Philippians

Philippians -- The happiest of St. Paul's writings -- Dummelow

http://institute.lds.org/manuals/new-testament-institute-student-manual/nt-in-09-9-44.asp 

“. . . it is a classic of spiritual autobiography. . . . Philippians reveals the spring of his inward peace and strength. It admits us to St. Paul’s prison meditations and communings with his Master. We watch his spirit ripening through the autumn hours when patience fulfilled in him its perfect work.” (Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible, p. 969.)

(44-2) Place and Date of Writing

This letter was possibly the last letter Paul wrote during his first imprisonment at Rome. The letter was sent sometime about A.D. 63.

Chapter 1

All that happened to Paul furthered the gospel cause—Our conduct should be worthy of the gospel.

Paul expresses gratitude for the saints at Philippi.  He expresses confidence in their righteousness, and progress.

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.

9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;10 That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;

11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.

12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;

14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:

16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:

17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.

18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.

19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. (People looking at/through him -- as through a magnifying glass -- shall see Christ more clearly.)

21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.

23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.

25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;

26 That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

28 And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.

29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

30 Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

Chapter 2

Saints should be of one mind and one spirit—Every knee will bow to Christ—Saints must work out their salvation—Paul faces martyrdom with joy.

1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same ^alove, being of ^bone ^caccord, of one mind.

3 Let nothing be done through ^astrife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each ^besteem other better than themselves.

4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

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 ^aservant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in ^afashion as a man, he ^bhumbled himself, and became ^cobedient unto ^ddeath, even the ^edeath of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly ^aexalted him, and given him a ^bname which is above every name:

10 That at the ^aname of Jesus every ^bknee 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 ^aLord, 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, ^awork out your own ^bsalvation with fear and trembling.

13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

14 Do all things without murmurings and ^adisputings:

15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the ^asons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse ^bnation, among whom ye ^cshine as lights in the world;

16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

17 Yea, and if I be ^aoffered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.

18 For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.

19 But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.

20 For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.

21 For all ^aseek their ^bown, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.

22 But ye know the ^aproof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.

23 Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me.

24 But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.

25 Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you ^aEpaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.   [EE- paf -frO-die-tus]

26 For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick.

27 For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

28 I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.

29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all ^agladness; and ^bhold such in ^creputation:

30 Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your ^alack of service toward me.

Chapter 3

Paul sacrifices all things for Christ—True ministers set examples of righteousness.

1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.

2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
3 For we are the ^acircumcision, which ^bworship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the ^cflesh.

4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:

5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an ^aHebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a ^bPharisee;  [his credentials as a member of the house of Israel, but they are not what saves him]

6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
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 ^asuffered the ^bloss of all things, and do count them but ^cdung, that I may win Christ,

9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the ^arighteousness which is of God by faith:

10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the ^afellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Is he saying in 11 and 12  that just as he can't resurrect himself, even so, he cannot perfect himself -- all must be through Christ Jesus?

11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the ^adead.

12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already ^aperfect: but I ^bfollow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

14 I ^apress toward the mark for the ^bprize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

15 Let us therefore, as many as be ^aperfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.

16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

17 Brethren, be ^afollowers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ^bensample.

18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

19 Whose ^aend is destruction, whose God is their belly, ^band whose glory is in their ^cshame, who mind earthly things.)
 20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the ^aSaviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

21 Who shall ^achange our ^bvile body, ^cthat it may be fashioned like unto his glorious ^dbody, according to the working whereby he is able even to ^esubdue all things unto himself.

Who does it?   verses 20- 21 -- Christ!

Chapter 4

Stand fast in the Lord—We believe in being honest, true, and chaste.

1 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so ^astand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.

3 And I intreat thee also, true ^ayokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the ^bbook of life.

4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Song!

5 Let your ^amoderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 ^aBe ^bcareful for nothing; but in every thing by ^cprayer and supplication with ^dthanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the ^apeace of God, which passeth all ^bunderstanding, shall ^ckeep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are ^atrue, whatsoever things are ^bhonest, whatsoever things are ^cjust, whatsoever things are ^dpure, whatsoever things are ^elovely, ^fwhatsoever things are of good report; if there be any ^gvirtue, and if there be any praise, ^hthink on these things.

9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and ^areceived, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your ^acare of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye ^blacked opportunity.

11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be ^acontent.

12 I know both how to be ^aabased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

13 I can do all things through ^aChrist which ^bstrengtheneth me.

14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did ^acommunicate with my affliction.
[I can do it through Christ, but it is still good that you helped me.]

15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.

16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.

17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire ^afruit that may abound to your account.

18 But I have all, and ^aabound: I am full, having received of ^bEpaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.

19 But my God shall supply all your ^aneed according to his ^briches in glory by Christ Jesus.

20 Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
21 Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you.

22 All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of ^aCæsar’s household.

23 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

¶It was written to the Philippians from Rome by Epaphroditus.

From the Bible Dictionary:
Epistle to the Philippians. The church at Philippi was the earliest founded by Paul in Europe (Acts 16:11–40). His first visit ended abruptly, but he was not forgotten, and his converts sent him supplies not only while he remained in the neighborhood, but also after he had moved on to Corinth (Philip. 4:15–16). He passed through Philippi six years later (Acts 20:2) on his way from Ephesus to Corinth, and again on his return (Acts 20:6) from Corinth to Jerusalem. When the news of his removal to Rome reached the Philippians, they sent one of their number, Epaphroditus (2:25), to minister to him in their name. The strain of work in the capital proved too severe, and Epaphroditus had to be invalided home (2:26–30), taking with him the epistle to the Philippians. Its main purpose is to express Paul’s gratitude and affection, and to cheer them under the disappointment of his protracted imprisonment.

Analysis of Philippians

1. Salutation, thanksgiving, and prayer on their behalf (1:1–11).
2. Personal: dealing with the progress of the missionary work (1:12–26).
3. Exhortation to unity, humility, and perseverance (2:1–18).
4. Paul’s own plans, and those of Timothy and Epaphroditus (2:19–30).
5. Warning against false teachers (3:1–4:9).
6. Thanks for their assistance, and conclusion (4:10–23).