Philippians Commentary

How do you live as a Christian in a non-Christian world? How do you respond when those around you are hostile to your faith? Paul wrote this poignant letter to encourage the persecuted Christians of the church in Philippi and to strengthen them in the difficulties they faced. Paul wrote while in prison—he, too, was suffering for his faith—but he demonstrated that a Christian can have joy in Christ regardless of the circumstances.

Setting

Philippi was a small Roman colony in the province of Macedonia in northeastern Greece. Located about ten miles inland from the Aegean Sea, Philippi was important because of its strategic position on the Via Egnatia, the major east–west Roman route through Macedonia.

Philippi heard the Good News of Christ from Paul on his second missionary journey (about AD 50; see Acts 16:11-40). From the beginning, there was opposition to Paul’s preaching. During his brief stay there, he was thrown into prison and then asked to leave town, but not before a group of new believers had been established (Acts 16:35-40).

Around six years later (AD 56~57), on his third missionary journey, Paul visited Philippi again (see Acts 20:1-6). It is possible that, after that visit, he never saw the Philippian Christians again (but see 1 Tim 1:3, written around AD 63).

Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians while in prison. Epaphroditus had brought a monetary gift to Paul from the Philippians and was returning to Philippi, and Paul sent along with him this warm letter of encouragement for the church. Aware that the Philippians were being persecuted, he wanted to support and strengthen them, in part by sharing with them his experience as a prisoner for Christ’s sake.

Summary

After a brief introduction (1:1-2), Paul affirms his gratitude to God for the Philippians and prays for their spiritual growth (1:3-11). He then talks about his own experience of imprisonment and how it has resulted in the spread of the Good News (1:12-19). Paul’s greatest desire is to live and die for Christ, whatever his situation (1:20-26). The Philippians, too, must be strong in their faith as they suffer for Christ (1:27-30). They should warmly support one another, remembering the example of Christ, who gave up everything in sacrificing his life for theirs (2:1-18).

Eager to know how the Philippians are doing and to tell them how he is, Paul will soon be sending Epaphroditus and Timothy to them, both of whom have proven their willingness to suffer for Christ (2:19-30).

Paul next warns the Philippians about Jewish-Christian propaganda requiring adherence to the law of Moses (3:1-3). He recounts his prior way of life, in which he was consumed with following the law. Now he has come to the realization that the only important thing is knowing Christ, sharing in his suffering and death, and experiencing his resurrection power both now and in the future (3:4-11). All believers are to be single-minded in pursuing full life in Christ (3:12–4:1).

In closing, Paul encourages the Philippians to fill their lives with joy, prayer, and thanksgiving, focusing their minds on God’s good gifts, even in their persecution (4:2-9). He thanks them for the gift they have sent. He tells them that he has learned to be content regardless of his circumstances, and he implies that they, too, should learn to live this way (4:1-20). As usual, Paul ends his letter with praise to God, greetings to the believers, and an invocation of the Lord’s grace (4:21-23).

Date and Place of Writing

Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon are often called the Prison Letters, as they each make reference to having been written from prison. There is no consensus on where or when the Prison Letters were written. They have traditionally been linked to Rome, where Paul was under house arrest in AD 60–62 and then later imprisoned around AD 64~65. More recently, scholars have made a case for Ephesus (AD 53~56). During Paul’s two- to three-year stay in that city, he experienced much opposition and suffering (see Acts 19:23-41; 2 Cor 11:23-28).

Literary Unity

In order to account for sudden changes of content and tone in the writing (see especially 3:2–4:3 and 4:10-20), some have suggested that Philippians is actually a combination of several different letters or fragments joined by an anonymous editor. An early Christian writer, Polycarp, spoke of “letters” of Paul to the Philippians. Many others, however, judge this to be a single coherent letter, written by Paul, who in his letters often changes the subject unexpectedly to address new issues.

Meaning and Message

Paul writes from prison to Christians who are experiencing opposition, encouraging them to imitate his life and attitudes. By speaking of his own courage, commitment, confidence, and contentment even in prison, Paul encourages the Philippians to respond similarly in their situation. In doing so, he shows us that a Christian life of joy, peace, contentment, prayer, thanksgiving, and devotion to Christ can transcend all circumstances.

