way of making copies for everyone to read!) I have enjoyed reciting the letter in both classes and churches, and I have always found that listeners are a bit surprised. They expect to hear Paul, the brilliant theologian, who is hard to understand. Instead, they hear Paul, the warm-hearted pastor, who is deeply in love with his favorite congregation. They cannot help but feel the cheerful joy flowing from every paragraph. Profound theology can be packaged in warm, friendly prose.
This commentary is designed to aid you in your study of Philippians. It is not a substitute for an encounter with the letter itself but a tool to make your own diligent study more fruitful. I pray that you will grow in Christ and be filled with joy as you use this tool to study Paul’s delightful letter.
A word about the format: since I spent most of my life as a teacher, I cannot help myself. I give assignments and ask questions. In addition to the text of the commentary, there are sections in each chapter to enhance your study. At the beginning of each chapter is a section titled “Getting Into the Word” that gives some initial assignments. Then follows the general commentary: “Exploring the Word.” At the end of each chapter, three sections appear: “Applying the Word,” “Researching the Word,” and “Further Study of the Word.”
I am indebted to George Knight for this format. An earlier version of this work was written for the series of commentaries that he edited, but the series was discontinued before it was published.
I also wish to thank the editors at the Pacific Press Publishing Association for their excellent work in editing the present manuscript.
INTRODUCTION
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Some of the most powerful and poignant letters written in the previous century came from prison. Think, for example, of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s letters to his parents and friends from a prison in Nazi Germany1 or Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from a Birmingham jail. When the author of a letter is in prison for his or her convictions, our emotions are especially touched, and we tend to give the writer some respect and credibility, and we listen.
Philippians—along with Ephesians, Philemon, and Colossians—is one of Paul’s Prison Epistles. (One of his Pastoral Epistles, 2 Timothy, was also written from prison.) Paul wrote to the Philippians while he was in “chains” (1:7, 14) and life was uncertain (1:20; 2:17). In such times of crisis, the normal feelings of life—from fears to friendship—are intensified. We seem to know people at a deeper level.
Eventually, like Bonhoeffer and King in the last century, Paul would be killed. Not all who die for a cause are right, but they do tend to be interesting. Without a doubt, Philippians is an interesting, powerful, and poignant letter. In this letter, more than in his others, perhaps because of its crisis setting, we seem to get an even more personal portrait of Paul, his trust in God, his love for and deep friendship with his people, and his fears and hopes.
We begin our study with an overview of the letter itself and attention to some historical matters that might aid our further study.
Getting into the Word
Before you go to the following questions, please do two things:
A. Dedicate a notebook or a computer file as your Philippians journal so you can keep track of your thoughts and insights as you study
This book is not designed to tell you about the Bible but to help you study the Bible for yourself.
B. Read through the letter of Philippians at least twice in two different translations. If you have an audio Bible, listen to it as well. Your ear will probably catch some things that your eye missed.
Now write out answers to the following questions in your Philippians journal.
1. How would you summarize the basic message of this letter in a single sentence?
2. What surprises do you find in reading the whole letter? Are any elements confusing, puzzling, or intriguing? Make a list so you can come back to them as you study.
3. What are the primary topics and themes that emerge from the letter? Make a list, and mark the most important ones.
4. Is the flow of the argument clear throughout? Are there passages where the transitions seem abrupt? Some have suggested that Philippians is not a unified letter but a collection of two or three letters Paul wrote at different times. Does anything in your reading explain why some might conclude this?
5. How would you describe the tone of this letter? How does it compare with the other letters of Paul that you have read?
6 Describe the relationship between Paul and the Philippian believers. What do you learn about the history and nature of this relationship in the letter?
7. Read Acts 16:1–40 and 20:1–7. Trace Paul’s history with the Philippians.
8. Use the maps in your Bible or a good Bible atlas to locate Troas and Philippi. Also, notice the location of these cities in relation to Palestine in the east and Rome in the west.
Exploring the Word
Paul and Philippi
It all began with a vision. Paul, Silas, and Timothy were traveling through Asia Minor, on what we call Paul’s second missionary journey,
when they arrived in Troas. In Acts 16:9, Luke tells us: “During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ ” Paul got ready and left “at once” (Acts 16:10).
From the coastal city of Troas, on the eastern edge of the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor (presently western Turkey), to the port city of Neapolis, at the northwestern corner of the Aegean Sea in Macedonia (presently Greece), was a journey of over one hundred miles. Luke says that upon arriving in Neapolis, Paul and his companions (perhaps including Luke, if the first-person plural “we” signifies Luke’s presence) immediately traveled to Philippi, which Luke calls “a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia” (Acts 16:12).
