Introduction to a Biblical Book: Philippians

A.) Critical Issues

The Book of Philippians was written by Paul and falls among the four different epistles written by Paul (Hansen, 2009). While in Rome, being a prisoner, Paul was always grateful and full of joy, and he wrote a letter to the Church in Philippi with the intention of encouraging his followers. Paul had spent more than three months ministering among the Philippines during the second missionary trip. The Philippines’ ministries accordingly marked the entrance of Paul to Macedonia, and this was after the vision that Paul had while in the Troas city (Bockmuehl, 2006). While in Philippi, Paul visited the town during this third missionary trip and converted many people to Christ such as Lydia and the Philippians jailer who formed the center of the burgeoning congregation in the city (16:22–34). It is widely believed that Paul had written the epistle while still in prison in Rome around the AD 62 (Hagelberg, 2007).

Epaphroditus was a servant and messenger of the Church of Philippi and played a critical role by taking the risk to get relevant resources and materials to Paul while in prison (Phil. 2:25-30). Hansen (2009) asserts that the Philippians had incessantly contributed open-heartedly to the mission of Paul to spread the gospel regarding prayers and with financial resources. Paul wrote to the Philippians to appreciate the churches and believers for their warm and devoted concern and to inform them about Epaphroditus, who at that time was going back to his home with a letter from Philippians (Johnston, 2006). He penned the letter to show his thankfulness and love for the church in Philippi, that was evidently his most influential supporters of the gospel ministry. Paul wrote to many believers living in Philippi particularly those he had closely interacted with and shared the special love. The principal characters include: Paul, Timothy, Jesus Christ, Epaphroditus, Euodia and Syntyche and are considered the significant personalities in the book.

B.) Literary Structure

I. Preface 1:1–11) 

A. Salutations (1:1–2)

B. Thanksgiving for the Participation of the Philippians (1:3–8)

C. Prayer for the Discerning Love of the Philippians to Increase until the second coming of Christ (1:9–11)

II. Present Situation of Paul (1:12–26)

A. The Imprisonment of Paul (1:12–13)

B. The Response of the Brothers (1:14–17)

C. The Attitudes of Paul (1:18–26)

III. Realistic Instructions in Sanctification (1:27–2:30)

A. Living bravely as Heaven’s Citizens (1:27–1:30)

B. Living Humbly as Christ’s Servants (2:1–11)

C. Living in Obedience as God’s Children (2:12–18)

D. Humble Servants’ Examples (2:19–30)

IV. Polemical Doctrinal Issue (3:1–4:1)

A. The basis of Judaizers: The Flesh (3:1–6)

B. The Goal of Paul: The Resurrection (3:7–11)

C. Humility and Perfection (3:12–16)

D. Conduct and Watchfulness from Paul’s Example (3:17–4:1)

V. Postlude (4:2–23)

A. Exhortation (4:2–9)

B. Thanking Note (4:10–20)

C. Last Greetings (4:21–23)

Based on the outline, we can follow up on the letter of Paul to the Philippians. In part, I began by saluting them then moved to thank the Philippians for their participation in the Gospel. Paul also sends a prayer to the Philippians urging them to increase their love until the second coming of Christ. In part II Paul presented various situations including his imprisonment, the response of the brothers and his attitude. Next part III entails the practical instructions in the sanctions Paul persuades Christians to live bravely as heaven citizens and humbly as Christ’s servants. He further motivated them on ways to live humbly and obediently as God’s children. Paul also focused on examples of a humble servant. Part IV focuses on the polemical doctrinal issues such as the flesh, resurrection and humility and perfection. Finally, Part V focuses on Postlude and the concept he wrote on exhortations related to rejoicing without anxiety and being united while acting purely. He then drafted a note of thanks that entailed his contentment, the Philippines’ gift, God’s provision and the final greetings.

C.) Place in the Storyline of the Bible

Vaughan Roberts in his book, “God’s Big Picture” offers a vivid picture of the major Bible’s storyline (Roberts, 2012). It is a helpful book as it provides a structure for a reader to keep in mind when reading its part, in this case, the Book of Philippians. According to Roberts, readers of the Bible should “zoom out” to deeply understand how the nature of the biblical theology’s forest to ensure that we understand the primary aim of single trees within the Bible and enable us to get out the bearing whenever focusing on a particular part. Roberts thus helps Christians to identify their way throughout the Bible and how it connects to bring Christians to Christ. Bockmuehl (2006) argues that the Old Testament is evidently incomplete tale hence the need to read the New Testament, in this case, the Philippians to understand its meaning. Therefore, it can be said that the New Testament, such as the Philippians Book continually looks back on the promises it accomplishes.

