Studies in Philippians Philippians 1:1-11 Outline of The Text: Salutation, Philippians 1:1,2. Paul’s Prayer for the Saints at Philippi, Philippians 1:3-11.

Salutation: V. 1: “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons. V. 2. “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s Prayer for the Philippians Philippians 1:3-11 V. 3. “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, V. 4. “Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy. V. 5. “For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; V. 6. “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Paul’s Prayer For – con’t V. 7. “Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. V. 8. For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. V. 9. “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment:

Paul’s Prayer For – Con’t V. 10. “That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ: V. 11. “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God.

A Closer Look at the Salutation – Verse One: “Paul and Timothy: – Paul’s Jewish name was Saul, a name meaning “ask or pray.” His Gentile name was Paul, a name meaning “little.” cf. 2 Corinthians 10:10. – Timothy’s name means “one who honors God,” perhaps reflective of his background. – Timothy’s name is listed in verse one, but Paul was the writer, reflected by the personal pronouns “I” and “My,” v. 3, and the use of Timothy’s name in the third person, Philippians 2:19.

Salutation – Verse one continued “The Servants of Jesus Christ – Doulos, one “whose will is swallowed up in the will of another,” Weust. “To all the saints in Christ Jesus…at Philippi, – Saints (hagios) “holy ones,” separated from sin and consecrated to God. – In Christ Jesus – locative of sphere. “With the bishops and deacons. – Saints, bishops, and deacons joined together in a common calling in a specific location.

Salutation Continued – verse two “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. – Grace (charis), favor bestowed, but unmerited. – Peace (eirene), “harmonious relationships.” – God provided “the gospel” of grace, Acts 20:24, and sent Jesus “the Prince of peace,” Isaiah 9:6, Who through “the blood of His cross,” Colossians 1:20, made peace with God possible. A Common introduction in Paul’s letters.

Paul’s Prayer for the Saints at Philippi, Philippians 1:3-5. V. 3. “I thank my God upon every remembrance….. V. 4. “Always in every prayer of mine for you.. – Prayer (deesis), entreaty or supplication. V. 5. “For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day even until now. – From the “first day” they provided assistance to Paul, Acts 16:10, and continued their support, 2 Corin- thians 11:8,9; Philippians 4:15,16, even “until now.”

Prayer for the Philippians Philippians 2:6-7 V. 6. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ. – God, Who initiated the plan of salvation, had “begun a good work” in them (Acts 16:20; 2 Corinthians 6:1; Acts 2:47 V. 7. “Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. – They stood with Paul in both “the defense and confirmation of the gospel!”

Prayer for the Philippians Philippians 1:8,9 V. 8. “For God is my record, how greatly I long after you in the bowels of Jesus (“with the affection of Jesus Christ,” NKJV). V. 9. “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment. – “Abound” means to exist in superfluity! I John 3:1. – “In knowledge.” (“sensitive moral perception,” Weust). Love must be educated; it is not to be an unguided emotion!

The Result of Love abounding in Knowledge and Judgment: V 10. “That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye my be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. V. 11. “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God.

Practical Lessons from these Verses: Saints should not exist in isolation from one another! – The “saints” at Philippi constituted a collectivity of Christians working together as one. – They had bishops (to oversee) and deacons (to serve) the local church. – They were commanded to strive “together,” 1:27; they were to “walk by the same rule,” 3:16; as a group they sent “once and again” to Paul, 4:16. – They were not “members at large!” cf. Acts 9:26

Practical Lesson: Christians Must Learn to Make Important Distinctions! To “approve things that are excellent,” 1:9,10. Distinguish between good and evil, I Thessa- lonians 5:21,22; Hebrews 5:14. Between motive and message, 1: Discern what is truly important, 3:7,8. To “think” on certain things, Philippians 4:8. To Distinguish between matters of doctrine and liberty, Romans 14.

Other Practical Lessons: We Must Place our Confidence in God! – Outwardly, for Paul, things did not look good, but his confidence was in God! 1:6. – Sometimes we become so bogged down on the here and the now, and how bad the “now” is, that we allow depression to erode faith! We must be “filled with the fruits of righteousness,” Philippians 1:11. We must continually look to “the day of Christ,” Philippians 1:6.

Conclusion: The “saints” at Philippi, like those at Corinth, were “called to be saints,” I Corinthians 1:2. People are “called” through the gospel of Christ, 2 Thessalonians 2:14. Those who are truly “called” are “called into the fellowship” of Jesus Christ, I Cor. 1:9. This is why it is so important to obey the call of the gospel! Romans 1:16.