By Diane Barstow
We’ll begin with the big picture as background and work our way smaller and smaller until we get to our text, verses 1-11.
ROME
Roman Empire: The founding of Rome was in about 753 BC. The Roman Republic was founded in 509 BC, and they went about to conquer the whole known world, and they did!
PHILIPPI
Philippi was a colony city on the Via Ignatia, the leading city of Macedonia. The place where Octavian and Marc Anthony defeated Brutus and Cassius following the assassination of Julius Caesar in 42BC, and renamed in honor of Phillip of Macedon, Alexander the Great’s father who was born in the area. A Roman colonia was originally a settlement of Roman citizens. Establishing a Roman outpost in Federated or conquered territory was for the purpose of securing it. It was a military outpost and was a city of patriotic citizens (important designation), retired military, and was of Greek culture and idolatry. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city visited by Paul on his second and third missionary journeys. Paul wrote a letter to the church there.
Having a Roman colony on the Via Ignatia gave Rome control of commerce between Europe and Asia and linked a chain of Roman colonies and outposts. (VE may have been an historic trade route in the Balkans passing through Albania north Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey and was constructed by the Romans in the second century BC. Like most Roman roads it was about 19 feet wide, paved, and had milestones.
Because it was a Roman ruled city, with a Greek frame of mind, there were not many Jews there. According to Paul’s account in Acts 16, there were not 10 Jewish men there to make a minyan and have a synagogue. Where there is no synagogue, the Jews would meet down by a river to worship God. You will recall at this time the Temple was still functioning in Jerusalem.
We’ve covered Rome as the ruler of the known world, and Philippi as a chief city and colony of Rome in Macedonia, now we will talk a little about Paul the apostle, his first contact with Macedonia, and the people there.
PAUL THE APOSTLE
Saul of Tarsus, (Paul the Apostle) was born likely 4 AD. Since he thought it necessary to include a bit of an autobiography in this letter, (chapter 3) we should be careful to observe what he has to say about himself, examine what he had naturally to boast about, and what he lost for the sake of knowing Christ! His bona fides are impeccable - born Roman citizenship, heritage, education, status as a Pharisee - later he’ll describe this as valueless biohazardous waste!
Saul of Tarsus studied under the famous rabbi, Gamaliel, and was present, and agreeing to, the stoning of Stephen, the first martyr of the church. From then on, his bloodthirstiness and zeal for The Law was inflamed. He asked for and received authority from the high priest to prosecute the believers in Jesus called The Way. He was to pursue these believers all the way to Syria. It was on the road to Damascus that he encountered Jesus! He was knocked to the ground and blinded. He was led by the hand into the city and did not eat or drink for three days. Ananias was told by a vision to go and heal Saul. A number of years pass, and Saul goes to Arabia to study, back to Antioch, and then on to Tarsus for safety. The church in Antioch sent Barnabas to find Saul and they returned together to Antioch. where he and Barnabas are separated out by the Lord for service. Saul taught in Antioch for some time. He and Barnabas were sent to Jerusalem with a financial gift to help the believers in Judea because of famine and then return to Antioch. They are separated to the Lord and sent out carry the gospel to the world. BTW the name change from Saul of Tarsus to Paul is first documented in Acts 13:9, during the first missionary journey - in Cyprus.
Paul describes some of the horrific trials he endured during his missionary journeys in 2nd Corinthians 11/12. He was beaten, stoned and left for dead, incarcerated, and rejected, yet this is a man who had received five separate visions from the Lord (Jesus Himself in Acts 9, the Macedonian call Acts 16, encouragement in Corinth in Acts 18, a vision of heaven in 2nd Corinthians, an another vision in Jerusalem in Acts 22) - no wonder he was confident in his calling, driven, determined, and passionate. He had direct orders from the Lord Jesus himself!
Paul felt very personally responsible for the spiritual health of the churches he founded. He wrote letters to many of them. Some more instructional, some were corrective, some were encouraging, and some censorious - but this could be termed a love letter.
The story of Paul’s journey to Philippi begins (Acts 15:36) with a desire to revisit the churches he founded on his first missionary journey and deliver to them (Gentile believers) the instructions from the “Pillars of the Church" in Jerusalem. The events which happened next are right out of a soap opera. Conflict! Messy break up! You go your way, and I’ll go mine! Paul then selected Silas to accompany him and left Antioch. He stopped in Lystra to pick up Timothy as an additional team member and continued on his journey. The Holy Spirit had very specific instructions for them, do not go north to Asia, and do not go south to Bithynia, certainly not eastward from where they had come - but west to Europe via Troas (where Luke would join the merry party and begin his personal account saying, “We.”) This is where Paul had a vision of a man saying come to Macedonia and help us. They set sail to Samothrace and Neapolis and then on foot to Philippi.
