Philippians 3:1,2 - Beware of dogs!

3:1

While the NIV says “Further, my brothers” the ESV says “Finally, my brothers”, the Greek actually says “The rest ...”. Some of thought that this signifies the end of a letter and have sought to argue that what we have is actually composed of two letters. However, there is no need for this conjecture. Paul often went into digressions, just as a preacher saying “finally” is no promise at all that the end is near! He is about to warn them about the false teaching of the need for circumcision, and with it the need to obey the Law. This is a subject which arose almost wherever Paul went, Galatia is the most prominent example, and it was the major topic at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15). “To write the same things again” seems a little out of place, but we should remember that Paul had been with the Philippians on two occasions (assuming he is writing from Rome), and he would almost certainly have spoken to them about these matters. So he is about to warn them again. He is doing this to safeguard them, to protect them. Part of our duty as teachers and preachers is to protect people from false teachings.

3:2

Paul refers to the false teachers, the Judaizers, in no uncertain terms. “Those dogs”. Now “dogs” was a term that Jews used of Gentiles, so Paul is full of contempt for the Judaizers. He describes them as evildoers and mutilators of the flesh. This latter phrase is a derogatory way of referring to circumcision. Note that Paul does not seek “to understand” the point of view of the Judaizers! There is a time when we should not be nice about our opponents or about false teachers. False teaching is dangerous, it leads people astray and can lead them to hell. At present there are those in the church who seek to change the Bible’s teaching on sexual morality. We should not engage in “constructive” dialogue with such people for they are deceived and are seeking to deceive.

Philippians 2:28-30 - Honour people like him

2:28

Since Epaphroditus had been spared Paul was keen to send him back to Philippi. He wanted to do this so that the Philippians would be glad and Paul would have less anxiety. Why would the Philippians be glad? Because Epaphroditus would be able to tell them how Paul was getting on and give them encouragement. Why would Paul have less anxiety? Perhaps because the situation in Rome was dangerous, and with Epaphroditus having been near to death once he did not want to risk losing him. Perhaps also, so that Paul would then know there was someone in Philippi who understood the nature of the situation was able to help the Philippians get through the opposition they were facing. “I may have less anxiety”. Note that Paul did have some anxiety. Now he was not prone to worry in the sense of it being debilitating, as we will read later he had learnt to trust Christ. But trusting Christ, living by faith, does not mean we will not have any troubles , nor that we will never have any mental torment.

2:29,30

Epaphroditus was the sort of Christian that should be honoured. They were to welcome him with great joy. He had risked his life for the sake of Christ. Note that it seems that his “risking his life” was not the result of direct persecution, but of illness. Sometimes following Christ will mean that just put ourselves at greater risk in some respect, healthwise, financial or physical danger. When faced with such situations we should count the cost and choose Christ.

Philippians 2:25-27 - Epaphroditus

2:25

We now get a digression on Epaphroditus. He had been sent by the Philippians to help Paul. The Greek actually describes him as their apostle, the one they had sent to Paul. This is a reminder that the root meaning of apostle is one who is sent. When Paul describes himself as an apostle of Christ he is calling himself one who was sent by Christ. Paul describes Epaphroditus as his co-worker, for Paul to use such a term shows that he had a very high opinion of him.

2:26,27

Paul had decided to send Epaphroditus back to them. It is possible that he was sent back with this letter to deliver. Epaphroditus had become ill and was distressed about how the Philippians were reacting. He had become so ill that he almost died, but God spared him. Now there are several things to note here. One is that he became ill, even though he was acting faithfully as a servant of the Lord. These things happen. Also he did not recover as the result of an act of healing. No doubt Paul and the others prayed for him, but there was not miraculous healing. Sometimes people have the impression that if we lived as a “new testament church” then everyone would get healed all of the time. This simply does not match up to the record of the New Testament. People got ill, such as here, and elsewhere Paul himself. They were not always healed by miraculous means. At the other extreme, to never expect God to do miracles is equally unbiblical. Miraculous healings did happen, and there is no indication that God expected them to stop. Sometimes miracles will happen.

God had mercy on Epaphroditus and healed him. He also had mercy on Paul, sparing him further sorrow in his already difficult circumstances. God does care about our situations.