Although Philippi was not the capital of Macedonia, it was a significant city with a special status. It had been founded by Philip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great, in 356 BC. The Romans took it in 168–167 BC, but it was after Mark Antony and Octavian (who later became the emperor Augustus) defeated Brutus and Cassius in a battle near the city in 42 BC that Mark Antony settled his veterans there and refounded it as a Roman colony, governed by Roman law. Settlement intensified after Octavian defeated Antony in the Battle of Actium in 31 BC.
According to Luke, Paul stayed in Philippi “several days,” but they were eventful ones (Acts 16:12). On Paul’s first Sabbath in Philippi, he and his companions “went outside the city gate to the river” (Acts 16:13). Luke says they were expecting to find a place of prayer. He does not specify whether this was a synagogue or simply a place where some Jews gathered for prayer, but it is probably the latter. Whichever is true, Paul found a group of women with whom he spoke. One of them, a woman named Lydia, accepted Paul’s message and persuaded Paul and his companions to stay at her home.
Luke calls Lydia a “worshiper of God” (Acts 16:14). This is a technical term for Gentiles who were drawn to the Jewish religion and worshiped with Jews in the synagogue but had not officially become Jewish converts or proselytes. Many Gentiles were attracted to the monotheism and high moral ideals of Judaism.
While Paul was staying at Lydia’s and was on his way to the place of prayer, he was confronted by a slave girl who had a spirit that allowed her to predict the future and make large sums of money for her owners (Acts 16:16–18). When Paul exorcised the spirit, her owners were
infuriated and complained to the authorities. This led to the most familiar story from Paul’s stay at Philippi (Acts 16:19–40).
Paul and Silas were beaten and jailed. An earthquake during the night shook the foundations of the prison and flung its doors open. The jailer was about to kill himself when Paul stopped him. The result was the conversion of the jailer and his entire household.
The next day the magistrates sent their officers to release Paul quietly, but Paul refused. He had not been put in jail quietly, and he would not leave quietly either. So the magistrates came and personally escorted Paul from jail. After a last visit to Lydia’s house and some time with the believers there, Paul and Silas left.
A bit later, when he wrote his first letter to the Thessalonians, whom he visited after leaving Philippi, Paul looked back on his time in Philippi as a season of suffering. He wrote, “We had previously suffered and been insulted in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you [about] his gospel in spite of strong opposition” (1 Thessalonians 2:2). Through this ministry of suffering at Philippi, the first Christian congregation on European soil was established.
Date and place of writing
Although some scholars question the Pauline authorship of some of the letters in the New Testament that carry his name, virtually no one questions the Pauline authorship of Philippians. There is debate, however, about the time and place of writing.
The letter itself gives no explicit information about either the time or place of writing. All conclusions must be inferred from information within the letter. Since there is very little in the letter that would suggest the time of writing, most of the debate has centered on where Paul was when he wrote, with conclusions about the date being drawn from the time Paul would have been at whatever place one believes Paul to have been when he wrote.
Almost everyone agrees that Paul first visited Philippi around the year AD 50. It was obviously sometime later when he wrote this letter to the Philippians. But how much later? Paul does not give us a lot to go on, but at least two things are clear. First, Paul wrote as a prisoner. Second, his imprisonment was in a place where there was a Roman praetorium— an official residence of a Roman officer with a retinue of guards (in 1:13, the New International Version translates praetorium as “palace guard”).
The traditional view has been that Philippians was written from Rome during the two-year imprisonment that Luke tells us about in Acts 28:30.
This imprisonment lasted from about AD 60–62. There is good evidence for this traditional view. There was, of course, a praetorium in Rome, and the nature of Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, according to Acts, seems to fit with Paul’s circumstances when he wrote Philippians. Paul’s references to his chains (1:7, 13) could fit with a house arrest, and the fact that Paul seems to be awaiting trial, with the possibility of facing either death or release, would fit with the two years he awaited trial in Rome.
The traditional view is not without problems, however. Philippi and Rome are only about six hundred air miles apart, but by ship, it was much farther. In fact, it took about six weeks to make the journey between the two. Yet the letter assumes a good bit of travel. Remember that the only way to communicate was through a personal messenger. Therefore, during Paul’s two-year imprisonment in Rome, the Philippians had to hear that Paul was imprisoned, send Epaphroditus to be with him, and receive word back that Epaphroditus was ill (2:25–30). This has led many to wonder whether Paul might not have been closer to Philippi when he wrote.
