What makes Philippians special?
The apostle Paul wrote
this letter to the Lord's followers at Philippi while he was in jail in
a city he does not name. Even though he faced difficult times, Paul
wanted to remind the Philippians to remain faithful to the good news
about Christ that Paul had first preached to them (ACTS 16:12-40;
PHILIPPIANS 4:15-17). Paul reminds the Philippians that they may have
to face suffering, just as he has suffered (1:30; 2:17,18), but they
should not be afraid of such suffering, since "Christ gives the
strength to face anything" (4:13). Paul's strong words of faith in this
short letter have given encouragement to Christians ever since it was
first written.
Why was Philippians written?
Paul
wanted to thank the Philippians for helping him with their gifts and
prayers (1:5; 4:10-19) and to tell them what had been happening to him
since he was arrested by the Romans. Paul was also aware of problems
among the followers in the church he had organized at Philippi some
time earlier. The Christians there were arguing about whether or not
the new followers of Jesus needed to obey the Law of Moses (3:2-11).
What's the story behind the scene?
The
author of ACTS reports that Philippi was the very first city Paul
visited after he crossed over to southeastern Europe from Asia Minor
(Acts 16:11,12). Philippi was an important city of Macedonia, located
on the eastern end of the major highway called the Egnatian Way, which
merchants and the Roman army used to carry goods and supplies between
the eastern part of the empire and the capital city of Rome in the
west. Philippi was named after Philip II, the father of Alexander the
Great. Philip made the city into a fortress and the capital of his
growing kingdom in the fourth century B.C.
PHILIPPIANS is
considered one of Paul's Prison Letters (along with EPHESIANS,
COLOSSIANS, and PHILEMON) because it was most likely written by Paul
from jail. It is not known exactly how many times Paul was in jail or
in how many different places. ACTS, however, says that Paul was
imprisoned in Ephesus (ACTS 19:1-21) and Caesarea (ACTS 24:24-26:32),
and was under house arrest in Rome (ACTS 28:11-30). Paul may have
written PHILIPPIANS from one of these cities or from some other city in
the eastern Mediterranean, where Roman guards were stationed (1:13).
How is Philippians constructed?
Paul
begins his letter with a Christian form of the words of greeting
traditionally used in formal Greek letter writing, and he ends with a
final greeting (4:21-23). As in many of Paul's letters, the
introduction is followed by prayers of thanksgiving for the people he
is writing to. In the rest of the letter Paul gives news about his
present situation, offers advice and encouragement to the Philippian
Christians, and expresses his thanks for the help they had given him in
the past. PHILIPPIANS can be outlined in the following way:
Paul greets and gives thanks for the Philippians (1:1-11)
Paul
begins with a formal greeting often used in Greek letter writing. As in
many of his letters, he follows his greeting with a prayer of
thanksgiving for those he is writing to.
Living for Christ, God's humble servant (1:12-2:18)
Even
though Paul was in jail, he continued to share the good news about
Christ. Whether he lived or died or suffered, he would be with Christ.
He encouraged the Philippian Christians to face suffering with the same
hope. Paul reminds the recipients of his letter about how Jesus became
a servant, and encourages them to follow Christ's example and to live
as "lights" in the world.
Encouragement and advice (2:19-4:9)
Paul
tells the Philippian Christians that he is going to send two trusted
friends, Timothy and Epaphroditus, to give them encouragement. He also
warns them about following people who are insisting that new followers
must live by the Law of Moses. He uses his own life as an example to
show that faith in Christ is the most important thing, and to encourage
them to live as God's children.
Final words of thanks and greeting (4:10-23)
Paul
prays that God will take care of the needs of the Christians in
Philippi in the same way they took care of Paul's needs in the past.
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