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Baptism of Lydia, Marie Ellenrieder, 1861

Baptism of Lydia, Marie Ellenrieder, 1861. Public domain.

New Testament · Book 50 of 66

Philippians

Philippians is Paul's letter from prison to the church at Philippi, which had supported his work. He speaks often of joy, holds up the humility of Christ as their pattern, and thanks them for their gift.

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Baptism of Lydia, Marie Ellenrieder, 1861

Baptism of Lydia, Marie Ellenrieder, 1861. Public domain.

What is Philippians about?

Paul wrote Philippians in chains to the church at Philippi, the first he planted in Macedonia. He thanks them for standing with him in the gospel from the start and tells them his chains have served the gospel. He asks them to be of one mind and sets before them Christ, who emptied himself to death on a cross and was exalted as Lord. He counts his own standing under the law as loss beside knowing Christ, and he presses on toward the goal. The letter ends on their gift to him and on joy: “Rejoice in the Lord always” (4:4).

All 4 chapters

Every chapter of the book, in one grid. Each cell opens that chapter.

  • Partners in the gospelChapter 1
  • The mind of ChristChapter 2
  • The surpassing worthChapter 3
  • Rejoice in the LordChapter 4

The colour is the movement of the letter the chapter stands in, one movement to a chapter, and every cell opens that chapter's Study level.

1To live is Christ2Emptied and exalted3All loss for Christ4Content in every state

Who wrote it, where, when, for whom, and why?

The letter opens in the names of Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ (1:1), and speaks in Paul's own voice from 1:3. Paul gives his own record of his life under the law: circumcised on the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee, and a persecutor of the church (3:5 to 6). Acts tells how Paul took Timothy with him and came with Silas to Philippi (Acts 16:1 to 12).

circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;

Philippians 3:5, Berean Standard Bible.

Paul writes in chains (1:7 and 13). His chains are known throughout the whole palace guard (1:13), and the saints of Caesar's household send greetings (4:22). Acts records Paul kept under guard in Herod's Praetorium at Caesarea (Acts 23:35) and then in Rome with a soldier to guard him (Acts 28:16).

Paul writes after the church has sent him gifts more than once, to Thessalonica again and again (4:16) and now by Epaphroditus (4:18). He weighs living against dying and is convinced he will remain with them (1:20 to 25), and he hopes to come to them soon (2:24). His first visit stands in Acts 16, when Lydia and her household were baptized (Acts 16:14 to 15).

The letter is written to all the saints at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons (1:1). When Paul left Macedonia, this church alone shared with him in giving and receiving (4:15). Acts names the city's first believers: Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from Thyatira, and the jailer with all his household (Acts 16:14 and 33).

And as you Philippians know, in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church but you partnered with me in the matter of giving and receiving.

Philippians 4:15, Berean Standard Bible.

Paul writes to thank the church for its gift (4:10 to 18), to send Epaphroditus home after his illness (2:25 to 28), to urge Euodia and Syntyche to agree in the Lord (4:2), and to warn the church against those who put confidence in the flesh (3:2 to 3). Through it all he tells them to rejoice in the Lord (3:1 and 4:4).

Acts calls Philippi a Roman colony and the leading city of its district of Macedonia (Acts 16:12). Its magistrates had Paul and Silas beaten with rods and jailed, then were alarmed to learn the two were Roman citizens (Acts 16:22 to 23 and 38). The letter tells a church in that city that its citizenship is in heaven (3:20).

Sources. Philippians 1:1, 1:3, 1:7, 1:13, 1:20 to 24, 2:24, 2:25 to 28, 3:1 to 6, 3:20, 4:2, 4:4, 4:10 to 18 and 4:22; Acts 16:1 to 15, 16:22 to 23, 16:33, 16:38, 23:35 and 28:16. Every verse is read in the Berean Standard Bible.

How is Philippians arranged, and what is it for?

The four movements the letter falls into, one to a chapter, then what it teaches and what it was written to do.

  1. Partners in the gospelChapter 1, 30 verses, the turn at 1:21

    The thanksgiving, the chains that advance the gospel, and to live is Christ.

