Philippians

What This Book Is

The warmest of Paul's letters, written in chains to a church that had supported him, and full of joy and thanks.

Overview

Paul is in prison, facing a trial that could end in execution, and this is the most cheerful letter he wrote. That contrast is the whole point.

He begins by telling them not to worry about his situation, because what has happened has actually advanced the gospel: the guards know why he is there, and other believers have grown bolder. He is candid that he does not know which outcome he prefers, since to live is Christ and to die is gain, and being with Christ would be far better, but staying is more useful to them.

The centre of the letter is a passage in chapter 2 that many think is an early hymn. Christ, though in the form of God, did not grasp at equality but emptied himself, took the form of a servant, and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him. Paul introduces it not as doctrine for its own sake but as the pattern for how they should treat each other: consider others more significant than yourselves.

He warns about people insisting on credentials, lists his own impressive ones, and calls them rubbish compared to knowing Christ.

Two women in the church, Euodia and Syntyche, are named and asked to agree, which is a striking thing to preserve in Scripture.

Near the end come the well known lines: rejoice always, do not be anxious about anything, and the secret of being content in plenty and in want.

Structure

• Chapter 1: From prisonChains that advanced the gospel, and a choice between living and dying.
• Chapter 2: The patternThe hymn of Christ's humility, and a call to the same mind.
• Chapter 3: What countsCredentials discarded for the sake of knowing Christ.
• Chapter 4: ContentmentTwo women reconciled, anxiety answered, and the secret of contentment.

Themes

Why It Matters

Philippians shows that joy in the New Testament is not a mood produced by good conditions. It was written by a man in chains to people under pressure, and the joy in it is stubborn rather than sunny. The hymn in chapter 2 is one of the earliest and highest statements about Christ in the New Testament, and Paul uses it, characteristically, to settle an argument about humility.

How to Read It

• Count how many times joy or rejoice appears, then remember where it was written.
• Read 2:5-11 slowly, and then read 2:1-4 again as the reason it is there.
• Read 4:11-13 in context; the verse about doing all things is about contentment in scarcity.
• Notice the two named women in 4:2 and what it means that the request was kept.

Key Verse

Did You Know?

• Joy and rejoice appear more than a dozen times in four short chapters written from prison.
• The passage in 2:6-11 is widely thought to be an early Christian hymn quoted by Paul.
• Philippi was the first church Paul planted on European soil, described in Acts 16.

Where to Start Reading