**N.B. This is a transcript of my complete chapter on Philippians taken from "Sixty-Six Books - An Overview of the Bible Book by Book"


PHILIPPIANS - THE BOOK OF LIVING WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL 

 Philippians has been called a love letter to the church and an epistle of joy. It has stood the test of time, over the centuries in its ability to bring encouragement to many who are in difficult circumstances. For many the inspiration comes from Paul’s ability to illustrate the existing and eternal compensations and rewards of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. 

 Author 

  Philippians 1:1 identifies the authors as Paul and Timothy, but most acknowledge Paul alone as the author and Timothy was the one who scribed Paul’s words. Paul from the beginning and throughout the letter, speaks in the first person. When he does mention Timothy in chapter 2, it is in the third person. The external evidence for Pauline authorship, is found also found throughout church history and tradition. 

 Recipients 

  At the time of writing this letter, Paul was being held prisoner (Philippians 1:13), but the letter does not specify the location of his imprisonment. Over the course of his Christian service Paul was imprisoned many times (2 Corinthians 11:23), though the only places of imprisonment mentioned in the biblical record are Philippi (Acts 16:23), Jerusalem (Acts 22:23-30), Caesarea (Acts 24:23-27) and Rome (Acts 28:16; Acts 28:30).  

 Philippians 1:1 says the letter was written to “all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi with the bishops and deacons.” Philippi was an important city in the province of Macedonia in the north of Greece. It was one of the select cities that the Romans established as colonies, which were centres of Roman life in a non-Roman world (Acts 16:12). Paul first visited the region during his second missionary journey, and the church in Philippi was the first church that he established in Europe (Acts 16:11-40). He visited it twice during his third missionary journey (Acts 20:1-6) and seems to have retained a special affection for it (Philippians 1:8; Philippians 4:1; Philippians 4:18). 

 Message 

  They evidently had a small problem with unity at Philippi (Phil. 1:27, 2:2, 3:16, 4:2-3 & 9) and they were like the church at Galatia feeling some pressure from the Jewish legalists. (Phil. 3:1-16). They were not only concerned about Paul; but Paul was concerned about them (Phil. 2:19, 24). The subject is living a life worthy of the gospel and the message is an attempt to show how believers should live worthy of the gospel by standing fast in it and striving together for it. 

 Structure 

  Philippians follows the format of an ancient letter. 

 I.                 Salutation 1:1-2II. 

II.                Thanksgiving 1:3-8 

III.              Prayer 1:9-11 

IV.              The Body of the Letter 1:12-4:21 

 Purposes 

 The first purpose of Philippians is to express Paul’s gratitude for their financial support. While there were obviously several reasons why Paul wrote this letter, the immediate purpose was to thank them for their friendship and money. The Philippian church had sent Epaphroditus with money to Rome for Paul (Phil. 2:25-30, esp. 2:25, 30). Paul wrote them to thank them for this gift (Phil. 1:5, 4:10-20). 

 The second purpose of Philippians is to explain his situation. The Philippians were not just concerned about his financial need, but the fact he was currently in prison. He writes to tell the Philippians not to be discouraged because of his imprisonment, for he had plenty of opportunity to spread the gospel and teach believers (Philippians 1:12-14). He enjoyed good fellowship with the Christians in Rome, and some Christians in the government service were able to visit him and help care for him (Philippians 4:21-22). Timothy was also was with him (Philippians 1:1). Although execution was always a possibility (Philippians 2:17), he was optimistic that he would be set free and so be able to visit the Philippians again (Philippians 1:27; Philippians 2:24). He encourages them by saying the gospel is being spread and he expects to be released (Phil.1:12-26 and 2:24).  

 The third purpose of Philippians is to exhort them to live worthy of the gospel. They were concerned about him and he was concerned about them also (Phil. 2:19). He wants them to live a life worthy of the gospel, which means being unified by having a humble concern for others, standing fast in the Lord, and living in peace. 

 Summary: 

 Paul wrote to the Philippians to thank them for their gift, explaining his situation and exhorting them to live worthy of the gospel. Believers should always live a life worthy of the gospel.