Philippians

Context:
The honour of being a provincial capital belonged to Thessalonica but Philippi had its own importance both past and present. Its name came from the father of Alexander the Great Philip of Macedon who captured the city in 360BC. In the early 1990s a tomb was found belonging to Philip that was full of gold. A find second only to that of Tutankhamen tomb in Egypt.

In recent years it was the scene of the decisive battle in which armies loyal to the murdered Julius Caesar (fighting under Augustus and M Anthony) defeated Brutus and Cassius. To honour this event the dignity of being a 'colony' was conferred on the city.

As a 'colony' Philippi was in fact 'Rome in miniature' In conferring on Philippi the ius Italicum Augustus bestowed a great honour on the town:

Ius Italicum (Latin, Italian or Italic law) was an honour conferred on particular cities of the Roman Empire by the emperors. It did not describe any status of citizenship, but granted to communities outside Italy the legal fiction that it was on Italian soil. This meant that it was governed under Roman rather than local or Hellenistic law, had a greater degree of autonomy in their relations with provincial governors, all those born in the city automatically gained Roman citizenship, and the city's land was exempt from certain taxes. As citizens of Rome, people were able to buy and sell property, were exempt from land tax and the poll tax and were entitled to protection by Roman law. (from Wikipedia)

Paul encountered in Philippi a community that had a pronounced pride and dignity from being a colony of Rome - essentially Rome away from Rome. The Romans divided the world up into two types of people, citizens and strangers. A colony was a city of citizens in a land of strangers.

Only in Philippians does he use language that speaks of civil or political identity. He tells them to 'live in a way that is worthy' of the gospel and he reminds them that their citizenship is in heaven. Paul is trying to get them to see themselves as Christians first and Romans second not Romans first and Christians second. Their higher allegiance and larger identity was to a ruler who is far greater than any Caesar.

Philippi is the location of Paul's first church plant and the first city he had visited in mainland Europe.

Town lies on the Via Egnatia a road that stretched from Albania, through northern Greece and into Turkey. It was a popular trading route.

Paul visited Philippi in 49/50AD and is recorded in Acts 16
Acts 16:10 - Macedonian call Paul's dream of a man begging saying 'come over to Macedonia and help us.' Philippi is described in A16:12 as 'a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia.'
v12 - we stayed there several days.
v15 Lydia was converted after Paul and friends sat down and began speaking to some of the women at what they supposed was a place of prayer. They then stayed at Lydia's house. Although described as 'a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira' which is in Northern Turkey she had a 'house' in Philippi. Also in Philippi with her was her 'household' which could include anything from immediate family to employees/slaves.

Lydia’s hospitality may have even served as the catalyst for the generous, giving spirit of the new church Paul established in Philippi.Years later, when the apostle wrote to the Philippian church, he recalled their generosity at his initial meeting with them 4:15

v16 - 'once when we travelling to the place of prayer...' the word once  implies that they travelled there quite often. Following the fruit of seeing Lydia converted they saw it as an effective place to share the gospel. The fact that Luke doesn't mention what happened on all of the subsequent visits to the place of prayer by the river could suggest that not much of significance happened on those days. Although not necessarily as he is more giving us a highlight reel of what happened in response to God's leading.
v18 - 'she kept this up for many days' again seems to suggest that they were used to a similar strategy of visiting the place of prayer and talking to people. Paul was quite deliberate about what he did and where he went. He didn't simply start shouting in the streets to get people's attention. He found somewhere open and visited there regularly talking to people.
v32 - presumably then the jailer's household lived with him in the prison district.
v40 Paul and Silas have spent a night in jail where God used him in bringing the jailer to faith and the next day return to Lydia's house 'where they met with the brothers...' which is a generic gender neutral term to mean brothers and sisters. Just from the few people we've been told about Paul's converts included Lydia's house, possibly a slave girl (redeemed by Lydia perhaps?) and the jailer and his household.

1 Thess 2:2 Paul mentions that he was treated shamefully in Philippi referring perhaps to how he felt being assaulted as they were by the magistrates and the jailer.

It is supposed that Paul left Luke in charge of the converts since it is at this point that the narrative stops saying 'we' and returns again to 'they' once Paul and Silas leave. Luke then starts using 'we' again when Paul returns in 20:6 when he records 'we sailed from Philippi after the Feast of Unleavened Bread.' Phil Moore mentions that the difference in time between A16 and A20 is 4 years. If this is true then it seems that Luke was in Philippi for four years building with what Paul had got started after the 'Macedonian Call.' Some have even suggested that Luke was the 'Man form Macedonia'. In Colossians Luke is described as the beloved doctor and there was a school of medicine in Philippi. Perhaps Luke lived in Philippi.

5 church buildings have been excavated from the ruins of Philippi the earliest dating to 500AD.

The church started around 52AD

Themes of the letter:

Unity in the church - other than Epaphroditus Paul mentions only two Philippians by name - the quarrelling women Euodia and Syntyche. 'Once disposed of the news-sharing he abruptly plunges into a fresh topic: 1:27' Live worthy.

Under attack - the gospel is bearing fruit but it is also producing enemies. People opposed to Paul are preaching a gospel out of selfish reasons. The Philippians are also being 'frightened' by opponents of the gospel and it is into that that he writes in 2:1 'so/therefore' and then lists how the church can respond to the threats '...make my joy complete by being like-minded, of one spirit...' 'stand firm' against such opponents. Motyer writes 'there is an effective reply to a hostile world - a united church.'

The coming great day - the day of Christ's return is a day toward which the Father is working. Since the Father wants every creature without exception to own Jesus as Lord. To this end the Father is constantly engaged in the task of making Christian believers ready for the great day. The Lord's return is a day 'toward which every Christian must work.'

Since the Lord is at hand, the present duty of each Christian is to live in his likeness, to make urgent progress in holiness so as to have a harvest of righteousness ready for him, and to long to bring others to faith so that they may be glad together before his throne.

Three themes intertwine to make up the letter to the Philippians but the uniting factor is not any one of them but the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The church has caught the vision of Paul's gosepl preaching since they send him both a financial gift and a valued member of the church to be with him.

The letter is quite different to the others written by Paul. It doesn't concentrate on problems or crises but on relationships between Paul and the Philippians.

David Pawson points out that two main themes of the letter are: gospel partnership and joy. He also argues that Paul's joy comes from two main sources: 1) Because of what he lived for. 2) Because of what he lived on. The Philippians financial contributions were the only ones he received.

The major teaching of Philippians follows the poem about Christ's humiliation-come-glorifitcation. Those teaching themes are:
1) Redemption: an experience to apply
- God works it in
- You work it out
2) Righteousness: an end to pursue
- not ours
- but his
3) Resurrection: an event to desire
- out from the dead
- with a new body
4) Responsibility: an effort to make
- forgetting the past
- straining towards the future
5) Reproduction: an example to follow
- bad = earthly minded
- good = heavenly minded

Pawson's conclusion:
We have seen that the major thrust of the letter is not what the Lord does in the believer but what the believer needs to do in response.

Tom Wright:

- When people were put in prison in the ancient world they weren't usually given food, instead they had to rely on the kindness and support of friends. The fact that a group from another country would send money and support and one of their own on a dangerous journey speaks volumes of how they felt towards Paul.

In Paul's world the word 'partnership' would usually be used in the sense of a business. Partners in a business. It usually included a financial and practical element. The Philippians then are partners in the gospel and partners in grace. They are in the gospel business and the grace business.