Reference: Philippians, Epistle To
Easton
was written by Paul during the two years when he was "in bonds" in Rome (Php 1:7-13), probably early in the year A.D. 62 or in the end of 61.
The Philippians had sent Epaphroditus, their messenger, with contributions to meet the necessities of the apostle; and on his return Paul sent back with him this letter. With this precious communication Epaphroditus sets out on his homeward journey. "The joy caused by his return, and the effect of this wonderful letter when first read in the church of Philippi, are hidden from us. And we may almost say that with this letter the church itself passes from our view. To-day, in silent meadows, quiet cattle browse among the ruins which mark the site of what was once the flourishing Roman colony of Philippi, the home of the most attractive church of the apostolic age. But the name and fame and spiritual influence of that church will never pass. To myriads of men and women in every age and nation the letter written in a dungeon at Rome, and carried along the Egnatian Way by an obscure Christian messenger, has been a light divine and a cheerful guide along the most rugged paths of life" (Professor Beet).
The church at Philippi was the first-fruits of European Christianity. Their attachment to the apostle was very fervent, and so also was his affection for them. They alone of all the churches helped him by their contributions, which he gratefully acknowledges (Ac 20:33-35; 2Co 11:7-12; 2Th 3:8). The pecuniary liberality of the Philippians comes out very conspicuously (Php 4:15). "This was a characteristic of the Macedonian missions, as 2Co 8 and 2Co 9 amply and beautifully prove. It is remarkable that the Macedonian converts were, as a class, very poor (2Co 8:2); and the parallel facts, their poverty and their open-handed support of the great missionary and his work, are deeply harmonious. At the present day the missionary liberality of poor Christians is, in proportion, really greater than that of the rich" (Moule's Philippians, Introd.).
The contents of this epistle give an interesting insight into the condition of the church at Rome at the time it was written. Paul's imprisonment, we are informed, was no hindrance to his preaching the gospel, but rather "turned out to the furtherance of the gospel." The gospel spread very extensively among the Roman soldiers, with whom he was in constant contact, and the Christians grew into a "vast multitude." It is plain that Christianity was at this time making rapid advancement in Rome.
The doctrinal statements of this epistle bear a close relation to those of the Epistle to the Romans. Compare also Php 3:20 with Eph 2:12,19, where the church is presented under the idea of a city or commonwealth for the first time in Paul's writings. The personal glory of Christ is also set forth in almost parallel forms of expression in Php 2:5-11, compared with Eph 1:17-23; 2:8; and Col 1:15-20. "This exposition of the grace and wonder of His personal majesty, personal self-abasement, and personal exaltation after it," found in these epistles, "is, in a great measure, a new development in the revelations given through St. Paul" (Moule). Other minuter analogies in forms of expression and of thought are also found in these epistles of the Captivity.
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Silver, gold, or apparel I never coveted; you know yourselves how these hands of mine provided everything for my own needs and for my companions. read more. I showed you how this was the way to work hard and succour the needy, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, who said, 'To give is happier than to get.'"
Amid a severe ordeal of trouble, their overflowing joy and their deep poverty together have poured out a flood of rich generosity;
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, grant you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation for the knowledge of himself, illuminating the eyes of your heart so that you can understand the hope to which He calls us, the wealth of his glorious heritage in the saints, read more. and the surpassing greatness of his power over us believers ??a power which operates with the strength of the might which he exerted in raising Christ from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavenly sphere, above all the angelic Rulers, Authorities, Powers, and Lords, above every Name that is to be named not only in this age but in the age to come ??22 he has put everything under his feet and set him as head over everything for the church,
the church which is his Body, filled by him who fills the universe entirely.
For it is by grace you have been saved, as you had faith; it is not your doing but God's gift,
Thus you are strangers and foreigners no longer, you share the membership of the saints, you belong to God's own household,
It is only natural for me to be thinking of you all in this way, for alike in my prison and as I defend and vindicate the gospel, I bear in mind how you all share with me in the grace divine. (God is my witness that I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus himself!) read more. And it is my prayer that your love may be more and more rich in knowledge and all manner of insight, enabling you to have a sense of what is vital, so that you may be transparent and no harm to anyone in view of the day of Christ, your life covered with that harvest of righteousness which Jesus Christ produces to the glory and the praise of God. I would have you understand, my brothers, that my affairs have really tended to advance the gospel; throughout the whole of the praetorian guard and everywhere else it is recognized that I am imprisoned on account of my connexion with Christ,
Treat one another with the same spirit as you experience in Christ Jesus. Though he was divine by nature, he did not set store upon equality with God read more. but emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant; born in human guise and appearing in human form, he humbly stooped in his obedience even to die, and to die upon the cross. Therefore God raised him high and conferred on him a Name above all names, so that before the Name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven, on earth, and underneath the earth, and every tongue confess that 'Jesus Christ is Lord,' to the glory of God the Father.