  2. The mind of ChristChapter 2, 30 verses, the turn at 2:5

    One mind in the church, Christ emptied and exalted, then Timothy and Epaphroditus.

  3. The surpassing worthChapter 3, 21 verses, the turn at 3:8

    Confidence in the flesh counted as loss, knowing Christ, and a citizenship in heaven.

  4. Rejoice in the LordChapter 4, 23 verses, the turn at 4:4

    Two women urged to agree, prayer in place of worry, contentment, and the gift.

The theme

Philippians teaches that joy in the Lord holds in every circumstance, because the gospel goes on and Christ is its center. Paul rejoices in chains since Christ is preached, and for him to live is Christ. The church is to have the mind of Christ, who put others before himself all the way to the cross. Every standing a man could claim is loss beside knowing Christ and the righteousness that comes from God by faith. The Lord is near, so the church rejoices, prays in place of worry, and is kept by the peace of God.

The purpose

Paul wrote to thank the church at Philippi for the gift Epaphroditus carried, to send Epaphroditus home recovered, and to tell them how his chains were serving the gospel. He called a church pressed from outside and strained within to stand firm in one spirit, to agree in the Lord, and to put no confidence in the flesh. The letter leaves them with a pattern to follow, Christ first and Paul after him, and the peace of God to guard them.

The mind of Christ: down to the cross, and up to the name above all names

  1. ↓ In the form of God. “existing in the form of God” (2:6)
  2. ↓ Equality not grasped. “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped”
  3. ↓ Emptied. “emptied Himself” (2:7)
  4. ↓ A servant. “taking the form of a servant”
  5. ↓ A man. “being made in human likeness”
  6. ↓ Humbled. “He humbled Himself and became obedient to death” (2:8)
  7. The cross. “even death on a cross”
  8. ↑ Exalted. “God exalted Him to the highest place” (2:9)
  9. ↑ The name. “gave Him the name above all names”
  10. ↑ Every knee. “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow” (2:10)
  11. ↑ Every place. “in heaven and on earth and under the earth”
  12. ↑ Every tongue. “every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (2:11)
  13. ↑ The Father's glory. “to the glory of God the Father”
Read the six steps down to the cross, then the six steps up. Christ, in the form of God, goes down to death on a cross; then God exalts him to the glory of the Father, and the hinge is Therefore (2:9). Paul sets this before the church with Let this mind be in you (2:5). Ernst Lohmeyer and Ralph P. Martin read these lines as a hymn Paul quotes, and Gordon D. Fee as Paul's own writing; both readings stand under Where do readers disagree. Sources: Philippians 2:5 to 11 in the Berean Standard Bible.

Partners in the gospel, Philippians 1

What the text says in these 30 verses, and the pages they open on.

Paul and Timothy greet the saints at Philippi with their overseers and deacons (1:1). Paul thanks God for their partnership in the gospel from the first day, sure that God will complete the good work he began in them (1:5 to 6), and he prays that their love will abound in knowledge (1:9). His chains have served the gospel: the whole palace guard knows why he is held, and most of the brothers now speak with more courage (1:12 to 14). Some preach Christ from envy and some from goodwill, and Paul rejoices that Christ is preached either way (1:15 to 18). He is torn between departing to be with Christ and staying for their progress, and he expects to stay (1:21 to 25). He charges them to live worthy of the gospel and to stand firm in one spirit, since suffering for Christ has been granted to them as well as believing (1:27 to 30).

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:21, Berean Standard Bible. Paul's reason for rejoicing in chains, and the life he sets before the church.
  • Philippians 1the thanksgiving, the chains, and the hard choice between living and dyingShow summary, 4 pages

    Paul and Timothy salute the saints, bishops, and deacons at Philippi. Paul thanks God upon every remembrance of them. For their fellowship in the gospel from the first day. He is confident that he who has begun a good work in them will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. His bonds in Christ are made manifest throughout the palace. To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Only let your conversation be as is worthy of the gospel of Christ. Henry reads the chapter as the apostle's partnership theology from prison.

