Letter of St Paul to the Philippians chapter 1 & 2

Last Thursday, Eliz, Priscilla, and I attended the fourth session about Letters of St Paul by Father Vaz. Here is the notes:

Letter of St Paul to the Philippians

Paul has always been cautious about accepting monetary help. That's why he also worked as tent maker. He wants to avoid any unnecessary prejudice or hidden intentions of the giver. Even in the letter of Corinthians it is mentioned that Paul was not considered as an apostle because he did not accept the monetary help from Corinthians. So his name was damaged whether he accepted the money or not.

But with Philippians, Paul was willing to accept the aid. Because Philippians was a loving community, close to Paul and he could trust them.

Chapter 1

1) Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the holy ones in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and ministers:

In the first verse, Paul mentions Timothy too. It is not because Timothy is also the author of the letter. But it is to indicate number 2. Just like Jesus sent his disciples two by two. Because two indicate witness.

Slaves (or servant in some translation) here means availability. Paul is always available for Jesus Christ.

Holy ones (or saints in some translation, saints comes from sanctus, which means holy. Saints are people striving for holiness, that's why we are all called to be saints)

2) grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace here is a free gift from God, unmerited reward from God. And peace (shalom) means God's presence. When world is looking for peace, or people looking for peace, the meaning of the word "peace" itself is the recipe for peace, which is the presence of God.

3) I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you,

One of the quality of Christians or lover of God is thanksgiving. Because when we give thanks, we are reminded that we are in debt of something. Which reminds us to be humble and realize that everything is a gift. Thanksgiving also helps to fight against arrogance or depending on ourselves.

Whenever we say "thank you", we give thanks for the people for being there with us and every time we are loved by the people/community.

4) praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,

And how we give thanks for the love we have received? By praying for the person. It is a spiritual gift, which is incomparable to material gift. Sometimes we just think about giving material gift but soon we forget about the person. Praying for the person gives an experience of God to that person.

5) because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now.

Partnership (or sharing) indicates the acceptance of the people of Phiippians for the Gospel. Paul rejoiced because he could find people with similar mind/ideas/enthusiasm as him. For me, it is the same. I am very happy and feel encouraged whenever I find or be with people that share the same enthusiasm as me, to know, love, and serve God.

6) I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.

The day of Christ Jesus, which indicates the day of judgment, or the last day.

7) It is right that I should think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, you who are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

"It is right" which means that Paul is justified to speak that way. Most probably Philippians has helped to speak well about Paul while others might ridicule or offend Paul.

8) For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

This verse indicates the longing of Paul for the people, the human interaction. But it not merely about emotional or selfish desire.

Sometimes when I say "I miss you", is that so I can get something from you? Is it only for my selfish desire? Is it for instant gratification that I can get from you? Here we can see we just want to receive from the other person.

But for Paul, it is different. It is so that I can give to the other person. I miss the other person, wishing that I can be there with the person so that I can give myself, do something for the other person, serve and help the other person. It is not about receiving.

9) And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception,
10) to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
11) filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Here Paul indicates that love is not only about feeling. It is also about knowledge. And this should be the main objective of us: to help other people to be the best they can be, and that is to be close to God.

12) I want you to know, brothers, that my situation has turned out rather to advance the gospel,
13) so that my imprisonment has become well known in Christ throughout the whole praetorium and to all the rest,
14) and so that the majority of the brothers, having taken encouragement in the Lord from my imprisonment, dare more than ever to proclaim the word fearlessly.

The situation here is about Paul being in prison. And Paul said that being in prison is something good, because he can reach out to people in prison, to Roman soldiers. With him in prison, people get to know about Jesus.

Here Paul also able to turn out what seems to be bad situation to be a positive one. We also often meet with bad or unfavorable situations, but it depends on our response to that situation too. We can turn it to be good for us if we want to.

15) Of course, some preach Christ from envy and rivalry, others from good will.

In those times, some preachers' motive is to get known or to be popular, because their food depends on the acceptance of their teaching by the people. So if they want to get food, they need to impress the people, and some do that by preaching about Jesus Christ.

16) The latter act out of love, aware that I am here for the defense of the gospel;

Here might indicate two meaning: Paul speaking about himself as the latter group, or he is speaking of many other people, which preaches Christ out of love.

17) the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not from pure motives, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment.
18) What difference does it make, as long as in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed? And in that I rejoice. Indeed I shall continue to rejoice,

Here Paul is being realistic and joyful. So even though there are some people with the wrong motives or there are hypocrites, we should not miss being joyful because of our judgments towards them.

19) for I know that this will result in deliverance for me through your prayers and support from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Here a sense of confidence is shown.

20) My eager expectation and hope is that I shall not be put to shame in any way, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

For Paul knows that he won't be put to shame, because he knows that he won't be wrong. He stands for the right thing and he won't compromise.

21) For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.
22) If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose.
23) I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, (for) that is far better.
24) Yet that I remain (in) the flesh is more necessary for your benefit.
25) And this I know with confidence, that I shall remain and continue in the service of all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,
26) so that your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound on account of me when I come to you again.

