Philippians 1:3-11 - A Prayer of Thanksgiving
Second Sunday of Advent 12/8/24
Phil. 1:3 I thank my God for every remembrance of you, 4) always in every one of my prayers for all of you, praying with joy 5) for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 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 Jesus Christ. 7) It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, for all of you are my partners in God’s grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8) For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the tender affection of Christ Jesus. 9) And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10) to help you to determine what really matters, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11) having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
Background to Philippians: This is the most personal of all of Paul’s letters. In it he tries to help his friends learn how they can live joyfully and in any circumstance of life. He tries to help them deal with difficult problems like personality disputes and power struggles, false teachers and the danger of losing hope. While it may seem like a casual letter from friend to friend, there is much more here than meets the eye!
About Philippi: Philippi was a Roman province in what is now Greece. The town sat eight miles from the Mediterranean Sea. It was a center of agriculture because of fresh water springs. It was wealthy because of gold mines. Philippi was founded in 360 B.C.E. by King Philip of Macedonia. He was the father of Alexander the Great. Philippi was a cosmopolitan town on a trade route between Rome and Byzantium. It was also an army town and the site of major battles between Anthony and Octavian and Brutus and Casius. Anthony and Octavian won the first battle and later went to war against each other with Octavian winning and becoming the Emperor Caesar Augustus. It was a town accustomed to wealth, with a long history of armed conflict and glorious successes. It was very Roman even though in Greece. People were citizens of Rome. It was like it would be if Cambria were a part of Canada.
The Church in Philippi: The church was founded during Paul’s second missionary journey, during which he spent a lot of time in jails all over Greece. He made everybody mad. Especially on one occasion when he cast an evil spirit out of a slave girl whose owner was making a lot of money off of her. When she was healed, she could no longer make the man any more money and Paul was jailed for disturbing the city. The church in Philippi began with a hand full of women. One of them was Lydia who was rich and took the fledgling church into her home which then became the base of missionary operations for the area.
Where was Paul when he wrote to the Philippians? In jail. We don’t know exactly which jail or for what offense. He was in jail a lot. We do know that the conditions were appalling. Some reports were that he was standing up to his knees in excrement. That context makes this letter all the more touching.
Immediate Context: Today’s passage follows the greeting that was typical of Greek letter writing. It was customary after the formal greeting to offer a prayer for those who would receive the letter. Sometimes those prayers were rather perfunctory. Here, however, Paul’s love and affection for this congregation fairly drips from the parchment. In the prayer he touches on many of the major themes he will address later in the letter: joy, thankfulness, love and affection, partnership/fellowship in the gospel, the completion or perfection of one’s faith and more.
Word Study
Vs. 3 – thank – (eucharisteo) This beautiful word, from which we take our word Eucharist, comes from the roots for ‘good’ (eu) and ‘to give freely,’ (charisomai.) It denotes thanksgiving, and gratitude that arises from the goodness of God. It is the expression of joy Godward.
Remembrance – This word means to call to mind or to remind oneself, to be mindful of someone or something. It refers not just to a fleeting memory that seems to surface from nowhere. Rather, this kind of remembering is something that we choose to do.
Vs. 4 – prayer - This particular word refers to a prayer in which the one praying asks for something specific, a benefit of some sort.
Joy – This beautiful word comes from the same root as the word for grace. It is a profound and unmovable joy that arises from confidence in God and the work of the Holy Spirit within. In most cases in the NT, it refers to an inward experience of joy or delight. This is a big theme in this letter. For Paul the gospel is one of joy from beginning to end.
Vs. 5 – partnership – The Greek word rendered here is the familiar word koinonia which is often translated as fellowship. It literally means to have something in common. In the NT, however, is carries the idea of people bound together in a community of love, sharing and active burden-bearing.
In the gospel – The Philippians were partners with Paul in spreading the joyful good news of the Gospel. They supported him financially and spiritually in this work.
Vs. 6 – confident – As in English this word means to be sure of something, convinced that it is so. There is an undercurrent of boldness in this word. It is unshakeable. Interestingly, the word is translated elsewhere in the NT as encouraged.
Good work – Scholars do not agree on the nature of the good work Paul speaks of here. Some see it as the spiritual good work of working out one’s salvation. Others see it as the good work of spreading the gospel. Still others see it as doing the works of goodness in one’s life and world. I see no reason why all of these meanings cannot be meant simultaneously.
Continue to complete – This word is also often translated as ‘perfect.’ Paul is reminding us that God is not finished with us at the ‘moment of salvation.’ Rather, God continues to work within us to bring our faith to maturity and completion.
