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.
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