Abba Father

Here are a few reflections on Romans 8:15

Philippians 2:22-24 - Serving for the work of the gospel

2:22

Timothy had proved himself. His life measured up to the the things that Paul was saying about him and the the Philippians knew Timothy. We are to live lives of integrity. Not that we can ever be perfect, but there should be something of the life of Christ in us. Christian character matters. Timothy served with Paul as a son serves with his father. 1 and 2 Timothy bring out the relationship much more clearly. Timothy learnt from Paul. It was not so much a matter of learning techniques, but a focus on attitude, motivation and dedication.

2:23,24

Again we get the mixed up thoughts that Paul has about his situation. He will send Timothy once he knows what is going to happen to him, whether he is going to be put to death or not. Then he says that he is confident in the Lord that he will actually be able to go and see them himself. If the most widely accepted occasion of writing, ie while Paul was in captivity in Rome, is accepted, then we have no idea whether he was actually released for a time and was able to go and see them again. If an earlier date is accepted, then Acts 20:1-6 mentions another visit to Philippi. However, it seems that Paul did think he would be released, but was not absolutely certain about it. Sometimes we put a pressure on ourselves thinking we have to believe a certain thing is going to happen, a prayer be answered. We are to believe the truths of the gospel at all times, and at other times God will tell us some details about life and we should believe Him. But at other times He does not tell us what is going to happen.

Philippians 2:19-21- Showing genuine concern

2:19

Timothy and Paul worked closely together, and Paul was like a father to Timothy, as shown by 1 and 2 Timothy. While Paul was in captivity he intended to send Timothy to the Philippians with the intention that Paul would receive good news about them. This is the only place in Paul’s letters where in reference to sending someone he uses the phrase “in the Lord”. Timothy’s imminent arrival would encourage the Philippians to put into action the things that Paul has been talking about in the letter.

2:20

Paul had great trust in Timothy, knowing that he shared the same concerns and motivations that Paul had. He was dedicated to Christ, dedicated to the gospel, and dedicated to looking after the church. These are the concerns that we should all have. He had genuine concern for the Philippians’ welfare. Throughout history, from the very beginning of the church, there have been those who seek to take advantage of people in the church, either for monetary gain or for self-advancement. Those who have a selfless dedication to the church are to be greatly valued.

2:21

This verse has been taken in various ways. It could be seen as an indictment of the other Christians around Paul, or his failure to find anyone other than Timothy who was prepared to go to Philippi. Or it could be a general statement contrasting Timothy’s attitude to that of the attitude commonly found among people. Whatever the case, the lesson is that we should make the concerns of Christ the top priority in our lives. As Jesus said, seek the first the kingdom of heaven and everything else will be taken care of (Matt 6:33).

Philippians 2:16-18 - Be glad and rejoice

2:16

We are to hold firmly to the word of life, ie to the gospel. What does the gospel say? It says that we have all sinned against God. Sin has corrupted the very heart of our being, and as a result we are under judgement. But it also says that if we repent and believe in Jesus Christ then we are forgiven, our sins have been paid for by the blood of Jesus. We are born again, adopted into His family, and filled with the Holy Spirit. The bit about sin is a crucial part of the gospel, without it there is no gospel. So it is quite normal for the society around us in its rebellion against God to be promoting sin, as we see our governments and other leaders doing so today. But we know that sin leads only to death, so we must hold on to the word of life. If they do this then Paul would know that his labours had not been in vain.

2:17,18

Paul has spoken several times about what may or may not lie ahead of him, would he be killed or not? His thoughts seem to sway from thinking he would be safe to thinking he might well be put to death. He did not need to know the outcome in order to be secure in Christ. Moreover, he did not need to know in order to be full of joy! And it was partly because of his work for the Philippians that he would be put to death. Rather he rejoices with them all. So if Paul, in captivity and under the possible sentence of death, could rejoice, then the Philippians should also rejoice. Joy does not come from our circumstances. Circumstances go up and down, sometimes good, sometimes bad. One problem gets solved, another comes along. But joy comes from the Holy Spirit, it comes from knowing the Lord and is not subject to circumstances but overcomes all things. The joy of the Lord is our strength (Psalm 28:7) so we should seek to know the Lord all the more.