Speculation has centered on Ephesus, although we have no record of Paul being imprisoned there. Paul did have problems there, however, for he speaks of fighting with wild beasts in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 15:32). Paul was in Ephesus for three years on his third missionary journey (about AD 54–57). Others have suggested Corinth, which is even closer to Philippi, or Caesarea, although the distance from Caesarea to Philippi would be an even greater problem. All these cities had praetoria.
In the end, we simply must admit that the letter does not tell us where or when it was written. In this book, we will take, as a working model, the traditional view that it was written in Rome in the early sixties with the full knowledge that it may have been written earlier in a different city closer to Philippi.
The unity of Philippians
Another question some scholars have raised concerns the unity of the letter. Even though all agree that the whole letter was written by Paul, some question whether all four chapters were written together as one letter. They suspect Paul may have written two or three letters to the Philippians and that our letter is an edited compilation of these. Why would anyone come to this conclusion?
Their evidence comes from the letter itself and begins with the seemingly abrupt transition between verses 1 and 2 of Philippians 3. In
the latter part of chapter 2, Paul states his future plans for his coworkers, Timothy and Epaphroditus. This is the kind of material that often comes at the end of a letter. Then, in the first verse of chapter 3, he says, “Finally,” and begins what sounds like a conclusion. But the second verse then changes the subject abruptly and takes up a new topic that is different in both tone and content from what has preceded in the first two chapters. What follows is a harsh warning about the “dogs” who demand circumcision. Nothing in the letter thus far has prepared us for this!
It is even more intriguing that the flow seems quite natural if a reader skips from Philippians 3:1 to Philippians 4:4 and leaves out Philippians 3:2–4:3. Here is how it would read:
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. . . .
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (3:1; 4:4–7).
Related to this is the observation that the term “rejoice” occurs frequently throughout Philippians but is absent from Philippians 3:2–4:3.
Scholars also raise questions about the unity of chapter 4. Verses 10–20 seem to be an independent unit, thanking the Philippians for their gifts to Paul. Some wonder why Paul would wait until the end of the letter to offer these thanks and suggest that this section, which ends in verse 20 with a concluding benediction, was a separate letter as well. Those who see our current letter as a collection of two or three different letters Paul wrote to Philippi do not agree on the precise divisions, but most agree that Philippians 4:10–20 constitutes a letter and that a different letter begins with Philippians 3:2.
On the other hand, there are data within the letter that point in the opposite direction. Both Robert Jewett and T. E. Pollard have noted that there are significant vocabulary and thematic links between chapter 3 and the rest of the letter.2 For example, Paul often speaks of thinking (Greek phroneo) or considering (Greek hegeomai ) in this letter. The former term occurs ten times in Philippians—three of them in chapter 3 (3:15 [twice], 19)—and only thirteen times in the rest of Paul’s letters. The latter occurs six times in Philippians—three of them in chapter 3
(3:7, 8 [twice])—and only five other times in Paul’s letters. Paul speaks of suffering in Philippians 1:29, 30, and 2:17 and returns to the same theme in Philippians 3:10. The term “gain” (Greek kerdos) occurs only three times in the New Testament; twice in this letter in sections that are often supposed to be two letters (1:21; 3:7). In a similar fashion, the concept of “citizenship” (Greek noun politeuma or verb politeuomai ) occurs only three times in Paul’s writings. One of those instances is in Philippians 1:27, and another is in Philippians 3:20. None of these data are conclusive, but they do suggest that there are connections in both language and thought between parts of Philippians that are sometimes taken to be different letters.
Additionally, the fact that Paul uses the expression “finally” in Philippians 3:1 cannot be taken as evidence that this is the conclusion of a letter For although Paul uses the expression to conclude letters (see 2 Corinthians 13:11), he often uses the same expression when the letter is not concluding (see 1 Corinthians 7:29, where the New International Version translates the expression “What I mean”; 1 Thessalonians 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 3:1).
Again, as we found with the issue of the time and place of writing, the evidence is inconclusive. Throughout this book, we will work with the assumption that the letter as we have it is a unity, with an awareness that there are data that point in the other direction.
Of course, these questions about the background of the letter have some importance because they influence the way we read the letter, but they are not the primary questions. Our central concern is the content and message of the letter, and to that, we now turn.
Major themes and topics
To summarize the message of this letter and explain the meaning of all its themes would be premature at this point. First, we need to study the letter, which this book is intended to help us do. Nevertheless, it may be helpful in a preliminary to outline some of the major themes. We will return to them at the end for a reality check.