    On this chapter (4)

    Read Philippians 1 verse by verse

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The partnership in the gospel, in 5 gifts

  1. 1. From the first day

    “your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now” (1:5)

  2. 2. When Paul left Macedonia

    “no church but you partnered with me in the matter of giving and receiving” (4:15)

  3. 3. In Thessalonica

    “you provided for my needs again and again” (4:16)

  4. 4. The churches of Macedonia

    “their abundant joy and deep poverty overflowed into rich generosity” (2 Corinthians 8:2)

  5. 5. By Epaphroditus

    “now that I have received your gifts from Epaphroditus” (4:18)

Read the gifts in the order they came. The partnership Paul thanks God for at 1:5 was a giving church's share in his work, from the first day at Philippi to the gift Epaphroditus carried to his chains; 2 Corinthians 8 sets the same churches' giving in their deep poverty. Sources: Philippians 1:5, 4:15, 4:16 and 4:18, and 2 Corinthians 8:2, in the Berean Standard Bible.

Characters (5)

Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.

  • Paul

    Writes in chains and rejoices that Christ is preached (1:13, 1:18).

  • Timothy

    Named with Paul in the greeting of the letter (1:1).

  • The overseers and deacons

    Greeted with all the saints at Philippi (1:1).

  • The palace guard

    Know that Paul is in chains for Christ (1:13).

Show the next 1
  • The brothers who preach from envy

    Preach Christ from rivalry, hoping to add to Paul's distress (1:15 to 17).

Places (4)

Where the chapters stand.

  • Philippi

    The city of the saints the letter is written to (1:1).

  • Rome

    One reading of where Paul was held, with the palace guard (1:13).

  • Ephesus

    A second reading of the place of the chains.

  • Caesarea

    A third place where Paul was held under guard, in Acts.

Themes (4)

What these chapters raise, each on its own page where one stands.

Where these chapters take up the Old Testament (1)each marked as a quotation or an allusion, with the evidence
  • Probable allusionJob 13:16 at 1:19. My distress will turn out for my deliverance. Paul uses Job's words as his own. Job, accused and suffering, trusts that this will be his salvation; Paul, in chains, trusts that his distress will turn out for his deliverance.

Beside it: Acts 16:12 to 40, the church at Philippi begun, from Lydia's baptism to the jailer's household; 1 Thessalonians 2:2, the suffering and shameful treatment at Philippi.

The mind of Christ, Philippians 2

What the text says in these 30 verses, and the pages they open on.

Paul asks the church to make his joy complete by being of one mind and in humility counting others more important than themselves (2:1 to 4). He gives the reason in Christ, who went down to the cross and was raised to the name above all names (2:5 to 11). So the church is to work out its salvation with fear and trembling, for God is at work in them (2:12 to 13), and to shine as lights in a crooked generation (2:14 to 16). Paul is being poured out like a drink offering, and he rejoices (2:17). He hopes to send Timothy, who will genuinely care for their needs (2:19 to 23), and he sends back Epaphroditus, who nearly died for the work of Christ (2:25 to 30).

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
Philippians 2:5, Berean Standard Bible. The command that the hymn after it explains: the church is to think as Christ did.
  • Philippians 2one mind, the hymn of Christ, and the two men Paul sendsShow summary, 4 pages

    Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, humbled himself, became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God has highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name. That every knee should bow, every tongue confess Jesus Christ is Lord. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Timothy and Epaphroditus commended. Calvin reads the kenosis hymn as the christological centre of the epistle.

    On this chapter (4)

    Read Philippians 2 verse by verse

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The hymn of 2:6 to 11 is drawn as the descent and the ascent of Christ, under The book as a whole.

Two men who look to the interests of others

The charge: “look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (2:4).

Timothy (2:19 to 24)

  • “I have nobody else like him who will genuinely care for your needs” (2:20)
  • “as a child with his father he has served with me to advance the gospel” (2:22)
  • “I hope to send him as soon as I see what happens with me” (2:23)

Epaphroditus (2:25 to 30)

  • “my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier” (2:25)
  • “He was sick indeed, nearly unto death” (2:27)
  • “he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life” (2:30)
Read each card down. Paul sends one man and sends back the other, and what he says of each answers the charge of 2:4; the letter sets the mind of Christ before the church in these two lives as well as in the hymn. Sources: Philippians 2:4 and 2:19 to 30 in the Berean Standard Bible.