Here Paul compares between life and death. But for him, either living or dying is for Christ. If he lives, he can help people to get closer to Christ, and if he dies, he can be close to Christ.

But for some people, they want to die or they wish death come soon because they just want to escape or they are afraid of suffering in this world. But here it is only about themselves, not about Christ.

In the first part, Paul is speaking about himself. Now from 27 onwards, he will give advice. This is to show his credibility. Before asking others, he has been doing that himself. Sometimes when we ask others to do something, we should ask ourselves, "Will I do that?" or "Have I done that?". Or else, we can't convince others to do what we ask them to do.

27) Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear news of you, that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind struggling together for the faith of the gospel,

Here Paul is speaking about community, standing firm in one spirit. Because when we live the right way as a community, as a group, united, it won't be easy to be destroyed. That's why Church is a communion, it is not just about personal relationship one by one with God, but it is also a community.

28) not intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is proof to them of destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God's doing.
29) For to you has been granted, for the sake of Christ, not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.

It's a privilege to suffer when we stand for the right thing and living out our values which will convince the others too. If we do not think of suffering as privilege, soon we will compromise our faith because we can't stand the suffering.

30) Yours is the same struggle as you saw in me and now hear about me.

And here Paul tells the Philippians about how he has the same struggle with them. That Paul has gone through all those difficulties before telling the Philippians what to do. Paul as teacher teaches by example and by his own life experience. He practiced what he preached before he told the others.

Chapter 2

1) If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy,
2) complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing.

Here Paul states the 4 conditions of unity/love. Paul uses long sentences, most probably because he is enthusiastic.

3) Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
4) each looking out not for his own interests, but (also) everyone for those of others.
5) Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus,

This seems to contradict to our current popular belief. When we are asked by our psychology teacher to believe in ourselves, to strive. But here Paul speaks about humility. He does not want praise and he wants the praise to be given to those that deserve it more. He does not want to boast but he also will not compromise the truth.

So to humbly regards others as more important or better than myself does not mean that we give up or give the way to others, especially when the others are wrong. This does not mean we escape from our responsibility or stay silent because we want to treat others as better than ourselves. But we must stand for the truth.

6) Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.

When we are in certain position with responsibility or power, do we use it for the group that we are responsible for? Or do we use the power for ourselves?

Here also we see the privileges that are not claimed. Sometimes we just want to claim our rights, our privileges, at the expense of others. But not for Jesus, even though He is God, He did not claim His privileges. Can we also help the others at the expense of our rights/privileges?

7) Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance,
8) he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

To die on a cross/tree is the most humiliating form of death, the worst kind of punishment, because it indicates that God curses the person. Jesus did not choose to go for natural death but to die on a cross and He is innocent.

9) Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

What is the name given to Jesus? It is "Lord" (from Greek language). Usually the word "Lord" refers to Caesar or king, but the early Christians just want that name to be reserved for God. That's why there was often clash between the authorities and Christians, because they do not want to call the Caesar as Lord.

12) So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Here Paul indicates that good works count for our salvation. It is not enough just to have faith. Jesus saves us, but we need to accept the salvation too. We need to cooperate with Jesus.

13) For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work.

Nothing to boast from ourselves, because even desire and work comes from God.

14) Do everything without grumbling or questioning,

This might be a hint of what was happening, that some of the people might be grumbling or questioning.

15) that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, 13 among whom you shine like lights in the world,

Sometimes we just grumble and complain about certain people, about how bad they are. But then we should also blame ourselves, of not being the light that shines, to be the direction for these people to find the right way.

16) as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
17) But, even if I am poured out as a libation upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you.
18) In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.

Libation is the liquid or blood poured to the sacrifice.

19) I hope, in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be heartened by hearing news of you.
20) For I have no one comparable to him for genuine interest in whatever concerns you.
21) For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

For the phrase "no one comparable to him for genuine interest in whatever concerns you.", Paul is paying tribute to Timothy. It is localized, which means only at this time, at this moment, because there are other people that are as good also as Timothy.

22) But you know his worth, how as a child with a father he served along with me in the cause of the gospel.
23) He it is, then, whom I hope to send as soon as I see how things go with me,
24) but I am confident in the Lord that I myself will also come soon.

Here Paul teaches about friendship, that friendship is not possessive.

25) With regard to Epaphroditus, my brother and co-worker and fellow soldier, your messenger and minister in my need, I consider it necessary to send him to you.
26) For he has been longing for all of you and was distressed because you heard that he was ill.
27) He was indeed ill, close to death; but God had mercy on him, not just on him but also on me, so that I might not have sorrow upon sorrow.
28) I send him therefore with the greater eagerness, so that, on seeing him, you may rejoice again, and I may have less anxiety.
29) Welcome him then in the Lord with all joy and hold such people in esteem,

Here we are asked to honor or appreciate people for doing God's will or doing the right thing.

30) because for the sake of the work of Christ he came close to death, risking his life to make up for those services to me that you could not perform.

And that's it. I am really amazed by how Father Vaz dissected the letter verse by verse and relate it to our life.

The last session would be very interesting, because one of the favorite verse is there: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".