A Study of Philippians

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A Study of

A Study of

Pauls Epistle to the PhilippiansBy John Hopkins

Copyr ight© 2007-2010 All Rights Reserved

Introduction

Paul the Apostle was a most for tunate man. Most of us str uggle to r ecognize the will of

God for our lives. On at least two occasions Paul had no such str uggle. One was when, asa r epr esentative of the Jewish author ities in Jer usalem, he was on his way to Damascus tofind and destr oy the Chr istians ther e. On another he was on a mission tr ip to the Roman

pr ovince of Asia Paul was forbidden by the Holy Spir it to pr each the Gospel in Asia.

On the Damascus r oad Paul was left blind, helpless, and liter ally ³led´ to a home in

Damascus wher e he was sought out by one of the men that he had sought to kill. Acts9:10-19 tells the story of Ananias coming to Paul and Paul r eceiving both his sight andthe Holy Spir it. The Lor d had told Ananias that Saul/Paul would be shown what he must

suffer for Him.

While on his way to Asia the Holy Spir it forbade him to speak the wor d in Asia (Acts16:6). Again the will of the Lor d was crystal clear , but very expensive. He had not lost

his sight this time, but the cost was still gr eat. He would wr ite in 1 Cor inthians 9:16³Woe to me if I do not pr each the gospel´. Just as the Lor d had sent Ananias in

Damascus, He sent a vision of a man of Macedonia to Paul.

Luke wr ites ³After Paul had seen the vision; we got r eady at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to pr each the gospel to them. Fr om Tr oas

we put out to sea and sailed str aight for Samothr ace, and the next day on to Neapolis.Fr om ther e we tr aveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that distr ict of

Macedonia.´ (Acts 16:10-12a NIV).



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Again it had come at a consider a ble cost, but Paul knew exactly what the Lor d wanted. Itis easy to under estimate that ³woe´ if one has not exper ienced it, but it is compar a ble to

the per iod of blindness.

Let¶s take a few minutes to talk a bout what Philippi and its history wer e like. These

things ar e impor tant because they help us under stand the way the people of Philippir esponded to the gospel and later to the Chr istians ther e.

Luke descr i bes Philippi as ³the leading city of Macedonia´. The name Philippi camef r om King Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Gr eat. He for tified the city to

guar d the souther n flank of his kingdom and to pr otect the gold mining industry thatfinanced his military exploits. Macedonia fell to Rome in 168 B.C. and became a Roman

Pr ovince.

When Julius Caesar was mur der ed in 44 B.C. his killer s wer e pur sued and in 42 B.C.wer e cor ner ed ther e. The pur suer s, Octavian (later Augustus) and Mar k Anthony defeated

and killed Br utus and Cassius ther e. Later Octavian made it a Roman Colony and settledveter ans ther e. As a Colony it was the highest class of Roman city. Its inha bitants

r eceived Roman citizenship and the r ights and pr ivileges that accompanied it.1

Because Philippi was a Colony and ther efor e as much par t of Rome as if it wer e in Italy itself, a r ejection of the gods of Rome put Rome itself at r isk. We have to under stand that

in or der to under stand the epistle.

Ther e wer e few, or no Jewish men in Philippi as only ten men would have been sufficientto found a synagogue and none existed. Instead when the Sa bbath came, Paul and his

fellow tr aveler s went outside the gate to the r iver side wher e they supposed a place of pr ayer existed. Ther e they found a gr oup of women (Acts 16:13-15). We don¶t know if

these women wer e Jews or God-fear er s. Judaism, with its monotheism and mor al codeattr acted both conver ts and seeker s.

One of these women was Lydia, a seller of pur ple, became the fir st conver t in Eur ope

under Paul¶s pr eaching.1

She seems to have been a woman of consider a ble wealth because her home became the base for not only Paul, but for his entour age.

Paul was pur sued by a servant gir l with a demon that caused her to be a ble to tell

for tunes. Paul cast out the demon in Jesus¶ name. The gir l had br ought gr eat gain to her owner s and that gain was gone. Now they dr agged Paul and his par ty to the Roman

Magistr ates with the char ge that they

1 Acts 16:15



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Purposes of the Letter:

Paul seems to have thr ee major pur poses in wr iting this letter .

It is gener ally accepted that Paul was in pr ison when he wr ote to the Philippians. Most

scholar s believe that he wr ote dur ing his fir st impr isonment in Rome. See Acts 28 for thatimpr isonment.

Epaphr oditus had been their messenger and cour ier to Paul with both encour agement and

pr actical gifts. Epaphr oditus had become ill and Paul wr ote to ease their minds a bout him.

Another r eason Paul wr ote was to deal with divisions that wer e beginning to open upamong the br other s and sister s ther e. As we move thr ough the letter watch for Paul¶s

r epeated use of the ter m ³all´ even when it is a little r edundant.

A thir d r eason Paul wr ote was to keep their cour age up in the face of both his own

tr ou bles and their s. The chur ch at Philippi held a place in Paul¶s hear t that none other did. Not only had they r eceived the gospel r eadily, but they had r emained faithful thr ough theyear s. They had pr oven gener ous to other Chr istians even in the face of their own

extr eme pover ty. We will look mor e at that when we look at Philippians 1:5.

In other wor ds, Paul¶s thir d pur pose was that of a doting father to build up a belovedchild.

The Text

Unless other wise stated the Bi ble text quoted her e will be f r om the Net Bi ble. The epistle

will be quoted in its entir ety. This will allow for all par ticipants to have a text in commonwhile still having their own favor ite handy. When the Net Bi ble is compar ed with other s

it will be identified as NET.

1:1-2

1:1 Fr om Paul and Timothy, slaves of Chr ist Jesus, to all the saints in Chr ist Jesus

who ar e in Philippi, with the over seer s and deacons. 1:2 Gr ace and peace to youf r om God our Father and the Lor d Jesus Chr ist!

The name and position of the sender and the r ecipient(s) in the beginning of a letter was

standar d letter for mat. In most of Paul¶s letter s Paul descr i bes himself as an apostle. Itwould be wor th your while to take a few minutes and r ead the fir st ver se or two of each

of Paul¶s Epistles. Fir st and Second Thessalonians and Philippians ar e the loneexceptions in the letter s to the chur ches. Paul does not call himself an apostle in

Philemon, but his pur pose ther e is entir ely differ ent and one would expect it to bediffer ent. Romans is inter esting because he identifies himself as both apostle and servant.



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In Philippians 1:1 Paul descr i bes himself and Timothy as ³slaves´ in NET ³ bond-

servants´ in NASB or simply ³servants´ in NIV.

Remem ber that though the chur ch at Philippi is made up lar gely of Gentiles, Paul is

Jewish to the cor e. Paul¶s thought pr ocesses ar e thor oughly for med by the Old Testament.

We should always under stand the bi ble in light of the bi ble. Towar d that end we will

often look at other passages.

Exodus 14:31, Num ber s 12:7 and Psalm 105:26 all descr i be Moses as ³servant´ of God.In each case the title of ³Servant´ is a title of honor and power . Because he was the

servant of God he carr ied author ity consistent with that r elationship. Amos 3:7 makes thesame claim for the pr ophets. When Paul identifies himself and Timothy as ³ bond-

servants´ or ³servants´ his claim for himself is similar to that of ³apostle´.

Why use ³slave´ here rather than ³apostle´?

³«to all the saints«´What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear or

see the word ³saints´?

³Saints´ is Paul¶s usual ter m for Chr istians. ³Saints´ tr anslates the Gr eek µEKMSM (hagioi).This is the plur al of the ter m that is tr anslated as ³Holy´ in Holy Spir it. We tend to think saints as super Chr istians. This thought would be thor oughly for eign to Paul. The

holiness to which Paul r efer s is the holiness of God, not of the saint. If you belong toChr ist then you ar e a saint in the way that Paul uses the ter m. It is useful her e to r ead 1

Cor inthians 1:2.

Let me give a bit of explanation her e. I will often cite the or iginal Gr eek ter ms in thisguide. Ther e ar e at least two r easons for that. One is that it is useful to some people in

and of itself. Secondly it is useful because one of the tactics that skeptics like to use is totell you µThe bi ble has been tr anslated f r om this to that to the other so many times that we

don¶t know what the or iginal said.´ By citing the or iginal Gr eek you get a r eminder thatthe English we ar e r eading is dir ectly f r om the or iginal languages. Ther e ar e tr anslations

that have been thr ough sever al differ ent languages, but none of the major ones.

³«with over seer s and deacons«´ Over seer her e tr anslates the Gr eek

ITMWOSTSM(episcopoi). Consider this ter m. Epi means r oughly ³over ́ . Scopos or the

plur al that we have her e scopoi means r oughly ³see´.

What English words come to mind when you think of ³scope´?What does this have

to do with the role of an overseer?

