Robin Hardy Online
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Paul wrote this letter along with Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians during the two years he was imprisoned in Rome (described in Acts 28:30), AD 59-61. Philippi was an important city in Macedonia (present-day northern Greece) to which God supernaturally summoned Paul. Lydia lived here, and Paul, Luke and Silas experienced some remarkable turbulence during their miraculous ministry here (Acts 16:6-40). Acts 20:1-6 describes the final two, brief visits Paul made to Philippi before his imprisonment in Rome, which probably ended with his death at the hands of Nero. But the time he spent with the Philippians was enough to cement them in his heart as his favorite, his most-loved church. This letter was in response to a gift and a letter they had sent him in prison.
The first two verses are Paul's standard greeting. Here he includes Timothy, his son in the faith and his protégé. Bishops and deacons were overseers of the church, the qualifications for which Paul outlines in 1 Timothy 3:1-13. Grace, which he invokes on all the recipients of his letters, is such a loaded word that Dr. Clarke (see Clarke's Commentary) devotes pages to it alone. Here it means the dazzling, undeserved favor of God, where He pours out blessings on you for no discernible reason.
For the rest of these verses, Paul gushes over the Philippians without apology--"it is right for me to feel this way about you"--because their demonstration of affection has so encouraged and uplifted him. We all need to feel loved. There is also a joyful confidence here, exactly what a parent would feel watching his children do something well. Because of their tangible gift and intangible concern, Paul gives them credit for being partners in his work and his imprisonment. And his ultimate prayer for them is that their lives and work will be found "sincere and without offense" (KJV) on Examination Day (1 Cor. 3:10-15).
It is very hard to watch someone you care about suffer unjustly. The Philippians have clearly been asking, "How could God allow this to happen to Paul?" Paul's response is, God has a greater purpose in mind. The praetorium could refer to just the guard--the thousands of soldiers attached to the Emperor's palace in Rome--or it could refer to everyone in the palace. Because of the liberal conditions surrounding Paul's imprisonment under house arrest, living at his own expense, he was not only highly visible, he was free to speak to anyone who came to see him. As a trailblazer, his example encouraged timid Christians to speak more openly about their faith. His chains rebuked their silence. At the same time, his rivals saw it as an opportunity to grab a little glory for themselves. And they made sure he knew about their success, just to rub his face in it. Remarkably, Paul didn't care. He didn't care who got the credit or what their motives were; the important thing was that message got out.
This is a stunning truth: God honors the message even when the messenger is corrupt. You see it all the time, as when hypocritical preachers deliver sermons through which people are convicted and saved. The fact that people are saved does not excuse the hypocrite--he will be held accountable. Unfortunately, when people see the sins of the messenger, the message is discredited in their eyes. But in reality, hypocrisy does not invalidate the truth any more than murderers invalidate the law. And since outright fraud cannot obliterate the truth, neither can honest mistakes. Because we have the Teacher at our elbow, we're free to bumble ahead in our efforts to teach each other. Which is the only reason you have this to read.
In what sense does Paul mean "deliverance" or "salvation"? If he means he won't die during this imprisonment, he could have been mistaken. Could have been. However, for Paul to have written the letters to Timothy and Titus, he must have been released after two years, traveled some, gotten rearrested and then killed. But he couldn't mean "salvation" strictly as "release" when he goes on to say that to live is Christ and to die is gain. No, I believe that at this point in his life, Paul was so close to the end that he could see the big picture. It was a win-win situation for him: the longer he got to preach in chains, the greater the reward waiting for him. As soon as he died, he would receive that reward (2 Tim. 4:8).
His demeanor in weighing the advantages of living and dying is remarkable, almost like someone debating which present to open first. What is even more remarkable is that he makes a choice as if he has the power to decide whether to be martyred or not at this time. Since he chooses to stay so he can continue to nurture his children in the Lord, maybe he was released from prison for a few more years of profitable work.
But for all that, Paul is not presumptuous. Regardless of the outcome--whether he lives to continue to help them or whether he dies before ever seeing them again--he wants them to live consistently. Their single-mindedness is not only their own best encouragement, it's their most effective weapon. It's apparent from these verses that the Philippians were experiencing some of the same persecution as Paul; therefore, he knew pretty much what they needed to hear. You can imagine that these words coming from him in prison were much more meaningful to them than if he were writing from a cozy little villa on the Mediterranean.
To be granted the privilege of suffering with Christ sounds like a favor we'd rather pass on, until you consider that such a favor is extended only to the toughest, most trusted friends. Look at it this way: the fans believe, but the players suffer. Who wouldn't really rather play than watch, especially if you knew your team was going to win?
Instead of "if" here, read "since;" that is, as they assuredly have such encouragement, comfort, fellowship, etc., then it will thrill old Paul's heart to see them put such attributes to good use. Once again, Paul covers the basics: what you believe is reflected in how you act toward others.
