Philippians
by Frank Thielman
PHILIPPI
Important Facts:
■ AUTHOR: Paul (with Timothy).
■ DATE: A.D. 53 (if from Ephesus), or A.D. 62 (if from Rome).
■ OCCASION:
• To thank the Philippians for a gift.
• To commend Epaphroditus for completing his assigned task.
• To warn the Philippians against theological error.
• To encourage the Philippians to strive for unity.
■ KEY THEMES:
1. The progress of the gospel as the basis for joy despite suffering.
2. Attaining Christian unity by following the selfless example of Christ.
3. A right standing with God available by faith in Christ alone.
4. Mature faith as working faith.
First Century Philippi
In Paul’s time Philippi was an important city in the Roman province of Macedonia. It was located on a fertile plain in the highlands about ten miles northwest of the port city Neapolis (modern Kavalla in northern Greece), and the Via Egnatia—the primary road linking Italy with Asia—ran through the city. After the Romans conquered Macedonia at the Battle of Pydna in 167 B.C. they divided it into four districts.1 Philippi was located in the first of these districts and probably contended with Amphipolis (the district’s capital) and Thessalonica for the coveted title of “leading city” of its region.2
PHILIPPI
Mark Anthony and Octavian designated Philippi a Roman colony and enlarged its territory after their defeat of Brutus and Cassius in a famous battle fought on the plains and hills surrounding the city in 42 B.C.3 From that time the city and its surrounding regions became a favorite location for settling Roman soldiers whose term of service in the army had ended.4 As a result, by Paul’s time, Philippi had a decidedly Roman character. In first-century inscriptions found at the site of Philippi, Latin is the dominant tongue. Some of these inscriptions mention duumviri, aediles, and quaestors, all Roman terms for city officials—and clear evidence that in Paul’s time the city was administered according to Roman custom. Moreover, the architectural remains of buildings and monuments from the first century are reminiscent of Rome: a Roman forum, Roman baths, and an arch marking the limit of the city’s sacred, uncultivated area (pomerium).5
Important commercial centers, with their wide variety of influences, teemed with religious activity, and Philippi was no exception. Inscriptions from around Paul’s time show the presence of a sanctuary dedicated to Dionysius (Bacchus) and other deities associated with him: Liber, Libera, and Hercules.6 Themes of fertility often accompanied worship of Dionysius, and the Dionysian mystery cult seems to have given him a role in assuring a happy life for the dead. Women played an especially prominent role in the worship of Dionysius and his associates in Philippi.7 Nearly eighty depictions of the goddess Diana appear in reliefs carved into the hill above Philippi, and although they come from a period after Paul, they probably reflect religious convictions current during his time. Diana was associated with fertility, childbirth, and children, typical concerns of ancient women. Most of her followers, both priestesses and devotees, seem to have been women.8 The Thracian Horseman also appears in seven hillside reliefs. He was especially connected with the safe conduct of the soul into the afterlife.9 In addition, archaeologists have turned up an altar dedicated to the emperor Augustus and a sanctuary dedicated to the worship of some 140 Egyptian deities.10
The Gospel Comes to Philippi
Into this cacophony of religious activity, Paul and his friends Silas, Timothy, and Luke brought the gospel. Taking the gospel to Philippi had not been Paul’s idea. After traveling through central Asia Minor, Paul, Silas, and Timothy had wanted to continue north to Bithynia, but “the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to” (Acts 16:7), and they had been forced to turn east toward Troas. There Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia, who begged him to “come . . . and help us” (16:9), and Paul and his friends, now accompanied by Luke, obediently went (16:10–12). Their ship from Troas landed at Neapolis, and from there they followed the Via Egnatia to Philippi.
THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD
Paul discovered no synagogue in the city, but only a place of prayer where a few women gathered to call on the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Luke tells us that this place was “outside the city gate” (Acts 16:13). Could this mean that their gathering place lay outside the sacred precincts of the Roman pomerium, marked by a marble arch?11 Paul explained the gospel to the group of women gathered there, and a woman named Lydia, together with her household, believed. She must have been wealthy, for not only was she a businesswoman, but she owned a house large enough to accommodate Paul and his companions during their visit to Philippi (16:14–15).
MACEDONIA
Before long, however, storm clouds gathered over Paul’s ministry in the city: The apostle angered the owners of a slave girl by exorcising her of a demon that enabled her to earn “a great deal of money for her owners” by telling fortunes (Acts 16:16–19). The enraged slaveholders dragged Paul and Silas before the city magistrates and charged them with being Jews and creating a stir by advocating “customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice” (16:20–21). At the magistrates’ orders, Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten, and thrown into prison (16:22). Despite the conversion of the jailer (16:31–34) and an apology to Paul from the magistrates for failing to give Roman citizens a proper trial (16:35–37), the persecution of the fledgling Philippian church continued (Phil. 1:27–30).
The Reasons for Paul’s Letter
We do not know exactly where Paul was when he wrote Philippians. He was in a city large enough to have a praetorium or official government headquarters (Phil. 1:13, NIV, “palace guard”), but whether this was Rome, Ephesus, or Caesarea has been a matter for scholarly debate over the years. Whatever the city, however, Paul was in prison when he wrote (1:7, 13–14, 17), and he wrote in part to thank the Philippians for gifts that they had sent to him through their messenger Epaphroditus: “I am amply supplied,” he says, “now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent” (4:18; cf. 1:5; 2:25; 4:10, 14).
The Philippians’ gifts and Paul’s need to thank them provided a context in which to address four other concerns.
1. Paul intended to send Epaphroditus back to the Philippians earlier than they expected because he had become ill and the Philippians had become worried about him. In doing so, Paul wanted the Philippians to know that Epaphroditus had not failed in his duty, but instead deserved rich commendation, “because he almost died for the work of Christ” (2:30).
2. Paul had left a persecuted community behind after his initial visit. That persecution had continued unabated, and Paul, since he was in prison himself, wanted to provide an example to the Philippians of how a believer should respond to physical suffering and social ostracisim for the faith. He tells them, “You are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have” (1:30; cf. 2:17–18; 3:17). Paul’s example shows that the believer’s joy should be tied to the progress of the gospel, not to physical comfort or social acceptance (1:18).
3. Paul wanted to warn the Philippians against two errors that he has seen tear apart other churches under his care: thinking that the boundaries of Christianity are defined by the Mosaic law (cf. Galatians) and that Christians who have “arrived” spiritually can do anything they like with their bodies (cf. 1 Corinthians). If the letter was written from Ephesus, the wounds created by these problems were fresh, and Paul warned the Philippians against them in 3:1–4:1. Christianity is a matter of faith in Christ, Paul says (3:1–11), and mature Christians know that they must never rest on their laurels (3:12–4:1).
4. Paul had apparently learned from Epaphroditus that the Philippians were quarreling with one another. Paul is concerned that this may lead to a tarnished witness to the outside world where the Philippian Christians “shine like stars in the universe” (2:15; cf. 1:27; 2:1–11, 14; 4:2). In light of this, he urged the Philippians to have the mind of Christ, who in obedience to God and in service to others, humbled himself and suffered death on the cross (2:1–11).