Paul's Ministry To The Gentiles

INTRO

The book of Philippians is the thirty-third book in our study and is another of Paul’s prison epistles (letters). The letter to the believers in Philippi, like so many of Paul’s letters we’ve studied so far, continues to unfold Paul’s journey in Acts. Philippi was the first church in Macedonia that Paul began. Paul wrote the letter from Rome during his first imprisonment there around AD 60–62. Evidence of that is found within the letter (Philippians 1:13; 4:22), in the book of Acts (28:16, 30-31), in Ephesians (6:18–20), and in Colossians (4:2–4). Some scholars, however, believe the book was written from Caesarea, located on the sea, near the end of Paul’s two-year imprisonment there.¹ According to Philippians 1:20, Paul anticipated his imprisonment was coming to an end.

The city of Philippi was named originally Krenides, or The Little Fountains, which referred to the little springs nearby. The city was renamed in honor of Philip II of Macedon, who was the father of Alexander the Great. Nearby gold mines attracted many people to the area. Philip conquered the city and the surrounding area in the fourth century BC, and the city became part of the Roman province of Macedon in the second century BC. Its fame really came years later when, in 42 BC, after the assassination of Julius Caesar in the Roman senate, the armies of Antony and Octavian, both of whom had supported Caesar, defeated the armies of Brutus and Cassius, both of whom had opposed Caesar. The city/region then became a Roman colony of the new Roman Empire.²

Paul founded the church at Philippi during his second missionary journey. When Paul arrived in Philippi, only a small Jewish population existed there. The Jewish population was so small that less than ten men were there for a synagogue to exist, so Jewish women in the city went outside the city along the Gangites River. Paul met the women there (Acts 16:13), and preached the gospel to them. The first believer in Philippi was a woman named Lydia. She was also a successful businesswoman, with wealth and a large home for the church to meet in. She invited Paul and Silas to stay with her there. Opposition came immediately through another woman, a demon-possessed girl who was a fortune teller and a slave. In response to her shouts and curses, Paul cast out the demon, making her master angry because she could no longer make money for him. Paul and Silas were grabbed by the crowd and taken before the magistrate, who had them beaten and imprisoned them in the jail in shackles (Acts 16). Their chains were broken and the gates were opened through an earthquake, but Paul and Silas stayed where they were. When the jailer found them, he accepted Christ as well as those in his household. The next day, the magistrates found out they had treated Paul and Silas illegally, since they were both Roman citizens, and they asked Paul and Silas to leave. Paul visited Philippi two more times—once at the beginning of his third missionary journey as he moved on toward Athens and Corinth and a second time on his return. Paul loved the church in Philippi (Philippians 4:15–16). The church in Philippi had generously given to the Jerusalem offering. They also sent a delegation to Rome to check on Paul, which included Epaphroditus, who came to minister to Paul. Epaphroditus became seriously ill, either while he was on his journey to Rome or while he was with Paul. Paul sent Epaphroditus back to Philippi for his health, and sent his letter to the church there with him.³

MacArthur identifies five purposes for Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. First, Paul wrote to say thanks for their generous gifts. Second, Paul wanted to explain why he sent Epaphroditus back to Philippi. Third, Paul wanted to give them an update of his circumstances in Rome. Fourth, Paul encouraged them toward unity. Fifth, Paul warned the believers there against the dangers of false teachers.⁴ Paul also wrote about the Exalted One (2:5–11) who humbled Himself, even unto death on the cross (Mark 10:45). The second theme of the book is that of joy. The theme is so prevalent Paul used five different Greek words throughout the book for joy, and mentioned joy 15 different times.⁵.

TEACHING

Philippians 1:1: The first 11 verses contain Paul’s greeting. Paul used the word “slave” or “bondservant” to describe his position in Christ (v. 1). MacArthur explains the word “denotes a willing slave who was happily and loyally linked to his master” (James 1:1;

2 Peter 1:1; Jude 1).⁶ He addressed “all the saints . . . who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.” Paul did not know all the believers there because the church had continued to grow since he had been there.

Philippians 1:2-8: He continues with his customary greeting of grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 2). His statement in verses 3–6 was not customary but seems to express a very personal relationship between him and the Philippian congregation. He prayed for them without condemnation but with joy because they had never stopped doing the work of Christ from the beginning. Paul had no concern that the church there would go astray from what they had been taught about the work of Christ. They had been real partners with him, and there was deep affection between them (vv. 7–8). The phrase “in the day of Christ Jesus” in verse 6 does not refer to the day of the Lord, but “looks to the final salvation, reward, and glorification of believers.”⁷

Philippians 1:9-11: Paul acknowledged he missed them deeply with the “affection of Christ Jesus.” This phrase is based on the strongest Greek word “to express compassionate love—a love that involves one’s entire being,” and “refers to the internal organs, which are the part of the body that reacts to intense emotion.”⁸ Paul told them he was praying for them, that their love would continue to grow in knowledge and discernment (v. 9). He wanted them to be able to discern what is superior and pure and blameless (v. 10). The result Paul desired was that the Philippians would be filled with God’s righteousness and bring glory and praise to Him (v. 11).

Philippians 1:12–26: In verses 12–26, Paul shares his circumstances with the Philippians. First, he explains his being in prison had “resulted in the advance of the gospel” and had shown the imperial guard and the people of Rome that he was in prison for the sake of Christ (vv. 12–13). Second, he shared that other believers had become more fearless in speaking the gospel message after seeing his imprisonment (v. 14). Third, however, Paul’s enemies were beginning to speak out against him because they “were jealous of his apostolic power and authority, his success and immense giftedness”⁹ (vv. 15–17). Fourth, Paul stated it didn’t matter why people preached or what their motives were as long as Christ is still proclaimed! In the remainder of the chapter, Paul gave account of all the hardships he had endured and his desire that no matter what happened in his life, he would bring glory to his Lord, Jesus Christ.

CLOSING

Paul stressed that, for him, living meant giving his entire life to Christ’s calling, and dying meant being in the presence of his Lord.