The Letter of Paul to the Philippians
Name and Major Contents
Philippians is Paul’s Epistle to the first church that he established on European soil. In 50–51 ce, he sailed from Asia Minor (Turkey) to Macedonia, in northern Greece (Acts 16.11–40). A ten-mile access road from the Aegean brought him to Philippi, named for its founder in 356 bce, Philip II of Macedon (father of Alexander the Great). From an unidentified prison (Phil 1.7,13–14,17), Paul assesses his circumstances and prospects for release, and advises the Philippians on their problems (presumably learned through Epaphroditus, a visiting congregation member). Despite their poverty (2 Cor 8.1–5), the Philippians had sent Paul sustenance (Phil 4.10,15–16; see 2 Cor 11.7–9), and Paul warmly thanks them (4.10–20). Since Epaphroditus has just recovered from life-threatening illness, Paul dispatches him homeward, bearing this letter.
Paul affirms his capacity to persevere in joyful proclamation of the gospel even when confronting opposition, suffering, possibly death (1.12,18,30), thereby modeling how the Philippians themselves must not succumb to their opponents and trials. Warranting attention are descriptions of Paul’s opponents (1.15–17) and those of the Philippians (1.28; 3.2–4,18–19); the moving Christ-hymn (2.6–11); Paul’s autobiographical details (3.5–6); and his reasons for delaying a visit to Philippi by Timothy (2.19,25), mentioned in Paul’s salutation (1.1; also 2.19–24).
Canonical Status and Location
Philippians has gone almost universally unchallenged as genuinely Pauline and warranting canonical status. It is placed as the New Testament’s eleventh book, between Ephesians and Colossians.
Authorship, Date of Composition, Historical Context, and Literary History
Philippians’ date and location of composition remain debated. Paul states he is in prison (1.7,13–14,17) but not where, which renders dating Philippians problematic. Christian tradition presumes Rome in the early 60s (see Acts 28.16), but the many messages and trips (past and anticipated) that the letter presupposes between Philippi and Paul’s prison site (2.19,23–30; 4.18) cannot be squared with Philippi’s formidable distance from Rome—exceeding seven hundred land-miles, nine hundred by sea. While some scholars opt for an earlier Pauline captivity in the late 50s in Caesarea Maritima (Acts 23.23,33; 25.24), Caesarea is even farther from Philippi than is Rome. Recent scholarship gravitates to a mid-50s dating from a prison at Ephesus, only four hundred miles south-southeast of Philippi. While we know of no Pauline incarceration there, Paul alludes to “far more imprisonments” (2 Cor 11.23; see 6.5), and Paul’s Ephesian ministry lasted three years. As the chief city of Rome’s province of Asia, Ephesus also hosted contingents of imperial soldiers (Phil 1.13) and Caesar’s administrative staff (4.22). Further, Timothy was with Paul at Ephesus (1 Cor 4.17; 16.10; see Acts 19.22).
Due to an abrupt transition as ch 3 opens, and arguably a disorderly sequencing of the Epistle’s themes, some deem Philippians a composite of two or more Pauline writings fastened together: one encompassing 1.1–3.1a concluded by 4.21–23; a second, 3.1b–4.20 (with 4.10–20 yet a possible third). Others see no decisive reason to deny Philippians’ unity—with the proviso that Paul likely drew the Christ hymn (2.6–11) from elsewhere.
Interpretation
Primary for the original audience as well as the author are the assertions that humility and unity (2.1–18; 4.2–3) are vital, with unity fostered by promoting the interests of others, not one’s own. Accordingly, the Philippians should strive to match the mind-set of Christ who showed that the way to achieving God’s exaltation is not by preoccupation with status—grasping at a higher place—but by humble obedience.
Matters Bearing on a Jewish Reading, on Judaism, on Jewish-Christian Relations
Jewish themes that may underlie the Christ hymn (2.6–11); Paul’s vehement opposition to adult male circumcision for Gentile followers of Jesus; and the reasons for Paul’s devaluation of his superlative Jewish credentials (3.7–8).
Michael Cook
1Paul and Timothy, servantsa of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishopsb and deacons:c
2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3I thank my God every time I remember you, 4constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. 7It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart,d for all of you share in God’s gracee with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. 9And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
12I want you to know, beloved,f that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, 13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guardg and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; 14and most of the brothers and sisters,f having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the wordh with greater boldness and without fear.
15Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. 16These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel; 17the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment. 18What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance. 20It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. 23I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. 25Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, 26so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.
27Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, 28and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. 29For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well— 30since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
2If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5Let the same mind be in you that wasa in Christ Jesus,
12Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14Do all things without murmuring and arguing, 15so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. 16It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you— 18and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.
19I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. 20I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21All of them are seeking their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22But Timothy’sb worth you know, how like a son with a father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23I hope therefore to send him as soon as I see how things go with me; 24and I trust in the Lord that I will also come soon.
Christ-Hymn (Phil 2.6–11)
This concise, formulaic listing of chief statements of shared Christian beliefs perhaps functioned as a memorized component of early worship (see 1 Cor 15.3–7). Its uncharacteristically rhythmical, poetically elevated style, and the balancing of vv 6–8 and 9–11 suggest an earlier hymn incorporated by Paul to buttress admonitions to the Philippians. Speaking against Pauline authorship is the lack of a key motif: the redemptive significance of Christ’s death.
This is the earliest extant material underpinning later Christology and the New Testament’s most explicit exposition of the nature of Christ’s incarnation. Closest approximations are Col 1.15–20; 1 Tim 3.6; 1 Pet 3.18–22; see Jn 1.1–5. It portrays the preexistent Christ as graciously laying aside his extraordinary position of equality with God, emptying himself by incarnation—taking on the form of a slave. For this humility, God exalted Christ by giving him the divine “name,” not in the modern sense of a generally arbitrary label but in the biblical sense of what truly expresses character, power, and status (e.g., Ps 8.2 [HB 8.1]; 20.2 [HB 20.1]). Paul interweaves this hymn with his exhortation to humility, thereby challenging the Philippians: if the one in the “form of God” humbly abdicated the dignity of his original status in obedience to the divine will, surely the Philippians can follow his conduct in humility and obedience.
The hymn may afford a glimpse not only of earliest Christians’ worship but of how they interpreted Christ between Jesus’ resurrection and the composition of this letter, and appears related to a variety of earlier Jewish sources:
If akin in function to the liturgical use of Hebrew biblical psalms and other poetry, the Christ hymn could presuppose a Christian cultus practicing religious devotion (perhaps being set at baptism or at the Eucharist). Attesting to early Christian use of hymns are Lk 1.46–55,67–70; 2.14; Acts 16.25; Eph 5.19; Col 3.16. Likewise the Christ hymn lent itself to responsive singing; see Pliny, Letters 10.96–97 (here, to Emperor Trajan): Christians “were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god.”
Regarding whether the hymn reflects a pre-Pauline church development of ideas about the nature of Christ and his incarnation, we must discount the passage’s modern printing—set apart in ch 2 in verse form as if vv 6–11 entered the letter as a discrete entity even now readily detachable. We would also need to factor in whether, if the hymn were indeed pre-Pauline, Paul preserved its particulars in pristine form or, instead, added modifications: e.g., introducing v 8 (“and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross”), or blending the transitions of v 5 to vv 1–4 at the opening, and 12a with 12b–16 at the closing.
Could not Paul here have risen to the occasion by spontaneously crafting and introducing this hymn as his own creation? The Christ hymn seems pre-Pauline because its superlative style renders difficult envisioning Paul composing it, extemporaneously, amidst the flow of dictating the wider epistle. On the other hand, might this unit be less a hymn than a pre-Pauline kind of creed: a concise, systematic, formulaic listing of chief statements of shared Christian beliefs? Against this is the component’s uncharacteristically rhythmical, poetically elevated style, uncommon vocabulary, and balancing between vv 6–8 and 9–11.
25Still, I think it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus—my brother and co-worker and fellow soldier, your messengera and minister to my need; 26for he has been longing forb all of you, and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27He was indeed so ill that he nearly died. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. 28I am the more eager to send him, therefore, in order that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29Welcome him then in the Lord with all joy, and honor such people, 30because he came close to death for the work of Christ,c risking his life to make up for those services that you could not give me.
3Finally, my brothers and sisters,d rejoicee in the Lord.
To write the same things to you is not troublesome to me, and for you it is a safeguard.
2Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh!f 3For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of Godg and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh— 4even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh.