The ter m ³deacon´ is sometimes misused in chur ches. In Paul¶s usage it is not a positionof power , but of service. The Gr eek ter m her e is used 29 times in the New Testament. Net



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Bi ble tr anslates it servant or servants 22 times, deacon or deacons 3 times, minister 2times, encour ages 1 time and wor ker 1 time.

³Gr ace to you and peace f r om God our Father «´ Gr ace is unmer ited favor . Our

r elationship with God is based on who He is, not who we ar e.

Peace IVLRLeir ene) is defined this way by the well known lexicon Thayer and Smith:

1. a state of national tr anquility

a. exemption f r om the r age and havoc of war 2. peace between individuals, i.e. har mony, concor d

3. secur ity, safety, pr osper ity, felicity, ( because peace and har mony make and keepthings safe and pr osper ous)

4. of the Messiah's peacea. the way that leads to peace (salvation)

5. of Chr istianity, the tr anquil state of a soul assur ed of its salvation thr ough Chr ist,

and so fear ing nothing f r om God and content with its ear thly lot, of whatsoever sor t that is6. the blessed state of devout and upr ight men after death

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What Paul wants for them is not just lack of conflict, but a knowledge that that tr anquility

is based on God¶s char acter and His desir e to have us r elate to him as a beloved child.

We hear much about peace today.What is the difference between the ³peace´

people talk about and the peace that God and his servant Paul talk about?

1:3-6

1:3 I thank my God every time I r emem ber you. 1:4 I always pr ay with joy in my every pr ayer for all of you 1:5 because of your par ticipation in the gospel f r om the

fir st day until now. 1:6 For I am sur e of this very thing, that the one who began agood wor k in you will per fect it until the day of Chr ist Jesus

Paul thanked God for them for a var iety of r easons. The tense her e specifies continuous

action. When he pr eached the Gospel to them they r eceived it eager ly. (See Acts:15:11-15) Lydia not only r eceived the gospel, but she set the tone for that chur ch. When she had

r eceived f r om God thr ough Paul she said ³"If you have judged me to be faithful to theLor d, come into my house and stay."´ Fr om the very beginning the chur ch at Philippi was

gener ous.

It is pretty obvious why one might be grateful for things received. Why else might

Paul have been grateful for them? Grateful to whom? How does this relate to Paul

and from where he writes?

In ver se 5 Paul talks a bout ³par ticipation´ (NET and NASB) or ³par tner ship´ in NIV and

English Standar d Ver sion (ESV). This tr anslates another Gr eek ter m which is often



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misused in the contempor ary chur ch. It is OSMR SR MEkoinonia)3. It is often used to r efer to something involving mostly coffee and pastr ies. Socializing is a legitimate par t of

Koinonia, but not the most impor tant par t. In 2 Cor inthians 8 Paul tells the Cor inthianchur ch a bout how their br other s and sister s at Philippi had given gener ously even f r om

extr eme pover ty. We need to take the concept of Koinonia much mor e ser iously than we

tend to do. It can cost us.

How can we be practical partners in the gospel ministry? Individually?

Corporately?

In ver se 6 he encour ages them to be steadfast. Philippi was a Roman Colony. We don¶t

gener ally under stand the ter m colony they way the Romans did. Even thoughgeogr aphically distant f r om Italy, Philippi was legally the same as Italian soil. A big par t

of the r ole of the wor ship of the gods of Rome was not per sonal devotion. It was civilduty. To wor ship the gods of Rome was to wor k for the survival of Rome. To r efuse to do

so was seen to put Roman society at r isk.

Does our society ever see us that way? How should we respond?

The saints at Philippi wer e under constant pr essur e to wor ship the gods of Rome. Whenthey did not they wer e sever ely per secuted. Paul r eminded them that the success of what

they wer e doing was not on their shoulder s, but the infinitely lar ge and str ong ones of God the Father and Chr ist Jesus. Even mor e impor tant, the wor k that had God had begun

was to br ing them safely home to Heaven. Whatever their neigh bor s or gover nment did,God would win in the end.

³«will per fect it«´ (Net, NASB,) ³«will carry it to completion«´ (NIV). Her e the

NIV is the mor e useful tr anslation. ³Per fect´ as a verb is an inter esting concept though.What is impor tant is not what is now, but what will be in the day of Chr ist Jesus. That isthe day when Jesus will judge all.

1:7-11

1:7 For it is r ight for me to think this a bout all of you, because I have you in my

hear t, since both in my impr isonment and in the defense and confir mation of thegospel all of you became par tner s in God¶s gr ace together with me. 1:8 For God is

my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Chr ist Jesus.

In ver se 7 Paul wr ites: ³It is r ight for me to feel this way a bout all of you, since I haveyou in my hear t; for whether I am in chains or defending and confir ming the gospel, all of you shar e in God's gr ace with me.´ (NIV)

Once again he r epeats the ³all´. A look at 4:2 will give us a bit of a look at what Paul has

on his mind her e.



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The ter m tr anslated ³feel´ (NIV) her e is an inter esting one. It descr i bes a mixtur e of bothhear t and head.

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In Romans 8:5 Paul dr aws a distinction between those who have ³have their outlook

shaped by´ the things of the flesh and those who ³have their outlook shaped by the things

of the Spir it.´

In 1 Cor inthians 13:11 he wr ites ³When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like

a child, I r easoned like a child. But when I became an adult, I set aside childish ways..´

Paul¶s point her e seems to be that he had not emotionally over stated their value.

He held them in his hear t as he per sever ed in pr ison and did the active wor k of defending

and confir ming the gospel.

Paul seems to refer here back to their participating with him. How are they

participating? How can we participate like that with those under pressure now?

In ver se 8, as the NIV tr anslates it, Paul wr ites ³God can testif y how I long for all of youwith the affection of Chr ist Jesus.´ The English commentator J.B. Lightfoot puts it this

way ³his pulse beats with the pulse of Chr ist, his hear t thr o bs with the hear t of Chr ist.´5

Again Paul is encour aging them with the idea that they ar e near to the most power fulhear t of all.

1:9 And I pr ay this, that your love may a bound even mor e and mor e in knowledge

and every kind of insight 1:10 so that you can decide what is best, and thus be

sincer e and blameless for the day of Chr ist, 1:11 filled with the f r uit of r ighteousness that comes thr ough Jesus Chr ist to the glory and pr aise of God.

Let¶s look again at same ver ses in NIV.

³And this is my pr ayer : that your love may a bound mor e and mor e in knowledgeand depth of insight, so that you may be a ble to discer n what is best and may be

pur e and blameless until the day of Chr ist, filled with the f r uit of r ighteousnessthat comes thr ough Jesus Chr ist--to the glory and pr aise of God.´

Again Paul may have had in mind the splits that so worr ied him. Again the r eason he so

often r epeated ³all´ was on his mind, but ther e was something else ther e too. He wantedto love to a bound mor e and mor e in knowledge and depth of insight or discer nment as NASB tr anslates it.

The ter m tr anslated ³knowledge´ is ITMKR SWMs (epignosis). You may have hear d a bout

gnosis or Gr eek for knowledge. The Gnostics as they wer e called believed that salvation

was thr ough secr et knowledge. Paul adds the pr efix epi to indicate complete or over -knowledge.



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He wr ote too a bout depth of insight. Knowledge and insight wer e not a goal inthemselves, but a means to be a ble to discer n what is best. This ter m ³discer n´ in NIV or

³decide what is best´ in NET, and ³appr ove´ in NASB, RSV and ESV is a much str onger wor d than we like to use today. It means to test. It was a commer cial ter m that most often

r efer s to testing coins to weed out counter feits. In our society today we have such a mania

for not ³ being judgmental´ we hesitate to employ the kind of discer nment.

We must develop the kind of bi ble teaching in our chur ches that will foster God¶s

people¶s a bility and inclination to look cr itically at what is pr esented to them as tr uth.You should be so familiar with the tr uth that if anyone veer s f r om the tr uth you will

r ecognize it.

How do we exercise that kind of discernment in practical, doable ways?

Paul gives his r eason ³«and may be pur e and blameless until the day of Chr ist, filled

with the f r uit of r ighteousness that comes thr ough Jesus Chr ist--to the glory and pr aise of

God.´ We ought to do that, not so that we can be r ight, but that we may be pur e and blameless and that we should be so for the glory and pr aise of God.´

It is not easy. It r equir es wor k and time, God is wor thy of it.

1:12-30

1:12 I want you to know, br other s and sister s, that my situation has actually tur nedout to advance the gospel: 1:13 The whole imper ial guar d and everyone else knows

that I am in pr ison for the sake of Chr ist, 1:14 and most of the br other s and sister s,having confidence in the Lor d because of my impr isonment, now mor e than ever

dar e to speak the wor d fear lessly.

One of the r easons for this letter was to let the Philippians know how he (Paul) was

doing. Her e he tells them.