Though Paul is in prison, he is not ashamed but rejoices that it has resulted in a greater spread of the Good News. He desires to be bold for Christ, whatever the consequences, for he knows he is called to live for Christ and he feels privileged to suffer for Christ (see 1:12-26). Even in prison, Paul can say that his deepest desire is to be completely filled with Christ’s life. Paul is ready to share in Christ’s suffering and death, and he is eager to experience the full power of Christ’s resurrection. Whatever happens, he will one day be raised from the dead like Christ (3:7-14). Meanwhile, Paul has learned to be content whatever his lot in life. He relies on Christ and has found Christ’s strength sufficient in even the most trying situations (4:11-13).

Paul urges the Philippians to be full of joy in the Lord as they experience opposition. They are not to worry about anything, but to pray for all their needs with a heart full of gratitude to God. In this way, they will experience the deep peace of God (see 4:4-9).

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippians

Philippi was a chief city of the western part of Macedonia, prōtē tēs Makedonias polis, Act 16:12. It took its name from Philip, the famous king of Macedon, who repaired and beautified it, and it was afterwards made a Roman colony. Near this place were the Campi Philippici, remarkable for the famous battles between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great, and that between Augustus and Antony on one side and Cassius and Brutus on the other. But it is most remarkable among Christians for this epistle, which was written when Paul was a prisoner at Rome, a.d. 62. Paul seems to have had a very particular kindness for the church at Philippi, which he himself had been instrumental in planting; and, though he had the care of all the churches, he had, upon that account, a particular fatherly tender care of this. To those to whom God has employed us to do any good we should look upon ourselves both as encouraged and engaged to study to do more good. He looked upon them as his children, and, having begotten them by the gospel, he was desirous by the same gospel to nourish and nurse them up. I. He was called in an extraordinary manner to preach the gospel at Philippi, Act 16:9. A vision appeared to Paul in the night: There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. He saw God going before him, and was encouraged to use all means for carrying on the good work which was begun among them, and building upon the foundation which was laid. II. At Philippi he suffered hard things; he was scourged, and put into the stocks (Act 16:23, Act 16:24); yet he had not the less kindness for the place for the hard usage he met with there. We must never love our friends the less for the ill treatment which our enemies give us. III. The beginnings of that church were very small; Lydia was converted there, and the jailer, and a few more: yet that did not discourage him. If good be not done at first, it may be done afterwards, and the last works may be more abundant. We must not be discouraged by small beginnings. IV. It seems, by many passages in this epistle, that this church at Philippi grew into a flourishing church, and particularly that the brethren were very kind to Paul. He had reaped of their temporal things, and he made a return in spiritual things. He acknowledges the receipt of a present they had sent him (Phi 4:18), and this when no other church communicated with him as concerning giving and receiving (Phi 4:15); and he gives them a prophet's, an apostle's reward, in this epistle, which is of more value than thousands of gold and silver.

The INTERNAL EVIDENCE for the authenticity of this Epistle is strong. The style, manner of thought, and doctrine, accord with Paul's. The incidental allusions also establish his authorship. PALEY [HorÃ&brvbr PaulinÃ&brvbr, ch. 7] instances the mention of the object of Epaphroditus' journey to Rome, the Philippian contribution to Paul's wants, Epaphroditus' sickness (Phi 1:7; Phi 2:25-30; Phi 4:10-18), the fact that Timothy had been long with Paul at Philippi (Phi 1:1; Phi 2:19), the reference to his being a prisoner at Rome now for a long time (Phi 1:12-14; Phi 2:17-28), his willingness to die (compare Phi 1:23, with Co2 5:8), the reference to the Philippians having seen his maltreatment at Philippi (Phi 1:29-30; Phi 2:1-2).

The EXTERNAL EVIDENCE is equally decisive: POLYCARP [Epistle to the Philippians, 3; 11]; IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 4.18.4]; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [The Instructor, 1.1, p. 107]; EUSEBIUS [The Epistle of the Churches of Lyons and Vienne, in Ecclesiastical History, 5. 2]; TERTULLIAN [On the Resurrection of the Flesh, 23]; ORIGEN [Against Celsus, 1.3, p. 122]; CYPRIAN [Testimonies against the Jews, 3.39].

