New Testament Study Helps:
Paul's Letter to the Philippians
Letter to the Church at Philippi
1. The Philippian Church
An account of the origin of this church, the first in Europe, is vividly recorded in Acts 16, where three examples of the power of Christianity in Philippi are told. They are (a) the devout proselyte Lydia, a trader in purple cloth from Asia, who serves as a representative of those who were well prepared to receive the gospel (16:11-15); (b) the soothsaying girl whose spirit of divination was exorcised by Paul, and who illustrates the triumph of Christ over the powers of darkness (16:16-18); and (c) the jailer, shaken into a realization of his own need by an earthquake, who shows the power of the gospel to transform entire families, for both he and his household were baptized (16:27-34). Other members of this church who are mentioned in the epistle are Epaphroditus, Euodia, Syntyche, and Clement, all names which point to a predominantly Gentile church. All that is know of the organization of this church is what Paul states in the opening salutation. Although the epistle is addressed to "the saints in Christ Jesus as Philippi", Paul links this description to the more specific reference to "overseers and deacons" who nevertheless appear to be almost in the background. They are probably mentioned only because they were responsible for the organizing of the collection of Paul's work. Their specific mention here shows indisputably that two distinct orders of officials were in existence at an early stage in the history of the church. Acts 14:23 reports that Paul and barnabas appointed elders in every church established on their missionary journey, and it seems most reasonable to suppose that Paul had something to do with the organization of the Philippian church. This church was situated in a historiccity founded by the father of Alexander the Great and named after him. After the rout of Mark Antony's forces by Octavian at the battle of Actium in 31 BC, it was established as a military colony with special privileges of citizenship. This fact may account for the terminology used in Philippians 1:27; 3:20, where Paul speaks of a heavenly citizenship.
2. Occasion
In Philippians 4:18 Paul refers to the gifts sent to him from the readers by the hand of Epaphroditus. It would appear from 2:25 that the Philippians had themselves sent Epaphroditus for the special purpose of ministering to paul's needs. During his service with Paul he suffered a serious illness which proved almost fatal (2:27), and the apostle recognized the goodness of God in sparing him. But the Philippians had heard the Epaphroditus had been ill and a report of their concern for him had reached the sick man. Paul sensed the longing of Epaphroditus to return home and decided to send him back. This decision provided an occasion, probably the main one, for this letter. Other reasons for the letter may be found in: (a) the intimation of Timothy's approaching visit; (b) the apostle's own intention, if possible, to visit them in the near future; and (c) the emphasis in the epistle on unity, which suggests there was a tendency towards diviseness or at least strained relationships (cf 4:2 where two women are urged to reach agreement in the Lord). The purpose of chapter three is to warn against Judaizers in a way that suggests an anticipated threat which has not yet actually arrived.
3. Authenticity
The great majority of scholars hold this epistle as indisputably that of Paul's own writing. A few scholars, however, hold to interpolation theories, yet most of these nevertheless regard the separate parts of the epistle as truly Pauline. The internal evidence is strongly supported by external evidence, which contains no hint of doubt that the epistle in its entirety was Paul's own work.
4. The Place and Date
Since Paul is clearly a prisoner (1:7, 13, 16) the main problem is to identify the imprisonment. The traditional opinion has always been Rome. The reasons for this view are the following:
- It is suggested by the most natural understanding of both "praetorium" (1:13) and "Caesar's household" (4:22). If the former means Praetorian Guard whose headquarters were in Rome or more probably the Imperial Guard, the latter whould suggest the slaves and freedmen attached to the Emperor's residence in the same city, among whom were some who had responded to the claims of the gospel.
- The apostle's trial seems to have been in process and he is awaiting with some sense of imminence the pronouncement of a judgment which could issue in life or death. If this is a correct assumption it could only apply to a trial from which no appeal could be made. This could clearly not apply to the Caesarean imprisonment during which Paul appealed to Caesar.
- The courage of "many" to preach the gospel would be readily understandable in a place like Rome where a considerable church already existed, and this gives it decided advantages over the view that this is the Caesarean imprisonment.
- The personal circumstances of the apostle fit easily into the conditions of the Roman imprisonment, for he has enough freedom to carry on correspondence with his various churches, to receive his companions, and to arrange for their mission. This would well accord with Acts 28:16, 30-31.
- Paul clearly has strong hopes of being releassed in order to visit Philippi in the near future, but at Caesarea his face was turned westwards, and his intentions were furthered by his appeal to caesar.
- There is some early traditional support for this Roman hypothesis from the Marcionite Prologue attached to this epistle, which states that it was sent from Rome.
- If the Roman hypothesis is correct, the epistle would probably have to be dated towards the end of the two year imprisonment mentioned in Acts 28:30.
5. Outline
In progress
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