Knowing The Word in Philippians

Introduction to Philippians

Philippians usually heads the list of people’s favorite letter from Paul. It reveals a personal and warm person who pours out his heart to the Philippian Christians. We like this letter because of the winsome Paul we find here, unlike the correcting and admonishing Paul of Galatians and 1 & 2 Corinthians. This is one of Paul’s final letters, most likely written from imprisonment in Rome perhaps as early as 55 but before his death in the early 60s.

Philippi was located at the far eastern end of a large fertile plain in central Macedonia. The major east-west turnpike, the Egnatian Way, which connected the Adriatic Sea with Byzantium, ran through it. The original colony was taken over and renamed by Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, in 356 BC. Its location helped to protect the agricultural area to its west and was near Mount Pangaion to the north, which had rich mineral deposits, including gold. According to Luke (Acts 16:2), it was the leading city of the district of Macedonia. In 42 BC Octavian honored Philippi by “refounding” it as a Roman military colony, thus endowing its population with Roman citizenship. By the time Paul arrived in AD 49, Philippi was the urban political center of the eastern end of the plain. Its population was both Roman and Greek, and although Latin was the official language, Greek was the predominant language. Hence this letter is written in Greek.

The internal evidence of the letter suggests that Paul is incarcerated under the Praetorian Guard, the emperor’s elite troops stationed in Rome. Verses 1:13 and 4:22 are key to this understanding.

The overall theme of this letter and its intent can be summarized as follows: knowing Jesus is not an intellectual exercise but a real relationship in which one comes to know him intimately and ultimately to be conformed into his likeness, which, in a sense, is the goal of Christianity.

As we read through Philippians, there will be notes within the biblical text rather than an initial preparatory paragraph before each passage. We will also be including the same daily prayer derived from Philippians 4:5b-7.

Prayer

The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.