The ³situation´ Ned or ³what has happened to me´ NIV ar e that his per iod of house arr est(see Acts 28:16, 23, 30) is over and the time for his tr ial has arr ived. Ther e ar e two, and

only two, likely outcomes: Release or death.

³«has actually tur ned out to advance the gospel,«´ (NET) ³«has r eally served toadvance the gospel«´ (NIV). The ter m tr anslated ³advance´ in Net and NIV is a ter m

f r om mor al philosophy. It speaks of advancing despite o bstr uctions in the path.6

Only Paul among the New Testament wr iter s uses it. He uses it her e and in 1:25 and in 1

Timothy 4:15. We will look at those other two uses shor tly.

What seems like, at least a potential set back for Paul is r eally a step for war d for the

gospel.

Read v. 12.What is striking about what he tells them?



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Read vv. 13-14. In what way does it advance the gospel? Does this outcome seem

strange?Why? orWhy not?

In ver se 25 he speaks of their being built up by his continued ministry, in 1 Timothy he

speaks of Timothy¶s being built µlar ger ¶ and str onger in the Lor d by the use of his

spir itual gifts and his faithfulness in gener al.

1:15 Some, to be sur e, ar e pr eaching Chr ist f r om envy and r ivalry, but other s f r om

goodwill. 1:16 The latter do so f r om love because they know that I am placed her efor the defense of the gospel. 1:17 The for mer pr oclaim Chr ist f r om selfish

am bition, not sincer ely, because they think they can cause tr ou ble for me in my impr isonment. 1:18 What is the r esult? Only that in every way, whether in pr etense

or in tr uth, Chr ist is being pr oclaimed, and in this I r ejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to r ejoice, 1:19 for I know that this will tur n out for my deliver ance thr ough your pr ayer s and the help of the Spir it of Jesus Chr ist. 1:20 My

confident hope is that I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Chr ist will be exalted in my body, whether I live or

die.

³Some«´ He had spoken a bout people pr eaching mor e boldly as a r esult of his

impr isonment. Some had seen their chance to advance their own car eer s beyond that of Paul in his a bsence as we see in ver se 17. He does not question their or thodoxy, just their

motivation.

Compare vv. 14 and 15.Who are those who speak more because of his

imprisonment. Are they different?Why do each do what they do?

Paul¶s use of the ter m ³r ivalry´ her e is inter esting. He uses the ter m in Romans 1:29 as

par t of the definition of those that ar e thor oughly lost. He uses it in 1 Cor inthians 1:11wher e the NIV tr anslates it ³quarr els´ among people who ar e Chr istians, but ar e not

behaving pr oper ly.

We don¶t know what is in Paul¶s mind when he chooses the ter m. It is a ter m that only

Paul uses in the New Testament. Cer tainly both Paul and his r eader s would have knownthe significance in Gr eek mythology to the ter m. Paul chooses the ter m Eris. Er is is the

Gr eek goddess of discor d. In fact she is known among the Romans as Discordia.

In Homer the gods thr ow a wedding and the only one not invited is Er is. Enr aged, shethr ows a golden apple into the r oom mar ked ³For the fair est´. Thr ee goddess str uggle for

it, and the title of fair est. The r esult is the Tr ojan war .7

Er is is thought to haunt battlefields to enjoy the suffer ing.

³«But other s f r om good will«´ These do it to stand by and suppor t Paul and hismission.



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In ver ses 17 and 18 we see the same coin f r om both sides. Whether Chr ist is pr eachedf r om bad motives or good, He is pr eached.

What does this tell us about the power of the gospel?

In ver se 19 Paul tells us that he knows that this will tur n out ³for my deliver ance«´. Hedoes not know what the outcome of the tr ial will be. Either way it goes he is deliver ed.

The ter m tr anslated ³deliver ance´ her e is W[XLVMEor soter ia8. It is the S in IX UUS that

we see in the fish. Its meaning goes far beyond Paul¶s being deliver ed f r om death. Itmeans salvation. Whether he is beheaded or not he is in the hands of Chr ist and that is

salvation by definition. Whatever happens he will have been deliver ed.

What is the principal impediment in our thinking this way?

In ver se 20 Paul talks a bout his ³confident hope´. The ter m Paul selects her e pictur es

str aining the neck to look ahead

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. When I think of that I think of a kid str aining to see a par ade float coming in the distance or per haps mor e apt str aining to catch a fir st glimpse

of home when r etur ning f r om a long tr ip.

³«I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness «´ Ther e could be noshame her e because he was not impr isoned for misdeeds, but for the gospel and for his

faithfulness to it. That, together with his eager expectation allowed him to be bold.

Why do we sometimes have a shame problem? What is the solution?

³«Chr ist will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.´

Paul is the pr isoner , not of Rome, but of Chr ist. In Ephesians in the fir st ver ses of

chapter s thr ee and four he makes that statement. The Net, NASB and NIV begin chapter 3 ³For this r eason I Paul, the pr isoner of Chr ist Jesus«´ The Net and NIV begin 4 as

³«pr isoner for the Lor d«´. (NASB) ³«pr isoner of the Lor d«´ but the Gr eek says

liter ally in (IR ) the Lor d. Either way, Paul¶s fate is not in the hands of the Emper or , but of the King of Kings. Whether he lives or dies he will be carrying out the will of The King.

1:21 For to me, living is Chr ist and dying is gain. 1:22 Now if I am to go on living in

the body, this will mean pr oductive wor k for me, yet I don¶t know which I pr efer :1:23 I feel tor n between the two, because I have a desir e to depar t and be with

Chr ist, which is better by far , 1:24 but it is mor e vital for your sake that I r emain inthe body. 1:25 And since I am sur e of this, I know that I will r emain and continue

with all of you for the sake of your pr ogr ess and joy in the faith, 1:26 so that whatyou can be pr oud of may incr ease because of me in Chr ist Jesus, when I come

back to you.

On fir st glance ver se 21 seems to be like Hamlet¶s ³To be or not to be«´10

. Any

similar ity does not survive a second glance. Hamlet had found life intoler a ble. The choice



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he weighed was between two bad outcomes. Paul on the other hand faced two outcomeswhich wer e good and better for him.

To go on living (v.22) will mean pr oductive wor k. He could r etur n to his beloved chur ch

at Philippi and per haps even found some other s. ³Yet«´. Even faced with a good

outcome he not get the better one out of his mind.

It is inter esting that he says ³I don¶t know which I pr efer :´

Does he have a choice in the outcome?What is the importance of the dilemma?

The ter m ³depar t´ her e is inter esting. It is used for an ar my br eaking camp or for a ship¶scr ew untying her moor ing r opes.

11The pictur e is of Paul packing, not trying to hold on.

³« better by far ,...´ is good English, but does not do the Gr eek justice. In the Gr eek ther e

ar e thr ee adverbs piled one on top of the other . It is liter ally ³much r ather better ́ .

In ver se 24 he concludes ³ but it is mor e vital for your sake that I r emain in the body.´ A

good ar gument can be made that he had not yet wr itten Ephesians at this time. He hadcer tainly not wr itten 2 Timothy and pr o ba bly Titus. It cer tainly was ³mor e vital´ for us

that he r emain.

In ver ses 25 and 26 Paul says that he is sur e that he will r emain and continue because heis needed. As it happens he seems to have been corr ect.

How might he know this? There is more to this question than might first appear.

1:27 Only conduct your selves in a manner wor thy of the gospel of Chr ist so that ± whether I come and see you or whether I r emain a bsent ± I should hear that you

ar e standing fir m in one spir it, with one mind, by contending side by side for thefaith of the gospel, 1:28 and by not being intimidated in any way by your

opponents. This is a sign of their destr uction, but of your salvation ± a sign whichis f r om God. 1:29 For it has been gr anted to you not only to believe in Chr ist but

also to suffer for him, 1:30 since you ar e encounter ing the same conflict that yousaw me face and now hear that I am facing.

³Conduct your selves in a manner «´ tr anslates a single wor d in the Gr eek. It is

politeuthesthe. Note the µPolit¶ por tion of the wor d. As we have noted befor e, Philippi

was a Roman colony. The Philippians wer e not just citizens of Rome, but wer e citizens inthe same sense as if they lived in Italy itself. Men often gave their lives, liter ally, so thattheir childr en could have what the Philippians did. Paul now used that status as an

example.

They wer e citizens, not just of Rome, but of heaven. See 3:20. For us it will be another few sessions to r each it, but for the people of Philippi it would only be a few minutes

between hear ing 1:27 r ead aloud and 3:20.



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Paul did not see Roman citizenship as a bad thing. Paul was a Roman citizen. He was pr oud of that and used it over and over for the benefit of the Gospel. He had done so at

Philippi. You can find that in Acts 16. With a bit of a sense of fun you can get a goodchuckle at ver se 37. Good as it was, Roman citizenship was tempor ary. Heavenly

citizenship was per manent.

How do we live as citizens of Heaven?

