Philippians

Rejoice in the Lord Alway

Philippians is a thank-you note written in chains. Paul was a prisoner, uncertain whether he would be released or executed. Rival preachers were trying to make his imprisonment harder. And yet the words joy and rejoice run through this short letter more than a dozen times. “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (4:4).

That is the point. Paul’s joy was not tied to his circumstances. It was tied to Christ. The letter also holds some of the most loved verses in the Bible: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”(1:21); the great passage on Christ humbling Himself to the death of the cross (2:5–11); “I press toward the mark” (3:14); the peace that passes all understanding (4:7); and “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (4:13).

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Authorship & Setting

Paul writes with Timothy (1:1), and his authorship has never been seriously disputed. He is in bonds, and his chains have become known “in all the palace” (1:13), and he sends greetings from “they that are of Caesar’s household” (4:22). Most believe he wrote from his house arrest in Rome around AD 61–62, though some scholars suggest an earlier imprisonment in Ephesus or Caesarea.

Philippi was named for Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great. After the Romans won a decisive battle there in 42 BC, they settled army veterans in the city and made it “a colony”(Acts 16:12), a little piece of Rome in Macedonia. Its citizens were proud of their Roman citizenship. Paul draws on that pride when he tells them, “For our conversation is in heaven” (3:20), where “conversation” means citizenship.

This was the first church Paul planted in Europe, on his second journey (Acts 16). Its first members were Lydia, a businesswoman who sold purple cloth, a slave girl set free from a spirit of divination, and the jailer who asked Paul and Silas, “What must I do to be saved?” The Philippians supported Paul’s ministry again and again (4:15–16). They had just sent him a gift by the hand of Epaphroditus, who fell sick and nearly died while serving Paul. Now Epaphroditus was well and heading home, carrying this letter.

Key Figures

• Paul — a prisoner who counted everything loss for Christ and learned to be content in every state.
• Timothy — Paul’s son in the faith, of whom Paul said, “I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state” (2:20).
• Epaphroditus — the Philippians’ messenger, “my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier” (2:25), who risked his life to serve Paul.
• Euodias and Syntyche — two women who had labored with Paul in the gospel but now needed to “be of the same mind in the Lord” (4:2).
• The true yokefellow — an unnamed partner Paul asks to help those two women reconcile (4:3).
• The rival preachers — men who preached Christ “of envy and strife” (1:15), hoping to add to Paul’s troubles. Paul rejoiced that Christ was preached anyway.
• Caesar’s household — servants and officials in the emperor’s service who had come to Christ, likely through Paul’s imprisonment (4:22).

Greek Word Study

κοινωνία · koinōnia

“Fellowship,” partnership, sharing in something together. Paul thanks God “For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now” (1:5). For the Philippians, fellowship was not a potluck. It meant prayer, money, and risk shared in a common mission. Paul also longs for “the fellowship of his sufferings” (3:10).

κενόω · kenoō

“To empty.” Christ “made himself of no reputation” (2:7) is literally “He emptied Himself.” He did not stop being God. He emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant, setting aside His rightful glory and privileges to become a man and die. This is the mind Paul tells us to have.

πολίτευμα · politeuma

“Citizenship,” the state or commonwealth you belong to. The Philippians were Roman citizens living far from Rome. Paul tells them they are citizens of heaven living far from home: “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour” (3:20). Our passport has a different capital.

αὐτάρκης · autarkēs

“Content,” self-sufficient. Greek philosophers, especially the Stoics, used it to describe a man who needed nothing outside himself. Paul borrows the word and changes its source: “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (4:11). His sufficiency was not in himself. It was in Christ.

Eight-Movement Outline

MOVEMENT ONE

Confident of This Very Thing (1:1–11)

Paul thanks God every time he remembers the Philippians, and always prays for them with joy because of their partnership in the gospel. He is sure of one thing: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”(1:6). He prays that their love would abound more and more in knowledge and judgment, so they can approve the things that are excellent and be filled with the fruits of righteousness.

MOVEMENT TWO

To Live Is Christ (1:12–30)

Paul’s imprisonment had not stopped the gospel. It had pushed it forward. The whole palace guard knew he was in chains for Christ, and other believers had grown bolder. Some were preaching out of rivalry, but “Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice” (1:18). Paul did not know whether he would live or die, and he was at peace with either: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (1:21). He had a desire “to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better” (1:23), but he expected to stay for their sake. He calls them to live as citizens worthy of the gospel and to stand together without fear.

MOVEMENT THREE

The Mind of Christ (2:1–11)

“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (2:3). Then Paul gives the reason, in what may have been an early Christian hymn: “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, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (2:5–7). He “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (2:8). Therefore God has highly exalted Him, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (2:10–11).