Philippians 2:14,15 - Quit moaning!

2:14

When the Israelites came out of Egypt they grumbled their way across the desert. This did them no good. When they came to promised land the first time they refused to go in and so perished in the desert. Now consider the things they grumbled about. They grumbled when the Egyptian army were close behind, when there seemed to be no water or food. So many times when they grumbled there was, in human terms, a real danger or risk. We need to make sure that we do not grumble, even if it seems justified. Instead we are to live trusting in the Lord.

2:15

The purpose of doing all things without grumbling or disputing is so that we may be blameless and innocent, children of God, without blemish. We have not been saved just so we can avoid going to hell and go to heaven instead. We have been saved to be God’s people on earth, demonstrating His goodness and character. We are to shine as lights in the world. Shining as lights sounds “nice”, but it isn’t. It means shining in a “crooked and depraved generation”. As we see our society abandoning God’s commands as quickly as it can we need to maintain our faith in God living as His children. This may well mean that we encounter opposition.

Philippians 2:12,13 - You work, I work

2:12a

Paul has been correcting attitudes, or perhaps it is better to say he is guarding them against wrong attitudes. Instead we are to have the same attitude that Christ had. It should be noted that Paul’s relationship with the Philippians was very good, and there do not appear to have been major problems in the church, unlike at places like Galatia or Corinth. When Paul had been with them they had always obeyed him. We tend not to like the word obey, but obedience to leaders is important. Paul urges them to have same attitude when he is absent from them. He wants this not so that his own ego is satisfied, but so that they can continue to follow Christ and grow in Him.

12:12b,13

We are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and we are to do this for it is God who is at work in us to will and act according to His purpose. So we see here, if you like, Calvinism and Arminianism at work together. There are sometimes acrimonious debates between Calvinists and Arminians, these are often fruitless. One stresses the work of God, the other the work of man. If we look at the Bible we see that it stresses both, as we see very clearly here. God is at work in us, and because He is at work in us we are to work out our own salvation. It should be noted that a proper understanding of Calvinism does say that what we do with our lives matters. We are chosen, God is at work in us, we are utterly dependent upon His grace, but because of all this we should put every effort into obeying Him as well. What we do with our lives matters. God’s work of grace is to enable us to become people who naturally do His will.

We see here that God is at work in us in order for us to fulfil His good purpose. Whenever we think we become the primary focus, or we can set our own agenda, then we are going far wrong.

Philippians 2:9-11 - Every knee should bow

2:9a

Jesus said that the first shall be last and the last first (Matt 20:16). He taught and lived a life of humility, a life of serving others. The wisdom of Jesus goes completely against the wisdom of the world. The world tells us we need to put ourselves forward, we need to think of number one, we need to stand up for our rights. Yet who lived a life of authority? Jesus. He lived as a servant, He lived a life of complete faith and obedience to the Father, and He had authority over sickness, over demons, over the wind and the waves. He also knew that His Father would glorify Him, and because He lived a life of servanthood and humility God exalted Him to the highest place. Man operates on the principle of exalting yourself, this is the demonic way. The Jesus way is to depend upon the Father. Note that being exalted is not the problem, it is not wrong to be exalted. The problem is how we go about it. If we seek to exalt ourselves, if we make being exalted our goal then we are following the way of the world and will reap all its terrible harvest. If instead we live for others and trust in God, then we will find that God does exalt us. We may receive some in this life, we may not, it does not matter.

2:9b-11

And Jesus was given the name above all names, and it is at His name that every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

The “foolishness” of Christ will be shown to be far wiser than the “wisdom” of the world. There are two main motivating forces that can lead us to exalt ourselves or seek our own ends. One is greed and pride, the other is fear. Greed and pride are always a risk, when a church is under pressure, as they were in Philippi, fear comes in. We can start to fear the forces that are against us. We need have no fear, and we need to know what the end result is. The end result is that the name of Jesus will be exalted in all the earth, and all will have to admit this, even those who oppose and ridicule us the most.