³«standing fir m in one spir it, with one mind«´ Philippi had been Macedonian befor e it been Roman. The f r ont line unit of the Macedonian ar my had been the Phalanx. It

pr esented a unified wall of shields, whether standing or moving for war d. When itr emained unified it was very near ly invinci ble. It was often 16 men deep. The Roman line

was differ ent in some ways f r om the Phalanx, but that pr inciple r emained the same. Ihave a bsolutely no dou bt that such a pictur e was what Paul intended to cr eate in their

minds.

He would develop the two aspects in differ ent places, but they wer e tightly woventogether .

Paul specifies both spirit and mind here. How are they different? How are they the

same?What is our responsibility with respect to them today?

In 27 b and into 28 Paul says³«contending side by side for the faith of the gospel, and by

not being intimidated in any way by your opponents «´. This is an active fight. We ar enot to be just holding the line, but moving for war d.

His ter m ³intimidated´ (NET) or ³f r ightened´ (NIV) is a ter m that continues the military

theme. The idea is the war hor se that stands its gr ound and does not shy or star tle. Theway to do that is to spend time, not only on our knees, but other f r ont lines as well.

In 28 b and into 29 we see what, at fir st appear s to be mutually contr adictory. Thatstanding fir m and not star tling is a sign of our salvation and their destr uction, but then

Paul tells them that they will be per secuted.

How do the two things fit together?

In ver se 30 Paul r eminds them that it was what they saw fir st hand when Paul was in

Philippi, and hear a bout when he is impr isoned at Rome. It should not be a sur pr ise.

2:1-11

2:1 Ther efor e, if ther e is any encour agement in Chr ist, any comfor t pr ovided by love, any fellowship in the Spir it, any affection or mer cy, 2:2 complete my joy and

be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spir it, and havingone pur pose. 2:3 Instead of being motivated by selfish am bition or vanity, each of

you should, in humility, be moved to tr eat one another as mor e impor tant than



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your self. 2:4 Each of you should be concer ned not only a bout your own inter ests, but a bout the inter ests of other s as well

The ³Ther efor e«´ ties this section back into 1:27-30. Paul has talked a bout exter nal

thr eats to the chur ch as a whole and the chur ch at Philippi. Now he tur ns to inter nal

thr eats.

³if ther e is any encour agement«´ This would seem to our English speaking minds to

allow for dou bt. Remem ber that this letter was r ead in Gr eek for thr ee hundr ed year s. Theor iginal Gr eek language r eader s would have under stood it the way Paul meant it. The

gr ammar makes it mor e like ³if, as is the case«´12

That ther e was encour agement wasassumed. The Good News Bi ble tr anslates it this way ³Your life in Chr ist makes you

str ong, and his love comfor ts you. You have fellowship with the Spir it, and you havecompassion for one another .´ The tr anslator s her e pick up on the definite sense of ³if´.

We should not under state the impor tance of this wor d ³encour agement´. In Luke 6:24

Jesus says to the people ³But woe to you who ar e r ich, for you have alr eady r eceivedyour comfor t.´ (NIV). ³Comfor t´ tr anslates the same wor d that is tr anslated³encour agement´ her e.

The idea is someone is called alongside or who, as is the case her e, br ings us alongside to

give comfor t and encour agement. In John 14:16 Jesus tells the disciples a bout the comingof the ³helper ́ . The ³Helper ́ is often r eferr ed to as the P araclete. That ter m is not the

same, but is closely r elated.

³«any comfor t pr ovided by love, any fellowship in the Spir it, any affection or mer cy,«´ Paul lays out a four fold situation that he says is the case. Encour agement,

comfor t pr ovided by love, fellowship in the Spir it, and affection or mer cy, ar e the contextof their lives together .

We have too often called shar ing sweets and coffee ³fellowship´ and have shr unk themeaning of the ter m. It goes far beyond that. It is an inter twining and shar ing of essential

pur pose.13 Note that the context of this fellowship is the ³Spir it´. Since Paul is callingthem to differ ence f r om the wor ld it is pr o ba bly the Holy Spir it r ather than the human

spir it. ³Being one in spir it´ NIV r ender s a single Gr eek wor d meaning ³knit together insoul.

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The ter m her e for ³affection´ liter ally r efer s to a gut feeling, and r efer s, metaphor ically to

inter nal or gans. In 2 Cor inthians 1:3 Jesus is r eferr ed to as ³Father of mer cies´ in NETand NASB, and ³Father of compassion´ in NIV. Both these ter ms go far beyond the

minimal ways we sometimes think of them.

How do we actually live this out in our lives and relationships with one another?



14

Paul seems to be asking for his own joy when he asks them to ³complete my joy«´, buthis concer n goes far beyond that. He wants their unity to be r eal for their sakes and that

of the pur poses of God.

³« be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spir it, and having one

pur pose.´

.´ Paul is essentially r epeating what he had wr itten ear lier . They ar e to be one in love,

Spir it/spir it, and pur pose.

Jesus uses the ter m tr anslated ³pur pose´ her e in Matthew 16:23 and Mar k 8:33 when he

says to Peter ³Get behind me, Satan! You ar e a stum bling block to me; you do not havein mind the things of God, but the things of men." Matt. 16:23 (NIV)

How do ³mind´ and ³purpose´ relate?

What should be our purpose?

What should be your purpose?

Paul continues to r estate the same thing over and over . ³Instead of being motivated by selfish am bition or vanity «.´ Her e again he r efer s to unity of pur pose.

What purpose is served by vanity?

³in humility, be moved to tr eat one another as mor e impor tant than your self «´ we

should each consider one another mor e impor tant than our selves. It is inter esting to seehow Paul uses the ter m tr anslated ³mor e impor tant´ (NET) or ³ better ́ (NIV). In Romans

13:1 he uses it to r efer to gover ning author ities. Peter uses it the same way in 1 Peter

2:13. In this case super ior ity is assigned.

Paul also uses it in 3:8 compar ing the ³far gr eater value´ of knowing Chr ist as opposed tothe things of the wor ld, and 4:7 wher e the peace of God sur passes compr ehension. In this

case super ior ity is intr insic. Whether assigned or intr insic, our r esponse is to be the same.

Our defer ence should not be gr udging or guar ded, and it should not be one way. Note thathe told all to consider one another mor e impor tant or better than him/her self.

Why should we do this?

How is humility different from self hatred?

³Each of you should be concer ned not only a bout your own inter ests, but a bout theinter ests of other s as well.´ v.4

What practical effect does this have?

2:5 You should have the same attitude towar d one another that Chr ist Jesus had,



15

2:6 who though he existed in the for m of Goddid not r egar d equality with God

as something to be gr asped,2:7 but emptied himself

by taking on the for m of a slave,

by looking like other men,and by shar ing in human natur e.

Paul now points them to Jesus himself doing this. John 1 tells us that The Wor d wasa bove all things. In 1:14 it tells us that Jesus is The Wor d. Jesus was, and is, in fact ³mor e

impor tant´ or ³ better ́ than us. Satan tempted Adam and Eve to try to be like God.15

Jesuswas God. Yet he emptied himself and became like us to minister to us. That is what Paul

is telling us to do. Jesus did not pr etend that he was not, in essence, super ior to us. InJohn 8:58 He said ³Befor e A br aham came into existance, I am!´

He made a choice to come and be one of us. We ar e to make a choice to consider other s

as mor e impor tant. Not for their pur pose, but for the pur pose of the one who became oneof us for our sakes.

Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. Why Not?

Note in ver se 7 that Jesus emptied Himself. The Father did not have to empty Him.

2:8 He hum bled himself, by becoming o bedient to the point of death

even death on a cr oss!2:9 As a r esult God exalted him

and gave him the namethat is a bove every name,

2:10 so that at the name of Jesusevery knee will bow

± in heaven and on ear th and under the ear th ± 2:11 and every tongue confess

that Jesus Chr ist is Lor dto the glory of God the Father .

Jesus humbled himself. In the end who will be glorified?

W

hen we humble ourselves who is to be glorified?

Some have attempted to say that Jesus only had the appear ance of a man. Again John puts that claim out of r each. John 1:14 specified that the Wor d became flesh

(W E V\Flesh her e is liter ally meat.

Who do people today say Jesus is/was?



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Jesus hum bled Himself befor e the Father as we ar e to be hum ble befor e one another .Jesus su bor dinated His own inter ests to those of the Father , even to the point of hanging

on a cr oss.

³as a r esult«´ The Father exalted Jesus for that r eason. The r eason that Paul gives for

our su bor dinating our own inter ests to the inter ests of other s is the unity of the body andthat for the building of the Kingdom.

What might this cost us?

2:12-13

2:12 So then, my dear f r iends, just as you have always o beyed, not only in my

pr esence but even mor e in my a bsence, continue wor king out your salvation withawe and r ever ence, 2:13 for the one br inging for th in you both the desir e and the

effor t ± for the sake of his good pleasur e ± is God.