Do you suppose Paul was scanning the crowd for the face of the man in his vision? Finding no synagogue there, on the first Sabbath they went to the river side. Who does Paul meet? Lydia - a worshiper of God and seller of purple from Thyatira. A seller of purple was someone who provided garmentry to royals and Roman officials (purple indicates power) The purple dye (called Tyrian purple) was made from the shells of seasnails, and it took many shells to make enough dye for fabric, and so it was very expensive. She was likely single, and wealthy, and probably inherited the business from her father or husband. Paul speaks, God opens her heart, she and her household are saved and baptized! She then urged them strongly, to make her home their headquarters.
Paul spent some length of time in Philippi preaching the gospel in the city. He traveled daily through the agora, the central marketplace, and was repeatedly accosted by a young girl inhabited by a demon, that was a fortuneteller. She would follow Paul, Silas and Timothy around, proclaiming them to be servants of the Most High God. Paul, his patience exhausted, demanded the spirit of divination leave her, and she was delivered. Her masters recognized that their hope of profit from her fortune-telling was gone, so they dragged them before the authorities and said that Paul was teaching things and proclaiming customs which are not lawful for them to accept or to observe, being Romans. Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into jail. While singing hymns to God in their cell, they experienced a miracle earthquake which led to the salvation of the jailer and his household.
According to Acts 16 the church is founded by Jewish women, a Greek jailer, and perhaps a formerly demon-possessed slave-girl! Now that’s diversity!!
PHILIPPIANS
Philippians was written from prison likely in Rome, in the year 62-63 AD, the 8th in chronology of the NT. Warren Wiersbe calls Philippians ‘The book of Joy’, and Walvoord calls it, ‘Philippians - Triumph in Christ!’ So, while you’re studying this book over the next couple of months, be looking for joy which is mentioned five times, and rejoice 11 times! And also, be looking for triumph (and joy as they go hand-in-hand)! Where it is found, God’s supreme, consummate triumph over sin and death, the key to having a triumphant life (see chapter 2 - it’s humility), and Paul’s examples - Jesus, himself, Timothy, and Epaphroditus. Look for the words of respect with which Paul addresses this church, of mostly gentiles. Hear the tender, loving care with which he writes, remember, after he founded the church, they heard nothing from him for two years. And when they did hear about him, (imprisonment!) they immediately sent very generous personal financial support by the hand of Epaphroditus. After the miraculous recovery of Epaphroditus, he acknowledged their concern for the man and sent him home with a sincere thank you note.
Paul will outline practical ways to live a joyful and triumphant life, such as he is living, despite current circumstances. If he can be triumphant and have joy under his circumstances, they can too! As with any literature, bolo for style and tone - chapter 2:5-11 has been called a poem and was sung as a hymn in the early church! I tried to imagine myself in the congregation hearing this letter being read. Their concern for him was sincere - what a relief it must have been to see Epaphroditus and hear Paul’s news. Years ago, my prayer group was praying my son through USMC boot camp, and I would save his letters home to be read before we prayed because the group had some ownership of his successes!
As I was studying, I read a lot of commentaries. The one I enjoyed the most was Skip Heitzig’s, “The Bible from 30,000 Feet”. We zoom out and get an overview of the context of the book! We see the even bigger picture - the topography of the book: hills, valleys, mountains, green pastures! Peaceful and enjoyable places by the riverside, the valley of the shadow of death, mountains to scale, solid rock to stand upon!
SALUTATION
“Paul and Timothy, bond servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: grace to you and peace from God, our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
There are 4 things I’d like to point out in this first paragraph which illustrate Paul’s humility - 1/He includes Timothy equally in this from portion, 2/He refers to themselves as bond-servants {love slaves} (the Greek word is doulos - are those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing His cause among men: used of the apostles, of other preachers and teachers of the gospel, of the true worshipers of Christ) 3/Paul makes no distinction of position among the believers there - all called saints equally! 4/He uses his usual mixed greeting - the Greek style “grace” and the Hebrew style “peace”. Essentially saying, may God flood you with His unmerited favor, and may peace with God and the peace of God fill your hearts and minds!
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.” (Many of these verbs are in the present tense - continuous action.) They shared in every aspect of his ministry, so he sees their participation as partnership, and he is very grateful for it.
Paul has such warm, loving memories of this little band of believers that his prayers for them are filled with love and gratitude. Don’t you find it easy to pray and ask God ‘s blessing on those you love!? And as a challenge, don’t we find it harder to pray for those whom we love less, or are our enemies?