Philippians 2:7,8 - Taking the nature of a servant

2:7

Some versions talk of Jesus emptying Himself, translating the word kenosis, and this has led to various erroneous ideas about Jesus becoming less than God, giving up His divinity, or at least some of it. However, the Greek can also be translated “give up status”, and the NIV is perhaps better than ESV here when it says “”he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant”, rather than the ESV “he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant”. The emphasis of Paul in this section is on Jesus being a servant, and encouraging the Philippians to have same attitude. Jesus was fully God all of the time. He was born in the same way that all of us were born. Note that it does not say He was conceived in the same way as we were conceived, as we know from Matthew and Luke He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Also, if we take this verse with the previous one (which we most certainly should do!) we see that the train of thought is of Jesus not seeking greatness, not exalting Himself. So if the Son of God did not exalt Himself, neither should we.

2:8

Becoming human (while still being God) was not all that Jesus did. He did not just live a normal human life, though for the first thirty years of His life he did live a “normal” life (with one or two extraordinary incidents). But then He humbled Himself even further and became obedient to death on a cross. This is the most humiliating and excruciatingly painful death one could imagine. So in instructing the Philippians Paul is directing them to look at the life of Christ, to consider how He lived, the attitude that He had, and this attitude was one of humble obedience to the Father, prepared to do anything to fulfil the plan of the Father. We should do likewise.

Philippians 2:5-6 - Have the mind of Christ

2:5

The motivating force for this is Christ Himself. There are two ways of taking this verse, and NIV and ESV give the two alternatives. ESV says “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus”, NIV (and ESV footnote) say “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus”. The difference is whether Paul is talking about the mindset which we have received because we are in Christ, or whether he is urging us to follow the example of Christ. In the end it doesn’t matter that much. When we believe we are born again, we are made a new creation, but we also have a responsibility to nurture that new self. So when we seek to follow the example of Christ we find that our new self is strengthened. We should constantly ask ourselves, am I following the world’s way or Christ’s way?

2:6

We then come to these famous verses. It is generally thought they come from a hymn. It may have been written by Paul, or he may simply be quoting it. Jesus was in the form of God, this refers to His preexistant state, ie before He came to earth. He had the true and exact nature of God. Jesus had infinitely more reason to boast or to exalt Himself than any of us has ever had, yet He did neither of these things. He did not hold on to His equality with God, but humbled Himself. And when He was here on earth He did not seek to exalt Himself. If this was the attitude of Jesus, then it should be our attitude as well.

Philippians 2:2-4 - Do nothing out of selfish ambition

2:2

Paul urges them to use all they have received from the Spirit to help bring unity in the church. They are to have the same love. It is amazing how easily we can turn something that is positive into something that can be used for divisiveness. People will claim to be concerned for an individual who they see as having been mistreated in a certain way, but what they will end up doing is creating division, and so more pain for people.

If we receive wisdom from the Spirit He does not give it to us so that we become puffed up, but so that we can build up the church and proclaim the gospel to the world. We are to work for unity.

Note that Paul urges them to do this in order to make his joy complete. One might have expected him to urge them to do this in order to make God’s joy complete, but he doesn’t do this.

2:3

Attitudes which lead to disunity are doing things out of selfish ambition or a desire to impress others and prove how clever we are. People can see difficult circumstances in a church as an opportunity to put themselves forward. Our goal in all circumstances should be the glory of Christ and promoting the work of the gospel. We need to watch our attitudes very carefully. The antidote to this is to value others above ourselves. When self ambition takes over we will find that that we are actually treating other people as objects, looking at them purely in terms of how we can get our own way.

2:4

The negative attitudes mentioned are all to do with us looking to our own interests above all else. Instead we should look to the interests of others. Now this does not mean that we have no concern for our own interests or that we are treated as doormats, but we should look to Christ. He always had the interests of others at heart.

Philippians 2:1 - Any encouragement

2:1

The “therefore” refers back to 1:27. Paul calls on them to live a life worthy of the gospel, so it is telling us how to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ. The phrase “any encouragement from ...” can be read as “any exhortation from ...” From what it says in 2:2 it seems that the threat of disunity was a real danger, and given the pressure the church was under this is not surprising. In such a situation all sorts of people would think they had a teaching from the Lord, and what they thought or said may well have been good, but they also needed to consider the unity of the church, and, in particular, to avoid unduly criticising the leaders. Leaders have to make real decisions, decisions that then have an effect, and in difficult circumstances difficult decisions almost always have some negative consequences. Opinion givers offer their wisdom without actually having to implement it, and when implemented things are never quite so simple as they at first seemed. This is not to say leaders should be above criticism, but we need to take a measured approach.