Philippi was the first (that is, the farthest from Rome, and first which met Paul in entering Macedonia) Macedonian city of the district, called Macedonia Prima (so called as lying farthest eastward). The Greek (Act 16:12) should not be translated "the chief city," as English Version, but as above [ALFORD]. Not it, but Thessalonica, was the chief city of the province, and Amphipolis, of the district called Macedonia Prima. It was a Roman "colony" (Act 16:12), made so by Augustus, to commemorate his famous victory over Brutus and Cassius. A colony was in fact a portion of Rome itself transplanted to the provinces, an offshoot from Rome, and as it were a portrait of the mother city on a small scale [AULUS GELLIUS, Attic Nights, 16.13]. Its inhabitants were Roman citizens, having the right of voting in the Roman tribes, governed by their own senate and magistrates, and not by the governor of the province, with the Roman law and Latin language.

Paul, with Silas and Timothy, planted the Gospel there (Act 16:12, &c.), in his second missionary journey, A.D. 51. Doubtless he visited it again on his journey from Ephesus into Macedonia (Act 20:1); and Act 20:3, Act 20:6, expressly mentions his third visit on his return from Greece (Corinth) to Syria by way of Macedonia. His sufferings at Philippi (Act 16:19, &c.) strengthened the Christian bond of union between him and his Philippian converts, who also, like him, were exposed to trials for the Gospel's sake (Th1 2:2). They alone sent supplies for his temporal wants, twice shortly after he had left them (Phi 4:15-16), and again a third time shortly before writing this Epistle (Phi 4:10, Phi 4:18; Co2 11:9). This fervent attachment on their part was, perhaps, also in part due to the fact that few Jews were in Philippi, as in other scenes of his labors, to sow the seeds of distrust and suspicion. There was no synagogue, but merely a Jewish Proseucha, or oratory, by the riverside. So that there only do we read of his meeting no opposition from Jews, but only from the masters of the divining damsel, whose gains had been put an end to by her being dispossessed.

Though the Philippian Church was as yet free from Judaizing influence, yet it needed to be forewarned of that danger which might at any time assail it from without (Phi 3:2); even as such evil influences had crept into the Galatian churches. In Phi 4:2-3 we find a trace of the fact recorded in the history (Act 16:13-14), that female converts were among the first to receive the Gospel at Philippi.

As to the state of the Church, we gather from Co2 8:1-2 that its members were poor, yet most liberal; and from Phi 1:28-30, that they were undergoing persecution. The only blemish referred to in their character was, on the part of some members, a tendency to dissension. Hence arise his admonitions against disputings (Phi 1:27; Phi 2:1-4, Phi 2:12, Phi 2:14; Phi 4:2).

The OBJECT of the Epistle is general: not only to thank the Philippians for their contribution sent by Epaphroditus, who was now in returning to take back the apostle's letter, but to express his Christian love and sympathy, and to exhort them to a life consonant with that of Christ, and to warn them against existing dissensions and future possible assaults of Judaizers from without. It is remarkable in this Epistle alone, as compared with the others, that, amidst many commendations, there are no express censures of those to whom it is addressed. No doctrinal error, or schism, has as yet sprung up; the only blemish hinted at is, that some of the Philippian Church were somewhat wanting in lowliness of mind, the result of which want was disputation. Two women, Euodias and Syntyche, are mentioned as having erred in this respect (Phi 4:2-3). The Epistle may be divided into three parts: (1) Affectionate address to the Philippians; reference to his own state as a prisoner at Rome, and to theirs, and to his mission of Epaphroditus to them (the first and second chapters). Epaphroditus probably held a leading office in the Philippian Church, perhaps as a presbyter. After Tychicus and Onesimus had departed (A.D. 62), carrying the Epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, Paul was cheered in his imprisonment by the arrival of Epaphroditus with the Philippian contribution. That faithful "brother, companion in labor, and fellow soldier" (Phi 2:25), had brought on himself by the fatigues of the journey a dangerous sickness (Phi 2:26, Phi 2:30). But now that he was recovered, he "longed" (Phi 2:26) to return to his Philippian flock, and in person to relieve their anxiety on his behalf, in respect to his sickness; and the apostle gladly availed himself of the opportunity of writing to them a letter of grateful acknowledgments and Christian exhortations. (2) Caution against Judaizing teachers, supported by reference to his own former and present feeling towards Jewish legalism (Phi. 3:1-21). (3) Admonitions to individuals, and to the Church in general, thanks for their seasonable aid, and concluding benedictions and salutations (Phi. 4:1-23).