³«just as you have always o beyed«´ Again we have the Philippians had set aside their

own pr ide and inter ests, not only for the kingdom, but for their love of Paul himself.

³«continue wor king out your salvation«´ This is another ver se that is often a bused.

When we r ead Paul telling us to wor k out our own salvation we must r emem ber that Paulis wr iting to saved people. Their salvation f r om sin is an accomplished fact. It was

accomplished by Chr ist on the cr oss. Remem ber that Paul had r eminded them of that justfour ver ses ago. That f r om which they needed to be saved now was selfishness, conceit

and the conflict that came f r om them.

Again we ar e r eminded of the extr eme value of r eading ver ses in context. Ver se 13 r ecapsthat salvation is by gr ace.

Even knowing that we are saved by grace what do we do to work out our salvation?

2:14-18

2:14 Do everything without gr um bling or ar guing, 2:15 so that you may be blameless and pur e, childr en of God without blemish though you live in a cr ooked

and perver se society, in which you shine as lights in the wor ld 2:16 by holding onto the wor d of life so that on the day of Chr ist I will have a r eason to boast that I

did not r un in vain nor la bor in vain. 2:17 But even if I am being pour ed out like adr ink offer ing on the sacr ifice and service of your faith, I am glad and r ejoice

together with all of you. 2:18 And in the same way you also should be glad andr ejoice together with me.

³Do everything without gr um bling or ar guing,«´ Paul r efer s them to two Old Testamentexamples. Exodus 16:7 and Num ber s 11:1 both r efer to examples of the disastr ous



17

consequences of gr um bling. In those cases the gr um bling was against God and Moses. InPhilippi they wer e gr um bling against one another .

³or ar guing´ (NIV, NET). (H MEPSKMW MQ[R ) This goes beyond just the inevita ble inter nal

damage it caused. It may be that the people wer e taking one another to the pagan cour ts.

Paul had scor ched the Cor inthians in 1 Cor inthians in 6:1-11 for this. He said in ver se 1:³When any of you has a legal dispute with another , does he dar e go to cour t befor e theunr ighteous r ather than befor e the saints?´

In ver se 15 he r eminds us that we ar e to be ³« blameless and pur e, childr en of Godwithout blemish though you live in a cr ooked and perver se society.´ How can we stand

apar t f r om the cr ooked and perver se gener ation if we ar e asking them to settle our owndisputes?

In John 17:15 Jesus says that we ar e to be in, but not of the wor ld. Paul tells us that we

ar e to be lights in the wor ld. How can we do that if the pagan wor ld has to keep us f r om

hur ting one another ?

In ver ses 16-18 we see Paul¶s per spective. 16 ± that he did not r un in vain or la bor in

vain. 17- even as he faces death to face it with joy because of the f r uit of his wor k. 18 ± that they may shar e his joy with him.

Paul talks a bout being a dr ink offer ing. In Genesis 35:14 Jaco b pour s a dr ink offer ing ona stone pillar he had set up as a monument at the place wher e God had spoken to him. In

Exodus 29:41 and Num ber s 28:24 God calls for such sacr ifices.

Ultimately when the time came for Paul to be pour ed out as a dr ink offer ing (2 Timothy

4:16) he could do so with joy and confidence.

2:19-30

Paul descr i bes thr ee stages of plans: 1. Epaphr oditus will come fir st bear ing the letter

(v.25). 2. Timothy will come as soon as Paul lear ns how his tr ial will go (v. 23). 3. Paulhimself will come to them if possi ble (v.24).

2:19 Now I hope in the Lor d Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may

be encour aged by hear ing news a bout you. 2:20 For ther e is no one her e like himwho will r eadily demonstr ate his deep concer n for you. 2:21 Other s ar e busy with

their own concer ns, not those of Jesus Chr ist. 2:22 But you know his qualifications,that like a son wor king with his father , he served with me in advancing the gospel.

2:23 So I hope to send him as soon as I know mor e a bout my situation, 2:24 though Iam confident in the Lor d that I too will be coming to see you soon.

2:25 But for now I have consider ed it necessary to send Epaphr oditus to you. For

he is my br other , cowor ker and fellow soldier , and your messenger and minister to me in my need. 2:26 Indeed, he gr eatly missed all of you and was distr essed



18

because you hear d that he had been ill. 2:27 In fact he became so ill that he near ly died. But God showed mer cy to him ± and not to him only, but also to me ± so

that I would not have gr ief on top of gr ief. 2:28 Ther efor e I am all the mor e eager to send him, so that when you see him again you can r ejoice and I can be f r ee

f r om anxiety. 2:29 So welcome him in the Lor d with gr eat joy, and honor people

like him, 2:30 since it was because of the wor k of Chr ist that he almost died. Her isked his life so that he could make up for your ina bility to serve me

In ver ses 20 and 21 Paul tells them that he has no one like Timothy to send. Unlike the

behavior that he has had to addr ess in them Timothy car es only for their welfar e and not

his own.

Timothy was br ought to faith by his mother and gr andmother (see 1Timothy 1:5). YetPaul r efer s to him as his ³son in the faith´. We see her e why that is so. Timothy had

served like a son in the family business.

Epaphr oditus would have to be sent immediately (v.25). Paul lists his r easons. 1.Epaphr oditus was distr essed that they wer e distr essed a bout his illness. 2. To addr esstheir concer n for him. 3. So that Paul himself will have one less thing to worry a bout with

r espect to them.

In ver ses 29 and 30 he is commended for his faithfulness. Paul tells them to r eceive himand hold him in high r egar d. Paul had r efused to have John Mar k as a ministry

companion after John Mar k had quit on a missionary jour ney (Acts 15:38). That hadcaused a r ift between Paul and Bar na bas. I suspect that that damage to John Mar k

haunted Paul and he did not want it r epeated with Epaphr oditus.

In the end Paul and John Mar k had r econciled. In 2 Timothy 4:11 He asks Timothy to br ing Mar k with him ³ because he is useful to me´.

3:1-11

I once hear d a pr eacher r emar k that you can tell that Paul was a pr eacher because withhalf of what he had to say r emaining he says ³Finally«´

The ter m tr anslated ³finally´ PSMTSR appear s 55 times in the New Testament andalways means finally or end or something similar . I would love to find some ar cane

theological point her e, but it seems just to be a style point of Paul¶s.

3:1 Finally, my br other s and sister s, r ejoice in the Lor d! To wr ite this again is notr ou ble to me, and it is a safeguar d for you.

3:2 Bewar e of the dogs, bewar e of the evil wor ker s, bewar e of those who mutilatethe flesh! 3:3 For we ar e the cir cumcision, the ones who wor ship by the Spir it of

God, exult in Chr ist Jesus, and do not r ely on human cr edentials.

I can see him wr iting ³r ejoice in the Lor d«´ to soften the har sh admonitions to follow.



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Paul r efer s to wr iting the same things to them again. We don¶t know when the pr evioustime was for this par ticular thing to this par ticular gr oup was, but this is a common theme

for Paul.

In our wor ld of beloved pets it is har d to think of dogs as a gr oup as evil, but that was the

per ception in the ancient near east. Paul was constantly shadowed by people deter minedto impose false doctr ine on the chur ches Paul founded. Paul¶s r efer ence to cir cumcisionmay r efer to liter al Jewish cir cumcision. In some cases it will r efer to other false means to

salvation such as secr et knowledge. All such things fall into Paul¶s gener al descr iption of ³human cr edentials´ (v.3).

3:4 ± though mine too ar e significant. If someone thinks he has good r easons to put

confidence in human cr edentials, I have mor e: 3:5 I was cir cumcised on the eighthday, f r om the people of Isr ael and the tr i be of Benjamin, a He br ew of He br ews. I

lived accor ding to the law as a Phar isee. 3:6 In my zeal for God I per secuted thechur ch. Accor ding to the r ighteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless. 3:7

But these assets I have come to r egar d as lia bilities because of Chr ist. 3:8 Mor ethan that, I now r egar d all things as lia bilities compar ed to the far gr eater value of

knowing Chr ist Jesus my Lor d, for whom I have suffer ed the loss of all things ± indeed, I r egar d them as dung! ± that I may gain Chr ist, 3:9 and be found in him,

not because I have my own r ighteousness der ived f r om the law, but because Ihave the r ighteousness that comes by way of Chr ist¶s faithfulness ± a

r ighteousness f r om God that is in fact based on Chr ist¶s faithfulness. 3:10 My aimis to know him, to exper ience the power of his r esurr ection, to shar e in his

suffer ings, and to be like him in his death, 3:11 and so, somehow, to attain to ther esurr ection f r om the dead.

Paul could make a better claim on salvation by human cr edentials than any of those whofollowed behind with their alter native schemes. (v.4)

³«cir cumcised on the eighth day«´ His family had followed Jewish law to the letter .

³«f r om the people of Isr ael«´ he was no outsider . He was one of the chosen people.

