Introduction to the Book of Philippians

Updated
2001-05-26; 14:32:49utc

The history of the church in Philippi begins with a dream by the apostle Paul in which he sees a Macedonian man who calls to him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."[ 1 ]

This dream occurs at the end of a series of frustrating efforts to evangelize in the region of Phrygia, Galatia and Bythinia, according to Luke's report in Acts, Paul and his companions recognize the hand of God in all those experiences, probably in retrospect.[ 2 ] The realization of the dream, however, was not without frustration either. Paul and Silas end up in prison. They progressed from bad to worse.

Yet the dream was the beginning of the evangelizing of Europe, which for centuries would be a bulwark of the Gospel. It was from Europe that, finally, the Gospel went to the ends of the earth. The fact that the center of gravity shifted later on does in no way diminish the importance of Paul's visit to Philippi. We don't know exactly what role Luke played in all this. We conclude from the way Luke uses his personal pronouns, that he joined Paul's company discretely at the time of the crossing. Up to verse 10 Luke speaks about "they," indicating Paul and his companions. But in vs. 10 we read: "After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them."

So the trip to Macedonia started with a vision given by God Himself. How much of Europe was in the grip of darkness we conclude from the prudent way in which the Holy Spirit makes clear the will of God to His servants. There was no voice from heaven as Jonah had received when he was given the message "Go to Nineveh." In contrast some doors were closed quietly so that Paul and Silas were led to the coast of Troas, groping their way as they went along. After this came the dream in the quietness of the night. It was as if Paul received a coded message.

Probably hordes of demons would have thrown themselves upon the evangelists if the instructions had not been given to them secretly. Once Paul, Silas, Luke, and Timothy arrived in Philippi, it was too late. Even at the conversion of Lydia, Satan's eyes were not open. He underestimated the power of the prayers of the women. Satan probably detests prayers of women even more than those of men. But when Paul and Silas later arrived in prison, there was a midnight prayer meeting at Lydia's house. The walls of prison could not withstand that double attack, one from the outside prayer meeting and one from the songs of praise in the prison cell.

The enemy first tried a ruse in order to keep the initiative and to prevent people from being converted by causing a slave girl in Philippi who was a demon possessed fortuneteller to make propaganda for the Gospel. Nobody will ever be born again when Satan quotes the Bible. Only the Holy Spirit alone can open the hearts of people understand the Word of God. The Jews who returned from captivity in Babylon to Jerusalem understood this danger when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin offered help to rebuild the temple.[ 3 ] It is never Satan's intention that men's soul's would be saved. That is why, when Paul cast out the spirit of fortune-telling from the girl, the enemy started an immediate counterattack .[ 4 ]

We learn from all of this that church-planting is a supernatural work. Jesus Himself planted the church in Philippi, beginning with a woman whose heart was open to the Gospel and later with a man who was so shocked by an earthquake that the shackles of his soul came loose, and he was brought over from the power of darkness into the kingdom of God's Son, from darkness into God's marvelous light.

The church in Philippi was God's miracle tree for Paul. It would be an interesting study to make a comparison between Jonah in Nineveh and Paul in Philippi.

The commentaries tell us that Philippi was a Roman settlement which consisted, in Paul's days, mainly of Roman and Macedonian colonists. Many were retired military personnel; the jailer may have been in this category. Situated on the "Via Egnatia," the city was an important place where trade roads converged. Few Jews lived in Philippi when Paul passed through and in the following period. The fact that there was no synagogue so that Paul and Silas had to look for a place of prayer would indicate this.[ 5 ] The designation of Lydia as "a worshipper of God" better describes a Jewish proselyte more than a Jewess. So Paul was forced to deviate from his normal pattern of ministry to bring the Gospel to the Jews first.

The experts do not agree concerning the place of the prison Paul occupied when he wrote this epistle. The majority lean towards Rome, but others place him in Ephesus, e.g. Marcus Loane in The Surpassing Excellence. Others believe he was in Caesarea. I tend to favor the Rome theory. The fact that the Canon groups this epistle with those written to the Ephesians and Colossians seems to confirm this tradition.

The important word in this letter is "joy" and "rejoice." We find these words in 1:4,18, 25; 2:2,17,18,28,29; 3:1; 4:1,4,10. The Greek word is chairo. This word acquired amazing significance against the background of Paul's imprisonment. It lifts us up above all circumstances, and it makes us participate in the joy of the Lord. Chairete en Kurio, "Rejoice in the Lord" is the theme of this epistle. The same supernatural element that was present in the birth of the church in Philippi was present in the prison in which Paul was incarcerated. This joy has no connection with circumstances; it is the joy of the Holy Spirit. It is even a weapon against circumstances the enemy wants to use to exert pressure upon us. In this way Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit when He faced the hardness and lack of understanding of those He came to save. In Luke's Gospel we read: "At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.' "[ 6 ]

We will not make any effort to divide Paul's epistle into sections. It is clear that the coming and departure of Epaphroditus is an important factor in the letter. The church in Philippi had delegated him to take a contribution to Paul, and he was the one who took this epistle back to them. We read this in ch. 2:25: "But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs." Commentators agree that the epistle has a very personal character. Paul had a bond of deep intimate love with the people in Philippi. In ch. 4:1 he calls them "My joy and crown." Isn't it wonderful that as human beings we can mean so much to one another? Our crown will not be an impersonal piece of metal that will be put on our heads in heaven. Our crown will be people who have come to know Jesus Christ through our life and testimony. We may be proud of them. Paul loves these people and they love him. There is no stronger bond among people than fellowship in Jesus Christ. If the love of Christ, which flows towards us from Christ, flows through us to others and from the others back to us, there is joy unlimited, even if our hands and feet are bound.

If this letter was written from prison in Rome it dates approximately from the year AD 62.

[ 1 ] Acts 16:9

[ 2 ] Acts 16:6,7

[ 3 ] Ezra 4:1-5

[ 4 ] Acts 16:16-24

[ 5 ] See Acts 16:13

[ 6 ] Luke 10:21