What follows is so staggering that we really can't understand it. (One of the beautiful idiocies of language is that we can put neat little labels on unfathomable concepts, like infinity, God, and heaven.) At some point before time began, Jesus was offered the position of sacrificial lamb, and took it. He voluntarily went from the unlimited nature of God to the constraints of a slave, from the timeless, adored, omnipotent Godhead to an ordinary person who had to eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom. We can't even begin to imagine such a drop in status. We can vaguely understand the difficulties of an ex-president or a fifty-year-old former beauty queen, but to comprehend what it actually meant to let go of the glory of God in order to die a tortured human death is beyond us. (Read "obedient to death" as "obedient to God to the point of dying.") But because Jesus did this, God rebounded him up to the very top of the heap. Verses 10 and 11 are a prophetic certainty. Everyone will fulfill this command, either voluntarily or involuntarily, in this life or the next.
These verses are startling to those of us who were raised believing "once saved always saved." First, verse 12 is best rendered by the RSV, which emphasizes that as the Philippians were obedient in Paul's presence, it is crucial they continue their obedience in his absence. In one breath Paul says, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling," then immediately clarifies, "for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (RSV). Okay, which is it?
Somehow, both. Salvation is not just a one-time action, but also a process. This bit about "fear and trembling" is a warning against complacency. Earth is a battle zone, and the Enemy is constantly surveilling for fatal weaknesses. Your life is at stake. The philosophy that once you're saved, you can do whatever you want and still go to heaven is flatly contradicted by this and many other Scriptures (like 1 Pet. 4:17-18; Heb. 10:26-27; and James 2:24, for starters).
The problem is, as Scripture repeatedly points out, our efforts are not good enough to get us to heaven. That requires the power of God. But since He in His inscrutable wisdom decided to make this process of salvation a joint project, we have to cooperate. Left to ourselves, we cannot even want salvation, so He provides the will. Since we are too weak to act on this desire once we have it, He also enables us. But there He stops. It's up to us to follow through. Dr. Clarke explains, "The possession of the power [to will and to work] does not necessarily imply the use of those powers, because a man might have them and not use (or abuse) them." Use it or lose it.
Do everything the authority figures in your life ask you to do, because a cooperative spirit is a beautiful thing. Even if it turns out to be the wrong thing to do and you knew it all along, God is so touched by a spirit of humility that He will vindicate you much more effectively than you would have vindicated yourself by your carping.
"Blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish" (RSV) is a far more powerful description than it first appears to be. Even at 48, I am still a child of my father. If I live to be 100, I will still be a child of my father; I will always have the genetic predispositions he passed on to me. By the time these Philippian children stand before Christ, they will have seen the fiercest, bloodiest battles the Enemy could engineer. To emerge unscathed, without blemish, they will have had to use all the will and power God had invested in them.
During the Jewish feasts of First Fruits and Pentecost, the cup of libation (or wine offering) was poured on the burnt offering before it was set on fire as "a pleasing odor to the Lord" (Lev. 23:18, RSV). Alcohol is flammable, of course. In a heart-rending analogy, Paul sees his life being poured out as a drink offering on the tangible sacrifice of their faith. The joy comes in knowing that nothing offered to the Lord in obedience is in vain. Incidentally, the burnt offering was wholly devoted to the Lord, wholly burned up. None of it was eaten. (Lev. 1) It is interesting that the great Apostle Paul depicts his sacrifice as secondary to theirs.
Paul now brings up the two men whom he will send to Philippi with this message: Timothy and Epaphroditus. Timothy is introduced to Paul in Acts 16:1-3, and quickly becomes indispensable to him. Epaphroditus, who delivered the Philippians' letter and gift to Paul, receives a special commendation for risking his life in the process. Bear in mind that the mode of travel at that time was primarily on foot, and it was at least 600 miles from Philippi to Rome, over land and sea. Not only had Epaphroditus almost lost his life making the trip once, he was about to turn around and do it again. You know this church had to be special to Paul for him to risk sending Timothy to them, as well.
Finally, acknowledge the goodness of God in any situation, for then you will be unshakeable.
The "dogs," as Paul so eloquently calls them, are the circumcision party--the Jews who said, "It's fine for you Gentiles to be Christian, but you cannot be saved unless you keep all the Law of Moses, including circumcision." This was a very serious question that could have destroyed the early church. Many, many people across Asia were being converted straight from heathenism to Christianity without reference to Judaism, the litmus test of which was circumcision. Was it enough for them to believe in Jesus? Or did genuine faith require obedience to Jesus and to a written code? And if so, where did it end?
What made the question so serious was that God Himself had established circumcision as the sign of the covenant between Himself and Abraham's descendants forever (Gen. 17:9-14). Any male who refused to do it was essentially damned. Now, did Jesus' coming suddenly make God's commands optional? And if circumcision was suddenly optional after thousands of years, what about all the other laws?
This was a particularly sore point for Paul, who had lived on both sides of the issue. He knew the seductive danger of legalism. People who are trying to be good like rules better than relationships because they are so much easier. You just go down your checklist every day, and pretty soon you can be righteous without any thought at all. But of course, that external kind of obedience is not what God wants at all. Rules tend to be dead, dry, and inflexible to new situations or people. Only relationships are alive. In that context, Paul understood that true circumcision is performed on an interior organ, just like Moses had said all along (Deut. 30:6).
