Sermon
Series: Philippians, Part 1
An Introduction to Paul’s Epistle
to the Church at
Philippi
Philippians
1:1-8
1
Paul and Timotheus, the servants of
Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the
bishops and deacons: 2 Grace
be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 3
I thank my God upon every remembrance
of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request
with joy, 5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until
now; 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it
until the day of Jesus Christ: 7 Even as it is meet for me to think
this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds,
and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my
grace. 8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in
the bowels of Jesus Christ.
Introduction:
Philippians is an epistle. Some of the writings found in
the New Testament Scriptures were not written as epistles, strictly speaking,
since they do not follow epistolary format. Hebrews, and Romans, especially,
though they do contain some of the traits that characterize epistles in the
culture of the day, may properly be referred to as treatises. In the case of
the Gospels a unique biographical form is found, even though in the
introduction to the Gospel of Luke, as in
Acts, there is evidence that it was sent as an
apologetic, a letter in defense of the Gospel. The apocalyptic form of Revelation
includes seven letters, but none follow what would be understood as epistolary
form in the Mediterranean world of the first century. Philippians is one of the
19 true epistles among the 27 books in the New Testament canon.
“Although the New Testament
Epistles draw upon certain features of letter writing that were prevalent in
the surrounding Greek and Roman culture at the time of their composition, they
also possess features that make them unique.”[1]
Philippians is a church epistle. Some of the epistles in
the New Testament were written to individuals, such as Philemon, and the three
“pastoral” epistles to Timothy and Titus. The majority of the New Testament
epistles were written to churches. Philippians is one of them.
Acts 16:12-40
Philippians is a prison epistle. It was written by the
Apostle Paul during his first Roman imprisonment, probably in A.D. 60-61
towards the end of that imprisonment, and after the other “prison” epistles
were written: Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon. The seems to be little doubt
that the only Pauline epistles written after Philippians were the pastorals: 1
Timothy, Titus, and finally 2 Timothy.
According to J. Sidlow Baxter[2]
the four key verses of Philippians are:
1:21 — For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
2:5 — Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus:
3:10 — That I may know him, and the power
of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable unto his death;
4:13 — I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth me.
Whether we agree with Baxter or not about these verses being
keys to the chapters they set in, there should be little debate about these
four verses being worthy of inclusion in any list of the epistle’s highlights along
with the following:
1:6 — Being confident of this
very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
3:8
— Yea doubtless, and I count all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
3:14
— I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus.
4:4 — Rejoice
in the Lord alway: and again I say,
Rejoice.
4:8 — Finally,
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things
are just, whatsoever things are
pure, whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report;
if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these
things.
4:19 —
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by
Christ Jesus.
Last, but certainly not least, is the passage that has
been called the carmen Christi,[3]
the great “Hymn of Christ” (or: “hymn to Christ,” “song of Christ”):
2:6-13 — 6 Who, being
in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father.
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is
God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
This epistle begins with three sentences in the English
translation (KJV, and NKJV; 5 in NASB, ESV, and HCSB; 8 in NLT; 4 in YLT).
“The New Testament epistle is a
fixed form consisting of five main parts:
·
opening or salutation (sender,
addressee, greeting)
·
thanksgiving (including such features
as prayer for spiritual welfare, remembrance of the recipients, and
eschatological climax)
·
body of the letter (beginning with
introductory formulas and concluding with eschatological and travel material)
·
paraenesis (moral exhortations)
·
closing (final greetings and
benediction)
Two of these elements are unique
to the New Testament Epistles—the thanksgiving and paraenesis. Additionally,
although Greek and Roman letters also begin with a salutation, the New
Testament Epistles change the bland “greetings” to the theologically charged
formula “grace and peace.” In yet another innovation, the bodies of the New
Testament Epistles do not deal primarily with everyday business matters but
with spiritual and moral matters.”[4]
Outline:
I. The Salutation (1:1-2)
II. The Thanksgiving (1:3-7)
III. The Heartbeat
(1:8)
I. The
Salutation (1:1-2)
1
Paul and Timotheus, the servants of
Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the
bishops and deacons:
2
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the “envelope” of the letter
with a “From” and a “To” line, and a standard Christian greeting.
1. The Envelope (1:1)
2. The Greeting (1:2)
1.
The Envelope (1:1)
There are two men mentioned in the
“From” line, and two parts to the “To” line on the envelope:
1)
The “From” line is “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ”
Notice what is absent from this epistle.
There is no mention of Paul as an Apostle. This was emphasized purposely in
other epistles, in Galatians and 2 Corinthians, for perhaps the two most
prominent examples, but that is not what is emphasized by Paul in this epistle.