According to Roberts (2012), “God’s Big Picture” tends to view the God’s kingdom as a form of unifying theme which shows the manner in which the Bible links to each other. The theme is arguably not enforced on the scriptures; instead, it emerges from it and covers the whole scriptures while allowing each specific section, like Philippians, to play its part. The kingdom of God is the overriding theme in the teaching of Jesus as evidence in Paul’s letter to the Philippines. Hansen (2009) posits that Paul also referred to the believers as God’s people who were determined to fulfill the God’s will. Additionally, “The Perished Kingdom” (Gen. 3) is a clear illustration of the man’s rejection of the kingdom of God. Further, “The Promised Kingdom” (Gen. 17:1-8) brings out the promise of salvation by God. Roberts asserts that the God’s kingdom is a vivid summation of the prophetic hope. 

Focusing on the New Testament’s “The Present Kingdom,” the apostle Paul goes on to express it clear that God’s promises are “yes” in Christ.’ Paul in his letter to the Philippines emphasizes how the teaching of Christ brought the Kingdom of God through the “triumphant success” of the cross. Paul further states that God’s blessings come through the covenant that was established by Christ when he sacrificed himself to save humanity on the cross (Bockmuehl, 2006). The message to the Philippians emphasized on the fascinating story that was shared by the believers in Philippi and Paul related to the “fellowship of the cross.” According to Ware (2005), Paul and these believers apparently shared greater affection and tears despite being not together physically. From the chapters, we are introduced to the opposition, imprisonment, greater sacrifice and death threats that spring out from the gospel’s joyful reality and Paul’s determination to spread the gospel.

Roberts (2012) further stated that “The promises of the kingdom will not be completely fulfilled until Christ’s second coming” (123). Based on this, it becomes apparent that Paul was preparing the believers and preaching to the non-believers to accept the Gospel as they wait for the Christ’s second coming to fulfill the prophecy of the Kingdom of God. Paul was empowering believers to stand out and bear witness to the truth of the Gospel before the unbelievers (Johnston, 2006). The second coming of Jesus was prophesized that it will take place when the gospel reaches to all nations of the world. The Philipp church widely shared the gospel among themselves and with Paul which further helped to keep them united and determined to hold onto their faith. Paul continuously urges the believers to maintain unity, peace and to humble themselves while caring for each other (Phil. 1:27) (Nebreda, 2011). It was entirely due to the shared aspect of Christ that the call to unity and peace by Paul was highly emphasized and repeated.

D.) Major Themes and Theological Message

Throughout the Book of Philippians, the apparent keynote of “joy” appears five times and “to rejoice” appears eleven times in the epistle and this makes "Rejoice in the Lord!" Hansen (2009) asserts that one of the main themes. As such the notion of joy in Christ revolves around individual perspectives, however; the true joy is entirely not founded on the situations. According to Paul, long-lasting contentment would only be found by establishing a strong relationship with Christ. Likewise, such is the spiritual view that Paul’s primarily stressed in his message to the church in Philippi. Nebreda (2011) posits that the Christian’s joy experiences, in this case, form a common theme that runs throughout the entire book. 

In the message to the Philippians, Paul passed them vital information concerning the secrets of contentment which apparently forms another major theme of the epistle (Hagelberg, 2007). Despite the fact that he was going through a hard time including his imprisonment, poverty, diseases and the beating that he was receiving, Paul adopted a great virtue of contentment which is also a major theme of the epistle. According to Johnston (2006), Paul’s joy was firmly founded on knowing Christ and considered all other things as worthless based on what Jesus had already done. Paul insisted to the believers that all other things are useless about the never-ending value of finding Jesus. For the sake of Christ, Paul decided to discard everything else and focused his faith on Christ so that he might see Him again. He firmly believed that Jesus was the true model for all Christians; therefore, we should all follow this aspect of humility and sacrifice (Ware, 2005).

Additionally, other core themes are worth mentioning as brought in the epistle. Philippians is seemingly a warm and profoundly personal message thus forming another theme of affection and appreciation. Ehrman (2000) asserts that Paul wrote the letter with great affection and appreciation for all the believers in Philippi. Paul also addressed the letter to deacons and church elders in Philippi to show his gratitude for the gifts that the church had to send to him when he was still in prison. All the gifts that the church and believers had contributed were delivered to Paul in prison by Epaphroditus, who was also one of the church leaders in Philippi and played a fundamental role in helping Paul with the ministry work in Rome. 