³«and the tr i be of Benjamin«´ Benjamin was the younger son of Jaco b by his belovedRachel. Saul, the fir st king of Isr ael was of the tr i be of Benjamin. The tr i be had r emained

faithful. The tr i bes of Judah and Benjamin for med the cor e of Jewish nation after theexile. This is the basis of his descr iption ³a He br ew of He br ews´.

³accor ding to the law as a Phar isee«´ We r espond almost automatically to the ter m

Phar isee. The ter m seems synonymous with ³hy pocr ite´. Ther e was a time when thePhar isees wer e needed. In the fir st half of the second century BC ther e wer e power ful

for ces ur ging Jews in Judah to compr omise their faith to fit in with the Gr eeks. ThePhar isees stood against that. The pr o blem is that they wer e r eactionary. They r eacted not

to the wor d of God, but to the behavior of the people. Their identity was based on being



20

³ better ́ than those ar ound them, not in genuine o bedience to God. That is why they r eacted so badly to Jesus. They had to define Him as evil in or der to be better .

³In my zeal for God I per secuted the chur ch.´ He had been so zealous that he had

committed his life to defending Judaism against a per ceived thr eat even to the point of

killing those he saw as a thr eat.

³Accor ding to the r ighteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless.´

Is blameless the same as innocent?What does ³blameless´ connote here?

In 2 Cor inthians 10:12 Paul talks a bout people who judge themselves as compar ed to oneanother .

When we compare ourselves to others, what is the standard?Why do we do it?

The Phar isees had added layer s to the law that allowed them to keep what they now sawto be the law.

In ver se 7 Paul tur ns the ar gument on its head. ³But these assets I have come to r egar d as

lia bilities because of Chr ist.´

Only Paul and Luke in the New Testament use the ter m tr anslated ³lia bilites´ her e. Pauluses it her e in ver ses 7 and 8. Luke uses it in Acts 21:10 and 21. In both cases he is

quoting Paul.

He does not say that the things he listed in the ver ses leading up to 7 ar e irr elevant, but

actually loss. We can see the str ength of the ter m in the Acts 21 passage.

Why are the things Paul listed before a negative rather than just irrelevant?

What such risks do we face?

Paul r efer s to such things not just as ³loss´ (NASB), but as ³dung´ in NET and NIV or

³garbage´ in the Good News Tr anslation. The ter m her e is liter ally dung.

³«that I may gain Chr ist,«´What is the relationship between repelled by one side

and attracted to the other.

³and be found in Him´ v.9 is called a ³divine passive´ it is a legal ter m and r efer s to

being legally vindicated. It is not something he can accomplish for himself. It issomething that must be done for him. It is something that can only be done for the

Philippians as well.

³«not because I have my own r ighteousness der ived f r om the law«´ Righteousness

der ived f r om the law is a technical or for ensic r ighteousness. The Phar isees had become



21

exper ts at bending and twisting the law to get ar ound it. Paul did not want to get off on atechnicality.

³« but because I have the r ighteousness that comes by way of Chr ist¶s faithfulness ± a

r ighteousness f r om God that is in fact based on Chr ist¶s faithfulness.´ A r ighteousness of

his own depended on him. A r ighteousness f r om God depends on God. Paul knew f r omlong exper ience who he was.

He wr ote in Romans 7:24 ³What a wr etched man I am! Who will r escue me f r om this body of death?´ He wr ites in ver se 25 ³Thanks be to God--thr ough Jesus Chr ist our Lor d!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful natur e a slave tothe law of sin.´ The context for all of this was a bout his attempts to follow the law on his

own.

In the next ver se (8:1) he wr ites ³Ther e is ther efor e now no condemnation«´ because

salvation did not depend on our flawed measur es, but on the char acter and holiness of

God himself.

In ver se 10 Paul wr ites ³My aim is to know him, to exper ience the power of his

r esurr ection, to shar e in his suffer ings, and to be like him in his death«´

What does it mean to ³know him´ in verse 10 and to ³to experience the power of his

resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death«´

What does it mean to ³be like him in his death,«´(NET) or ³«becoming like Him

in His death«´(NIV)? How does this relate to 2:6-11?

In ver se 11 he wr ites ³«somehow, to attain to the r esurr ection f r om the dead.´

In a sense we have r esurr ection by having new life. Ultimately we will be r esurr ected

with Him in the sense that He was: in every way. We will be what we wer e alwaysintended to be.

3:12-16

3:12 Not that I have alr eady attained this ± that is, I have not alr eady been per fected

± but I str ive to lay hold of that for which Chr ist Jesus also laid hold of me. 3:13

Br other s and sister s, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am

single-minded: For getting the things that ar e behind and r eaching out for thethings that ar e ahead, 3:14 with this goal in mind, I str ive towar d the pr ize of the

upwar d call of God in Chr ist Jesus. 3:15 Ther efor e let those of us who ar e ³per fect´em br ace this point of view. If you think other wise, God will r eveal to you the

err or of your ways. 3:16 Never theless, let us live up to the standar d that we havealr eady attained.



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³«Not that I have alr eady o btained all this, or have alr eady been per fected,«´ or ³made per fect´ (NASB). Ther e had been a time that Paul had thought that he had o btained all

that he needed, but now he knows better .

I once hear d a pr eacher define ³per fect´ as used her e. He said that if you ar e a four year

old and behave as a four year old is supposed to behave, you ar e a per fect four year old, but if you ar e twenty four or for ty four and behave as a four year old is supposed to behave then you have a pr o blem. The ter m tr anslated ³per fect´ means matur e or

complete.

The wor k that God is doing in Paul is not finished, but he pr esses on to take hold of thatfor which Chr ist had taken hold of him.

He br ews 10:1 says ³For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come but notthe r eality itself, and is ther efor e completely una ble, by the same sacr ifices offer ed

continually, year after year , to per fect those who come to wor ship.´

The law had not made Paul per fect because it could not. Paul is not per fect (fully matur e)yet, but he will be.

Remem ber that the Philippian Chur ch was plagued by people telling them that for them

to be all that they need to be they have to be cir cumcised, or some other such measur e.

What does Paul accomplish with his confession that he is not yet perfect?

In ver se 13 Paul says ³But one thing I do«´What is Paul¶s emphasis here?

He r efer s to ³things that ar e behind´W

hat lay behind for Paul? How would hangingon to it be a problem?

What do we have to do to let go and ³press on´?

In ver se 14 Paul says ³I str ive towar d«´. The ter m he uses her e is the same as he used in

ver se 6 wher e he talked a bout ³per secuting´ the chur ch. It means liter ally to ³pur sue as ahunter ́

16

³«towar d the pr ize«´ a mar k or tar get. In the Gr eek tr anslation of the Old Testament

made a bout 100 B.C. in Alexandr ia by scholar s who wer e exper ts in both He br ew and

Gr eek the ter m her e tr anslated ³goal´ is used in Jo b 16:12 wher e Jo b says he was the³tar get´ of God¶s arr ows. Paul has not r eached the mar k at the end of the r ace, but hiseyes ar e fixed on it.

³«towar d the pr ize of the upwar d call of God«´ The call itself seems to be the pr ize. Inthe ancient Olympics they had a her ald who would call out the name of the victor , the

victor ¶s father and his country, after which the winner would r eceive the victor ¶s cr ownf r om the one who had or ganized and pr esided over the games (the agonothetes).



23

Commentator Jean-Fr ancois Collange said this: ³This is the call to which Paul is alluding,-- but makes it clear that what is at stake is not a spor tsman¶s pr ize (it is f r om on high

µER S) and the agonothetes is none other than God Himself and Jesus Chr ist is his her ald.Fur ther mor e, this call sounds for th thr ough the event of the Cr oss and the

Resurr ection.´17

Paul continues in v.15 ³All of us who ar e matur e should take such a view of things.´ Theview that Paul seems to be talking a bout is this per spective of looking for war d

expectantly towar d the finish line. In 2 Timothy 4:8 Paul, who is then a bout to be beheaded, and thus sent to the finish line, has that cr own waiting for him and he is doing

what he told the Philippians to do.

Paul continues in a second sentence within ver se 15. ³If you think other wise, God will

r eveal to you the err or of your ways.´ The commentator s do not seem to agr ee on what hemeans. It may be a bit of f r ustr ation and emotion coming thr ough. He is addr essing a

situation wher e some have said that they have been r ender ed ³per fected´ by doing things

that God has r evealed to them. If I may par aphr ase: µIf you think I am wr ong, maybe Godwill tell you that too.¶

In ver se 16 he gets his feet back on the gr ound. ³Never theless, let us live up to the standar dthat we have alr eady attained.´

The chur ch is afflicted by people who claim to be per fect alr eady and ar e lor ding it over those they consider to be still imper fect. Paul is effectively telling them to live up to their claims.