Paul then turns to appealing to positive virtues. If someone has received comfort from Christ’s love, or knows something of the Holy Spirit, or has any tenderness and compassion. The Lord gives all sorts of virtues and encouragements to us, but we need to use them and act on them.

Philippians 1:29,30 - To suffer for Him

1:29

Now this isn’t a verse that is preached on much! Some prosperity preachers will go on and on about the importance of believing but not so much about suffering. Yet the New Testament says in many places (in virtually every book, in fact) that sharing in Christ’s sufferings is part of the package. In Matt 5:11,12 Jesus says we are blessed when people persecute, insult and falsely accuse us of all kinds of evil. We see this happening today if we so much as question the legitimacy of same-sex “marriage” or transgenderism. But, note what it also says in v12, “great is your reward in heaven”. We need to have a full Biblical perspective on blessing and suffering in the gospel.

Anyway, Paul is reminding the Philippians that it is part of God’s will that they suffer for Christ. Note that this is suffering for Christ, it is not suffering because we are idiots!

1:30

Paul himself was a living example of suffering for Christ, and how to triumph in the midst of it. When Paul had first visited Philippi he had been thrown into prison, along with Silas. In there they had praised the Lord and been miraculously set free. Now he was captive again, but, as he had recounted in the first part of this chapter, he was making the most of it, spreading the gospel wherever he was. The Philippians were to follow Paul’s example.

Philippians 1:28 - Do not be frightened of those who oppose you

1:28

“without being frightened ..” Fear is one of the great, perhaps the greatest, weapon of the enemy. Conversely, one of the most frequent phrases in the Bible is “fear not”. Never make a decision based on fear, for such a decision will almost always be wrong. Now we need some common sense here as well. If you see a double decker bus coming along the road it is sensible not to cross the road until it has passed. That is not acting out of fear! But fear will cause us to be irrational and make wrong decisions, so we need to be on our guard. Moreover, we have no need to fear, for God is for us!

We also need to have a right perspective. The opposition seeks to put fear in our heart, claiming to be something it is not. It claims to be a sign that it is going to dominate and we are going to be destroyed. Today we see two very clear examples of this. One is ISIL with its murderous acts. The other is the LGBT lobby, claiming it is winning the day and seeking to crush all opposition. The truth is that the opposition is actually a sign that it will be destroyed and that we will be saved by God. Why is this? Jesus said if the world hated Him it would hate us. So if we are being faithful to Christ and we are persecuted because of it then that is a sign that we belong to Him. It is also a sign of the world’s opposition to Christ, and so of its impending destruction. Now that’s not very nice is it?! We are meant to be nice Christians loving everyone. Well, that is not an attitude you actually find much of in the Bible! Yes we are to love all, but with complete realism. The gospel is a gospel of repentance and faith, not a gospel of you can do whatever you like and God will still let you into heaven. The destruction is also one of the reasons why we must continue to proclaim the gospel. Those who oppose Christ are heading to hell, but if they will only repent and turn to Christ there is a way out, there is an escape route! This is true love. The Biblical definition of love and the common mushy definition are completely different.

Philippians 1:27 - Conduct yourselves in a worthy manner

1:27

So far the letter has been focusing on Paul, on his circumstances, and his reaction to them and approach to life. Now the attention turns to the Philippians. Paul had given an account of himself for two reasons. First, to reassure them and to answer their genuine concerns. Secondly, it was to lay a foundation, a motivating example, for what he was about to teach them. Paul was not perfect, but he was a good example to follow. None of us are perfect, but there should be something of the life of Christ within us, displaying itself in our lives.

The key aspects of the Philippian situation are:

• A genuine and practical concern for Paul.
• There was persecution of the church and opposition from the surrounding society.
• There were hints of some division within the church,

The situation in the Philippian church was generally good, but when we are faced with opposition and difficult circumstances it brings sins and weaknesses to the fore. So this is why some hints of division were arising. When under pressure it is always difficult to make the right decision, and there may well be no one decision that can be good in every respect. So whatever is done some will think that a different decision should have been made, and will be able to find some good reasons for such an approach.

