Philippians, Paul’s Epistle To The

Philippi (Greek Philippoi) was a city in eastern Macedonia, established by Philip II in 356 BCOttoman conquest. and abandoned in the 14th century after the Ottoman conquest.

Courtesy of James Earl Jones(Bible Audio)The Book of Philippians

Background: Paul established this church on his secondary missionary tour(Ac16:6-40),and this letter was written some 10 or 12 years after that visit. It is a warm, personal letter to a church for which he felt a deep affection. He speaks of his imprisonment which has resulted in the gospel being preached to Roman personel(1). Ch2 contains an important statement about Jesus as the servant who was willing to give up his rights for the good of others, and Paul encourages the church to follow that example. 4chs

Author: Paul(1:1;3:4-6),see Romans

Date and Location: Since Paul seemed confident of either acquittal or release from prison(1:19,25;2:24;Philem1:22),he probably wrote Philippians toward the end of his time of house arrest,c.AD61,about a year after he wrote Eph. and Col.

Purpose:

-To thank the Philippians believers for their financial help

-Addresses problems in the Philippian church,especially rivalry between 2 women:Eodia and Syntyche

-To refute the teachings of Judaizers(3:1-3)and of some who were going to opposite extreme,perhaps advocating a total disregard for law or a hedonistic life-style(3:18,19)

Unique Features:

-Most personal letter of Paul’s letters to the churches, with more the 100 first person pronoun in its four short chapters

-A letter of joy

-One of the Bible’s most often-quoted passages on the person of Christ(2:5-11)

-Contains no direct quotations from the OT

-Only letter of Paul in which he mentions church officers in the salutations(1:1)

Comparison:

*Eph., Col., Philem. And 2Ti.=All written when Paul is in prison.

*2Co.,2Ti.,Philem. And Phil=are Paul’s most personal letters

Abbreviations: Phil./ Php./Ph./Phl./Phi.

MV: Psa 31:19

Bib1Yr: Col.1,2Colossae