Hansen (2009) states that while still assisting Paul in the ministry, Epaphroditus was overpowered by the illness that he almost died. Upon his recovery, he was sent by Paul to Philippi to deliver a letter to the Church. In addition to showing his gratitude in the letter, Paul also encouraged the believers to remain united and exercise humility in Christ. He went further to warn them concerning the Jewish leaders and issued instructions on ways they can lead a joyous life as Christians.

E.) Personal Reflection on the Book

Going through the Book, it became clear to me that Paul was overjoyed concerning the generosity of the believers and the church at Philippi. I was encouraged by the manner in which Paul, despite his suffering, took the initiative to appreciate the Philippians for their support and was concerned for their wellbeing than his own. As a Christian, I was challenged by Paul’s humility and was arguably a real model of every Christian. Over the years, Philippians has ever been one of my favorite books to read and teach. I have always been challenged by Paul’s message to the Philippines. The book emphasizes thankfulness in the midst of hard times and humility towards God (Bockmuehl, 2006). Paul’s message on gratitude and joy during his imprisonment for the gospel apparently challenged me last year as I put the content of the message into practice and God brought me to a place of increased peace during hard times- the process of brother receiving a diagnosis of autism. 

Last month, what seemingly stood out for me particularly in Philippians chapter 1 is Paul’s message on the purpose of God, the gospel going forth even in time of personal crisis- the imprisonment for the gospel. In Chapter 1, the Apostle introduces us to his sufferings while in prison and goes further to assert that from his tribulation, Christ’s kingdom was increased (Ehrman, 2000). Based on this, I believe that as Christian, we are to surrender our lives in Christ’s service. For any believer, God has granted him two primary things including, firmly believing in God and share the suffering for God's sake. 

Moving forward, Chapter 2 is exciting and full of encouraging verses for any believer. Paul went further to elucidate the overall advantages of believers living in unity with the “mind of Christ.” He went further to teach us the theological lesson about Christ’s humanity as sacrificed His glory to become an ideal human being who came to liberate us and restore man back to the initial connection with God (Bockmuehl, 2006). 

Arguably, throughout the letter, it is clear that most of his friends, the Philippines, were more concerned for his wellbeing but Paul responded by stating that what he had experienced was meant for the advancement of the gospel. Paul evidently was pleased with the fact that as a result of his difficulties, a majority of the people was able to receive the good news and was converted to Christianity. In Chapter 3, Paul takes a step further to explain the joy of all Christians and encourages the church and us to hold on and continue believing in the Gospel (Ehrman, 2000). Besides being overjoyed about people receiving the gospel due to his imprisonment, I think that Paul showed significant concern for the Philippians and their overall wellbeing. He thus encourages the Philippians to stand firm together and ensure to lead a life worthy of the gospel.

During my childhood in church, I always heard term “fellowship” being quoted by Christians, and I was interested in understanding its meaning. After reading the Book of Philippians, I now understand the precise meaning of fellowship as sharing of experiences, identities, mission, and purpose of the Christians. Hansen (2009) asserts that the fellowship-bond that existed among Paul, the church, and the messengers was everywhere throughout Philippi. They shared the word of God and discussed the mission of the gospel. Through the believers’ financial support, materials and prayers, they shared in the imprisonment of Paul and the authentication of the gospel. 

Throughout the book, Paul shows an incredible level of humility towards Gods and his good purpose in his gospel during hard times and thankfulness. Such humility that Paul shows is modeled in the sacrifice of Christ that made it possible for humankind to live because of Christ’s sacrifice (Philippians 2:1-11). The sacrifice of Christ thus inspires us to live a life focused on God and his purposes before our own. This chapter challenged me a great deal, to be honest, and stay centered on Christ irrespective of the present difficult situation. Just like Paul, it is my prayers that my eye remains fixed on Jesus, and I can do this because of Christ’s sacrifice.

References

Bockmuehl, M. (2006). The epistle to the Philippians . A&C Black.

Ehrman, B. D. (2000). The New Testament: A historical introduction to the early Christian writings . Oxford University Press, USA.

Hagelberg, D. (2007). Philippians: An Ancient Thank You Letter.

Hansen, G. W. (2009). The letter to the Philippians . Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.

 Johnston, P. (Ed.). (2006). The IVP Introduction to the Bible . InterVarsity Press.

Nebreda, S. R. (2011). Christ identity: a social-scientific reading of Philippians 2.5-11 (Vol. 240). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

Roberts, V. (2012). God's big picture: tracing the storyline of the Bible . InterVarsity Press.

Ware, J. P. (2005). The Mission of the Church: In Paul's Letter to the Philippians in the Context of Ancient Judaism (Vol. 120). Brill.