Characters (3)

Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.

  • Christ

    In the form of God, he emptied himself and was exalted (2:6 to 9).

  • Timothy

    Genuinely cares for the church's needs, and serves with Paul as a son with his father (2:20 to 22).

  • Epaphroditus

    The church's messenger, sick nearly to death and sent home (2:25 to 30).

Places (2)

Where the chapters stand.

  • Philippi

    The church told to shine as lights in the world (2:15).

  • Heaven, earth and under the earth

    Where every knee will bow at the name of Jesus (2:10).

Themes (4)

What these chapters raise, each on its own page where one stands.

Where these chapters take up the Old Testament (2)each marked as a quotation or an allusion, with the evidence
  • Probable allusionIsaiah 45:23 at 2:10 to 11. Every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. In Isaiah the LORD swears by himself that every knee will bow before him and every tongue swear allegiance; Paul gives the same words to the name of Jesus. Romans 14:11 quotes the verse with It is written.
  • Probable allusionDeuteronomy 32:5 at 2:15. Children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation. The Song of Moses calls the people a warped and twisted generation that has acted corruptly toward him; Paul calls the church children of God without fault in the middle of one.

Beside it: Acts 16:1 to 3, Timothy chosen to travel with Paul before Philippi; Romans 14:11, Isaiah 45:23 quoted with It is written.

The surpassing worth, Philippians 3

What the text says in these 21 verses, and the pages they open on.

Paul tells the church to rejoice in the Lord and to watch out for the dogs, the mutilators of the flesh (3:1 to 2). The true circumcision, he says, worship by the Spirit and glory in Christ (3:3). If anyone could trust in the flesh, Paul could: circumcised on the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee, a persecutor of the church, faultless in the law (3:4 to 6). He counts all of it as loss beside knowing Christ, to be found in him with the righteousness that comes from God by faith (3:7 to 9), and he wants to know the power of Christ's resurrection and share in his sufferings (3:10 to 11). He forgets what is behind and presses on toward the goal (3:12 to 14). Many live as enemies of the cross with their minds on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, and from there we await the Savior who will transform our lowly bodies (3:18 to 21).

More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
Philippians 3:8, Berean Standard Bible. The one reckoning of the chapter, where every gain is set against knowing Christ.
  • Philippians 3the dogs, Paul's credentials counted as loss, and pressing onShow summary, 5 pages

    Beware of dogs, of evil workers, of the concision. What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformed to his death. Forgetting those things which are behind, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. JFB reads the chapter as the apostle's running testimony.

    On this chapter (5)

    Read Philippians 3 verse by verse

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What Paul had, and what he counts it

Confidence in the flesh (7)

  1. 1“circumcised on the eighth day”
  2. 2“of the people of Israel”
  3. 3“of the tribe of Benjamin”
  4. 4“a Hebrew of Hebrews”
  5. 5“as to the law, a Pharisee”
  6. 6“as to zeal, persecuting the church”
  7. 7“as to righteousness in the law, faultless”

The reckoning (4)

Loss
“whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ” (3:7)
Rubbish
“I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (3:8)
Gain
“the righteousness from God on the basis of faith” (3:9)
Knowing Christ
“I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection” (3:10)
Read the credentials first, then the reckoning. The 7 credentials are what Paul could put confidence in; in the verses after them he counts all of it as loss and rubbish, and names the gain in its place: the righteousness from God by faith, and knowing Christ. Sources: Philippians 3:5 to 10 in the Berean Standard Bible.

Characters (3)

Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.

  • Paul

    A Hebrew of Hebrews and a Pharisee, who counts it all as loss (3:4 to 8).

  • The dogs

    The workers of evil and mutilators of the flesh (3:2).

  • The enemies of the cross

    Their god is their belly and their minds are on earthly things (3:18 to 19).

Places (2)

Where the chapters stand.

