Philippians – the letter and its source
Who wrote it
The author of this letter to the Philippians is indubitably the apostle Paul. Like John, the Spirit of God used Paul to write divinely inspired letters to seven Gentile churches (i) and we are privileged to have these letters as a part of our canon today. Paul also was used by God to write personal epistles to Timothy, Titus and Philemon.
This book is one of what we commonly call the Prison Epistles of Paul. As he writes, Paul is in bonds (1:7, 13, 14, 16). Mr. Meyer puts it so well.
“It was a persecuted Apostle writing to a persecuted Church, but his soul was unfettered and unchoked by prison damp.” (1)
It seems that at this time Paul had been almost forgotten in prison in Rome. When he first arrived, many of the believers there came out to meet him from “as far as Appii Forum, and the Three Taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage” (Acts 28:15).
Yet it seems that Paul had faded from the memory of many as time went on. We may even have an allusion to this forsakenness when we read in 2 Timothy 1 that Onesimus had to seek very diligently to find Paul. It seems that many men were only to happy to let Paul languish in prison, for Paul writes that some of them were jealous of Paul and were “preaching Christ even of envy and strife” (1:15) – “of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:” (1:16).
Again in his second epistle to Timothy, Paul writes of his solitariness. “At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me.” (2 Timothy 4:16, 17)
When did he write it
It appears to me that this was one of the last, if not the last, of the prison epistles. Paul seems to anticipate a coming verdict in several places so the time of his imprisonment is perhaps drawing to a close. If we read the book in the context of a coming verdict, some of Paul’s statements, like “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” carry even more weight.
Another reason for a later date is the number of journeys that are mentioned in Philippians. There appears to have been at least four successive trips between Rome and Philippi which are referred to in this little book:
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Someone went from Rome to Philippi and told the saints that Paul was imprisoned.
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Hearing this, the church at Philippi sent Epaphroditus to Rome to visit Paul with a gift (4:18; 2:25).
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While Epaphroditus was with Paul, he fell ill and someone brought news to the saints in Philippi that he was sick (2:26).
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The Philippian believers were upset at this news and again someone went to Rome and told Paul and Epaphroditus of their distress (2:26).
Of course in those days there were no telephones or computers, so each of these bits of news would’ve required a trip between Philippi and Rome. This would’ve taken some time.
We get a further indication of time elapsed when Paul speaks of the gospel having been spread during his imprisonment so that his bonds in Christ were manifest “to all the palace and in all other places” (1:13).
I’m not very good with dates, but the year of writing would probably be about A.D. 63.
What does the name mean?
I understand that this word Philippians, means “lover of horses”. (ii) That is, fond of the race-course. I find this interesting when I consider the picture in chapter 3 of Paul running the Christian race. When a racehorse is running at full speed it has it has its head stretched out, pressing forward for the goal. This is like the believer is chapter 3. “I press towards the mark.” (iii)
Why was it written
As I look through Philippians, I identify a number of different purposes for which Paul writes. He writes:
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to thank them for their gift
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to update them on the condition of Epaphroditus.
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to share with them his joy in Christ.
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to encourage them towards unity
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to warn them against legality
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to turn their minds and hearts towards the person of Christ.
This last item really seems to me to be a key theme in this book – directing the heart and mind towards Christ. I hope that this will be the effect on us as we study it.
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This article is part of the “Fridays in Philippians” series of synchroblogs.
Footnotes:(i) John penned letters to the churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea. These letters are found in Revelation 2, 3. Paul wrote letters to the churches in Rome, Galatia, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, and Thessalonica. These epistles form the majority of the books in our New Testament.
(ii) from φιλέω (phileo – to love) and ιππος (hippo – a horse).
(iii) G. C. Willis wrote that his father used to have a sign on the wall that was a motto for his life. It read: “κατά σκοπόν διώκω – Down to the goal I Press! (3:14)” This would be a suitable motto for any one of us.(2)
References:
(1) F. B. Meyer. The Epistle to the Philippians, pg. 11 (2) G. C. Willis. Sacrifices of Joy, pg. iii