3:17-21

3:17 Be imitator s of me, br other s and sister s, and watch car efully those who ar e

living this way, just as you have us as an example. 3:18 For many live, a bout whomI have often told you, and now, with tear s, I tell you that they ar e the enemies of

the cr oss of Chr ist. 3:19 Their end is destr uction, their god is the belly, they exult intheir shame, and they think a bout ear thly things. 3:20 But our citizenship is in

heaven ± and we also await a savior f r om ther e, the Lor d Jesus Chr ist, 3:21 whowill tr ansfor m these hum ble bodies of our s into the likeness of his glor ious body

by means of that power by which he is a ble to su b ject all things to himself.

In ver ses 17 on the one side and 18 and 19 on the other Paul sets up a contr ast. On the

one hand we have those following the example of Paul as he walks the upwar d path and

on the other we have those whose path leads ever downwar d.

Paul has told us what the destiny is for those who tr ust in Chr ist and His gr ace and car e.In ver se 19 he tells that the destiny of the ³enemies of the cr oss of Chr ist´ is destr uction.

Just as those who ar e bound for heaven have their eyes ther e, those bound for destr uctionhave their eyes ther e. ³«their god is the belly, they exult in their shame, and they think

a bout ear thly things«´ is a descr iption r ather than a char ge.



24

³But our citizenship is in heaven,«´ The noun tr anslated ³citizenship´ is very close toverb in 1:27 tr anslated ³let your manner of life be´ (NASB) or ³«conduct your selves in

a manner wor thy«´(NET and NIV). They ar e called cognates (same or igin).

What does it mean, day to day, for our citizenship to be in heaven as opposed to

Earth?

By our being in Chr ist we become a little outpost of heaven. That is why we can eager ly

wait for a Savior f r om heaven who is The Lor d Jesus Chr ist. He will ultimately r edeemus because we ar e alr eady His. For some this will come at death and for other s when He

r etur ns.

The final act of r edemption is the r edemption of our bodies (v. 21). He will tr ansfor m us

because of who He is.

4:1-9

4:1 So then, my br other s and sister s, dear f r iends whom I long to see, my joy andcr own, stand in the Lor d in this way, my dear f r iends!

The ³Ther efor e´ in NASB and NIV and ³So, then«´ in NET and Good News Bi ble,

r efer s us back to the pr evious ver ses. Ther e Paul r efer s to the contr ast between citizens of Heaven and citizens of Ear th, and the differ ence in our r espective destinies. We ar e to be

who we ar e now, not just after death.

³«my joy and my cr own«´ In 2:14-16 Paul talked a bout when he r eceived his r ewar d

f r om the Lor d they would be to his cr edit. Remem ber that though it has pr o ba bly been

weeks for us since 2:14-16, it would have been only a few minutes for them.

³«stand in the Lor d in this way«´ In what way? (Remember the look back.)

4:2 I appeal to Euodia and to Syntyche to agr ee in the Lor d. 4:3 Yes, I say also to

you, tr ue companion, help them. They have str uggled together in the gospelministry along with me and Clement and my other cowor ker s, whose names ar e in

the book of life.

It is sad for these two women that in the only time they ar e mentioned by name in the

bi ble they ar e taken to task. They wer e genuine believer s who had shar ed in Paul¶s

str uggle in the cause of the Gospel, and yet they will be r emem ber ed for all time as thesour ce of damage.

Remem ber Paul¶s constant r epetition of ³all´ or ³you all´ (1:4, 7, 8, 25; 2:17, 26).Remem ber Paul¶s admonition a bout the need to be ³in one accor d and of one mind´ (2:2),

³Instead of being motivated by selfish am bition or vanity, each of you should, inhumility, be moved to tr eat one another as mor e impor tant than your self.´ (2:3), and

³gr um bling´ and ³ar guing´ (2:14).



25

Why would Paul lay such a foundation before mentioning these two ladies directly?

In a related question:Why is their conflict not a personal matter? In other words,

How does the experience at Philippi relate to a contemporary church such as yours?

Look again at 2:5-8. How does this relate to interpersonal conflict?

In ver se 3 Paul addr esses ³tr ue

companion´ (WY\ YK I. This is differ ent

f r om ³fellow wor ker s´ ( sunergon

WYRIVK [Rthat Paul will addr ess later inthe sentence. ³Fellow wor ker s´ is a much

mor e intimate ter m. It r efer s to beingliter ally yoked together . Yokefellows

would not simply be wor king together , but actually side by side.

Ther e is no hint as to the identity of this per son. It is possi ble that the yokefellow isEpaphr oditus.

³Help´ these women. The ter m her e liter ally ³take hold together with´. The yokefellow

was to µhelp them help themselves¶.

What can such a helper do to help resolve a conflict such as this?

These two women had been genuine cowor ker s ³«along with me and Clement and my

other cowor ker s, whose names ar e in the book of life.´

Ther e was a Clement who sent a letter to the Cor inthian chur ch at a bout A.D. 96. Ther e isno r eason to connect this Clement with that one. Clement was a common name among

Romans.

Why mention the relationship between Clement and others and the women?

What is Paul¶s purpose in this intervention?

4:4 Rejoice in the Lor d always. Again I say, r ejoice! 4:5 Let everyone see your

gentleness. The Lor d is near ! 4:6 Do not be anxious a bout anything. Instead, inevery situation, thr ough pr ayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your r equests

to God. 4:7 And the peace of God that sur passes all under standing will guar d your hear ts and minds in Chr ist Jesus.

Is this passage related to 4:2-4? If so, how?

(v.4) Philippians has often been r eferr ed to as ³The Joy Letter ́ . You now know ther e is alot mor e to it than just that. Joy is a common theme. See: 1:4, 18, 25; 2:2, 17, 18, 28, 29;

3:1; 4:1, 4, 10.



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(v.5)What comes to mind when you think of the word ³gentleness´?

³The r eason for such an una br asive spir it is not found in weakness or unconcer n to standone¶s gr ound. Such a cowar dly attitude is denied in 1:27 & 28. Rather the r eader s will be

gr acious since their Lor d is coming to vindicate their cause ± The Lord is at hand ± and,

ther efor e, they do not need to be over anxious to defend themselves in a way to causeincr eased offence.´ Ralph Mar tin18

Who are ³everyone´, and why should we show a gentle spirit?

³The Lor d is near .´What does that mean?

(v.6) ³Do not be anxious for anything.´ this is one of those passages wher e KJV is not the

best. ³Take no thought«´ (KJV) misses the point her e. The ter m her e means being pulled apar t or going to pieces.

19

Paul¶s usual ter m for thought looks nothing like this ter m. The differ ence would have been o bvious to anyone r eading this letter in Gr eek as the people at Philippi did.

What is the effect of anxiety on getting something done?

³Instead, in every situation, thr ough pr ayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your

r equests to Go.´ v. 6 b

Pr ayer is any communication with God. Supplication is specifically asking for something.

³«with thanksgiving«´What part does thanksgiving have in supplication?´

³«tell your r equests to God.´ Does God not know what we need? If he does not, is He

God? If He does, why ask?

v.7 ³And the peace of God that sur passes all under standing will guar d your hear ts andminds in Chr ist Jesus.´

The ter m tr anslated ³peace´ her e is the or igin of the name Ir ene. It r efer s to mor e than just lack of conflict. It r efer s to ³quietness´ and ³r est´.

Why does it surpass all understanding?

³«will guar d your hear ts and minds in Chr ist Jesus.´ ³Guar d´ her e is a military ter m

that means ³to keep under guar d with a garr ison´.20

What is a garrison?Whose garrison is it?What does that mean?

4:8 Finally, br other s and sister s, whatever is tr ue, whatever is wor thy of r espect,

whatever is just, whatever is pur e, whatever is lovely, whatever is commenda ble,



27

if something is excellent or pr aisewor thy, think a bout these things. 4:9 And whatyou lear ned and r eceived and hear d and saw in me, do these things. And the God

of peace will be with you.

Whatever is: tr ue, wor thy of r espect, just, pur e, lovely commenda ble, excellent,

pr aisewor thy, effectively r epr esent a single ter m. Each one as a technical meaning andhistor ical context, but the point is in the list itself.

³«think a bout these things.´What is accomplished by thinking about these things?

(v.9) ³Lear ned´ ± simply to incr ease one¶s knowledge. ³Received´ is a technical ter m for

the acceptance of an author itative tr adition. ³«and hear d and saw in me,«´ ± Paul hadmodeled these things for them. ³«do these things´ ± do!

³«and the God of peace will be with you.´

How do verses 8 and 9 relate to one another?

How do the phrases ³«the peace of God«´ and ³«the God of peace«´ relate to

one another?

4:10-23

4:10 I have gr eat joy in the Lor d because now at last you have again expr essed your concer n for me. (Now I know you wer e concer ned befor e but had no oppor tunity

to do anything.) 4:11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have lear nedto be content in any cir cumstance. 4:12 I have exper ienced times of need and times

of a bundance. In any and every cir cumstance I have lear ned the secr et of contentment, whether I go satisfied or hungry, have plenty or nothing. 4:13 I am

a ble to do all things thr ough the one who str engthens me.