This question was finally resolved at a tumultuous conference in Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-21) featuring Paul, Barnabas, Peter, and James versus the circumcision party. When the apostles related the miracles God poured out on the uncircumcised believers, the convention wisely decided they should not attempt to veto God. Circumcision and keeping the Law of Moses would not be required of the Gentile believers. But as some people don't give up easily, the circumcision party is still hounding Paul years after the conference. So it's understandable that he gets a little testy about them.
When Paul talks about "confidence in the flesh" (NIV, RSV, and KJV) he means reliance on human attributes or advantages as the means of pleasing God. The Judaizers considered the simple act of cutting off a piece of skin to be a person's primary means of showing obedience to God. Actually, if done in strict accordance with the Law, this rite was performed when the person in question was eight days old and had nothing to say about it. Long before Jesus, the Old Testament prophets pointed out the flaws in legalism. Jeremiah 9:25-26 warns, "'The days are coming,' says the Lord, 'when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh. . . . For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.'" (NIV)
Paul goes on to say that the Judaizers have nothing on him when it comes to the so-called advantages: he himself was born into the right family, raised in the right religious tradition, and practiced the right snotty legalism. But compared to having a relationship with Christ, all those human advantages he now considers "rubbish" (NIV), "refuse" (RSV), and, most accurately, "dung" (KJV). The word here actually means "excrement." (WHY must the modern translations take the fun out of everything?) Paul has discovered that the only worthwhile pursuit in life is to mold himself to the character of Jesus--sharing His suffering, His death, His resurrection. For different people, that process will take different paths. God will not inflict on you the same daily routine that is necessary for me. But what results is the automatic fulfillment of the Law as the by-product of this striving to know Him.
Probably in response to criticism that he thought he already had it made, Paul protests, not yet. What could be clearer? Forgetting the mistakes and disappointments of the past, fixing our hope on the truth that has been revealed to us, trusting God to rescue us from fatal missteps, we press on. The analogy Paul uses here, as he has used before, is that of running an Olympic race. You run as hard as you can, never taking your eyes off the finish line.
The enemies here are probably the Judaizers again, because, as Paul argues throughout the whole book of Galatians, "If you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you" (Gal. 5:2, RSV). These men are ruled by their bellies--their appetites. They are so enslaved by the power and prestige of having a bunch of disciples (not to mention the financial rewards), that they will never see heaven. What they glory in now will prove to be their undoing. Paul is driven to tears delivering this warning, especially as some of these men are working behind his back to corrupt his beloved Philippians. He can only remind them to hold earthly pleasures with a light hand.
Do you suppose that if Euodia and Syntyche knew they would be immortalized in Scripture for their bickering, they would have made a greater effort to get along? Poor Clement must be husband or brother to one of them, so he needed Paul's special encouragement. The book of life is mentioned as early as Exodus 32:33 and as late as Revelation 20:15.
Memorize these verses. They will help carry you through the darkest times of your life. Forbearance--gentleness--is the indicator of true strength.
Since we are commanded to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30) I can easily fit imagination into three of these four categories. The problem for a storyteller is that the imagination can reel out of control into areas that do not honor God. How do you know if you're on dangerous ground? I use verse 8 as a guideline. Notice that story lines do not have to be explicitly Christian to fit into the criteria of the acceptable.
And there's hope: the God of peace recognizes our efforts to be obedient.
Yikes, another verse that has been quoted to the point of meaninglessness. When Paul says, "I can do all things in him who strengthens me," he's not talking about performing some great athletic feat (although God is certainly due credit for anybody's natural ability). Read the context, and you'll see he's talking about being content regardless of his physical circumstances. It's interesting to contrast this placidity with the impatience just a few verses up, in 3:12-14. There, he's obviously talking in spiritual terms--the prize he's straining toward is not a BMW. Here, in chapter 4, his lack of physical comforts do not peeve him. He has reached a balance in his life that neither the abundance nor the absence of money can upset.
And yet . . . and yet, he sure is appreciative that the Philippians remembered him with more than empty words. They know he has needs--he's under arrest, in chains, yet paying for it himself! It's ludicrous--a prisoner paying rent for jail space. So the Philippians put their money where their mouth is (collectively speaking). Paul knows what it is like to pour yourself out for someone who, when given the opportunity to reciprocate, disappears. As he points out, none of the other churches he founded helped him financially. So the Philippians' generosity is not only preserved as a model example, but evokes the promise that they (and we who follow their example) will never suffer a need that God will not fill. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul goes so far as to brag about the Philippians' generosity (2 Cor. 8:1-5).
Paul's standard closing. Wow--how neat to have reached the pinnacle of the Roman government with his witness, and have believers among his jailers. There are good guys everywhere.
copyright 2003 Robin Hardy
RSV: The Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, 1971, 1973 by the Division of Chrisian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
NIV: HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
KJV: King James Version of the Bible.
