Philippians Introduction

Acts 16:12-40 relates the story of the founding of the church in Philippi, a small, but important, Roman colony in Macedonia, around 51 AD. A part of Paul's second missionary journey, Philippi was the first location in Europe to receive the Gospel. Paul and Silas' miraculous delivery from prison chains while they were praying and praising God at midnight transpired in Philippi.

The epistle to the Philippians was composed around 61 AD, while Paul was in a Roman prison. Despite his immediate circumstances, Paul maintained an attitude of joy, a mindset permeating throughout the book of Philippians. This stark contrast between situation and attitude gives rise to such verses as "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain," "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus," "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!," and "I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

During this time, the church at Philippi had sent their mutual friend and co-laborer, Epaphroditus, to deliver a gift to Paul in prison. The epistle, then, was Paul's response to their demonstration of love and compassion, and illustrates his affection for this particular church.

It is also important to note that this letter was written just a couple of years before Nero began his persecution of Christians. As always, God's timing in the delivery of Paul's words to the church at Philippi was perfect, as they would have still been fresh in their minds when the political and cultural climate turned ugly and violent.

The letter carries several themes, including peace, contentment, thankfulness, and unity. The greatest theme, however, is that of joy.

How would you define the word "joy"?

Our contemporary dictionaries do not do justice to this word. When we think of joy, we tend to think in superficial terms, of fleeting emotional highs which can carry us to great heights for short spans, but which lack the ability to sustain us at that altitude for the long haul.

The Greek word for 'joy' is chara, derived from the word charis, which is the Greek word for 'grace.' This is important to note, for it tells us categorically that chara is produced by charis of God. This means 'joy' is not a human-based happiness that comes and goes...Rather, true 'joy' is divine in origin...it is a Spirit-given expression that flourishes best in hard times. For example, in 1 Thessalonians 1:6, the Thessalonians were under great stress due to persecution; yet in the midst of it all, they continued to experience great joy. In fact, the Greek strongly implies that their supernatural joy was due to the Holy Spirit working in them. Paul even called it the "joy of the Holy Ghost". (Sparkling Gems from the Greek, Rick Renner)

Jesus perfectly exemplified this joy. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2)."

Along the journey to the cross, Jesus saw past the scorn and suffering, past His physical death, to the end result, the redemption of fallen humankind, the reconciliation of God and His children, the millions who would come to the Father through the open door of His shed blood. Likewise, as Paul writes in his letter, our eyes should not be upon the temporary burdens and trials of this momentary life, but upon the things of eternal worth and value. The joy of knowing that our efforts on behalf of Christ here are not wasted, but are achieving something far greater than we can possibly conceive, can help to carry us through our own sufferings.

It is this joy, the author of Nehemiah says, that is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

Nehemiah's exhortation to the Israelites returning from their Babylonian exile were delivered following the reading of the Book of the Law. Yet, just as they were deeply convicted of their sin and wrong-doing from Moses' words, they were admonished not to mourn or weep, but to rejoice. This foreshadows Paul's words to the Corinthians that the law brings death, but the Spirit brings life (2 Corinthians 3:6). The law was intended to reveal to us our sin, but even more importantly, our need for a Savior (Romans 3:20-31); how meaningful, then, are the words of the angel of the Lord to the shepherds in the fields nearby Bethlehem, "I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people (Luke 2:10)."

It is my hope that, over the course of the next four weeks, we will all come to a greater understanding of the joy of the Lord which sustained Paul through the worst of circumstances, and which ultimately played a role in the spread of the Gospel among the gentiles. Most of all, it is my hope and prayer, that Paul's letter to the Philippians will have just as much relevance and application to our lives in the 21st century, and that we will conclude this series strengthened in the joy of the Lord.