Philippians

Purpose & theme

Philippians is Paul’s warmest and most joyful letter: a note of affection and encouragement to a beloved church, written, remarkably, from a prison cell. The word “joy” and “rejoice” ring through its four short chapters more than a dozen times, all the more striking because Paul writes in chains, facing a possible death sentence. That is the letter’s great paradox and its central lesson: joy is not the fruit of favorable circumstances but of union with Christ, so that a suffering, imprisoned apostle can say, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice” (4:4), and mean it. Paul writes to thank the Philippians for their partnership and their financial gift, to update them on his imprisonment (which has actually advanced the gospel), to encourage them toward unity and humility, and to warn them against both legalistic false teachers and the pull of the world.

At the letter’s heart stands one of the New Testament’s greatest passages, the “Christ hymn” of 2:5-11, which traces the path of Jesus from the glory of equality with God, down through the humility of incarnation and the obedience of the cross, to His exaltation as the Lord before whom every knee will bow. This self-emptying humility is set forth as the pattern for the church: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” Around that center, Paul pours out a series of unforgettable declarations of his single-minded devotion to Christ: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (1:21); “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (3:8); “I press on toward the goal” (3:14); “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (4:13). Philippians is thus a letter about finding in Christ a joy, a contentment, and a strength that no circumstance can take away.