Joy and rejoicing. This letter abounds with joy. Paul uses the verb “rejoice” seven times and the noun “joy” five times. He speaks of his own joy (1:4, 18; 2:17; 4:10), and he admonishes the Philippians to rejoice (2:18; 3:1; 4:4). Furthermore, the whole tone of the letter is one of joy in the Lord and in the fellowship Paul shares with the Philippians. As we study this letter, we will want to examine the nature of this joy.
What is this joy? We will also want to examine its source. How do we find this joy?
Salvation in Christ alone. Some of Paul’s strongest expressions of the sufficiency of salvation in Christ come in this letter He argues throughout chapter 3 that one can put confidence in absolutely nothing but Christ. True righteousness does not come through the law (3:9), circumcision (3:2, 3), or a solid Jewish pedigree (3:4–6). Paul can even call every other reason for confidence “rubbish” (3:8) compared with knowing Christ. As we study Philippians, we will want to consider why salvation is in Christ alone, how we receive Christ, and how we make this salvation our own.
Christ’s model of humble service. In many ways, the centerpiece of this letter is a hymn or poem that tells the story of Christ’s sacrifice of humility and His subsequent exaltation (2:6–11). But Paul does not tell this story simply to give us historical or even theological information about Christ. He prefaces the poem by saying that we should have the same attitude that Christ had (2:5). Christ is not only our sole source of salvation but is also our model for service. As we study this letter, we will want to explore the meaning of the mind of Christ and see what it implies for our relationships with others.
Christian behavior and community. Paul calls on the Philippians to live lives “worthy of the gospel of Christ” (1:27). The life of Christians within their community is an obvious concern for Paul throughout this letter. The Philippians are to obey (2:12), live in unity (2:1–4), and even take care regarding what they think about (4:8, 9). This worthy Christian life is not a solitary life of virtue but a life shared in community. Paul uses the Greek term koinonia, which means partnership, fellowship, or community, three times in this letter (1:5; 2:1; 3:10). As we study Philippians, we will want to determine how we achieve a Christian life that is worthy of the gospel and produces the unity and fellowship Paul portrays here. It would be hard to find an issue more central to the church today.
Unity The believing community must live in harmony and unity. Paul emphasizes this theme with his use of language. The Greek preposition syn means “together with.” We have many English compound words that utilize it, such as synopsis, synergy, and synthesis. Paul uses compound Greek words that begin with syn more in this letter than any other. He uses sixteen such words; four of them are words that are used nowhere else in the New Testament.
Death and suffering. In Philippians, Paul often speaks of his own suffering (1:21–30; 2:17, 18; 3:10; 4:10–13). Although Paul does not take up the topic of suffering as an issue to address, he does offer statements about the subject that are both helpful and intriguing. Paul ties his own sufferings to the suffering and death of Jesus. He even wishes to share in Christ’s suffering and become “like him in his death” (3:10). Earlier in the letter, he appears to prefer to die (1:21–26). How does this letter help us face the problem of suffering in our world and our own lives? How is our suffering related to Christ’s death and resurrection? What does it mean to share in the suffering and resurrection of Christ? These are questions we will want to keep in mind as we study this letter.
Gaining and losing. In both chapters 1 and 3, Paul uses the language of finance, specifically the language of profit and loss (1:21–26; 3:7–9). Jesus, too, used this language of gaining and losing (see, for example, Mark 8:34–38 and parallels). Throughout our study of Philippians, we will want to think about this issue of priorities. What are our true assets? How do we insure assets and guard against losses? How does the financial analogy Paul uses instruct our walk with God?
Working, striving, and perfection. Paul also uses the language of sports and athletics in Philippians. He speaks of “straining toward what is ahead” and pressing on toward the finish line “to win the prize” (3:13, 14). What is this athletic-like striving Paul talks about? Or, for that matter, what does it mean for Christians to “work out” their own salvation (2:12), and how is this related to the matter of perfection that Paul raises in Philippians 3:12, 15? The role of Christian striving and working, as well as the nature of perfection, are themes that we should keep in mind as we study this letter.
Thinking and the mind. Paul uses the term “to think” in this letter more than he usually does when he writes. He uses the term to refer to holding an opinion or belief (3:15) or agreeing with each other (4:2), but he also uses it in much more relational ways. Christians are to think the same (2:2), which seems to mean more than holding the same opinions. They are to care about each other. The Philippians literally “think on Paul’s behalf” (4:10, which the New International Version translates as “concern for me”) when they send gifts to show their care for him. Throughout our study, as we look at the individual passages where Paul uses this term, we will want to examine how we are to use our minds in our walk with God.
