Overview of Philippians

Our next Pauline letter is Philippians, which is well recognised as being written by Paul to the church in Philippi around 55-63 CE. Paul is in prison and the Philippians send him a gift to support him.

Paul then writes this letter back to them to thank them for their gift and as a general encouragement. This causes the letter to feel less urgent and corrective feel than some of the other letters that were writing to deal with specific issues in those churches.

We read as Paul planted the church in Philippi in Acts 16. It was one of the first churches that Paul planted in Macedonia.

Philippians 1:1-11 - Greetings and opening prayer

Philippians 1:12-26 - Paul’s current circumstances

Philippians 1:27-30 - Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ

Philippians 2 - Be of one mind

Philippians 3 - Beware the false teachers

Philippians 4 - Stand firm in the Lord, in unity, peace, and contentment

One of the key passages in Philippians is Philippians 2:6-11. This is known as the Christ hymn, and some believe that it was a common hymn about Jesus that Paul included in this letter.

It focuses on Jesus’ divinity, which he emptied himself of to become human. This then becomes an example to the Philippians of how they should live, in selfless unity with one another.

There’s also evidence that those teaching circumcision that we encountered in Galatians are still around and causing problems, so Paul warns the Philippians against them.

Finally, there seems to be a couple of women in the church at Philippi that have been in disagreement with one another for a while, which Paul takes a moment to address.

Philippians 1-2

Paul opens with greetings, but while normally Paul names himself an ‘apostle of Christ’, here he goes for ‘servant of Christ’. This perhaps reflects the focus of the letter.

In the other letters we have read Paul’s authority has been challenged, or he needs to assert his authority to deal with some issue in the church. In those cases, it is important that the churches recognise his apostleship and authority to point out these issues.

Here in his letter to the Philippians that is not the case, and so instead he identifies as a servant of Christ to model for them what they are called to be.

Paul greets the Philippians as saints and gives them a blessing before sharing how grateful for them he is. They have continued in the gospel that he first brought them.

While other churches have been rocky, and it’s not always clear if they will continue or fall back into their old ways, when it comes to the Philippians, Paul is confident that they will continue in their faith and see it completed.

Not only that, but the Philippians continue to share with Paul in the gospel. They continue to pray for him and send him gifts while he is in prison and has been sharing the gospel with others.

So Paul prays that the Philippians will grow in love and in knowledge, so that they will better understand how to live and to continue to be formed in the image of Jesus.

Paul then gives an update on his life. While Paul is in prison, God has been using that to help spread the gospel. Currently, the entire imperial guard are aware that Paul is in prison because of his faith in Jesus.

These were the top of the top. They would guard the emperor, and in sometimes they would depose emperors. It was the imperial guard that assassinated Caligula almost twenty years before (41 CE) and replaced him with Claudius. Then, just five years before, they had helped lead Nero to power.

This is an important and influential group to hear and be influenced by the gospel. Not only that, Paul mentions that many other believers have been encouraged to share the gospel because of his imprisonment.

The reasons for this vary. Some proclaim the gospel out of love, encouraged by Paul’s sacrifice. Others do it to make a name for themselves while Paul is busy stuck in prison. But as far as Paul is concerned, both are fine. Either way, Jesus is spread to more and more people, which is a win.

Paul particularly rejoices because he is confident that with the Philippians’ prayers and the power of the Spirit, he can still be used for the gospel while in prison and Jesus will be exalted.

He explains to the Philippians that death is not something to be feared. If he continues to live in means he has more opportunity to serve Jesus and share him with others. If he is persecuted and died, then he gets to be in paradise with Jesus.

In fact, if Paul had to choose, he’d much rather be with Jesus, but he recognises that he still has work to do here on earth. The lesson for the Philippians is to not fear any persecution they face. Either they will live and God will use it to spread Jesus to more people, or they will die and be with Jesus.

And so Paul moves to the main encouragement that shapes the rest of the letter. He encourages the Philippians to “live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27). If they do this they will stand strong, stand united, and stand against their opponents who come against them.

This is the blessing that God offers them, to not only believe in Jesus but to participate in his sufferings and mission of the gospel.

Paul then unpacks what living a life in a manner worthy of the gospel looks like. First, it looks like being united and of one mind. The Philippians shouldn’t seek their own benefit, but in humility seek the benefit of one another.

