I. Address and Apostolic Greeting to the Church of Philippi and its Ministers, vers, 1, 2: II. Thanksgivings and Prayers, with the Reasons for them both, Philippians 1:3-11: III. Notice of the Progress of the Gospel in Rome; of the Apostle's desire to die and be with Christ; Words of Encouragement u... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:1. PAUL AND TIMOTHEUS. The apostle includes Timotheus with himself in the greeting, because he had been his companion on his first visit to Philippi, and so would naturally be known and dear to the church there (Acts 16:1), almost in an equal degree with St. Paul himself. How highly th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Address and Greeting,_ 1, 2. In this greeting, St. Paul, writing to a congregation to which he was much attached, and which had shown great zeal and love toward him, does not sneak so much in the character of the apostle with authority, but as their founder and the friend of the whole church, whos... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:2. GRACE UNTO YOU. Although St. Paul has not called himself an ‘apostle in writing to this church over which he had so much reason to rejoice, he yet employs the apostolic form of words in his benediction. According to the most accepted MSS., the words are not found in this complete fo... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:3. I THANK MY GOD. This expression is very frequent with St. Paul, and indicates the light in which he looked on God's dealing with him. He could see that all was of God's grace, and so his life was a constant eucharist UPON ALL MY REMEMBRANCE OF YOU. It was not that on every occasio... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thanksgivings and Prayers,_ 3-11. The apostle gives the tone to his Epistle in this opening clause. He is thankful for what he knows of the past conduct of the Philippians, and looks forward with confidence. But the strength to perform is from God, and therefore he mingles his rejoicing with const... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:4. ALWAYS IN EVERY PRAYER OF MINE FOR YOU ALL. We see here how the apostle's thankful-ness manifested itself. There was cause for joy over the Philippian church. Feeling this, St. Paul comes to God with supplication, that as they now stand, so they may continue, and only change to a gr... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:5. FOR YOUR FELLOWSHIP IN FURTHERANCE OF THE GOSPEL. The preposition requires a fuller rendering than is given by the Authorised Version. There the sentence indicates a state of rest; that they with St. Paul were living under the Gospel. He meant much more than this. He spoke of a stat... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:6. BEING CONFIDENT OF THIS VERY THING. The apostle speaks from the depths of his spiritual experience. The good work had been begun in himself, and carried on by the grace of God, so that he confesses (1 Corinthians 15:10), ‘By the grace of God I am what I am.' It is the sense of this... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:7. EVEN AS IT IS RIGHT. The apostle has just grounds for the opinion which he has expressed. He has seen and valued God's work within them, both from their behaviour towards himself and their labours for the spread of the Gospel, and hence he knows that the same grace which has been ab... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:8. FOR GOD IS MY WITNESS. He knows my heart, which you cannot know, and that I appeal unto Him is the greatest pledge of the truth of what I say. HOW GREATLY I LONG AFTER YOU ALL. The warmth of the apostle's affection is very marked in this Epistle (cf. Philippians 4:1), where, as he... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:9. AND THIS I PRAY. Hitherto we have heard nothing of the subject of the apostle's prayer. The mention of the joy with which he made his supplication turned his thoughts aside, and so far he has dwelt only on the reason for that joy, the constancy of the Philippians in the faith, the c... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:10. SO THAT YE MAY APPROVE THE THINGS THAT ARE EXCELLENT. Thus their discernment will do its work. To approve, that is, to put to trial, and reject if they be not worthy, all things which offer themselves in the life of men. Such rejection of what is bad implies the acceptance of what... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:11. BEING FILLED WITH THE FRUITS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. This will be a result of the state mentioned in the previous verse. Men cannot be sincere and void of offence without making their character known by their works. And the apostle prays for his congregation at Philippi that they may be... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:12. NOW I WOULD HAVE YOU KNOW, BRETHREN. Having closed his prayer for their progress, the apostle now begins with that personal part of his letter which refers to his own condition. They might have looked on his imprisonment as a great hindrance to the spread of the Gospel, hence his f... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:12. SO THAT MY BONDS HAVE BECOME MANIFEST IN CHRIST. So that it has become known that the reason why I am imprisoned is because I am a preacher of Christ. Thus he points out how the cause of the Gospel was served by his chains. Many who would never have cared to inquire about Christian... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Progress of the Gospel in_ _Rome St. Paul's desire to depart His Exhortation and Encouragement to the Philippians,_ 12-30, In spite of St. Paul's imprisonment, the Gospel has not been bound, and even those who are not sincere in their preaching of it, yet are a joy to the apostle, because a fa... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:14. AND THAT MOST OF THE BRETHREN IN THE LORD. ‘Brethren in the Lord' or ‘in Christ' (Colossians 1:2) is not the common expression in the New Testament, and seems to signify no more than the usual ‘brethren.' It is clear from what follows that it includes all who in any way identified... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:15. SOME INDEED PREACH CHRIST EVEN OF ENVY AND STRIFE. In St. Paul's time, as well as in other days, work professing to be good has not always been done from a pure motive. There would no doubt be many professing Christians in Rome long before the arrival of St. Paul, for strangers of... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:16. THE ONE DO IT OF LOVE. This verse and the following are interchanged in the oldest MSS. ‘The one refers to those last mentioned, who were truly stirred by the Christian grace of love, and preached from that cause only. And while their love was exhibited towards those who heard them... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:17. BUT THE OTHER PROCLAIM CHRIST OF FACTION. Here is an explanation of the envy and strife. The word rendered ‘faction' (Authorised Version, contention) properly implies ‘self-seeking.' And we know that from the earliest times the Christian communities were troubled by those who sough... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:18. WHAT THEN? _i.e.,_ what is it then? What is the outcome of all their conduct? ONLY THAT IN EVERY WAY, WHETHER IN PRETENCE OR IN TRUTH, CHRIST IS PROCLAIMED. The feeling expressed in these words of St. Paul may be com-pared with our Lord's lesson to His disciples (Mark 9:39). John... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:19. FOR I KNOW THAT THIS SHALL TURN TO MY SALVATION. The apostle means by ‘this' the whole course of opposition from which he was made to suffer. For though he is joyful that Christ is preached by any means, yet he would be much more rejoiced were it all done in purity of spirit. There... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:20. ACCORDING TO MY EARNEST EXPECTATION AND HOPE. The apostle has two things in his mind first, the preaching of the gospel of Christ; second, his own salvation. In reference to the former he is earnestly expectant that he shall never be put to shame by the opposition of his adversari... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:21. FOR TO ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST. My life will be His service wherein I shall consequently enjoy His grace and help. So that it will be work for Christ done through Christ who strengtheneth. This to the zealous apostle was a source of spiritual comfort, but not so great as that of which... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:22. BUT IF TO LIVE IN THE FLESH-IF THIS IS THE FRUIT OF MY WORK. It is not easy to give with certainty the force of the Greek in this verse. But the rendering here recorded seems best to suit with the context. St. Paul has just spoken of the great gain of dying. Now the thought seems t... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:23. BUT I AM IN A STRAIT BETWIXT THE TWO. The verb is one which the LXX. use (Job 36:8) of ‘those who are holden in cords of affliction,' and the apostle describes himself as thus holden and constrained of _(i.e.,_ by) the two things, death or the continuance of life that his work may... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:24. YET TO ABIDE IN THE FLESH IS MORE NEEDFUL FOR YOUR SAKE. He now approaches a reason which confirms him as to what his lot will be. He sees that there is much which lies before him, which God is showing that he would have him do, and the sense that the churches will be the better fo... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:25. AND HAVING THIS CONFIDENCE: that it is needful for the Philippians that he should live on in the flesh. I KNOW. He uses this expression in the sense of ‘I feel certain,' of an inward persuasion or conviction, which we cannot doubt that he often felt brought into his mind through... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:26. THAT YOUR GLORYING MAY ABOUND IN CHRIST JESUS IN ME. The noun here used, ‘glorying,' and its kindred verb, are favourite words with St. Paul. They signify primarily ‘boasting,' but like so many words which have been taken by the New Testament diction for its own, they have received... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:27. ONLY LET YOUR MANNER OF LIFE BE WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. ‘Conversation' of the Authorised Version is used very frequently for a different Greek word, and so should not be employed here. The sentence is best understood from the literal rendering, ‘Behave as citizens worthily... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:28. AND IN NOTHING TERRIFIED BY YOUR ADVERSARIES. We are not definitely told who these adversaries were, but as in Philippians 3:2 the apostle gives strong warnings against the Judaizers, and these are the only persons against whom he does speak, we seem justified in concluding that th... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:29. BECAUSE TO YOU IT HATH BEEN GRANTED. On this grant and its gracious nature, see above on Philippians 1:7. The word is used by St. Paul (1 Corinthians 2:12) of the things that are ‘ freely given' to us by God. IN THE BEHALF OF CHRIST, and as the sufferings are undergone in behalf... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 1:30. HAVING THE SAME CONFLICT WHICH YE SAW IN ME. What they had seen of the apostle's sufferings must have been during his imprisonment at Philippi (see Acts xvi 19). The conflict, though called ‘the same,' need not be taken to imply that the Philippians were exposed as he had. been to... [ Continue Reading ]