But we are a colony of heaven, and we wait for the Saviour who comes from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ,
You Philippians are well aware that in the early days of the gospel, when I had left Macedonia, no church but yourselves had any financial dealings with me;
He is the likeness of the unseen God, born first before all the creation ??16 for it was by him that all things were created both in heaven and on earth, both the seen and the unseen, including Thrones, angelic Lords, celestial Powers and Rulers; all things have been created by him and for him;
he is prior to all, and all coheres in him. Also, he is the head of the Body, that is, of the church, in virtue of his primacy as the first to be born from the dead ??that gives him pre-eminence over all. read more. For it was in him that the divine Fulness willed to settle without limit, and by him it willed to reconcile in his own person all on earth and in heaven alike, in a peace made by the blood of his cross.
Hastings
PHILIPPIANS, EPISTLE TO
1. The Church of Philippi.
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We then came to the Roman colony of Philippi, which is the foremost town of the district of Macedonia. In this town we spent some days.
We then came to the Roman colony of Philippi, which is the foremost town of the district of Macedonia. In this town we spent some days. On the sabbath we went outside the gate to the bank of the river, where as usual there was a place of prayer; we sat down and talked to the women who had gathered. read more. Among the listeners there was a woman called Lydia, a dealer in purple who belonged to the town of Thyatira. She reverenced God, and the Lord opened her heart to attend to what Paul said. When she was baptized, along with her household, she begged us, saying, "If you are convinced I am a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house." She compelled us to come. Now it happened as we went to the place of prayer that a slave-girl met us, possessed by a spirit of ventriloquism, and a source of great profit to her owners by her power of fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shrieking, "These men are servants of the Most High God, they proclaim to you the way of salvation!" She did this for a number of days. Then Paul turned in annoyance and told the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I order you out of her!" And it left her that very moment. But when her owners saw their chance of profit was gone, they caught hold of Paul and Silas and dragged them before the magistrates in the forum. Bringing them before the praetors they declared, "These fellows are Jews who are making an agitation in our town; they are proclaiming customs which as Romans we are not allowed to accept or observe!" The crowd also joined in the attack upon them, while the praetors, after having them stripped and after ordering them to be flogged with rods, had many lashes inflicted on them and put them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safe. On receiving so strict a charge, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks. But about midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and singing to God, while the prisoners listened, all of a sudden there was a great earthquake which shook the very foundations of the prison; the doors all flew open in an instant and the fetters of all the prisoners were unfastened. When the jailer started from his sleep and saw the prison-doors open, he drew his sword and was on the point of killing himself, supposing the prisoners had made their escape; but Paul shouted aloud, "Do not harm yourself, we are all here!" So calling for lights he rushed in, fell in terror before Paul and Silas, and brought them out (after securing the other prisoners). "Sirs," he said, "what must I do to be saved?" "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ," they said, "and then you will be saved, you and your household as well." And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all in his house. Then he took them at that very hour of the night and washed their wounds and got baptized instantly, he and all his family. He took them up to his house and put food before them, overjoyed like all his household at having believed in God. When day broke, the praetors sent the lictors with the message, "Release these men." The jailer repeated this to Paul. "The praetors," he said, "have sent to release you. So come out and go in peace?" But Paul replied, "They flogged us in public and without a trial, flogged Roman citizens! They put us in prison, and now they are going to get rid of us secretly! No indeed! Let them come here themselves and take us out!" The lictors reported this to the praetors, who, on hearing the men were Roman citizens, became alarmed; they went to appease them and after taking them out of prison begged them to leave the town. So they left the prison and went to Lydia's house, where they saw the brothers and encouraged them; then they departed.
while we sailed from Philippi, after the days of unleavened bread, and joined them five days later at Troas. There we spent seven days.
Paul's defence was, "I have committed no offence against the Law of the Jews, against the temple, or against Caesar."
Amid a severe ordeal of trouble, their overflowing joy and their deep poverty together have poured out a flood of rich generosity;
(You know how gracious our Lord Jesus Christ was; rich though he was, he became poor for the sake of you, that by his poverty you might be rich.)
But perhaps I did wrong in taking a humble place that you might have a high one ??I mean, in preaching the gospel of God to you for nothing!