Paul recites the Christ hymn, which, as we’ve mentioned, was likely a common hymn known in the church. Jesus was originally ‘in the form of God’. There’s debate over what exactly this means. Some believe it means Jesus possessed the essential nature of God, capturing the idea that everything truly divine was present in Him.

Others interpret it as pointing to divine majesty, much like a royal robe signifies a king’s status; in this sense, it reflects the visible glory and splendour Jesus had before becoming human.

Another view draws a comparison between Jesus and Adam, suggesting that while Adam failed to fully reflect God’s image, Jesus embodies humanity as it was intended to be, perfectly mirroring God.

Either way, the point is that Jesus had a privileged position with God, but he was willing to give that up and empty himself of his divinity. In stead he became human and poor. He humbled himself and was obedient all the way to the cross.

Because of Jesus’ humility and obedience, God then exalted him again, giving him the name that is higher than any other name.

Therefore, if Jesus was willing to give up his divinity and, in humility and obedience, do what is needed for the gospel, then the Philippians should do the same. Particularly as Paul is no longer there in person to guide them.

They need to learn what is to work out their own faith, because it is God, not Paul, who is ultimately at work in them. It is God that not only gives them the ability to work it out, but the desire and will to do it.

Paul then provides some practical suggestions. Don’t complain or argue about the work they are given. Instead, be blameless and innocent in all that they do. That way, they will stand out against the wickedness of the world like a bright light. If they do all that, then it makes all that Paul suffered on their behalf worth it.

Next up, Paul gives them two more examples, Timothy and Epaphroditus. Paul is sending Timothy to the Philippians soon. Unlike others, Timothy does not seek his own interests, but only seeks what is of Jesus. And the Philippians already know Timothy well.

Then there’s Epaphroditus, who had grown ill in his pursuit of the gospel. Paul is sending Epaphroditus to the Phillipians to encourage them that he is still alive.

Both these men will serve as an example and encouragement for the Philippians for living a life completely offered up for God.

Psalm 9

This psalm is attributed to king David, and fits into the category of lament psalms, though you may not notice it straight away. This is because, unlike most lament psalms that begin with the complaint and end with a declaration of trust in God, this psalm does it the other way round.

The first half of the psalm is dedicated to praise, and so to begin with, it would be easy to mistake this as a praise psalm. But following a chiastic pattern (a structure that mirrors itself) as the psalm reaches its turning point, the psalmist begins to raise their complaint before God.

A) Psalm 9:1-2 - Praise

B) Psalm 9:3-6 - God has judged the enemy

C) Psalm 9:7-10 - Testimony that God saves the righteous

D) Psalm 9:11 - Praise

C) Psalm 9:12-14 - Prayer that God will save the psalmist

B) Psalm 9:15-18 - God continues to judge the wicked

A) Psalm 9:19-20 - Prayer for God to intercede

Perhaps the biggest immediate take away from this psalm is the evidence that there is no one way you have to pray. In some situations, all you can do is bring your complaint. You’re hurting and broken, and it’s only after airing all that pain before God that you can bring yourself to declare that God is good.

But other times, you might decide before you bring up your complaints, you need to remind yourself of the goodness of God to put your complaints in their rightful place. It all depends on the situation and where you are at when you come to pray.

What’s so clever about this psalm is there is a secondary structure that we don’t see in the English. This psalm is an acrostic, where each section (roughly every two verses) starts with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

א) Psalm 9:1-2 - Praise to God

ב) Psalm 9:3-4 - God is the one that has protected and sustained the psalmist

ג) Psalm 9:5-6 - God judges the wicked

ה) Psalm 9:7-8 - God reigns, enthroned over the world

ו) Psalm 9:9-10 - God protects the oppressed

ז) Psalm 9:11-12 - Praise to God

ח) Psalm 9:13-14 - A request for God to protect the oppressed

ט) Psalm 9:15-16 - God’s judgement on the wicked

י) Psalm 9:17 - The wicked shall go to the place of death for forgetting God

כ) Psalm 9:18-20 - The poor will not be forgotten by God

Interestingly, Psalm 10 continues this acrostic on with the next Hebrew letter ל.