  • Heaven

    Where our citizenship is, and the Savior we await (3:20).

  • Philippi

    A Roman colony (Acts 16:12), told of another citizenship (3:20).

Themes (4)

What these chapters raise, each on its own page where one stands.

Where these chapters take up the Old Testament (0)each marked as a quotation or an allusion, with the evidence

Beside it: Acts 16:37, Paul a Roman citizen at Philippi; 2 Corinthians 11:22 and Galatians 1:13 to 14, his descent and his zeal as a persecutor told again.

Rejoice in the Lord, Philippians 4

What the text says in these 23 verses, and the pages they open on.

Paul asks the church to stand firm, urges Euodia and Syntyche to agree in the Lord, and asks his true yokefellow to help the women who labored with him in the gospel (4:1 to 3). He tells them to rejoice in the Lord always, to let their gentleness be seen, and to bring every request to God with thanksgiving in place of anxiety, and the peace of God will guard their hearts (4:4 to 7). They are to think on whatever is true and lovely and to practise what they saw in him (4:8 to 9). He thanks them for their gift, having learned to be content in plenty and in need, and he can do all things through Christ who gives him strength (4:10 to 13). They alone shared with him in giving and receiving when he left Macedonia (4:15), and their gift by Epaphroditus is a fragrant offering to God (4:14 to 18). The letter closes with greetings, the household of Caesar among them (4:21 to 23).

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Philippians 4:4, Berean Standard Bible. The command the whole letter builds toward, and Paul says it twice.
  • Philippians 4peace in place of worry, the eight things to think on, and the giftShow summary, 4 pages

    Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Whatever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report. Think on these things. I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Thanks for the Philippian gift. Henry reads the chapter as the contented life sketched.

    On this chapter (4)

    Read Philippians 4 verse by verse

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The 8 things to think on

  1. 1“whatever is true”
  2. 2“whatever is honorable”
  3. 3“whatever is right”
  4. 4“whatever is pure”
  5. 5“whatever is lovely”
  6. 6“whatever is admirable”
  7. 7“if anything is excellent”
  8. 8“or praiseworthy”

“think on these things” (4:8). “put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (4:9).

Read the eight in the order of the verse. Paul names what the church is to think on, then joins it to what they saw in him and to the promise that the God of peace will be with them. Sources: Philippians 4:8 to 9 in the Berean Standard Bible.

Characters (6)

Who the text names. A name with a page carries its door.

  • Euodia

    Urged to agree with Syntyche in the Lord (4:2).

  • Syntyche

    Labored with Paul for the gospel (4:2 to 3).

  • The true yokefellow

    Asked to help the two women (4:3); who he was is argued below.

  • Clement

    A fellow worker whose name is in the Book of Life (4:3).

Show the next 2
  • Epaphroditus

    Brought the church's gifts to Paul (4:18).

  • The household of Caesar

    Saints who send their greetings (4:22).

Places (2)

Where the chapters stand.

  • Macedonia

    The province Paul left when only Philippi shared with him (4:15).

  • Thessalonica

    Where their gifts reached him again and again (4:16).

Themes (4)

What these chapters raise, each on its own page where one stands.

Where these chapters take up the Old Testament (1)each marked as a quotation or an allusion, with the evidence
  • Probable allusionExodus 29:18 at 4:18. Their gifts a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. The ram of the priests' ordination is a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD; Paul uses the language of the altar for a church's gift to him.

Beside it: 2 Corinthians 8:1 to 5, the grace given the churches of Macedonia in their giving; 2 Corinthians 11:9, the brothers from Macedonia who supplied Paul's needs.

Where do readers disagree?

One list: the readings with their holders, and what the evidence does not settle.

  • From where did Paul write Philippians, and what does the palace guard of 1:13 show?

    • From Rome, in the custody of Acts 28. Held by John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament, on 1:13, and by J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistle to the Philippians (1868).
    • From Ephesus, during his years there. Held by George S. Duncan, St. Paul's Ephesian Ministry (1929).

