Paul’s Letter to the Philippians

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:9-10

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Key themes in Philippians are:

• Rejoicing in the sight of God
• Thinking the right things
• Being content and accepting of what God does in one's life
• Being unified as a congregation of believers (note how Paul keeps using the little term 'all' to remind them to avoid factionalism!)
• Celebrating the wonder of what God has done in Christ

From some of Paul's letters one might be forgiven for thinking that all the First Century congregations had terrible problems. Philippians provides a joyful relief from this. It can leave behind first principles (with only a brief reminder of the importance of avoiding a retrograde step back to ritual and obedience of the Law), and concentrate instead on celebrating the love of God and the possibilities of fellowship between believers. It can focus on the importance of having the right attitude before God. It can tell of the importance of being able to distinguish what is truly important in life. Philippians takes discipleship to the next level.

Paul established the church at Philippi during his Second Missionary Journey (Acts 16), and they quickly became a model community for whom Paul had a very special affection. As he left them to continue his preaching work they had sent funds and support to help him out. When he was in prison (the consensus view is that this was in Rome during his Third Missionary Journey, though some think it was earlier, either in Ephesus or Colosse), they sent one of their members, Epaphroditus, to bring a gift. But Epaphroditus himself had become seriously ill, and, upon his recovery, Paul now sends him back to them, with this letter, to thank them and to encourage them in the faith.

In its joyful mood and in its revealing of the obvious affection and appreciation Paul has for the believers to whom he is writing, Philippians probably has most in common with the letters to the Thessalonians (as it turns out, the cities are not too far removed from one another geographically, either).

This letter tends to move back and forth between its themes rather than having a tight progression in its reasoning or structure. These themes are noted under 'Key Facts'. It's interesting that Paul seems to be about to end at 3:1, but then carries on for another two chapters! It's also interesting that given the contention between Euodia and Syntyche (two women in the congregation), Paul chooses to establish the principles of unity first before dealing with the particular example of disunity.

In Phlippians 1 Paul refers to those in the 'palace' who have come to know Christ through Paul's witness. This term in the original Greek refers to the Praetorium Guard, a very high ranking order in the Roman military and political machine. It's fascinating to know that the gospel was spreading even in such circles, and it chimes with Paul's reference to believers amongst those 'in Caesar's household' in Romans.

We learn quite a bit about Paul's outlook on life from Philippians. Despite all the hardship he endured as an apostle, he was able to say "I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." As he sat in prison, not knowing the outcome of his forthcoming trial, he was able to say that he genuinely didn't mind what the outcome would be. He would prefer to die so as to be sooner with his Lord, but he knew that if he was spared he would be able to do more work helping his spiritual brothers and sisters. Everything in his life that was once important to him he had renounced - and it was worth it for the sake of coming to know Christ. All this we learn from Philippians, and so it's small wonder that Paul could also say: "be ye followers of me, even as I am of Christ."