The ter m her e tr anslated ³concer n´ (v. 10) is a wor d he used seven times in Philippians. It

is the same ter m as in 1:7 when Paul told them how it was r ight for him to ³think´ NET,³feel´ NASB and NIV, a bout them the way that he did. In 2:2 he talked a bout how the

people needed to be of ³of the same mind´. In 3:19 Paul used the ter m for those who had³set their minds on´ NASB, ³think a bout´ NET ear thly things. It is a str ong ter m.

³« but had no oppor tunity do to anything.´ We don¶t know if they lacked r esour ces to

send, a messenger to carry it, or per haps did not know wher e Paul was.

Read 10-13 carefully.What fine line does Paul walk with the Philippians and their

gift in terms of what he says about it?

³Lear ned´ her e (v. 11) means lear ned by exper ience. He has been at this for a long time.



28

³content´ her e is a wor d that only appear s her e in the New Testament. It is defined thisway:

1. sufficient for one's self, str ong enough or pr ocessing enough to need no aid or

suppor t

2.

independent of exter nal cir cumstances3. contented with one's lot, with one's means, though the slender est21

He seems to have been in comfor ta ble cir cumstances befor e. He was a Roman citizen by bir th. His home town of Tar sus was not a C olonia and ther efor e he would not have been

automatically a citizen. This means he was likely of a pr ominent family. He had studiedunder the r enowned scholar Gamaliel (Acts 22:3).

As a missionary he had known physical challenge. He had survived beatings,impr isonment, shipwr eck, even snake bite. He knew discomfor t as well.

³I have learned the secret«´ (v. 12b)W

hat is that secret, and how did Paul learn it?

³Content´ (EYXE VO I s) is a wor d f r om the Gr eek philosophical tr adition of Stoicism.

Think of Vulcans on Star Tr ek. ³Lear ned the secr et´ ( QYI [) is a wor d f r om the Gr eek

mystery r eligions. It r eferr ed to being given the passwor d, so to speak. Both the Stoicsand the mystery cults would have been familiar to the Philippians. The nuances of both

meanings would have been clear to them. When Paul continues in ver se 13 that ³I can doall things thr ough Him who str engthens me.´ he is asser ting the supr emacy if Chr ist

a bove both.

What is the value to the Lord¶s purpose in doing that?

He had listed things he could do thr ough Chr ist. He could not only do those, but ³all

things´. Because he, Paul, could do all things thr ough Chr ist so could they. So can you.

What things are ³all things´?What does that have to do with you?

4:14 Never theless, you did well to shar e with me in my tr ou ble.

4:15 And as you Philippians know, at the beginning of my gospel ministry, when Ileft Macedonia, no chur ch shar ed with me in this matter of giving and r eceiving

except you alone. 4:16 For even in Thessalonica on mor e than one occasion yousent something for my need. 4:17 I do not say this because I am seeking a gift.

Rather , I seek the cr edit that a bounds to your account. 4:18 For I have r eceivedeverything, and I have plenty. I have all I need because I r eceived f r om

Epaphr oditus what you sent ± a f r agr ant offer ing, an accepta ble sacr ifice, very pleasing to God. 4:19 And my God will supply your every need accor ding to his

glor ious r iches in Chr ist Jesus. 4:20 May glory be given to God our Father for ever and ever . Amen.



29

Consider again ver se 10. The people had lacked oppor tunity to send a gift. Somecommentator s believe that Paul had actually told the Philippians that he did not want

money f r om them, causing some offense.22

This ver se would come as sor t of a sidewaysthank you note. He seems to see a danger in being, or even being per ceived to be

dependent on any human or gr oup of humans. We see that in the ver ses to follow.

In ver se 14 Paul r efer s them to the pr evious ver ses by his use of ³Never theless«´ Hecould not seem dependent on them r ather than Chr ist. At the same time (thus the

Never theless) he needed to r ecognize their gift and the value of it.

³«you did well«´(NET) ³It was good«´(NIV). Ther e ar e two wor ds that ar e nor mally

tr anslated as good or well. One of them is EKEUSs, (agathos). It means good in the sense

of useful. In centur ies befor e it had meant ³necessary´. The ter m used her e is OEPSs,

(k alos).

It means good in the sense of beautiful. Paul is telling them that they have done

beautifully to shar e in his affliction.

Why might Paul have chosen that term instead of the more practical one?

In ver ses 15 and 16, ³«when I left Macedonia«´ is descr i bed in Acts 17:2ff (ff=and

following). If you will consult your maps in the back of your mater ial you can see thatmove.

If you look closely at the Acts passage you can see that the Philippian chur ch could only

have been a few weeks old. This shows not just gener osity, but also unusual matur ity.

Note in 16 that they sent not just one gift, but at least two.

What knowledge about the Philippians can we gather from this?

Read v. 17.Why does Paul constantly repeat the thought here?

In v. 18 we again see a thank you ± but, together with a r eminder that they ar e a means

for God, not the sour ce of his a bility to serve.

In ver se 19 Paul r eminds them that God will not only supply his own needs, but their s as

well. They had given gener ously, not out of plenty, but despite their own need.

4:21 Give gr eetings to all the saints in Chr ist Jesus. The br other s with me her e sendgr eetings. 4:22 All the saints gr eet you, especially those who belong to Caesar ¶s

household. 4:23 The gr ace of the Lor d Jesus Chr ist be with your spir it.

³Give greetings to all the saints«´ Remember back to 1:1 and to the saints

addressed.What is a saint?



30

v. 22 ± ³«especially those who belong to Caesar ¶s household.´ The ter m ³Caesar ¶shousehold´ r eferr ed to anyone in gover nment. It might include slaves, civil servants, even

soldier s.

³All the saints«´ would have included those in Caesar¶s household. Why mention

them specifically?

Ver se 23 is another plea for unity. They (and we) need gr ace. ³your ́ is a plur al. ³Spir it´

is singular . They ar e to be united in one spirit . Remem ber this r epeated theme.

Conclusion

Ther e wer e thr ee main r easons for wr iting this letter . Unfor tunately for us we do not have

the per sonal r elationship with Paul that the Philippians did, but the lessons for them apply to us as well.

Technology has changed quite a bit since Paul wr ote, but human natur e has not. We stillface

May we go out and be what God has made us to be.



31



1 Zondervon Pictor ial Bi ble Atlas, Zondervon Pu blishing House, Gr and Rapids, Michigan, 1969,72 p.335

2 Thayer and Smith. "Gr eek Lexicon entry for Eir ene". "The NAS New Testament Gr eek Lexicon".

<http://www. bi blestudytools.net/Lexicons/Gr eek/gr k.cgi?num ber =1515&ver sion=nas>. 1999.

3 Thayer and Smith. "Gr eek Lexicon entry for Koinonia". "The NAS New Testament Gr eek Lexicon".


4 Ralph Mar tin, P hilippians C ommentary , Wipf and Stock, Eugene Or . 1976. p.665 quoted by Mar tin p.676

Mar tin p.717 Micr osoft ® Encar ta ® Refer ence Li br ary 2005. © 1993-2004 Micr osoft Cor por ation. All r ights r eserved.

Ar ticles on Tr ojan War and Peleus8 in this usage it is W[XLVMER because it is the dir ect o b ject of the verb.9 Stagg, Fr ank, T he Broadman Bible C ommentary, Volume 11, 2 C orinthians ± P hilemon, Br oadman Pr ess,

Nashville, 1971 p.19010 Shakespear e, William, Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 111 Vine, W.E. An Expository Dictionary of New T estament Words, Fleming H. Revell, Old Tappan New

Jer sey, 1966, also Mar tin, pp.77,7812 Mar tin, p.8713 Stagg p. 19414 Stagg p.19415 Genesis 3:516 Ralph Mar tin, P hilippians C ommentary , Wipf and Stock, Eugene Or . 1976. p.13717

Collange, Jean-Fr ancois, T he Epistle Of Saint P aul T o T he P hilippians, Tr anslated f r om the Fr ench by A.

W. Heathcote, Epwor th Pr ess, 1979, p. 13418 Ralph Mar tin, P hilippians C ommentary , Wipf and Stock, Eugene Or . 1976 p.15519 Stagg, Fr ank, T he Broadman Bible C ommentary, Volume 11, 2 C orinthians ± P hilemon, Br oadman

Pr ess, Nashville, 1971 p. 21320 Vine, W.E. An Expository Dictionary of New T estament Words, Fleming H. Revell, Old Tappan New

Jer sey, 1966, also Mar tin, pp. 183

21 Thayer and Smith. "Gr eek Lexicon entry for Autar kes". "The NAS New Testament Gr eek Lexicon".


22Ralph Mar tin, P hilippians C ommentary , Wipf and Stock, Eugene Or . 1976. p.161

A Study of Philippians

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