“A Study of the Book of Philippians”
Philippians 1:1-2
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Paul is writing to a community of saved persons living in Philippi. Paul established this church, this family of Christians. Paul loves these people and wants to thank them for the way they have loved and supported him in his ministry.
So he writes them a letter. Do you recall where Paul was writing from when he wrote this letter? Rome. Paul was renting a house and was confined to his house for a two-year period.
He could share the gospel with people who came to him but he was confined and basically a prisoner in his own rented home.
1. Notice How Paul Greets the Philippian Christians - Phil 1:1-2
a. How does Paul greet these Philippian Christ-followers?
1. Paul greets them in God’s Son: "Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ..."
The word Paul uses in the greek for ‘bondservants’ is the word ’doulos’, which is translated bondservant or slave. ’Doulos’ refers to a person who has given up his/her will to another. Someone who has given up their rights to carry out the wishes of another.
Paul is writing from a Roman prison. However instead of seeing himself as chained up and a prisoner of Rome, Paul says the reality is that he is a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
And so Paul greets these Christians through God’s Son. Everything Paul did he did through Jesus. In fact, the name of Christ is mentioned 18 times in this first chapter. The gospel is mentioned 6 times.
"For me, living is Christ and dying is gain." - Philippians 1:21 (CSB)
In him we live and move and have our being. Everything we do we do "in Christ".
Paul is affirming that Jesus Christ is the source of everything in his life. Paul’s sitting in prison under the oversight of Rome. But He’s still looking to Jesus to provide him with everything he needs.
Even while Paul is suffering under the opressive hand of Rome he’s still affirming that really he’s in the mighty hand of God.
What was Paul doing? Why did he open his letter by introducing himself as "one that has given up his will to Jesus Christ"?
Paul was recognizing that he belonged to Jesus Christ. Even though Rome would say, "Paul, you belong to us. You’re our prisoner. We own you." Paul would say, "No, you don’t. You’re not my owner. My life belongs to God’s Son not some godless government."
This is how Paul saw his situation. He did not see himself as a victim. If anybody had a legitimate reason to turn to self-pity it was Paul. He was unjustly jailed only for doing good to others and doing the will of God.
If we can see all of life through the lens of the Lord then we can free our mind and heart even when our physical body is imprisoned.
The world in which we live will try to put constraints on you. It wants to mold you into it’s image. But Paul said, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed."
Don’t allow what’ going on around you to control you. Paul had given up control long ago, when he first met Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. It looked like Rome was in control. But Paul reminds these Philippian Christians that actually Jesus Christ is in control.
Here’s the point...The Roman Officials could never take from Paul what Paul did not possess in the first place.
The officials of the government who were opposing Paul thought they were taking something away from Paul, namely his freedom. They said, "If Paul won’t do what we want him to do then we’ll force him to do what we want."
What Paul was saying is that he’d already given up his rights to Jesus Christ. So the Roman government wasn’t actually taking anything from Paul that he hadn’t already given to Jesus long ago.
Paul was a slave to Jesus not Rome.
Here’s the Paradox: Even though Paul was the one in chains, He was the one who was truly free. And even though the Roman Guards were not bound up by chains their minds and hearts were bound up by bitterness.
The question this brings up is this: Which of the two were truly free? The Apostle Paul or the Roman officials?
Who had more control over their own spirit? Over their own mind? Over their own way of looking at things? Paul in every way was superior to his oppressors in that he was free in the Lord to see life from a heavenly perspective. That made a big difference in the amount of freedom and joy Paul felt.
Victor Frankyl was a Vienesse psychiatrist whose entire family was captured and kept in Concentration camps in Natzi Germany.
While Frankyl was being held prisoner his father, mother and wife all died in camps. Only Frankyl’s sister and himself survived.
Dr. Frankyl has written about his experiences in a Natzi prison camp and interestingly enough his conclusions remind us of Paul’s experiences in prison.
What’s funny is that the officials and guards who were oppressing Paul were upset and deeply bothered, while Paul, the one who should have been distraught by his imprisonment, is thankful and joyful and depending on God for his every need. Wow! What a contrast!!!
It doesn’t matter what prison cell you’re in, if the Son of God is in there with you, you’re going to be okay. Like Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego, who were thrown into the fiery furnace and saw a fourth person in there with them, God’s Son stays with us through the fiery trials of life.
No matter what kind of prison you feel you’re in tonight, Jesus is with you. You may feel trapped in a difficult marriage. You may feel you’re losing control over the events of your life. You may feel down because of what’s going on around you. Realize that Jesus is standing with you in that private prison.
So, Paul greets them through God’s Son.
2. Paul greets them by God-ordained groups: "To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons."
There are three groups here Paul wants to acknowledge in the beginning of his letter.
1a. Paul greets "the saints" in Christ Jesus in Philippi. - "the saints"
First, there are the saints. The word Paul uses is the greek word ’hagiov’, meaning most holy thing. A hagiov, or saint is a most holy thing, or person. A saint is a person set apart for God’s enjoyment and employment. God enjoys His saints and uses His saints to do His work.
So, Paul acknowledges that these Philippian believers are to God, most holy ones. This is how God regards each and every Christian. God looks at us as set apart for Himself. You may not feel very saintly. You may feel like a big sinner. Or you may feel like a victim of your circumstances. But Paul says, "You’re a saint."
You’re a person God is continually sanctifying and making more like His Son Jesus Christ.
2a. Paul greets "the bishops" in Christ Jesus in Philippi. - "the bishops"
There are two other groups Paul mentions after he mentions the community of saints. He mentions first, the bishops. What is a bishop?
Well, the word is episkopos. We get our word episcopal from it. The word episkipos is a greek word that literally means "overseer".
The literal definition of it is...