Another important factor, mentioned in the introduction, is that the Philippians (not just the church) were very proud of their privileges as Roman citizens. This is why Paul uses the terms “citizens of heaven”. The Philippians were proud that they could live as Romans. It was far more important that they lived as children of God, as citizens of heaven. They were to live a life worthy of the gospel.

“Then whether I come ...” Earlier Paul had seemed pretty sure that he would come to see them again, but what he is about to say does not depend on whether or not he can come to see them.

He wants to know that:

• They are standing firm.
• They are united in one Spirit (or one mind)
• They are working together for the faith of the gospel.

So in the face of opposition we are to stand firm. In the West society is increasingly anti-Christian. This is actually quite a normal state of affairs, the period of time when society has been, at least superficially, pro-Christian has been an abnormal state of affairs.

They are to be united. The NIV says “one Spirit”. In the original Greek there weren’t distinguishing capitals and this could be “one spirit”, or as ESV puts it “one mind”. This actually seems the more likely translation. Either way, they were to be united.

Paul’s motivating concern, as expressed in the earlier part of the chapter, had been to pursue the work of the gospel. This is what enabled him to overcome fear, to have joy, and to triumph in all circumstances. So, for the Philippians, they were to have the same central concern, to devote all their mental, emotional and physical energy to this concern. In doing so they would find the strength to overcome the opposition, and to avoid division.

Philippians 1:25,26 - Joy in the faith

1:25,26

Paul wants to reassure the Philippians and is convinced that he will do so. This is based on how he sees the needs of the Philippians. He wants to see their progress and joy. We all know that maturing in Christ, becoming better Christians is a goal for each one of us, and of we have responsibility for other Christians we should be seeking their progress too. However, joy should also be our goal, for ourselves and for others. As has been said many times, joy is a major theme of this letter. We should be seeking to build a people who are full of joy in the faith. Notice the words “in the faith”. It is not some superficial joy, or one grounded in circumstances. Rather it is grounded in faith in Christ.

Paul intended to visit the Philippians again. Why would this cause them to “glory in Christ”? They would see that God was indeed looking after them.

Philippians 1:21-24 - To live is Christ, to die is gain

1:21-23

“For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”. Paul had a completely different perspective on the situation. Believing in Jesus is not just accepting a set of ideas, nor is it just a feeling, an emotional reaction. It is about being committed to the Son of God, to the One who conquered death and paid for all our sins. So, this life now is all about living for Jesus, playing our part in fulfilling the great commission. Now see that in v22 Paul says “If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me”. He has no doubt about the matter. If God lets him live then his life will bring forth fruit. Note that in John 15 Jesus says that if we abide in Him we will be fruitful, not that we might be fruitful. So faith in Christ affects this life. But it also means that death holds no fear, for death is not the end, it means that we will be with Christ and that is “far better”. So from a purely self-interested perspective for Paul death is the more favourable option by far.

As an aside, people often talk about seeing loved ones again after we die. Now we will see those who die in Christ, but the prospect of this is never given as a motivation in the Bible, at least I cannot think of any off hand. The motivation is being with Christ, being like Him. Just something for us to ponder.

1:24

Paul thinks that it is better for the Philippians if he remains alive here on earth. Acts 28 leaves Paul still in captivity. We do not know for sure what happened, but the likelihood is that Paul was released, then rearrested sometime later and put to death after that.

Philippians 1:19,20 - All for good

1:19,20

There are a number of interesting things about verse 19. First, note how prayer and the work of the Holy Spirit go together. Moreover, Paul mentions their prayers first. One might think that all he needs is the work of the Holy Spirit, and if he did need prayer his own prayers would be sufficient, but instead he puts their prayers first. Prayer is in many ways a mystery, but Scripture makes it quite clear that prayer is essential, and praying for each other is essential, and there are some things that God will not do unless we pray. This is the way God has chosen to work so we should follow it.

Next, he refers to the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of Jesus Christ”. Before the cross Jesus said He had to return to the Father so that another counsellor could be sent. The Holy Spirit represents Jesus.