Connecting with the congregation. In this letter, Paul often ties his own experience to that of his hearers. For example, he speaks of his own
joy (1:18, 19) and their joy (1:25), of his prayers (1:4) and their prayers (1:19), of his boasting (2:16) and their boasting (1:26), and of his deliverance (1:19) and their deliverance (1:28). These echoes are not accidental. Paul, the pastor, is tying his own experience together with that of his hearers to form a bond of warm fellowship with them.
You will probably have other themes from your reading of Philippians that you will wish to add to this list. In our final chapter, we will return to these themes and summarize what we have learned about them from our study.
The purpose of the letter
Why did Paul write this letter to the Philippians? Did he have one overriding concern that drove him to write? To find an answer, we must remember that this is a genuine letter. Paul did not sit down to write an essay on a given topic. He wrote the same way you might write or make a telephone call to a friend or relative. You often have several reasons for making contact and several things you want to say.
Paul, of course, did not have the opportunity to pick up the phone or even drop a letter off at the post office. He could only communicate with the Philippians when someone traveled from where he was to Philippi. Thus, the immediate occasion for the letter is the opportunity that presented itself when Paul sent Epaphroditus back to Philippi. As we learn from the letter, Epaphroditus had brought gifts from the Philippians (4:18–20) and had subsequently become ill and almost died (2:26, 27). But now he had recovered, and Paul was sending him back to Philippi (2:25). This would provide Paul with an opportunity to contact this community of believers that he had founded, who had supported him and meant so much to him. Thus, this letter is much more personal than some of Paul’s other letters, which respond to a more specific problem or issue in the church to which Paul writes.
We might summarize Paul’s purposes under three headings. First, Paul wrote to thank the Philippians. The gifts they sent to him (4:18–20) were more than tokens. Roman prisoners had to rely on gifts of food and provisions from friends and family for survival. Paul’s warm sense of gratitude is evident throughout the letter. He wrote to say, “Thank you.”
Second, Paul wrote to inform. He knew the Philippians were concerned about him, and he wanted them to know how he was doing, that his spirits were good, that he kept his faith, and that he had specific plans to send Timothy to them soon (2:19–24) and to come himself, if possible (2:24).
Finally, Paul wrote to encourage, warn, and admonish this group that had been so close to his heart. Paul, after all, was first and foremost a pastor, and he wrote to pastor his people. Above all, he wanted them to keep a growing faith in Christ and live in growing fellowship with God and with each other. All his admonitions and warnings were for that end. As we read this letter, we cannot help but feel the warmth and joy of that close relationship Paul had with his people.
Outline of the letter
It is difficult to outline a letter as personal as Philippians, but here is one suggestion for how the letter flows.
I. Introduction (1:1–11)
A. Initial Greetings (1:1, 2)
B. Paul’s Thanksgiving for the Philippians (1:3–11)
II. Paul’s Situation (1:12–26)
A. His Chains (1:12–18a)
B. His Choice: Life or Death? (1:18b–26)
III. The Call to a Worthy Life (1:27–2:18)
A. Sharing in Paul’s Struggle (1:27–30)
B. Having the Mind of Christ (2:1–11)
C Living Blamelessly (2:12–18)
IV. Paul’s Plans for His Coworkers and Himself (2:19–3:1)
A. Timothy (2:19–23)
B. Himself (2:24)
C. Epaphroditus (2:25–30)
D. Summary (3:1)
V. Warnings to the Philippians (3:2–4:1)
A. Against Confidence in the Flesh (3:2–16)
1. Circumcision Not to Be Demanded (3:2, 3)
2. Paul’s “Confidence in the Flesh” (3:4–6)
3. Paul’s Confidence in Christ Alone (3:7–16)
B. Against Enemies of Christ (3:17–4:1)
VI. Final Admonitions (4:2–9)
A To Get Along With Each Other (4:2, 3)
B. To Rejoice in the Lord (4:4–7)
C. To Think on the Right Things (4:8, 9)
VII. Conclusion (4:10–23)
A. Paul’s Thanksgiving to the Philippians (4:10–20)
B. Final Greetings (4:21–23)
Applying the Word
1. In what way did I hear God speaking to me most clearly as I read Philippians?
2. Which of the themes in Philippians are most applicable to my own walk with God?
3. What is the most important action I am convicted to take after reading Philippians?
Researching the Word
1. Use a good Bible dictionary, and look up the city of Philippi.
2. Use a good Bible concordance, and pick some of the themes mentioned in this chapter. See how often some of the terms associated with these themes are found in Philippians. Compare Paul’s use of the same terms in other letters.