MOVEMENT FOUR

Shining as Lights (2:12–30)

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (2:12–13). We work it out because God is working it in. “Do all things without murmurings and disputings”(2:14), so that you “shine as lights in the world”(2:15) in a crooked generation. Paul says that even if his life is poured out like a drink offering on their faith, he rejoices. He plans to send Timothy, a rare man who genuinely cares. He is sending back Epaphroditus, who was sick nigh unto death, “but God had mercy on him”(2:27). Hold such men in reputation, Paul says.

MOVEMENT FIVE

No Confidence in the Flesh (3:1–11)

Paul warns against those who insist on circumcision as the way to be right with God. If anyone could trust in his credentials, Paul could: circumcised the eighth day, of the tribe of Benjamin, “an Hebrew of the Hebrews”, a Pharisee, zealous enough to persecute the church, and blameless in the righteousness of the law (3:5–6). But “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” (3:8). He calls his former credentials dung, so that he could be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness but the righteousness which is of God by faith. “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings” (3:10).

MOVEMENT SIX

Pressing Toward the Mark (3:12–21)

Paul says plainly he has not arrived. “But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (3:13–14). He weeps over those who live as enemies of the cross of Christ, “whose God is their belly… who mind earthly things” (3:19). But believers belong somewhere else: “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body” (3:20–21).

MOVEMENT SEVEN

Rejoice, Pray, Think (4:1–9)

Paul urges Euodias and Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Then: “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand” (4:4–5). “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (4:6–7). “Keep” is a military word: God’s peace stands guard. Then Paul tells them what to think about: whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, “think on these things” (4:8).

MOVEMENT EIGHT

Content in Christ (4:10–23)

Paul thanks them for their gift, but makes clear he was not complaining of need: “for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound” (4:11–12). He has learned the secret of being full and hungry, of plenty and of want. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (4:13). Their gift was “an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God” (4:18). And the God who received it would take care of them: “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (4:19). The saints of Caesar’s household send their greetings.

Christ Typology

The Last Adam Who Did Not Grasp. In the garden, the serpent told Eve, “ye shall be as gods” (Genesis 3:5), and the first Adam reached for equality with God. Many have seen Philippians 2 answering that scene. Christ was in the form of God and equal with Him, yet He did not grasp at it. Adam, a man, tried to make himself God and fell into death. Christ, who is God, made Himself a man and humbled Himself to death, and God lifted Him up. Where Adam grasped, Christ emptied Himself.

The Servant Exalted. Isaiah’s great Servant song begins, “Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high” (Isaiah 52:13), and then describes His suffering. Philippians 2 follows the same path: the form of a servant, obedience to death, then exaltation. The Servant who went lowest was raised highest.

Every Knee Shall Bow. In Isaiah 45:23, the LORD says, “unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.” It is one of the strongest declarations in the Old Testament that there is no God besides Him. Paul takes those words and applies them to Jesus. Every knee will bow at the name of Jesus, and every tongue confess that He is Lord. Paul could not have said more clearly that Jesus is the LORD of Isaiah 45.

The Drink Offering. Under the law, a drink offering of wine was poured out on certain sacrifices (Numbers 28:7). Paul says that if he is “offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith” (2:17), he will rejoice. He saw his own life being poured out like that. But he had learned it from his Lord, of whom Isaiah said, “he hath poured out his soul unto death” (Isaiah 53:12).

The Sweet Savour. Paul calls the Philippians’ gift “an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable” (4:18), the language of the burnt offering, which rose as “a sweet savour unto the LORD” (Leviticus 1:9). Ephesians uses the same words for Christ, who “hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour” (Ephesians 5:2). When God’s people give in His name, their gifts rise to Him with the fragrance of His Son’s sacrifice.

Personal Application

Joy is not the same as happiness. Paul was in chains, facing possible death, with rivals working against him, and he kept telling the Philippians to rejoice. His joy came from what could not be taken: Christ, the progress of the gospel, and the certainty that God would finish what He started. You can have joy in the Lord on a day when you are not happy about anything else.

Settle the question of living and dying. “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” only works if the first half is true. If to live is money, comfort, reputation, or ministry, then death is loss. Paul could face either outcome in peace because Christ was the point of both.

Have the mind of Christ. The cure for strife in the church is not more rules but a different mind. Look not only at your own things but at the things of others. Christ had every right to stay in His glory and chose to serve. Nobody following Him is too important to take the low place.

Forget what is behind and press on. Paul had plenty behind him to boast in and plenty to regret, including persecuting the church. He did not let either one hold him back. Whatever chapter you are closing, God’s high calling is still in front of you. Reach for it.

Learn contentment in Christ. Philippians 4:13 is often quoted as a promise of success, but in context it is a promise of sufficiency. Paul could be hungry or full, abased or abounding, and still be content, because Christ was strengthening him. Pray about everything, worry about nothing, think on what is true, and trust the God who shall supply all your need.

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY · MARANATHA

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