If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
7Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. 8More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ,h the righteousness from God based on faith. 10I want to know Christi and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
“Beware of the Dogs” (Phil 3.2–9)
The ancient world was generally unfamiliar with warm interactions of masters with domesticated varieties of “dog” (see Isa 56.10–11), a term usually meant as insulting (Rev 22.15); see also Greek “cynics” (from kyon, kynarion, “dog”). Vicious or otherwise detestable, most dogs were uninhibitedly unclean in their shameful public scavenging (2 Kings 9.10,36), so that terming anyone “dog” was derogatory (1 Sam 17.43; 24.14; 2 Sam 9.8; 16.9; 2 Kings 8.13; Mt 7.6; 2 Pet 2.21–22).
Here Paul applies the epithet to adversaries from outside Philippi who might arrive, and different from earlier opponents (Phil 1.15–18 and 1.28). They were either Jewish or Gentile followers of Jesus who were promoting adherence to the Law, and less likely Jewish missionaries bent on winning Gentile God-fearers (who loosely attached themselves to Judaism as quasi-converts, attending synagogue, worshipping the Jewish God, observing varying degrees of Jewish practices but without becoming Jewish converts by submitting to circumcision). Facing their adamancy that male Gentile followers of Jesus undergo circumcision (3.2–3), Paul sarcastically terms them mutilators (perhaps obliquely referring to the self-inflicted wounds by the prophets of Baal [see 1 Kings 28] or devotees of the Phrygian mystery goddess, Cybele, who would slash themselves amid religious frenzy; or a barbed suggestion that those promoting circumcision would mutilate their genitalia).
Paul was wary due to experiences in other early churches where rival teachers promoted circumcision of Gentile men (see Gal 2.1–16; 5.2–6,12); likely also because of Philippi’s vulnerable short distance to the Egnatian Way—rendering this church susceptible to such subversives showing up. His bitter tirade reflects conviction that Gentile believers in Christ should not convert to Judaism lest they nullify their new freedom, thereby hindering God’s plans for Gentile salvation and clouding their perception that justification comes solely by the grace of God through the efficacy of the cross. If one could become righteous by one’s own works, Christ would not have needed to die (Gal 2.21b).
Instead, the Philippians should heed Paul as expert in preempting his enemies—given his own consummate possession of the very privileges of which his adversaries boast (see 3.3–6nn.). Appraising his impeccable privileges at their true value (namely, as less than nothing for paling before the gift of Christ), Paul gladly relinquished them in favor of the extreme gain of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord.
Elsewhere (Rom 9.4–5) Paul declares that “to them [the Israelites] belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; … the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah.” In Philippians, his contrasting depreciation of his Jewish background should be interpreted as in the service of his polemic against the “dogs” who seek to discredit him.
12Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal;a but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13Beloved,b I do not consider that I have made it my own;c but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenlyd call of God in Christ Jesus. 15Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. 16Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.
17Brothers and sisters,b join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. 18For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. 19Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. 20But our citizenshipa is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21He will transform the body of our humiliationb that it may be conformed to the body of his glory,c by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
4Therefore, my brothers and sisters,d whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
2I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion,e help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
4Rejoicef in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.f 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally, beloved,g whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think abouth these things. 9Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
10I rejoicei in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it.j 11Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. 12I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. 13I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 14In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress.
15You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone. 16For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once. 17Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account. 18I have been paid in full and have more than enough; I am fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 19And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
21Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The friendsa who are with me greet you. 22All the saints greet you, especially those of the emperor’s household.
1:Timothy, a faithful Pauline courier and frequent missionary companion, had assisted in founding this church and remained popular among its members. Servants, lit., “slaves” (see translators’ note a: “douloi,” in LXX for Heb “ʿebed,” but rarely as a description of relation to God; see Jer 2.14). Bishops and deacons, overseers and assistants (see translators’ notes b, c). The exact functions of those officials with these titles have yet to be settled. 2:Grace ... peace, standard opening for a letter (e.g., 1 Cor 1.3; Gal 1.3). Lord (Gk “kyrios,” used in LXX for “adonai/YHWH” but also as a simple title of respect), Paul’s usual title for Jesus within a standard opening; also as an occasional synonym for Christ (e.g., 1 Cor 11.27; 2 Cor 2.12; 4.5).