Further study of the Word
1. Commentaries on Philippians:
a. For a now somewhat classic, mainstream Protestant, verse-byverse commentary that gives a basic overview of historical background, see A Commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians by F. W. Beare.3
b. For a very thorough and somewhat technical commentary that includes detailed bibliographic and background information and is written from a conservative evangelical perspective, see Philippians by Gerald F. Hawthorne.4
c. For a less technical commentary from a conservative evangelical stance, see Philippians by Ralph P. Martin.5
d. For a very readable commentary that is light on background material but strong on relevance for preaching and practical understanding, see Philippians by Fred. B. Craddock.6
e. For a delightful, devotionally oriented, and theologically insightful work on Philippians, see Toward Fullness of Life: Studies in the Letter of Paul to the Philippians by Suzanne de Dietrich.7
f. For a major commentary, which is written from a conservative evangelical perspective, see Paul’s Letter to the Philippians by Gordon D. Fee.8
g. For a more recent major commentary, see Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: A Socio-rhetorical Commentary by Ben Witherington III.9
h. For a bibliographic review of commentaries on Philippians, see “Which Is the Best Commentary? 12. Philippians” by I. Howard Marshall.10
i. For a summary of Paul’s letter to the Philippians and his purpose in writing, see pages 479–484 of The Acts of the Apostles by Ellen G. White.11
2. On the place of the writing of Philippians:
a. For a list of the reasons advanced for each of the positions (Rome, Ephesus, Corinth, and Caesarea), see pages 324–332 of Introduction to the New Testament by Werner Georg Kümmel.1 2
b. For an argument supporting the traditional position of Rome, see pages 15–24 of A Commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians by F. W. Beare.13
c For an argument supporting Caesarea as the place of writing, see pages xxxvi–xliv of Philippians (volume 43 of the Word Biblical Commentary) by Gerald F. Hawthorne.14
3. On the unity of the letter:
a. For the view that the letter is a unity, based on the clues of the initial thanksgiving and links within the letter, see “The Epistolary Thanksgiving and the Integrity of Philippians” by Robert Jewett.15
b. For an argument for unity based on links within the letter, see “The Integrity of Philippians” by T. E. Pollard.16
c For an argument for unity based on rhetorical analysis, see “A Rhetorical Analysis of Philippians and Its Implications for the Unity Question” by Duane F. Watson.17
d. For the view that the letter is a unity, based on literary analysis that sees it as a Hellenistic family letter, see “Hellenistic Letter-Forms and the Structure of Philippians” by Loveday Alexander.18
e. For two slightly different, classic divisions of the letter into three separate letters, see pages 24–29 of A Commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians by F. W. Beare19 and “The Three Letters of Paul to the Philippians” by B. D. Rahtjen.20
f. For the view that the New Testament pseudepigraphical work Laodiceans lends support to a compilation theory of Philippians because its quotations from Philippians do not include quotes from Philippians 4:10–20 or from Philippians 3:2–4:3 (thus, its author may have used a Philippians letter that did not include those portions), see “Laodiceans and the Philippians Fragments Hypothesis” by Philip Sellew.21
4. On prison conditions in Paul’s day:
a. For a monograph-length study of imprisonment in Paul’s day, including the conditions Paul might have experienced while in chains, see The Book of Acts in Its First Century Setting, volume 3, Paul in Roman Custody by Brian Rapske.22
5. For a treatment of Paul’s use of echoes to tie his experience with that of the Philippians see my article “Paul’s Pastoral Use of Intratextual Echoes in Philippians” on pages 143–158 of The Philistines are Upon Us: A Festschrift in Honor of Alden Thompson. 23
1. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Prisoner for God: Letters and Papers From Prison, trans Reginald H. Fuller (New York: Macmillan, 1953).
2. Robert Jewett, “The Epistolary Thanksgiving and the Integrity of Philippians,” Novum Testamentum 12, no. 1 (1970): 40–53; T E. Pollard, “The Integrity of Philippians,” New Testament Studies 13, no. 1 (1966): 57–66.
3. F. W. Beare, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians, Harper’s New Testament Commentaries (New York: Harper & Bros., 1959).
4. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Philippians, Word Biblical Commentary 43 (Waco, TX: Word, 1983).
5. Ralph P. Martin, Philippians, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1987).
6. Fred B. Craddock, Philippians, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1985).
7 Suzanne de Dietrich, Toward Fullness of Life: Studies in the Letter of Paul to the Philippians (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster, 1966).