Servanthood, “the servants of Jesus
Christ,” is a theme that is consistent with his emphasis throughout the rest of
the epistle.
2)
The “To” line is “to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with
the bishops and deacons”[5]
Notice what is included here:
1)
“all the saints in Christ Jesus…at Philippi,” and
2)
“the bishops and deacons.”
He is writing to the entire Church.
Paul is writing to the entire Church at Philippi as a Church, a Church of
Christ, a Church that is fully developed with Biblical leadership. This epistle
is addressed to every saint in that Church, and not just to the officers, not
even first to the officers. It is addressed first and foremost to every member
of that Church. The bulk of the epistles in the New Testament are addressed to
churches, and the responsibility for the contents of those letters falls on the
entire congregation on the “envelope.” They are sent to congregations as
congregations. They are not sent first to their leaders to decide what parts of
those epistles they might deem appropriate for the non-officers in the
congregation to deal with. There are three pastoral epistles among those in the
New Testament, but this is not one of them, and neither are any of the other 16
including the “treatise” epistles, Romans and Hebrews.
2.
The Greeting (1:2)
There are also two parts to the
standard Christian greeting each of which has two elements:
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our
Father, and from the Lord Jesus
Christ.
1)
The Blessings of “Grace…and peace”
The difference between the two is
significant culturally, and the order is important theologically.
The Jewish “shalom” does not stand
alone anymore.
It is only on the basis of God’s grace
that we now have a relationship with Him of peace, via a status established in
His fulfillment of the promised Covenant of Peace in the Person of His Son, the
Prince of Peace, Who in His Person is our Peace.[6]
2)
The Sources
in “God our Father, and…the Lord Jesus
Christ”
The inclusion of both of these
Trinitarian Persons linked to the two blessed words that preceded is important
soteriologically, and theologically.
If Jesus were not God, God the Son,
then the way that this is phrased would be blasphemous. To parallel Him to the
Father and title Him as Lord in the same breath is blasphemous in itself if He
is not a divine Person. To express this parallel sourcing with the Father when
it comes to God’s grace and peace makes it even more so.
II. The
Thanksgiving (1:3-7)
3
I thank my God upon every remembrance
of you,
4
Always in every prayer of mine for you
all making request with joy,
5
For your fellowship in the gospel from
the first day until now;
6
Being confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
7
Even as it is meet for me to think this
of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and
in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my
grace.
From the Second Missionary Journey to
the Second Advent of Christ:
There is a time span in these verses
that began about ten years before[7]
during Paul’s second missionary journey (circa A.D. 49-51), and reaches into
the future for the Second Advent of Christ.
1. The Beginning of the Good Work (1:3-6a)
2. The Conclusion at the Day of Christ Jesus (1:6b)
3. The Defense and Confirmation of the Gospel (1:7)
1.
The Beginning of the Good Work (1:3-6a)
3
I thank my God upon every remembrance
of you,
4
Always in every prayer of mine for you
all making request with joy,
5
For your fellowship in the gospel from
the first day until now;
6 Being confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you…
It all began with a vision. When a survey is conducted of
the life of the Apostle Paul with a focus on when he received direct revelation
from God, the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ to him on the road to
Damascus, and the vision of the man from Macedonia stand out as perhaps the
most dramatic direction given to him of all. This is only comparable to the
vision that Peter received in preparation for his visit to the house of
Cornelius. To a lesser degree perhaps, when the extent of the later impact is
considered, was the Spirit’s direction of Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch, and
the Lord’s vision to Paul to encourage him to stay in Corinth. Paul had no
doubt whatsoever when he first went to Philippi that he was in the right place
at the right time.
2.
The Conclusion at the Day of Christ Jesus (1:6b)
will
perform it until the day of Jesus
Christ
“God does not cause people to
be born again with new eyes, only to let them die and go blind for eternity.”
— John Piper, A Peculiar Glory: How the Christian
Scriptures Reveal Their Complete Truthfulness (Wheaton: Crossway, 2016),
pg. 179.
Note: Piper bases this on 1
Cor. 1:8-9; Phil. 1:6; and Rom. 8:35.
“When I am anxious that I may
make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the
promises…” (Phil. 1:6; Heb. 7:25)
— John Piper, Future Grace (Sisters, OR: Multnomah
Books, 1995), pg. 61; cp. also pp. 248, and 317-318.
“There is little question that
there is an eschatological goal in view.”
— Fred G. Zaspel, Warfield on
the Christian Life: Living in Light of the Gospel, Theologians on the
Christian Life, series eds. Stephen J. Nichols, and Justin Taylor (Wheaton:
Crossway, 2012), pg. 209. Warfield’s connection here as noted by Zaspel is from
1:6 to his treatment of “working out salvation” in 2:12-13.