Then there is the phrase “turn out for my deliverance”. Does this mean eternal deliverance (ie salvation)? It seems unlikely. The next verse (20) makes it clear that what is uppermost in Paul’s mind is that Christ will be honoured in his body, in his life. Whether this happened through his being released or his being put to death was not his prime concern. Being faithful to Christ and proclaiming the gospel was his prime concern.

Philippians 1:18 - Rejoice

1:18

However, while the Philippians might have been worried, Paul was not. His overriding concern was that the gospel was preached. As long as it was the right message then he was happy, whatever the motives of the preachers. Now this does most definitely not mean that motives do not matter, but we need to see that the motives of men do not stop God’s plans. The Jewish leaders wanted to kill Jesus, but in the end they were just playing a part in God’s plan of salvation being fulfilled. We need to learn to trust God in all circumstances, and to rejoice in all circumstances. This is a theme of this letter. One of the keys to this is having right motives, having our hearts set on the right things. Paul’s heart was set on seeing the gospel of Christ preached, this was one of the key reasons why he was able to trust God and rejoice even in the most difficult of circumstances.

Philippians 1:13-17 - Preaching Christ

1:13,14

Paul’s imprisonment had resulted in his being able to preach to the whole palace guard. He was able to tell people why he was in prison. See how this happened. They would all know why Paul had been imprisoned, so he would then have an open door to explain to them why he considered this a small price to pay for being a follower of Christ, and then what being a follower of Christ meant. God had arranged the circumstances so Paul could preach. We can be always worrying about circumstances, we would do better to trust in God and see how He wants to use the circumstances to further His work through us. Paul’s imprisonment had also resulted in many other Christians being emboldened to preach the gospel all the more.

1:15-17

The Philippians would have heard tales about what was happening in Rome, and to Paul in particular. There were people preaching the gospel, but not all were doing so from right motives. Some were, ie out of love. This could be love for Paul and love for Christ. They knew what motivated Paul and so were inspired to devote themselves to the same cause, spreading the good news. But others had impure motives. Maybe they were jealous of Paul, or saw an opportunity to advance their own cause. These people were almost certainly part of the church and were preaching the gospel, otherwise Paul would not have been happy at all, but they did so to make trouble for Paul.

Philippians 1:9-12 - Prayer

1:9-11

Paul wants their love to increase, in knowledge and depth of insight. Love needs to increase, but we have such a shallow and limited view of what love is. See that Paul prays that their love will abound in “knowledge and depth of insight”. It is based on knowledge and discernment, it is not just an emotional feeling.

Then we are told why he prays for them to have this. It is so that they can make right decisions, and be pure and blameless on the day of Christ. This does not mean we are saved by any merit of our own, but that Christ’s work in us is brought to completion. We need to make right decisions, wrong decisions can lead to all sorts of problems and get us, and others, in enormous trouble.

If we do this we will be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes from Jesus Christ. Righteousness is a judicial matter, and “legal” verdict made by God because of the blood of Christ, but it is one which bears fruit on our lives. And all this is to the praise of His glory.

1:12

Paul now seeks to reassure the Philippians about his present state. He was in prison, probably in Rome. Presumably the Philippians had heard about this, and word may have gone to Paul that they were concerned about the situation. Paul is not that concerned at all! In fact he sees that what had happened has helped to advance the gospel. Remember that when Paul went to Jerusalem almost everyone else was warning him against going (eg Acts 21:10-14). In Acts 20:22-24 Paul declares the motivating force in his life. His going to Jerusalem resulted in his ending up in Rome.

Philippians 1:7,8 - Relationship

1:7

Paul was in chains in Rome. He was held in captivity, waiting to see what would happen next. The Philippians may have been worrying about him, but Paul’s concern has been for them. How can he not be worried about what is happening to him? Because they all share in God’s grace. God’s grace transcends circumstances, it is greater than circumstances. As Paul says in Romans 5:2, we stand in the grace of God, it is the environment in which we live.

