38 lines
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38 lines
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<title>Blue Letter Bible: Text Commentaries</title>
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Title = 'The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Philippians';
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SubTitle1 = 'Commentary by A. R. FAUSSET';
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<p id="Introduction" align="center">Commentary by A. R. FAUSSET<br>INTRODUCTION
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<p>The INTERNAL EVIDENCE for the authenticity of this Epistle is strong. The style, manner of thought, and doctrine, accord with Paul's. The incidental allusions also establish his authorship. PALEY [<i>Horae Paulinae,</i> ch. 7] instances the mention of the object of Epaphroditus' journey to Rome, the Philippian contribution to Paul's wants, Epaphroditus' sickness (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,7);">Phl 1:7</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,'25-30');">2:25-30</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Phl',4,'10-18;);">4:10-18</a>), the fact that Timothy had been long with Paul at Philippi (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,1);">Phl 1:1</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,19);">2:19</a>), the reference to his being a prisoner at Rome now for a long time (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,'12-14');">Phl 1:12-14</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,'17-28');">2:17-28</a>), his willingness to die (compare <a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,23);">Phl 1:23</a>, with <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',5,8);">2Cr 5:8</a>), the reference to the Philippians having <i>seen</i> his maltreatment at Philippi (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,29,30);">Phl 1:29-30</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,1,2);"> 2:1-2</a>).
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<p>The EXTERNAL EVIDENCE is equally decisive: POLYCARP [<i>Epistle to the Philippians,</i> 3; 11]; IRENAEUS [<i>Against Heresies,</i> 4.18.4]; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [<i>The Instructor,</i> 1.1, p. 107]; EUSEBIUS [<i>The Epistle of the Churches of Lyons and Vienne,</i> in <i>Ecclesiastical History,</i> 5. 2]; TERTULLIAN [<i>On the Resurrection of the Flesh,</i> 23]; ORIGEN [<i>Against Celsus,</i> 1.3, p. 122]; CYPRIAN [<i>Testimonies against the Jews,</i> 3.39].
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<p>Philippi was <i>the first</i> (that is, the farthest from Rome, and first which met Paul in entering Macedonia) Macedonian <i>city of the district,</i> called <i>Macedonia Prima</i> (so called as lying <i>farthest eastward</i>). The <i>Greek</i> (<a onclick="return mV('Act',16,12);">Act 16:12</a>) should not be translated "the <i>chief</i> city," as <i>English Version,</i> but as above [ALFORD]. Not it, but Thessalonica, was the <i>chief</i> city of the province, and Amphipolis, of the district called Macedonia Prima. It was a <i>Roman</i> "colony" (<a onclick="return mV('Act',16,12);">Act 16:12</a>), made so by Augustus, to commemorate his famous victory over Brutus and Cassius. A <i>colony</i> was in fact a portion of Rome itself transplanted to the provinces, an offshoot from Rome, and as it were a portrait of the mother city on a small scale [AULUS GELLIUS, <i>Attic Nights,</i> 16.13]. Its inhabitants were Roman citizens, having the right of voting in the Roman tribes, governed by their own senate and magistrates, and not by the governor of the province, with the Roman law and <i>Latin</i> language.
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<p>Paul, with Silas and Timothy, planted the Gospel there (<a onclick="return mV('Act',16,12);">Act 16:12</a>, etc.), in his second missionary journey, A.D. 51. Doubtless he visited it again on his journey from Ephesus into Macedonia (<a onclick="return mV('Act',20,1);">Act 20:1</a>); and <a onclick="return mV('Act',20,3,6);">Act 20:3, 6</a>, expressly mentions his third visit on his return from Greece (Corinth) to Syria by way of Macedonia. His sufferings at Philippi (<a onclick="return mV('Act',16,19);">Act 16:19</a>, etc.) strengthened the Christian bond of union between him and his Philippian converts, who also, like him, were exposed to trials for the Gospel's sake (<a onclick="return mV('1Th',2,2);">1Th 2:2</a>). They alone sent supplies for his temporal wants, <i>twice</i> shortly after he had left them (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',4,15,16);">Phl 4:15-16</a>), and again a third time shortly before writing this Epistle (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',4,10,18);">Phl 4:10, 18</a>; <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',11,9);">2Cr 11:9</a>). This fervent attachment on their part was, perhaps, also in part due to the fact that few Jews were in Philippi, as in other scenes of his labors, to sow the seeds of distrust and suspicion. There was no synagogue, but merely a Jewish <i>Proseucha,</i> or oratory, by the riverside. So that there only do we read of his meeting no opposition from Jews, but only from the masters of the divining damsel, whose gains had been put an end to by her being dispossessed.