PAUL and Timotheus, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, as well as to the bishops and deacons:
PAUL and Timotheus, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, as well as to the bishops and deacons: grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. read more. I thank my God for all your remembrance of me;
I thank my God for all your remembrance of me; in all my prayers for you all I always pray with a sense of joy
in all my prayers for you all I always pray with a sense of joy for what you have contributed to the gospel from the very first day down to this moment;
for what you have contributed to the gospel from the very first day down to this moment; of this I am confident, that he who has begun the good work in you will go on completing it until the day of Jesus Christ.
of this I am confident, that he who has begun the good work in you will go on completing it until the day of Jesus Christ. It is only natural for me to be thinking of you all in this way, for alike in my prison and as I defend and vindicate the gospel, I bear in mind how you all share with me in the grace divine.
It is only natural for me to be thinking of you all in this way, for alike in my prison and as I defend and vindicate the gospel, I bear in mind how you all share with me in the grace divine.
It is only natural for me to be thinking of you all in this way, for alike in my prison and as I defend and vindicate the gospel, I bear in mind how you all share with me in the grace divine. (God is my witness that I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus himself!)
(God is my witness that I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus himself!) And it is my prayer that your love may be more and more rich in knowledge and all manner of insight, enabling you to have a sense of what is vital, read more. so that you may be transparent and no harm to anyone in view of the day of Christ, your life covered with that harvest of righteousness which Jesus Christ produces to the glory and the praise of God. I would have you understand, my brothers, that my affairs have really tended to advance the gospel;
I would have you understand, my brothers, that my affairs have really tended to advance the gospel; throughout the whole of the praetorian guard and everywhere else it is recognized that I am imprisoned on account of my connexion with Christ,
throughout the whole of the praetorian guard and everywhere else it is recognized that I am imprisoned on account of my connexion with Christ,
throughout the whole of the praetorian guard and everywhere else it is recognized that I am imprisoned on account of my connexion with Christ,
throughout the whole of the praetorian guard and everywhere else it is recognized that I am imprisoned on account of my connexion with Christ, and my imprisonment has given the majority of the brotherhood greater confidence in the Lord to venture on speaking the word of God without being afraid.
and my imprisonment has given the majority of the brotherhood greater confidence in the Lord to venture on speaking the word of God without being afraid.
and my imprisonment has given the majority of the brotherhood greater confidence in the Lord to venture on speaking the word of God without being afraid. Some of them, it is true, are actually preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, others from goodwill;
Some of them, it is true, are actually preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, others from goodwill; the latter do it from love to me, knowing that I am set here to defend the gospel,
the latter do it from love to me, knowing that I am set here to defend the gospel, but the former proclaim Christ for their own ends, with mixed motives, intending to annoy me as I lie in prison.
but the former proclaim Christ for their own ends, with mixed motives, intending to annoy me as I lie in prison.
but the former proclaim Christ for their own ends, with mixed motives, intending to annoy me as I lie in prison. What does it matter? Anyhow, for ulterior ends or honestly, Christ is being proclaimed, and I rejoice over that; yes and I will rejoice over it.
What does it matter? Anyhow, for ulterior ends or honestly, Christ is being proclaimed, and I rejoice over that; yes and I will rejoice over it. The outcome of all this, I know, will be my release, as you continue to pray for me, and as I am provided with the Spirit of Jesus Christ ??20 my eager desire and hope being that I may never feel ashamed but that now as ever I may do honour to Christ in my own person by fearless courage. Whether that means life or death, no matter!
The outcome of all this, I know, will be my release, as you continue to pray for me, and as I am provided with the Spirit of Jesus Christ ??20 my eager desire and hope being that I may never feel ashamed but that now as ever I may do honour to Christ in my own person by fearless courage. Whether that means life or death, no matter!
As life means Christ to me, so death means gain.
As life means Christ to me, so death means gain. But then, if it is to be life here below, that means fruitful work for me. So ??well, I cannot tell which to choose;
But then, if it is to be life here below, that means fruitful work for me. So ??well, I cannot tell which to choose; I am in a dilemma between the two. My strong desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far the best.
I am in a dilemma between the two. My strong desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far the best. But for your sakes it is necessary I should live on here below.
But for your sakes it is necessary I should live on here below. I am sure it is, and so I know I shall remain alive and serve you all by forwarding your progress and fostering the joy of your faith.
I am sure it is, and so I know I shall remain alive and serve you all by forwarding your progress and fostering the joy of your faith.
I am sure it is, and so I know I shall remain alive and serve you all by forwarding your progress and fostering the joy of your faith. Thus you will have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus over me ??over my return to you.
