Philippians 1:1-11 – introduction
To All the Saints in Philippi”
PAUL’S GREETINGS 1:1-2
THE SERVANTS 1:1A
Even though Paul and Timothy are mentioned together, they are not co-authors of this letter. This can be seen by noting the first person pronoun I that starts verse 3. It is also proved by 2:20 where Timothy is referred to by the third person pronoun he. Usually Paul calls himself an apostle, but that is absent here. His authority is not in question among the Philippian believers, and the entire letter is highly personal and warm.
Timothy had been present at the founding of the church at Philippi (Acts 16:1-12), and he returned to visit on two occasions. Paul is about to send him to Philippi once again, and he designates them as bond-servants. Their backgrounds were as diverse as they could be—different in nationality, age , background, position, and experi-ence. Despite this, they found a unity in their relationship of common submission to Jesus Christ.
THE SAINTS 1:1B
The Saints in General
The word saints means a set apart one. It is a title applied to all Christians and is intended to remind us of our duty to live lives pleasing to Him. The expression in Christ Jesus does two things. First it distinguishes the Christians in Philippi from the religious persons in Philippi. In the Greek mystery religions, devotees to the various gods were designated by the word saint also, but they were not in Christ Jesus. Second, it shows the basis of our sainthood, namely, union with Christ. Sever the words in Christ and the word
saints disappears with it. The word all introduces a theme of the letter—unity among believers (see also 1:4, 7, 8, and 25).
The Saints in Particular
The word overseers points to a position of leadership and authority. In secular use it referred to a supervisor in any capacity; a foreman of a construction crew is an example. The word deacons refers to a non-authority position within the local assembly. Philippians is the only epistle to mention them in the greeting. Perhaps this is because they had been involved in the project of getting together a gift for Paul and seeing it was handled in an orderly way.
DERIVED FROM HIS PAST EXPERIENCE 1:3-5
The Basis of His Thanksgiving 1:3
The word translated in is the preposition epi, which means upon and is used to express the basis upon which something rests. The word all shows that Paul does not have a specific incident in mind for which he is thankful, but rather is referring to his total experi-ence with them. When Paul speaks of my God, he is speaking of his personal relationship with the Lord. When one thinks of the attrib-utes of God and then realizes that we can each attach the personal pronoun my to Him, we have an amazing truth.
The Expression of His Thanksgiving 1:4
First, the word always points to the consistency of his prayer and fulfills I Thessalonians 5:17 which says, “Pray without ceasing.” Second, the all inclusive nature is seen in that he prays for all of the Philippian believers. Third, the words with joy point to another keynote of this epistle (see 2:17-18, 3:1, 4:4, 10).
The Motivation of His Thanksgiving 1:5
Paul was moved by their participation in the gospel. Here he uses the word koinonia, which refers to several things in the New Testament, most often to a financial sharing in the Lord’s work. This is probably what he has in mind here in the light of 4:15-18.
Fellowship is viewed three ways in Philippians. First, there was fellowship with Christ, which was revealed in suffering (1:29). Second, there was fellowship with one another, which was revealed in unity (2:1-11). Finally, there was fellowship with Paul, which was revealed in financial giving (4:16).
DERIVED FROM HIS FUTURE HOPES 1:6-8
The Continuity of God’s Work 1:6
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
God’s work begun
The verb confident is a perfect tense , showing that Paul is express-ing a settled conviction. It could be translated, “I have come to a settled conviction….” How does one arrive at such confidence? The answer lies in that God is the one who is doing the work. Uncer-tainty is introduced to the extent that man is involved; certainty is achieved by seeing all as in the hands of God. It should be noted that Paul does not trace the beginnings of the Philippian Christianity to his preaching or their response, but to God.
God’s Work Continued
The term will perfect is a future tense verb and means to complete orfinish a job.
God’s Work Completed
God’s work in the Philippian believers is not complete even to this day. Their bodies lie in graves to await the return of Christ and the final resurrection.
The Cooperation in God’s Work 1:7-8
“For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because l have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. 8For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.”
Identification with Paul in his imprisonment was dangerous because he was imprisoned for the sake of the gospel. His defense translates a word often used in a legal sense , which it probably carries here. The word confirmation refers to Paul’s convictions that the Philippians shared.
PAUL’S PRAYER 1:9-11
HE PRAYS THEY WILL EXPERIENCE LOVE’S PROGRESSION 1:9
What is love? Love as directed toward God is the mental attitude of appreciation for His character and plan as revealed in Scripture, manifesting itself in obedience. Love as directed toward man is the mental attitude that demands that we do what is best for another in the light of eternity no matter what it costs us. That love was pos-sessed is expressed by the words your love; that much growth was needed is expressed by the words more and more. These words do not allow any believer to rest in his present state of maturity. Love and knowledge are here related to one another. Knowledge is to control love; doctrine marks the boundary between love and senti-mentality. The words real knowledge translate the single Greek word epignosis, which refers to full and complete knowledge. The word discernment has to do with the practical application of truth to life situations.
HE PRAYS THEY WILL GAIN LOVE’S PERCEPTION 1:10
“…so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ…
The word approve means to test something so as to approve. It is used in some very early literature to refer to a physician who passed his examinations. The purpose of applying the test is to determine the things that are excellent—literally translated “the things that differ.” Paul is not talking about learning to discern right and wrong, but rather learning to discern between better and best. The definite article is used to show he is pointing to specific things, not things in general. The word sincere is a colorful compound word. It is a combination of the noun sun and a word meaning to judge. Thus, it means to be judged in the sunlight. The word blameless means not to bestumbled over. The word translated until in this verse is different than the word until in verse 6. It is the preposition eis, which means direction toward. We could translate “for the day of Christ.” We are to prepare now for the day that is yet to come.
HE PRAYS THEY WILL COME TO KNOW LOVE’S PRODUCTION 1:11
“…having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”
First, the measure desired is expressed in the word filled, which points to God’s desire to utilize every corner of our personality for fruit bearing. Second, the word righteousness is called a genitive of apposition, which means it defines what the fruit is. We could translate “fruit which is righteousness.” Third, the words throughJesus Christ show that it is our relationship to Him that not only determines salvation but also determines our fruit bearing. Finally, the goal of all of this is the glory of God.
APPLICATIONS FOR LIVING
An understanding and growing appreciation of God ’s grace manifested in Christ’s work for us is a cornerstone doctrine for us in the church age (1:2).
Without exception, Paul’s epistles begin and end with a mention of grace. Take time to trace this out in each of his letters. In Philippians grace is men-tioned in 1:2 and 4:23.
Confidence in the Christian life is obtained by keeping our eyes on the faith-fulness of God (1:6). While God may appear to work slowly, He always works faithfully; and to the extent that we truly believe this, we find confi-dence and assurance.
The central issue in prayer should be spiritual matters (1:9-11). If one studies the content of Paul’s prayers, they are inevitably made on behalf of believers and always center in a desire for their continuing growth and maturity. We would do well to emulate this kind of prayer.
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