    What the evidence does not settle: The letter speaks of the palace guard (1:13) and the household of Caesar (4:22), and both served wherever the emperor had a governor. Acts records Paul held in Herod's Praetorium at Caesarea (Acts 23:35) and in Rome (Acts 28:16), and Paul writes of the hardships he met in the province of Asia (2 Corinthians 1:8).

    The argument in full

    From Rome, in the custody of Acts 28. The guard of 1:13 is read as the emperor's own guard and the household of 4:22 as his servants, and Acts ends with Paul two years in Rome under a soldier's guard (Acts 28:16 and 30).

    From Ephesus, during his years there. Philippi lies far nearer Ephesus than Rome, and the letter assumes that news and messengers passed between Paul and the church several times before it was written (2:25 to 26, 4:18).

  • Is 2:6 to 11 a hymn Paul quotes or his own, and what does equality not grasped mean?

    The Mind of Christ→
    • A hymn in use before Paul wrote. Held by Ernst Lohmeyer, Kyrios Jesus (1928), and by Ralph P. Martin, Carmen Christi (1967).
    • Paul's own words, written for this letter. Held by Gordon D. Fee, Paul's Letter to the Philippians, New International Commentary on the New Testament (1995).
    • Equality with God was his by right. Held by John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 2:6, who reads equality with God as his own right, and by Ambrosiaster, Commentary on Paul's Epistles, on 2:6.
    • Equality he kept, with its glory laid aside. Held by John Chrysostom in his Homilies on Philippians, homily 7, on 2:6, and by Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on 2:7, who reads the emptying as laying aside the brightness of his glory.

    What the evidence does not settle: The Greek word behind grasped stands only here in the New Testament. Every reading named here holds that Christ was in the form of God before he emptied himself and is confessed as Lord after (2:6 and 11).

    The argument in full

    A hymn in use before Paul wrote. The passage falls into balanced lines, uses words found only here in Paul's letters, and stands complete on its own.

    Paul's own words, written for this letter. The passage carries the letter's own words for mind, form and humility (2:2 to 5, 3:10 and 21), and scholars set out its lines in different ways.

    Equality with God was his by right. The one who existed in the form of God held equality with God as his own.

    Equality he kept, with its glory laid aside. The verse says what Christ did with the equality he had: he emptied himself and took the form of a servant (2:7), which is why Paul sets it before a church told to count others more important (2:3).

  • Who are the dogs of 3:2 and the enemies of the cross of 3:18?

    Justification by Faith→
    • One party, teachers pressing circumcision on Gentile believers. Held by Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible (1832), on 3:2 and 3:18, who calls both the Judaizing teachers.
    • Professing believers who lived for comfort. Held by John Chrysostom in his Homilies on Philippians, homily 13, on 3:18, who says they made a pretense of Christianity and lived in ease.
    • Those who scorned the cross itself. Held by Marius Victorinus in his Commentary on Philippians, on 3:19.

    What the evidence does not settle: Paul says he has often told the church of these people and tells them again with tears (3:18), so its first readers knew whom he meant.

    The argument in full

    One party, teachers pressing circumcision on Gentile believers. Paul answers the dogs with the true circumcision (3:3), and the enemies of the cross are read as the same teachers, who trusted in the law's rites in place of the cross.

    Professing believers who lived for comfort. Their god is their belly and their minds are on earthly things (3:19), and Paul speaks of them with tears, as people who bore Christ's name.

    Those who scorned the cross itself. The enemies of the cross are read as those who thought of Christ as a man only, raised on a cross, and so despised it.

  • Is Philippians one letter, or two or three letters joined?

    • One letter, with a turn at 3:1. Held by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, on 3:1, and by Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on 3:1.
    • Paul wrote this church more than one letter. Held by Polycarp of Smyrna in his Letter to the Philippians, who tells the same church that Paul wrote them letters.

    What the evidence does not settle: Every copy of Philippians carries the four chapters in the one order the church has always read, and Polycarp writes the plural, letters (Polycarp, To the Philippians 3.2).

    The argument in full

    One letter, with a turn at 3:1. The word rendered finally at 3:1 is used inside letters as well as at their close, and the same things Paul writes again are the joy he has urged from chapter 1.