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<p>Though the Philippian Church was as yet free from Judaizing influence, yet it needed to be forewarned of that danger which might at any time assail it from without (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',3,2);">Phl 3:2</a>); even as such evil influences had crept into the Galatian churches. In <a onclick="return mV('Phl',4,2,3);">Phl 4:2-3</a> we find a trace of the fact recorded in the history (<a onclick="return mV('Act',16,13,14);">Act 16:13-14</a>), that <i>female</i> converts were among the first to receive the Gospel at Philippi.
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<p>As to the state of the Church, we gather from <a onclick="return mV('2Cr',8,1,2);">2Cr 8:1-2</a> that its members were <i>poor,</i> yet most <i>liberal;</i> and from <a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,'28-30');">Phl 1:28-30</a>, that they were undergoing persecution. The only blemish referred to in their character was, on the part of some members, a tendency to dissension. Hence arise his admonitions against disputings (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,27);">Phl 1:27</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,'1-4',12,14);">2:1-4, 12, 14</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Phl',4,2);">4:2</a>).
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<p>The OBJECT of the Epistle is general: not only to thank the Philippians for their contribution sent by Epaphroditus, who was now in returning to take back the apostle's letter, but to express his Christian love and sympathy, and to exhort them to a life consonant with that of Christ, and to warn them against existing dissensions and future possible assaults of Judaizers from without. It is remarkable in this Epistle alone, as compared with the others, that, amidst many commendations, there are no express censures of those to whom it is addressed. No doctrinal error, or schism, has as yet sprung up; the only blemish hinted at is, that some of the Philippian Church were somewhat wanting in lowliness of mind, the result of which want was disputation. Two women, Euodias and Syntyche, are mentioned as having erred in this respect (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',4,2,3);">Phl 4:2-3</a>). The Epistle may be divided into <i>three</i> parts: (1) Affectionate address to the Philippians; reference to his own state as a prisoner at Rome, and to theirs, and to his mission of Epaphroditus to them (the first and second chapters). Epaphroditus probably held a leading office in the Philippian Church, perhaps as a presbyter. After Tychicus and Onesimus had departed (A.D. 62), carrying the Epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, Paul was cheered in his imprisonment by the arrival of Epaphroditus with the Philippian contribution. That faithful "brother, companion in labor, and fellow soldier" (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,25);">Phl 2:25</a>), had brought on himself by the fatigues of the journey a dangerous sickness (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,26,30);">Phl 2:26, 30</a>). But now that he was recovered, he "longed" (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,26);">Phl 2:26</a>) to return to his Philippian flock, and in person to relieve their anxiety on his behalf, in respect to his sickness; and the apostle gladly availed himself of the opportunity of writing to them a letter of grateful acknowledgments and Christian exhortations. (2) Caution against Judaizing teachers, supported by reference to his own former and present feeling towards Jewish legalism (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',3,'1-21');">Phl 3:1-21</a>). (3) Admonitions to individuals, and to the Church in general, thanks for their seasonable aid, and concluding benedictions and salutations (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',4,'1-23');">Phl 4:1-23</a>).
