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Introduction to the Epistle of Philippians

(Overcomer Wu)

Background:

When the apostle Paul wrote the epistle to the Philippians, he was a prisoner in Rome. A little word on how the church in Philippi was founded: We see in Acts 16 that while Paul and his companions was in Troas, he received a vision of a man of Macedonia calling to him for help. Realizing that it was a vision and a direction that God had given to him, he immediately went to Macedonia concluding that God wanted them to bring the good news of the gospel to them. But when they arrived at Philippi, there was no such man waiting to greet them; rather, they found a few women who were accustomed to gather together to pray by the riverside, outside the city. It was there that Lydia's heart was opened by the Lord to listen attentively to the messages spoken by the apostle Paul. Evidently, others saints too were contacted later, because Act 16:40 tells us that among them were some brothers meeting with them. But it was later on after they were thrown into prison that the greater work was done by the Lord, because it was there that the jailer and his whole family was saved. This was how the church in Philippi started.

Introduction:

Joy or rejoicing is the most prevalent manifestation on one who is experiencing Christ. As the epistle to the Philippians is commonly known among us as the book on the experience of Christ, do you notice that the words joy and rejoicing are the found in each and every chapter of the this epistle? (I must admit that I myself have not noticed this until the Lord brought it to my attention in my careful reading this time.) I know that we cannot miss the well-known verse of Philippians 4:4. But we tend to not pay much attention to the fact that all the other chapters in the book of Philippians Paul also has this word used. For instance, in chapter 1:18,25 “for your ... joy of the faith”; 2:2 “Make my joy full,” 17-18, 28; and 3:1. In fact, the Greek word for “joy” in both its verb and noun form is found at least 12 times! Now being joyful does not necessarily mean that you are smiling all the time. There is a diference between happiness and joyfulness, right? Happiness is an emotion that comes and goes depending on our feelings, but joy is more of an inward state of peace, rest, and a steady state of elation within our spirit. It's kind of like the intimate time we spend with the Lord during the morning watch, when we are fill with an indescribable joy within our spirit and at the same time freedom from all worries and fears. Of course, when we get to chapter 4 of Philippians, we shall see that this is a state that we can experience, not just during those few moments when we are consciously before the Lord in our private or corporate time spent with Him, but a state that we can maintain throughout the day!

Clearly the church in Philippi was very dear to the apostle Paul and he was also very dear to them. We can see this by the way the apostle addressed himself and Timothy as “slaves of Christ Jesus,” as opposed to standing on his position as an apostle, like he commonly would do in his other epistles. Back in those days of the Roman empire, slaves were quite commonly sold as commodities; and the ones who bought the slaves have obsolute ownership and right to do with them as they wish. By renouncing his title as an apostle, Paul was standing on the equal ground as the rest of the believers declaring that he belongs to the Lord entirely and that Jesus Christ is His Lord and Master.

You know... many Christians like to simply receive the Lord Jesus as their Savior, but not as their Lord, because when He is our Lord, that means we lose all our freedom to do our own will and give up everything to Him. In reality, once we are redeemed by the Lord, we belonged to Him completely and He has absolute rightful ownership over us, right? Because He bought us by paying the highest price there is to pay – with His own precious blood. What does 2Cor 5:15 tell us? “And He died for all, that they which live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto Him Who died for them and rose again.” And to give ourselves to the Lord as a living sacrifice is our most reasonable service to Him! (Rom 12:1). It should be our joy and great delight to give ourselves fully and unreservedly to the Lord, because only in this way can we find the true meaning of our life and what we're living for; thus, our joy will be made full. This is why the apostle Paul said in Phi 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ!” That means his whole world is altogether founded in Christ, like there's a song that says “Jesus is all the world to me...” Is He truly all the world to you and me? And for Paul to declare this also means that he has no plans, no purpose, or agenda of his own, but his life, and the purpose of his living is wholly wrapped up in Christ!