This Epistle was written from Rome during the imprisonment, the beginning of which is related in Act 28:16, Act 28:20, Act 28:30-31. The reference to "CÃ&brvbrsar's household" (Phi 4:22), and to the "palace" (Phi 1:13, Greek, "PrÃ&brvbrtorium," probably, the barrack of the PrÃ&brvbrtorian bodyguard, attached to the palace of Nero) confirms this. It must have been during his first imprisonment at Rome, for the mention of the PrÃ&brvbrtorium agrees with the fact that it was during his first imprisonment he was in the custody of the PrÃ&brvbrtorian Prefect, and his situation, described in Phi 1:12-14, agrees with his situation in the first two years of his imprisonment (Act 28:30-31). The following reasons show, moreover, that it was written towards the close of that imprisonment: (1) He, in it, expresses his expectation of the immediate decision of his cause (Phi 2:23). (2) Enough time had elapsed for the Philippians to hear of his imprisonment, to send Epaphroditus to him, to hear of Epaphroditus' arrival and sickness, and send back word to Rome of their distress (Phi 2:26). (3) It must have been written after the three other Epistles sent from Rome, namely, Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon; for Luke is no longer with him (Phi 2:20); otherwise he would have been specified as saluting them, having formerly labored among them, whereas he is mentioned as with him, Col 4:14; Plm 1:24. Again, in Eph 6:19-20, his freedom to preach is implied: but in Phi 1:13-18, his bondage is dwelt on, and it is implied that, not himself, but others, preached, and made his imprisonment known. Again, in Plm 1:22, he confidently anticipates his release, which contrasts with the more depressed anticipations of this Epistle. (4) A considerable time had elapsed since the beginning of his imprisonment, for "his bonds" to have become so widely known, and to have produced such good effects for the Gospel (Phi 1:13). (5) There is evidently an increase in the rigor of his imprisonment implied now, as compared with the early stage of it, as described in Acts 28:1-31; compare Phi 1:29-30; Phi 2:27. History furnishes a probable clue to account for this increase of vigor. In the second year of Paul's imprisonment (A.D. 62), Burrus, the PrÃ&brvbrtorian Prefect, to whose custody he had been committed (Act 28:16, "the captain of the guard"), died; and Nero the emperor having divorced Octavia, and married Poppoea, a Jewish proselytess (who then caused her rival, Octavia, to be murdered, and gloated over the head of her victim), exalted Tigellinus, the chief promoter of the marriage, a monster of wickedness, to the PrÃ&brvbrtorian Prefecture. It was then he seems to have been removed from his own house into the PrÃ&brvbrtorium, or barrack of the PrÃ&brvbrtorian guards, attached to the palace, for stricter custody; and hence he writes with less hopeful anticipations as to the result of his trial (Phi 2:17; Phi 3:11). Some of the PrÃ&brvbrtorian guards who had the custody of him before, would then naturally make known his "bonds," in accordance with Phi 1:13; from the smaller PrÃ&brvbrtorian bodyguard at the palace the report would spread to the general permanent PrÃ&brvbrtorian camp, which Tiberius had established north of the city, outside of the walls. He had arrived in Rome, February, 61; the "two whole years (Act 20:30) in his own hired house" ended February, 63, so that the date of this Epistle, written shortly after, evidently while the danger was imminent, would be about spring or summer, 63. The providence of God averted the danger. He probably was thought beneath the notice of Tigellinus, who was more intent on court intrigues. The death of Nero's favorite, Pallas, the brother of Felix, this same year, also took out of the way another source of danger.

The STYLE is abrupt and discontinuous, his fervor of affection leading him to pass rapidly from one theme to another (Phi 2:18, Phi 2:19-24, Phi 2:25-30; Phi 3:1, Phi 3:2-3, Phi 3:4-14, Phi 3:15). In no Epistle does he use so warm expressions of love. In Phi 4:1 he seems at a loss for words sufficient to express all the extent and ardor of his affection for the Philippians: "My brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved." The mention of bishops and deacons in Phi 1:1 is due to the late date of the Epistle, at a time when the Church had begun to assume that order which is laid down in the Pastoral Epistles, and which continued the prevalent one in the first and purest age of the Church.

Next: Philippians Chapter 1