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<p>This Epistle was written from Rome during the imprisonment, the beginning of which is related in <a onclick="return mV('Act',28,16,20,30,31);">Act 28:16, 20, 30-31</a>. The reference to "Caesar's household" (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',4,22);">Phl 4:22</a>), and to the "palace" (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,13);">Phl 1:13</a>, <i>Greek,</i> "<i>Praetorium,</i>" probably, <i>the barrack of the Praetorian bodyguard,</i> attached to the palace of Nero) confirms this. It must have been during his <i>first</i> imprisonment at Rome, for the mention of the Praetorium agrees with the fact that it was during his first imprisonment he was in the custody of the Praetorian Prefect, and his situation, described in <a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,'12-14');">Phl 1:12-14</a>, agrees with his situation in the first two years of his imprisonment (<a onclick="return mV('Act',28,30,31);">Act 28:30-31</a>). The following reasons show, moreover, that it was written towards <i>the close</i> of that imprisonment: (1) He, in it, expresses his expectation of the immediate decision of his cause (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,23);">Phl 2:23</a>). (2) Enough time had elapsed for the Philippians to hear of his imprisonment, to send Epaphroditus to him, to hear of Epaphroditus' arrival and sickness, and send back word to Rome of their distress (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,26);">Phl 2:26</a>). (3) It must have been written after the three other Epistles sent from Rome, namely, Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon; for Luke is no longer with him (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,20);">Phl 2:20</a>); otherwise he would have been specified as saluting them, having formerly labored among them, whereas he is mentioned as with him, <a onclick="return mV('Col',4,14);">Col 4:14</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Phm',1,24);">Phm 1:24</a>. Again, in <a onclick="return mV('Eph',6,19,20);">Eph 6:19-20</a>, his freedom to preach is implied: but in <a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,'13-18');">Phl 1:13-18</a>, his bondage is dwelt on, and it is implied that, <i>not himself,</i> but <i>others,</i> preached, and made his imprisonment known. Again, in <a onclick="return mV('Phm',1,22);">Phm 1:22</a>, he confidently anticipates his release, which contrasts with the more depressed anticipations of this Epistle. (4) A considerable time had elapsed since the beginning of his imprisonment, for "his bonds" to have become so widely known, and to have produced such good effects for the Gospel (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,13);">Phl 1:13</a>). (5) There is evidently an increase in the rigor of his imprisonment implied now, as compared with the early stage of it, as described in <a onclick="return mV('Act',28,'1-31');">Act 28:1-31</a>; compare <a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,29,30);">Phl 1:29-30</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,27);">2:27</a>. History furnishes a probable clue to account for this increase of vigor. In the second year of Paul's imprisonment (A.D. 62), Burrus, the Praetorian Prefect, to whose custody he had been committed (<a onclick="return mV('Act',28,16);">Act 28:16</a>, "the captain of the guard"), died; and Nero the emperor having divorced Octavia, and married Poppoea, a Jewish proselytess (who then caused her rival, Octavia, to be murdered, and gloated over the head of her victim), exalted Tigellinus, the chief promoter of the marriage, a monster of wickedness, to the Praetorian Prefecture. It was then he seems to have been removed from his own house into the Praetorium, or barrack of the Praetorian guards, attached to the palace, for stricter custody; and hence he writes with less hopeful anticipations as to the result of his trial (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,17);">Phl 2:17</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Phl',3,11);">3:11</a>). Some of the Praetorian guards who had the custody of him before, would then naturally make known his "bonds," in accordance with <a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,13);">Phl 1:13</a>; from the smaller Praetorian bodyguard at the palace the report would spread to the general permanent Praetorian camp, which Tiberius had established north of the city, outside of the walls. He had arrived in Rome, February, 61; the "two whole years (<a onclick="return mV('Act',20,30);">Act 20:30</a>) in his own hired house" ended February, 63, so that the date of this Epistle, written shortly after, evidently while the danger was imminent, would be about spring or summer, 63. The providence of God averted the danger. He probably was thought beneath the notice of Tigellinus, who was more intent on court intrigues. The death of Nero's favorite, Pallas, the brother of Felix, this same year, also took out of the way another source of danger.
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<p>The STYLE is abrupt and discontinuous, his fervor of affection leading him to pass rapidly from one theme to another (<a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,18);">Phl 2:18</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,'19-24');">Phl 19-24</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Phl',2,'25-30');">Phl 25-30</a>; <a onclick="return mV('Phl',3,'1-15');">3:1, 2, 3, 4-14, 15</a>). In no Epistle does he use so warm expressions of love. In <a onclick="return mV('Phl',4,1);">Phl 4:1</a> he seems at a loss for words sufficient to express all the extent and ardor of his affection for the Philippians: "My brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved." The mention of bishops and deacons in <a onclick="return mV('Phl',1,1);">Phl 1:1</a> is due to the late date of the Epistle, at a time when the Church had begun to assume that order which is laid down in the Pastoral Epistles, and which continued the prevalent one in the first and purest age of the Church.
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