1:8

Paul wants his hearers to know the love he has for them. Remember that in 1 Cor 13 Paul writes that if we have not love we are nothing, no matter what gifts we might have or exercise. We all know that Paul is the great theologian of the New Testament, but in all his letters, and in Acts, it is apparent that his relationship with the people in the churches was crucial as well. And he loves them with the affection of Jesus Christ. This could mean he loves them with the same affection that Christ loved His disciples and loves the church. Or it could mean that the love of Christ is flowing through Paul to the Philippians.

Philippians 1:3-6 - Partnership

1:3-5

Many of Paul’s letters begin with prayers of thanksgiving,even the first letter to the Corinthians. Galatians is an exception to this, indicating how serious the matters in Galatia were. It is evident from this letter that Paul had a very good relationship with the Philippians. Paul thanked God for them because he saw the fruit of the gospel in them. The purpose of the gospel is to produce new life in people, this is what we should be looking for. And evidence of the new life is a life that is dedicated to Christ and is becoming ever more Christlike.

Joy is the hallmark of this letter, and Paul prayed with joy. He did so because of their partnership, or fellowship, in the gospel, right from the start. How did they have this fellowship? It started by repenting and turning to Christ. People who say they are Christians but do not repent are liars. It is evident from the rest of the letter that they actively supported Paul in his work. Note that Paul had spent a relatively short time in Philippi. It does not necessarily take a long time to establish a deep relationship.

1:6

The focus in the gospel is in what God has done. He has sent His Son into the world to die for our sins and to rise again. He works in our hearts to call us to Himself, and when we believe He gives us the Holy Spirit to continue the work of transformation in our lives. Note that it says “work in you”, the work of the gospel is not just external, ie what Jesus did on the cross, but internal, what the Holy Spirit does within us. So Paul is confident that God will carry this work forward to completion at the day of Christ Jesus. We can face many trials and pressures in life, but we can be confident, for it is God who is at work in us (2:12,13). There is also an end in sight, a day of completion. Jesus will return, and on that day all things will be brought to completion.

Philippians 1:2 - Grace and Peace

1:2

The greeting in Paul’s letters is commonly “grace and peace”, and this comes from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Note the implication of the deity of Christ. When people are discussing the deity of Christ the debate often focuses on proof texts, and this is fair enough, but equally importantly the whole tenor of the New Testament makes no sense whatsoever if Christ is not God. See that at the outset Paul declares himself and Timothy to be servants of Christ, rather than saying servants of God. If Christ were not God, if He had not risen from the dead, this would make no sense at all. Then in this verse we see that He is given an equal role to God the Father.

We often think of grace purely in passive terms, ie in terms of our receiving forgiveness. This is only part of its meaning. Grace is also enabling and empowering, it involves God enabling us to do His work, to fulfil our mission in this world.

Jesus said He would give us peace, but not as the world gives peace. We live in a hostile world in which there is increasing opposition to the gospel, but in the midst of this conflict Jesus gives us His peace.

Philippians 1:1 - Servants of Christ

1:1

Paul’s letters follow the standard form of those days. The introduction stated who the letter was from and who it was to, and a greeting. The key elements are how Paul identifies himself, and the nature of the greeting. The letter is from Paul and Timothy. This does not imply that Timothy had anything to do with the writing of the letter. Paul was in captivity at the time, but Timothy was free and was continuing the work of the gospel, continuing Paul’s work.

Paul identifies himself as a servant, or slave, of Christ. There are two possible meanings of the word slave here. One is relating to how a slave could gain their freedom, by becoming a “slave” of a “god”. This is why Paul sometimes boasts that he is a slave of Christ. He has become free by becoming a “slave” of Christ. In letters like Galatians this idea is almost certainly relevant, but in Philippians it probably isn’t the thinking behind Paul’s use of the term. Rather he is simply stating that he is glad to be a servant of Christ.

The letter is written to all God’s saints in Philippi. Saints means holy people, and means people set apart for the purposes of God. Being a “saint” is not a special status applied to only a few special individuals, but applies to all God’s people. We need to realise that we are set apart for the purposes of God in the world today. If we look at life and see it purely in a self-centred way then we will never understand what life is really about. If instead we seek out God’s purpose we will make much more sense of life.

The overseers and deacons are those who had leadership roles in the church. Note that they are mentioned last. Leaders are important, but are no more important than anyone else.