1. a man charged with the duty of seeing that things to be done by others are done rightly, any curator, guardian or superintendent
2. the superintendent, elder, or overseer of a Christian church
Who is Paul referring to here? Paul is referring to Pastors. You’ll notice that the word bishops is plural not singular.
In other words, Paul is talking to one church that has more than one Pastor serving it. It’s like here at Bible Baptist we have Pastor Brad and Pastor Brent on staff. We have Pastor Randy who is an ordained minister serving our flock.
Paul first sets the saints apart then sets the Pastors apart and then moves to the deacons.
Paul once taught the Roman Christians "Give honor to whom honor is due." And so he’s honoring each of God’s ordained roles in His church.
3a. Paul greets "the deacons" in Christ Jesus in Philippi. - "the deacons"
The word Paul uses here is the word ’diakonos’, which refers to "one who executes the commands of another, esp. of a master, a servant, attendant, minister
1. the servant of a king
2. a deacon, one who, by virtue of the office assigned to him by the church, cares for the poor and has charge of and distributes the money collected for their use
3. a waiter, one who serves food and drink"
So these are three different groups Paul mentions. He mentions them as God-ordained groups that exist within the church he planted at Philippi.
Why did Paul feel the need to mention all three groups? Evidently these three groups represented the structure that existed within this church in Philippi. In other words, there were Pastors, Deacons and then Church members. Evidently that comprised the way that the Phillipian church was governed. Paul had planted this church and therefore had most likely had a hand in setting up its structure of doing things.
The Pastors were there to "oversee" the operations of the church. The deacons were there to assist the pastor in performing the duties of Christian ministry. And the members were there to be equipped to then go and do the work of the ministry as Paul teaches in Ephesians 4.
So Paul greets them as three distinct groups.
3. Paul greets them with God’s grace: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
Paul greets them by telling them that he wishes God’s grace and peace for them.
What is God’s grace Paul refers to here? What is God’s peace he’s mentioning here?
Paul uses the word ’charis’ which is the word for grace in the orignial language. It means "that which affords joy, pleasure and sweetness to another person."
Paul then uses the word ‘eirene’ to describe the peace he wants them to have. Grace and Peace are two important Christian virtues. Grace and Peace work together in individuals and groups.
Grace and peace go together like peanut butter and jelly.
If a Christian is going to feel at peace, then he/she will need to be aware of and deeply convinced of God’s grace toward them.
What is it that gives us peace in our hearts? It’s knowing that God is a God of grace. Every day God’s showers His grace on you and me. God has feelings for you. God’s disposition toward you is one of good will. God wants to see you smiling and joyful and experiencing pleasure in Him.
So peace in our hearts comes from knowing that God has grace-filled feelings for you and me.
How do you experience peace in difficult times? Like Paul. In prison, chained, on his way to be executed. How did Paul experience peace in his heart? He possessed a measure of God’s sweetness in himself. This grace is God’s ability to handle whatever life throws at us.
This grace is what Paul was talking about in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NKJV)
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Cor 12:7-10 (NKJV)
Paul had learned to depend on the supply of grace that came from God to his life.
Being at peace during a storm is not about avoiding problems in your life. You’re going to face problems in your life and no matter how much you want to nor how hard you try you’re going to face difficult trials and problems.
Having peace is not about avoiding problems but about depending on God’s grace to help you get through those problems.
And Paul is clear, "God’s grace is sufficient."
How do you get God’s grace to help you in your time of need?
You humble yourself before the Lord.
You pray and depend on Him to lift you up.
One of the greatest signs of whether you are depending on God’s grace or not is your prayer life. Are you praying and asking God to give you grace?
Now the other side of grace and the way it works together with peace is that peace is not only something we want to feel in our hearts, peace is also something we want to experience with each other in our relationships.
That’s the other meaning of this greek word ’eirene’. Remember, Paul is talking to a group of people, to a community of believers, a congregation of a church.
And as Paul mentions later in Chapter 4, there were conflicts going on within this congregation that he wanted settled.
How do we have peace in our hearts during difficult times instead of anxiety or worry? We get God’s grace.
How do we have peace within our relationships? It begins with this word "Grace". We relate to one another in grace-filled ways.
Again that word Grace means, "that which affords joy, pleasure and sweetness to another."
Where you find grace you will likely find peace. And where you sense peace you will likely discover the presence of grace.
When there is little or no grace, relationships cannot be peaceful. Grace is like putting WD-40 on rusting squeeky metal. If you find a group of people that seem to never be at peace with each other, you will find there is a lack of grace.
What the conflicts reveal is that a deeper work of grace is needed by the Lord in those people and their relationships.
Now, there’s a corollary that goes along with this that is also true. People who are not at peace with themselves usually relate to others in grace-less ways.
Hurting people hurt other people. If we are not at peace with ourselves, then we’re going to find it hard to be at peace with others.
Treating each other in graceless ways is like putting salt in another person’s drink. Have you ever done that? You’re sitting there, your friend goes to the bathroom and while he’s gone you pour salt into his soda.
And when he takes a sip he gets a terrible taste in his mouth.
God says, "Don’t do this to one another." Don’t make each other’s life bitter or leave a bad taste in each other’s mouth.
God says, "Treat each other with grace."
Treating each other with grace is like sweetening your friends drink for them.
If they have unsweet tea you take some sweetener and pour that in, stir that around and by this enhance your friends experience.
Grace is sweetness, it’s kindness, it’s gracious. And Paul wanted both of these virtues to permeate the church at Philippi. Grace and Peace were the keys Paul gave them that would open the door to rich fellowship and sweet friendship.
Paul’s greeting contains a lot of truth for our lives. We can see our lives in its totality as being in Jesus Christ. We can see and recognize the God-ordained order within the church. And we can learn to be filled with grace and peace in our lives and relationships.