    Paul wrote this church more than one letter. If Paul wrote more than once, the break at 3:2 and the thanks for the gift held back to 4:10 may mark where shorter letters were joined.

  • Who was the true yokefellow of 4:3?

    Women in Ministry→
    • Paul's wife. Held by Clement of Alexandria in The Stromata, book 3, on 4:3.
    • A fellow preacher. Held by Thomas Aquinas in his Commentary on Philippians, on 4:3, who calls him a fellow preacher.
    • A man named Syzygus. Held as a possibility by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, on 4:3, beside Timothy, Silas or the chief overseer at Philippi.
    • Epaphroditus, carrying the letter. Held by Marius Victorinus in his Commentary on Philippians, on 4:3.

    What the evidence does not settle: Paul speaks to the yokefellow directly as one the church knew (4:3), and the readings above name four different people.

    The argument in full

    Paul's wife. Paul gives the name yokefellow to his wife, who stayed behind while he travelled.

    A fellow preacher. The yokefellow shares the yoke of the gospel work, as Clement and the rest of Paul's fellow workers do in the same verse (4:3).

    A man named Syzygus. The Greek word for yokefellow can be a proper name, and Paul would then be calling him true to his name.

    Epaphroditus, carrying the letter. Paul has just said he is sending Epaphroditus home (2:25), so the one asked to help would be at Philippi when the letter was read.

The Text and the Spade

  • The forum of Philippi and the via Egnatiathe colony's forum rebuilt under the Antonines; the road built from 146 BC

    Excavation by the French School of Athens from 1914 and by Greek and Thessaloniki teams since has uncovered the colony's forum, its temples, the commercial buildings along its south side, and the paved line of the via Egnatia running through the city. The road was the main military and postal route from the Adriatic to Byzantium, which is why Paul reached Philippi first after crossing from Troas and why news could travel between the church and a distant prison as often as the letter presumes.

  • The Latin inscriptions of the colony1st to 3rd century AD

    Philippi's inscriptions are overwhelmingly in Latin, which is unusual for a city in the Greek-speaking east and marks it out as a transplant of Rome planted in the Greek east. The epigraphic record names Roman tribes, Roman offices and veteran settlers. It is the physical background to 3:20, since a congregation whose civic documents were in Latin knew exactly what a colony's citizenship meant.

  • The river outside the gatethe setting described in Acts 16:13

    Acts places the first meeting 'outside the city gate along the river, where it was customary to find a place of prayer' (Acts 16:13), and a stream runs outside the western gate of the excavated city. The traditional site associated with Lydia's baptism stands beside it. The topography fits the setting the narrative gives.

  • The theatre and the Roman remodellingbuilt in the 4th century BC, rebuilt for Roman use

    The theatre on the slope above the city was built when Philip II held the site and was rebuilt under Rome for shows of the Roman kind. It is a small illustration of what the colony was: a Greek foundation reorganised as a Roman town, with the older city still visible underneath. That layering is the world the letter is written into, where Greek was spoken, Latin was official, and Paul writes in Greek about a citizenship above both.

The pages Philippians opens on

Studies54

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Sources for this page

The movements, the chapter entries, the figures and the Context are read off the text of Philippians, with Acts 16 and 2 Corinthians 8 for the setting. The works behind the readings under Where do readers disagree are Clement of Alexandria, Stromata (about 200); Polycarp of Smyrna, Letter to the Philippians (second century); Marius Victorinus, Commentary on Philippians (about 360); Ambrosiaster, Commentary on Paul's Epistles (about 380); John Chrysostom, Homilies on Philippians (about 400); Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians (about 1270); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746 to 1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755); Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible (1832); Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments, 1832 to 1869; J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistle to the Philippians (1868); Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871); Ernst Lohmeyer, Kyrios Jesus (1928); George S. Duncan, St. Paul's Ephesian Ministry (1929); Ralph P. Martin, Carmen Christi (1967); and Gordon D. Fee, Paul's Letter to the Philippians (1995). Every verse quoted on this page is the Berean Standard Bible, read from the store.

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