8 Gordon D. Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995).
9. Ben Witherington III, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: A Socio-rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2011).
10. I. Howard Marshall, “Which Is the Best Commentary? 12. Philippians,” Expository Times 103, no. 2 (1991): 39–42.
11. Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press®, 1911).
12. Werner Georg Kümmel, Introduction to the New Testament, trans. Howard C. Kee, revised ed. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1975).
13. Beare, Epistle to the Philippians, 15–24.
14. Hawthorne, Philippians, xxxvi–xliv.
15. Jewett, “The Epistolary Thanksgiving,” 40–53.
16. Pollard, “The Integrity of Philippians,” 57–66.
17. Duane F. Watson, “A Rhetorical Analysis of Philippians and Its Implications for the Unity Question,” Novum Testamentum 30, no. 1 (1988): 57–88.
18. Loveday Alexander, “Hellenistic Letter-Forms and the Structure of Philippians,” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 12, no. 37 (1989): 87–101.
19. Beare, Epistle to the Philippians, 24–29.
20. B. D. Rahtjen, “The Three Letters of Paul to the Philippians,” New Testament Studies 6, no. 2 (1960): 167–173.
21. Philip Sellew, “Laodiceans and the Philippians Fragments Hypothesis,” Harvard Theological Review 87, no. 1 (1994): 17–28.
22 Brian Rapske, Paul in Roman Custody, vol. 3, The Book of Acts in Its First Century Setting (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994).
23 John Brunt, “Paul’s Pastoral Use of Intratextual Echoes in Philippians,” in Carl P Cosaert, Ed., The Philistines are Upon Us: A Festschrift in Honor of Alden Thompson (Westlake Village, CA: Oak and Acorn Publishing, 2022), 143–158.
Part I
P ’ S
P ’ I G
Philippians 1:1, 2
t is easy to skip over the first couple of verses of one of Paul’s letters. Some names and seemingly standard words of greeting do not appear to hold a lot of interest or theological significance. But do not skip over these words too quickly, or you might miss some nuances that hold clues for understanding the rest of the letter. Paul never limits himself to the standard letter-writing conventions of the day, even though he starts with them. His active pastoral mind is already working even in these initial greetings.
Getting into the Word
Prepare a page in your Philippians journal or computer file for use in your study of this chapter. Begin by looking at Philippians 1:1, 2 in three or four different translations, and write out answers to the following questions.
1 Compare the initial greetings in this letter with those in the other letters that bear Paul’s name (Romans through Philemon). Do you see anything that is unique in the greetings in this letter? Are there elements usually present that are absent here? Make a list of what you find, and then, in a paragraph or two, discuss the possible explanations for any variations you find.
2. What is Paul trying to say about himself and Timothy with the designation “servants” or “slaves”? Use a concordance to find where Paul uses this expression elsewhere in this and other letters. List the various meanings the term can have.
3. Why does Paul call the Philippian believers “saints”? What does this term mean? Use a Bible concordance to find and examine passages where it is used. Write a summary of its meaning.
Compare your findings with those of a good Bible dictionary. Is this an appropriate term for Christians today?
4. Explain the significance of the phrase “in Christ Jesus.”
5. Why does Paul mention the “overseers” (elders) and “deacons” at the beginning of this letter? To whom did these terms refer? Use a Bible concordance to examine how these terms are used and defined in the New Testament.
Exploring the Word
When I write a letter to my daughter (something I should do more often), I begin with the words Dear Laura. Yesterday, I wrote a letter to a total stranger who had inquired via voicemail about a matter I began the letter “Dear” followed by the person’s name. Doesn’t it seem a bit strange that I use the same word—Dear—to address someone I love deeply and someone I do not even know? But that is the way we begin letters in this society On the other hand, we are less formal with emails and often begin with a simple “Hi.” But letters tend to be formal in our culture. And we are not unique. Though the specifics vary, almost every society has standard conventions for letter writing. The first-century Greco-Roman world in which Paul lived was no exception.
In Paul’s day, letters usually began with a three-part introduction. First came the name of the sender (or senders), then the name of the recipient (or recipients), and finally, the word greetings. So, if I lived in the first century and were to send a letter to my daughter, I would probably begin with these words: “John, to Laura his daughter, greetings.” Although Paul followed this basic formula, he always expanded or modified it. The initial greetings in Philippians are shorter than usual but also contain some interesting features that are worth noting.