The day of Jesus Christ – This phrase carries a lot of theological weight. In general, Paul is likely referring to Jesus’ coming again to set things right on earth. He believed this return to be immanent.
Vs. 7 – think – This is another favorite word of Paul. He uses it 10 times in this letter alone. It is not an easy one to translate into English. It carries an attitude of emotion (sometimes translated as feels) and also the concept of how one thinks about someone or something AND what one plans to do as a result of these thoughts. It signifies a combination of intellect and emotion that results in specific action.
I hold you in my heart – This can also be translated ‘because you hold me in your heart.’ The heart (kardia) was seen as the chief organ of physical life. It came to stand for a person’s entire mental and moral activity, both rational and emotional elements. What Paul is saying to his friends here is that everything he thinks about, does and feels is done in the context of his relationship with them and with their best interest in mind.
Grace – Here Paul appears to be using the word grace to refer to God’s granting of spiritual gifts for the furtherance of the gospel.
Defense and confirmation of the gospel – These are legal terms. The reference is to Paul’s defense before the Roman court in which he hopes to be able not only to vindicate himself, and the gospel, from false charges but to do so in such a way that his defense itself will have life changing power for those present.
Vs. 8 – For God is my witness – In deeply emotional moments, Paul sometimes invokes God as the witness to the authenticity of what he is claiming. The word witness, martus, is the root from which we take our English word martyr.
I long – This is a very, very strong word that expresses the depth of Paul’s feelings for them, his desire to be with them, and his yearning to minister to them.
All of you – Here Paul emphasizes that his deep love is for every single member of the church, even those who are embroiled in conflict and causing trouble. He will address that later in his letter. This would have been considered a solemn and sacred oath.
With the tender affection of Christ Jesus – Literally “in the viscera (heart, liver and lungs) of Christ Jesus. In Greek the viscera were regarded as the seat and origin of the deeply felt emotions such as anger and love. So Paul is saying ‘If it is true that you hold me in your heart and this is the measure of your affection for me, I wish to assure you that I long for you. I hold you in the heart of Christ Jesus! This is the measure and meaning of my affection for you.’ (Hawthorne, Philippians, Mastering the Basics, p. 19.)
Vs. 9 – Prayer – This is a different word for prayer than the word above. It is the most frequent and generic word used in the NT to denote communion with God.
Overflow with love – We have talked many times about this specialized word for love, agape. It is an unconquerable love that flows outward toward the good of the beloved. It is not dependent on emotion but can produce emotion, eventually. Paul is praying that this love will go on developing.
With knowledge and full insight – The word for knowledge refers to full knowledge, discernment, recognition of the truth. There is intimacy in this kind of knowing. The word for full insight is sometimes translated as discernment. It is insight obtained from penetrating knowledge. There is a sense here that the overflowing love Paul prays for will become finely focused by growing personal, intellectual and moral insight.
Vs. 10 - to help you determine what really matters – I love this translation of this tricky phrase. The words refer to a process of testing coins so as to distinguish between those that are real and those that are counterfeit. In a world of competing loyalties, ideologies and versions of the ‘truth’ we need this quality as much as the Philippians did! The phrase ‘what really matters’ literally is ‘things that are superior.’
Pure – This beautiful word comes from two Greek words. One refers to the shining splendor of the sun. The second refers to discernment. It means to be of shining sincerity, free from spot or blemish to such an extent that one can always stand up to scrutiny.
blameless – literally: not stumbling. This phrase is used most often of religious obligations.
Vs. 11 – harvest of righteousness – justice or right standing. These three qualities, purity, blamelessness and righteousness point to a way of life that is morally pure, transparent, free from stain, gives no offense, brings no harm to others, works for justice and has right standing before God.
Through Jesus Christ – it is in Christ that this kind of life is possible.
Glory – refers, here, to all that is excellent in the divine mature on display.
Praise - A strong word that means commendation
Questions for Personal Reflection
1.In this passage Paul expresses his deep emotions toward his friends in Philippi. Who are the people about whom you feel this kind of emotion? How do you express it to them?
2.Paul is very grateful for the Philippians support and partnership in ministry. Who are those who support you in your life’s mission? How is the church a support? How can you support your church partners?
3.Paul describes a depth of commitment, intimacy and bondedness with this congregation. How might you deepen that experience in your congregation.
4.Paul describes a way of life that overflows in love, knowledge and discernment that results in blamelessness, moral purity, transparency, does no harm and works for justice. In those areas are there some in which you need to grow? How can the church support you in that growth?