Philippians Background

     Philippi was a city along the famous Egnatian Way. The road is considered by some to be the first World Wide Web, because it linked Rome to all its colonies. The city has a storied military history, with names like Marc Antony, Octavian Augustus, Brutus, Cassias, the latter two guys were the assassins of Julius Caesar. Before them there was Phillip of Macedonia. He was Greek. He named the city after himself in the 4th century B.C. Phillip was the father of Alexander the Great.

     By the time of Christ Philippi was a Roman colony. More and more people from Rome moved in, and this created a Greek-speaking underclass in the city. There was little Jewish presence, so when Paul came the first converts were Gentiles. Philippi was the city where Paul exorcised the demon out of the slave girl, which led to Paul’s arrest and beating. Bloodied, Paul and Silas spent the night in prison singing songs, and while singing, an earthquake broke the jail cell door. The jailer repented and came to Christ, and a church was born!

     Years later, Paul is writing to this church. And he’s in prison again! Some have said that the church in Philippi was Paul’s favorite church. Perhaps. What is clear is the love and devotion he felt for this church, and the church for Paul.

     The letter to the Philippians has many purposes. Thanksgiving, joy, encouragement are all significant themes, but overarching everything else in this letter is fellowship in the gospel, and with it, the three way bond of fellowship between Paul, the Philippians and Christ. Philippians is a letter addressing those that are in the Gospel because they are in Christ.

     Philippians is a relational letter. Paul is explaining to his dear friends what maturing in Christ will look like. Christian maturity is a concern of Paul. Paul wants to show the Philippians how to keep maturing in Christ, no matter what circumstantially is going on in the world around them, no matter what sufferings and persecutions they might encounter.

     Philippians is intensely practical. It is not that the letter isn’t theological; rather, every practical thing Paul writes about presupposes their foundation in Christ. Jesus is the center of this letter! The Philippian believers were once dead in their sins, cut off from God, and without hope. But God sent Jesus, and the Philippian believers were the recipients of the unmerited and undeserved grace of God. Jesus took their place. He bore their sins upon the cross, and He absorbed the righteous judgment they deserved. When God opened their eyes and hearts to this good news through Paul’s preaching they received the gift of salvation. They became partakers of God’s grace, and that is the presupposition, the theological foundation, for all Paul will write.