Thus you will have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus over me ??over my return to you. Only, do lead a life that is worthy of the gospel of Christ. Whether I come and see you or only hear of you in absence, let me know you are standing firm in a common spirit, fighting side by side like one man for the faith of the gospel.
Only, do lead a life that is worthy of the gospel of Christ. Whether I come and see you or only hear of you in absence, let me know you are standing firm in a common spirit, fighting side by side like one man for the faith of the gospel. Never be scared for a second by your opponents; your fearlessness is a clear omen of ruin for them and of your own salvation ??at the hands of God. read more. For on behalf of Christ you have the favour of suffering no less than of believing in him, by waging the same conflict that, as once you saw and now you hear, I wage myself.
So by all the stimulus of Christ, by every incentive of love, by all your participation in the Spirit, by all your affectionate tenderness, I pray you to give me the utter joy of knowing you are living in harmony, with the same feelings of love, with one heart and soul, read more. never acting for private ends or from vanity, but humbly considering each other the better man, and each with an eye to the interests of others as well as to his own. Treat one another with the same spirit as you experience in Christ Jesus. Though he was divine by nature, he did not set store upon equality with God
Though he was divine by nature, he did not set store upon equality with God but emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant; born in human guise
but emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant; born in human guise and appearing in human form, he humbly stooped in his obedience even to die, and to die upon the cross.
and appearing in human form, he humbly stooped in his obedience even to die, and to die upon the cross. Therefore God raised him high and conferred on him a Name above all names,
Therefore God raised him high and conferred on him a Name above all names, so that before the Name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven, on earth, and underneath the earth,
so that before the Name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven, on earth, and underneath the earth, and every tongue confess that 'Jesus Christ is Lord,' to the glory of God the Father.
and every tongue confess that 'Jesus Christ is Lord,' to the glory of God the Father.
so as to be blameless and innocent, faultless children of God in a crooked and perverse generation where you shine like stars in a dark world; hold fast the word of life, so that I can be proud of you on the Day of Christ, because I have not run or worked for nothing.
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send you Timotheus before long, that I may be heartened by news of you. I have no one like him, for genuine interest in your welfare.
I have no one like him, for genuine interest in your welfare. Everybody is selfish, instead of caring for Jesus Christ.
Everybody is selfish, instead of caring for Jesus Christ. But you know how he has stood the test, how he has served with me in the gospel, like a son helping his father. read more. I hope to send him then, as soon as ever I see how it will go with me ??24 though I am confident in the Lord that I shall be coming myself before long.
As for Epaphroditus, however, my brother, my fellow-worker, my fellow-soldier, and your messenger to meet my wants, I think it necessary to send you him at once,
As for Epaphroditus, however, my brother, my fellow-worker, my fellow-soldier, and your messenger to meet my wants, I think it necessary to send you him at once, for he has been yearning for you all. He has been greatly concerned because you heard he was ill.
for he has been yearning for you all. He has been greatly concerned because you heard he was ill. And he was ill, nearly dead with illness. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me, to save me from having one sorrow upon another.
And he was ill, nearly dead with illness. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me, to save me from having one sorrow upon another. So I am specially eager to send him, that you may be glad when you see him again, and thus my own anxiety may be lightened.
So I am specially eager to send him, that you may be glad when you see him again, and thus my own anxiety may be lightened. Give him a welcome in the Lord, then, with your hearts full of joy. Value men like that,
Give him a welcome in the Lord, then, with your hearts full of joy. Value men like that, for he nearly died in the service of Christ by risking his life to make up for the services you were not here to render me.
for he nearly died in the service of Christ by risking his life to make up for the services you were not here to render me.
Well then, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. I am repeating this word 'rejoice' in my letter, but that does not tire me and it is the safe course for you. ??2 Beware of these dogs, these wicked workmen, the incision-party!
Well then, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. I am repeating this word 'rejoice' in my letter, but that does not tire me and it is the safe course for you. ??2 Beware of these dogs, these wicked workmen, the incision-party!
Well then, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. I am repeating this word 'rejoice' in my letter, but that does not tire me and it is the safe course for you. ??2 Beware of these dogs, these wicked workmen, the incision-party!
indeed I count anything a loss, compared to the supreme value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have lost everything (I count it all the veriest refuse) in order to gain Christ and be found at death in him, possessing no legal righteousness of my own but the righteousness of faith in Christ, the divine righteousness that rests on faith. read more. I would know him in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, with my nature transformed to die as he died, to see if I too can attain the resurrection from the dead.