“Such promises should lead not to hubris but to humility.”
— Robert L. Plummer, 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible,
series ed. Benjamin L. Merkle (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic &
Professional, 2010), pg. 178.
Plummer is specifically referring to Phil. 1:6; 1 Pet. 1:5; and 1 Jn. 2:20-27.
Bruce identifies this day with the Second Advent of Christ, and
the judgment seat that follows that event. He cites 1 Cor. 1:8; 4:5; 5:5; 2
Cor. 1:14; Phil. 1:10; 2:16; and 1 Th. 2:19 as also referring to the same event
referred to as “the day of Jesus Christ” here in Phil. 1:6.
— F. F. Bruce, Answers to Questions (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1972), pg. 219.
3.
The Defense and Confirmation of the Gospel (1:7)
Even
as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart;
inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the
gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
This is Paul’s explanation for the legitimacy of what he has
affirmed in the previous verses about the Philippian Christians. It is a simple
explanation at first glance, but then not so simple after all. If asked what
his basis is for thinking of them as he does, praying for them as he has, and
exuding confidence concerning their eternal state, his simple answer is, “I
have them in my heart.”
III.
The Heartbeat (1:8)
For
God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus
Christ.
This is more than the common “I miss
you.” That expression is far too trivial for what Paul wants to communicate to
the Philippians here.
He longs for them. He longs for them
greatly. He calls God in as a witness for how great his longing is for them.
Then he completes the “sandwiching” of his longing that he began with God as
his witness, by ending with Jesus Christ, and linking his longing to Christ’s
affection. Can there be any greater longing than this?
“bowels” trans. “affection” (NASB,
NKJV, ESV, HCSB, NIV); “tender compassion” (NLT)
Conclusion:
And this is just the beginning of
Paul’s letter to the Christians at Philippi!
[Sermon preached 6 NOV 2016 by Pastor John T. “Jack”
Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]
Complete Outline:
I. The Salutation (1:1-2)
1. The Envelope (1:1)
1) The “From” line
2) The “To” line
2. The Greeting (1:2)
1) The Blessings
2) The Sources
II. The Thanksgiving (1:3-7)
1. The Beginning of the Good
Work (1:3-6a)
2. The Conclusion at the Day of
Christ Jesus (1:6b)
3. The Defense and Confirmation
of the Gospel (1:7)
III. The Heartbeat
(1:8)
End Notes:
[1] Leland Ryken, A Complete Handbook of Literary Forms in the
Bible (Wheaton: Crossway,
2014), s.v. “Epistle.”
[2] Explore the Book, 6 vols. in 1
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1960; 1966 reprint), 6:185.
[3]
This Latin phrase was chosen by Ralph P. Martin for the original title of his
impressive work on this passage: Carmen
Christi: Philippians II 5-11 in Recent Interpretation and in the Setting of
Early Christian Worship, Monograph series, Society for New Testament
Studies 4, 1st American ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967, 1983). This was
later reprinted with the Latin portion of the title translated: A Hymn of Christ: Philippians 2:5-11 in
Recent Interpretation & in the Setting of Early Christian Worship (Downers
Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997).
[4] Leland Ryken, A Complete Handbook of Literary Forms in the
Bible (Wheaton: Crossway,
2014), s.v. “Epistle.”
[5] On
the word translated “deacons” see Robert Baker Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament: Their
Bearing on Christian Doctrine, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., n.d., 1976 reprint of 1897 ed.), pg. 248. “…used in the N. T.
in a general and non-technical sense of all kinds of ministry or service for
the good of others….It is not applied to the seven so-called deacons, and only
gradually grew up into a technical sense.”
[6] On
this see esp. John Piper, Future Grace
(Sisters, OR: Multnomah Books, 1995), pp. 65-72, s.v. Ch. 4: “The Life That’s Left Is Future Grace.”
[7] Philippians is estimated to have been written towards
the end of Paul’s first Roman imprisonment which spanned the years from circa
A.D. 59-61, 60-62, or 62-64. See James L. Boyer, New
Testament Chronological Chart (Winona Lake, IN: BMH, 1961, 1968); ESV Study Bible (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), pp. 1806-1807, s.v. “New Testament Timeline;” John MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, rev. ed.
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), pg. 1376, s.v.
“New Testament Chronology;” “Timeline of the Apostle Paul,” on Blue Letter Bible at https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/paul/timeline.cfm [accessed 5 NOV 2016]; and “Chronology of Acts and
the Epistles,” on Blue Letter Bible
at https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/pnt/pnt02.cfm [accessed 5 NOV 2016].
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