_Therefore, my brethren_ The exhortation contained in this verse appears to be closely connected with the latter part of the preceding chapter, from which certainly it ought not to have been separated. It is as if the apostle had said, Since such a glorious change awaits all those who, in consequenc... [ Continue Reading ]
_I entreat thee also, true yoke-fellow_ St. Paul had many fellow- labourers, not many yoke-fellows. In this number was Barnabas first, and then Silas, whom he probably addresses here; for Silas had been his yoke- fellow at the very place, Acts 16:19. _Help those women who laboured_ together _with me... [ Continue Reading ]
_Rejoice in the Lord alway_ For, as believers in Christ, as children and heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ of the heavenly, incorruptible inheritance, and as persons assured that all things, even those that are the most distressing in appearance, shall work together for your good, you have s... [ Continue Reading ]
_Finally_ Το λοιπον, _as for what remains_ for me to say, it may be despatched in a few words. The apostle, says Macknight, “being anxious to make the Philippians virtuous, mentions, in this exhortation, all the different foundations on which virtue had been placed, to show that it does not rest on... [ Continue Reading ]
_I rejoiced in the Lord greatly_ Who directs all events. St. Paul was no stoic; he had strong passions, but all devoted to God; _that now, at the last_ By your present, which I have received from Epaphroditus; _your care of me has flourished again_ “Here, as in many other passages of his writings, t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Not that I speak in respect of want_ As if he had said, I do not speak thus feelingly of the renewal of your care because I was unhappy in poverty; _for I have learned_ From God, he only can teach this; _in whatever state I am_ In whatever circumstances God is pleased to place me, whether in plenty... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ye know that in the beginning of the gospel_ When it was first preached at Philippi; _no church_ No Christian society, as such; _communicated with me_ In the matter of _giving_ me money, _and_ of my _receiving_ money from them; _but ye only_ I received money from no church but yours. _Not because I... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now unto God and_, rather, even _our Father_ Or, _To our God and Father_, as τω Θεω και πατρι ημων properly signifies, _be glory for ever_ Which is justly due, and shall certainly be given to him by those of the angelic host who never fell, and by those of mankind who have been or shall be recovere... [ Continue Reading ]