Copy me, brothers, one and all of you, and notice those who live by the example you get from me. For many ??as I have often told you and tell you now with tears ??many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
But we are a colony of heaven, and we wait for the Saviour who comes from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body that belongs to our low estate till it resembles the body of his Glory, by the same power that enables him to make everything subject to himself.
So then, my brothers, for whom I cherish love and longing, my joy and crown, this is how you must stand firm in the Lord, O my beloved.
So then, my brothers, for whom I cherish love and longing, my joy and crown, this is how you must stand firm in the Lord, O my beloved. I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.
I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.
I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. And you, my true comrade, lend a hand to these women, I beg of you; they have fought at my side in the active service of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
And you, my true comrade, lend a hand to these women, I beg of you; they have fought at my side in the active service of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
And you, my true comrade, lend a hand to these women, I beg of you; they have fought at my side in the active service of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, 'rejoice.'
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, 'rejoice.' Let your forbearance be known to everyone; the Lord is at hand.
Let your forbearance be known to everyone; the Lord is at hand. Never be anxious, but always make your requests known to God in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving;
Never be anxious, but always make your requests known to God in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving; so shall God's peace, that surpasses all our dreams, keep guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
so shall God's peace, that surpasses all our dreams, keep guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, keep in mind whatever is true, whatever is worthy, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is attractive, whatever is high-toned, all excellence, all merit.
Finally, brothers, keep in mind whatever is true, whatever is worthy, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is attractive, whatever is high-toned, all excellence, all merit.
Finally, brothers, keep in mind whatever is true, whatever is worthy, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is attractive, whatever is high-toned, all excellence, all merit. Practise also what you have learned and received from me, what you heard me say and what you saw me do; then the God of peace will be with you.
Practise also what you have learned and received from me, what you heard me say and what you saw me do; then the God of peace will be with you.
Practise also what you have learned and received from me, what you heard me say and what you saw me do; then the God of peace will be with you.
Practise also what you have learned and received from me, what you heard me say and what you saw me do; then the God of peace will be with you. It was a great joy to me in the Lord that your care for me could revive again; for what you lacked was never the care but the chance of showing it.
It was a great joy to me in the Lord that your care for me could revive again; for what you lacked was never the care but the chance of showing it.
It was a great joy to me in the Lord that your care for me could revive again; for what you lacked was never the care but the chance of showing it.
It was a great joy to me in the Lord that your care for me could revive again; for what you lacked was never the care but the chance of showing it. Not that I complain of want, for I have learned how to be content wherever I am.
Not that I complain of want, for I have learned how to be content wherever I am.
Not that I complain of want, for I have learned how to be content wherever I am. I know how to live humbly; I also know how to live in prosperity. I have been initiated into the secret for all sorts and conditions of life, for plenty and for hunger, for prosperity and for privations.
I know how to live humbly; I also know how to live in prosperity. I have been initiated into the secret for all sorts and conditions of life, for plenty and for hunger, for prosperity and for privations.
I know how to live humbly; I also know how to live in prosperity. I have been initiated into the secret for all sorts and conditions of life, for plenty and for hunger, for prosperity and for privations. In him who strengthens me I am able for anything.
In him who strengthens me I am able for anything. But you were kind enough to take your share in my trouble.
But you were kind enough to take your share in my trouble. You Philippians are well aware that in the early days of the gospel, when I had left Macedonia, no church but yourselves had any financial dealings with me;
You Philippians are well aware that in the early days of the gospel, when I had left Macedonia, no church but yourselves had any financial dealings with me; even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent money more than once for my needs.
even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent money more than once for my needs. It is not the money I am anxious for; what I am anxious for is the interest that accumulates in this way to your divine credit!
It is not the money I am anxious for; what I am anxious for is the interest that accumulates in this way to your divine credit! Your debt to me is fully paid and more than paid! I am amply supplied with what you have sent by Epaphroditus, a fragrant perfume, the sort of sacrifice that God approves and welcomes.
Your debt to me is fully paid and more than paid! I am amply supplied with what you have sent by Epaphroditus, a fragrant perfume, the sort of sacrifice that God approves and welcomes. My God will supply all your own needs from his wealth in Glory in Christ Jesus.
My God will supply all your own needs from his wealth in Glory in Christ Jesus. Glory to God our Father for ever and ever: Amen. read more. Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers beside me salute you. All the saints salute you, especially the Imperial slaves.
All the saints salute you, especially the Imperial slaves. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
For though you were dead in your trespasses, your flesh uncircumcised, He made you live with Christ, He forgave us all our trespasses,
Tychicus, that beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord, will give you all information about me.