The senders
Paul. Paul almost always adds a designation to his name in his initial greetings to a congregation. (Only 1 and 2 Thessalonians, which are quite possibly Paul’s first two letters, lack this feature.) His most frequent designation is “apostle,” but Philippians, along with Philemon and the two Thessalonian letters, lacks this title. On the other hand, Paul calls himself a “servant” or “slave” here, something he only does elsewhere in Romans and Titus. In both of those letters, however, he
combines “slave” with “apostle.” Are there any reasons why Paul might omit the term “apostle” and include the word slave in this letter? Both features have precedent in other letters but are not Paul’s usual way of writing.
Let us reserve the discussion of the term “slave” for later and address the absence of the term “apostle” at this point. Paul probably felt that he did not have to include the designation “apostle” in this letter since his apostolic authority was not in any way under question in Philippi. Paul usually included the term to affirm that, even though he was writing actual letters to real people, he wrote with a sense of authority as one who spoke for God. Certainly, Paul had no idea that his letters would eventually be collected or come to be a part of the Christian Scripture known as the New Testament, but he did know that he was writing as one commissioned (an apostle is one who is commissioned or sent) by God. But the Philippians needed no such reminder. No congregation had been closer to or more supportive of Paul.
The way Paul includes Timothy’s name with his own in this letter is interesting. All but five of Paul’s letters (the three Pastoral Epistles, Romans, and Ephesians) list coworkers along with Paul as the sender, but only in Philippians does Paul include himself and a coworker together with a single designation. Usually, Paul gives his name, the added designation (or designations), and then mentions the coworker (or coworkers), but here he puts himself and Timothy together as “slaves of Christ Jesus.” This is probably a tribute to Paul’s high regard for Timothy, who held a special place in Paul’s heart and ministry.
Timothy. Timothy is listed as the cosender of 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon and as the recipient of 1 and 2 Timothy. Thus, eight of the thirteen letters of Paul also include Timothy in one way or another. By comparing Acts with Paul’s letters, we can see what an important role Timothy played in Paul’s ministry.
According to Acts 16, Paul first encountered Timothy when he came to Lystra on what we have come to call his second missionary journey. Timothy was a “disciple,” whose mother was a Jew and whose “father was a Greek” (Acts 16:1). Believers spoke well of Timothy, and Paul decided to include him on the mission team. Paul circumcised him to avoid unnecessary prejudice against their ministry and took him along when Paul and Silas responded to the vision and crossed over to Macedonia. Thus, Timothy was present when Paul first visited Philippi.
In Acts 17:14, 15, we discover that after their visit to Philippi, when Paul was escorted out of Berea, Silas and Timothy stayed behind, planning to join Paul soon. Acts 18:5 records that Silas and Timothy later met Paul in Corinth, still on the second missionary journey. According to 1 Thessalonians 3:2–6, however, it appears that Timothy had met Paul in Athens before he reached Corinth and had then been sent back to Thessalonica to strengthen the new believers there in the faith. Timothy carried out this mission and met Paul in Corinth (this corresponds with Acts 18:5) with good news about the continuing faith of the Thessalonians. Thus, very early in Timothy’s association with Paul, he was sent by Paul on a significant mission.
This became the pattern in Paul’s ministry Timothy was also with Paul in Ephesus on his third missionary journey, where Paul stayed for three years (Acts 19:22), and as Paul revisited Macedonia (Acts 20:4). But when there was trouble or a sensitive mission, Timothy often got the call. From Ephesus, Paul sent Timothy to Corinth and called him “My son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 4:17). When we come to Philippians 2, we will see more of Paul’s appreciation for Timothy. It is no surprise, then, that Paul refers to Timothy and himself together as slaves of Jesus Christ.
According to Hebrews 13:23, at some point in time, Timothy, like Paul, became a prisoner and was released.
Slaves of Christ Jesus. Although the New International Version and many other translations use the word servants at this point, the Greek term Paul uses here actually signifies a slave. Slavery, of course, was common in Paul’s day. Certainly, some of the members of the Philippian congregation would have been slaves. Paul consistently taught that Christianity transcends the difference in status between slave and free (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11; 1 Corinthians 12:13).
Throughout his letters, Paul also uses the practice of slavery as a metaphor in various ways. In Galatians 4, for example, he contrasts the pre-Christian life of slavery to evil with the Christian life of being an heir and a child. In Romans 6, on the other hand, Paul contrasts slavery to sin with slavery to God (Romans 6:20–23). The former, he says, leads to death and the latter to eternal life.
In Philippians 1:1, the phrase “slaves of Christ Jesus” stresses total submission to God’s will as Paul and Timothy carry out the mission God has given them. Paul is also aware, however, that the term was commonly used for the prophets of the Old Testament. Amos 3:7 reads:
