Faith

Joy Through Humility – Philippians 1:1-2

"Ancient Theatre, built by Philip II in the 4th century BC and later reconstructed by the Romans, Philippi (7272297822).jpg" by Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Before I get started with our text for today, I wanted to share a quick comment about my methods for these posts. My notes about the passages that I share in this series of blog posts are mostly my own thoughts as I work through the passage. There are a few references to outside sources to help clarify some passages and such sources will be cited so you too can use them for your own study. Now with the introductory comments out of the way, let us get started!

In my last post, I gave some of the historical backgrounds for the city of Philippi where the letter from the Apostle Paul was addressed. Today, it is time to jump into the text:

1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus:
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons.
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Php 1:1–2.

1:1 – Paul starts off this letter by introducing not only himself but also Timothy who was likely with Paul and Silas when they first visited Philippi in Acts 16. The apostle describes Timothy and himself as “servants of Christ Jesus”. Some translations say “bond-servants”. The word “doulos” in ancient Greek for a long time was translated as “slave”, however, because of the awful history of the United States and chattel slavery, almost all modern translations read as “servant” instead of “slave”. The image that Paul is trying to convey is one of complete commitment to Christ. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Paul tells his readers that they are to glorify God with their bodies because, “You are not your own, for you were bought at a price” (CSB). When we call Christ the Lord of our lives, we no longer belong to ourselves. Jesus himself said that “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it.” (Mt 16:24–25 CSB). This should be the image that we get every time we read Paul’s introductions in his various letters and calls himself a “servant” of Christ.

This epistle is addressed to “all the saints in Christ Jesus” who were a part of the church at Philippi. Paul is simply stating that he is speaking to all the believers in Christ. The apostle also includes the “overseers and deacons” in his address. This gives the impression that the church had seen quite a bit of growth since Paul had first started the church as there was an obvious need for leadership and oversight in the church.

1:2 – Here in verse 2 Paul gives his typical blessing that he uses at the beginning of just about every single one of his letters pronouncing not only grace but also peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This should serve as a reminder to us that all of the grace that we receive in this life is from God above. When we have true peace in our lives, it is because we have put our hope and faith in God and his Son.

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