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
I’m going to land here for a minute! This is one of my most favorite scriptures - it’s a covenant promise, or as we today call ‘a legal contract.’ A legal contract is a formal agreement between two or more parties that creates mutual obligations enforceable by law. The elements include: An offer - a clear proposal made by one party to another. Acceptance - the agreement of the other party to the terms of the offer. Consideration - something of value exchanged between the parties such as money, services or goods. Capacity - the legal ability of the parties to enter into a contract, meaning they must be a legal age and sound mind. Legality - the contract purpose must be lawful; agreements for illegal activities are not enforceable.
Isaiah 1:18 is God’s offer of salvation. Acceptance is found in John 1:12 to as many as received Him, consideration is of course the price God paid for our sins John 3:16, we are certain about God’s capacity to uphold His end of the promise, and finally - this covenant is I perfect alignment with God’s justice.
“For it is only right (just) for me to feel this way (on behalf of) about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.” (Again, these verbs are in the present tense) You’ll recall Luke’s account that the fledgling church received Paul and Silas after their beating and imprisonment in Philippi, and they sent him a monetary gift when they found out he was imprisoned again, this time in Rome. Their acceptance of Christ, and continuance in the faith is confirmation of the Gospel
“For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.” This word affection is very interesting in the Greek. It’s the bowels or intestines. The bowels were regarded as the seat of the more violent passions, such as anger and love, but by the Hebrews, as the seat of the tenderer affections, especially kindness, benevolence, and compassion hence, equivalent to our heart, tender mercies, affections.
“And this, I pray that your love (agape: unconquerable benevolence) may abound still more and more in real knowledge (precise and correct of things ethical and divine) and in all discernment (moral discernment, the understanding of ethical matters, perception) so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere (able to be unfolded and examined in the light and found pure, unsullied) and blameless (used 3 X in this book {2:15} it’s how he describes {3:6} himself in regards to the Law) until the day of Jesus Christ;
“Having been filled (perfect tense: describes an action which is viewed as having been completed in the past, once for all, not needing to be repeated) with the fruit (Gk karpos, fruit taken by the hand, plucked) of righteousness (Gal 5:22, Eph 5:9, James 3:18, Heb 12:11, Rom 6:22) {a result of the presence of the Holy Spirit} which comes through Jesus Christ (John 16:7) (which results in) to the glory and praise of God.”
CONCLUSION
Whew - that was a lot! Now as you read this letter, remember what you’re looking for:
Joy
Triumph
Humility
Examples
Sacrificial love
Terms of endearment
The goal of life - always moving forward {Daytona example}
Prescription for anxiety
Phil. 1:1-11 “Paul and Timothy, bond servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace, to you and peace from God, our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are takers with me of grace. For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Jesus Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Christ Jesus, to the glory and praise of God.” (New King James Version)
“From: Paul and Timothy, slaves of Jesus Christ. To: the pastors and deacons, and all the Christians in the city of Philippi. May God bless you all. Yes, I pray that God, our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will give each of you his fullest blessings, and His peace in your hearts and your lives.
All my prayers for you are full of praise to God! When I pray for you, my heart is full of joy, because of all your wonderful help in making known the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am sure that God Who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in His grace until His task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns. How natural it is that I should feel as I do about you, for you have a very special place in my heart. We have shared together the blessings of God both when I was in prison, and when I was out, defending the truth and telling others about Christ. Only God knows how deep is my love and longing for you – with the tenderness of Jesus Christ. My prayer for you is that you will overflow more and more with love for others, and at the same time keep on growing and spiritual” (NASB)
Acts 15:36 - 16:40 “Then after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing. “Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to work. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so, Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman (Lois/grandmother, Eunice) who believed, but his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren, who were at Listra and Iconium. Paul wanted to have him go on with him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek. And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrease to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. So, the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number daily.
Now, when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So, passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “come over to Macedonia and help us. “Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we (this where Luke enters the chat) sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.
Therefore, sailing from Troas, we came a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days. and on the Sabbath day, we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to hear the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So, she persuaded us.
Now what happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortunetelling. This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation. “And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned, and said to her spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble, our city; and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.” Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fasten their feet in the stocks.
But at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awakening from his sleep, and seeing that the prison doors were open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword, and was about to kill himself. But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here. “Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? “So, they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be safe, you and your household. “Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. Now, when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them, and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
And when it was day, the magistrates sent to the officers saying, Let those men go. “So, the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now, therefore depart, and go in peace. “But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us openly, un-condemned Romans, and have thrown us into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out. “And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans. They came and pleaded with them and brought them out and asked them to depart from the city. So, they went out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.