Philippians 1:3-11
Scripture 1:3-11
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making
my prayer with joy, 5 because
of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 And I am sure of
this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the
day of Jesus Christ. 7 It
is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart,
for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the
defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For
God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And it is my prayer
that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may
approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the
fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise
of God. [1]
Devotion
Paul opens this
letter with a prayer as he does so many of his letters. The prayer can be
broken up into two sections. It breaks up into the following sections verses
3-8 and 9-11. “First, vv. 3–8 express praise for the Philippians. The verb
translated “I thank my God” contains the idea of thanksgiving. Furthermore, all
of vv. 3–8 modify that one main verb. Second, vv. 9–11 express Paul’s more
specific petition. He introduced his prayer with a consecutive conjunction
(“and,” kai) which both continues the
previous idea and introduces another.[2]”
Paul gives thanks to
God for the church at Philippi for he remembers them fondly. In fact, in verse
4 he says he always remembers them with joy “The first characteristic of Paul’s
thanksgiving for them was that it was joyful. The Greek text stresses this by
placing the words “with joy” before the words “I always pray. “This is the
first reference to joy, a major theme in the epistle.[3]”
In fact this letter is often called Paul’s epistle of joy.
In verse 5 Paul
celebrates their partnership with him in the sharing of the gospel. That
partnership had lasted from the first day they heard the gospel until this very
day. It brought great joy to Paul. He is certain that God who began to work through
this church will bring it to completion before the day of Jesus return. “The
relationship between Paul and the church went deeper than human friendships.
They had a tie that came from joining in the work of God in the world. Such
cooperation in the spread of the gospel was something Paul appreciated very
much. That fellowship was with Paul only in an intermediate sense; the ultimate
contribution they made was to the spread of the gospel itself.[4]”
Paul then explains
that he holds the Philippians close to his heart. Paul to know of their participation
in his current imprisonment.” The gospel was not only the environment of their
fellowship but also its goal. Had it not been for the gospel, they would not
have met. Paul generally stated that the tie that bound Christians together was
the gospel message. Here, however, the construction suggests that the
advancement of the gospel united them. In their support of Paul, they
contributed to the work of God in the world through the gospel. When the
Philippians were converted, they were given a privilege of promoting the
gospel. Through their relationship with Paul, they were true to that aspect of
their faith.[5]”
In verse 8 he shifts
to the second part of his prayer for the church. Paul changes from a prayer of
thanksgiving to petitioning prayer. Paul prays for an increase in love among
the church members. Paul wants the to improve on knowing what is excellent and
in purity. Paul prays that they will be full of fruit. The fruit coming from
righteousness found in Jesus Christ.
[2]
Richard R. Melick, Philippians,
Colossians, Philemon, vol. 32, The New American Commentary
(Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1991), 52–53.
[3]
Richard R. Melick, Philippians,
Colossians, Philemon, vol. 32, The New American Commentary
(Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1991), 54–55.
[4]
Richard R. Melick, Philippians,
Colossians, Philemon, vol. 32, The New American Commentary
(Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1991), 56.
[5]
Richard R. Melick, Philippians,
Colossians, Philemon, vol. 32, The New American Commentary
(Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1991), 56–57.
Comments
Post a Comment