Philippians
1
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Thanksgiving
1 Paul and Timothy, bond-servants
of Christ Jesus,
To all
the [a]saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, [b]including the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of
you, 4 always offering prayer with joy in my
every prayer for you all, 5 in view of your [c]participation in the gospel from
the first day until now. 6 For I am confident
of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the
day of Christ Jesus.
7 [d]For it is only right for me to
feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in
my [e]imprisonment and in the defense
and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. 8 For
God is my witness, how I long for you all with the [f]affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And
this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real
knowledge and all discernment,
10 so that you may [g]approve the things that are
excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless [h]until the day of Christ; 11 having
been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through
Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
The Gospel Is Preached
12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that
my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, 13 so
that my [i]imprisonment in the cause
of Christ has become well known throughout the whole [j]praetorian guard and to everyone
else,14 and that most of the [k]brethren, trusting in the Lord
because of my [l]imprisonment, have far more
courage to speak the word of God without fear. 15 Some,
to be sure, are preaching Christ even [m]from envy and strife, but some also [n]from good will;
16 the
latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the
defense of the gospel;17 the former proclaim Christ out
of selfish ambition [o]rather than from pure motives,
thinking to cause me distress in my [p]imprisonment.
18 What
then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is
proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.
Yes,
and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that this will
turn out for my [q]deliverance through your [r]prayers and the provision of the
Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 according to my earnest
expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all
boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether
by life or by death.
To Live Is Christ
21 For to me, to live is Christ and
to die is gain. 22 [s]But if I am to
live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful
labour for me; and I do not know [t]which to choose. 23 But
I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to
depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; 24 yet
to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25 Convinced
of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress
and joy [u]in the faith, 26 so
that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my
coming to you again.
27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy
of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain
absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit,
with one [v]mind striving together for the
faith of the gospel; 28 in no way alarmed by your opponents—which
is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too,
from God. 29 For to you it has been granted
for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His
sake, 30 experiencing the same conflict which you
saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
NIV
Application Commentary
Paul’s
second reason for joyful thankfulness to God is his confidence that God will
complete the good work he has begun in the Philippians (v. 6). This work, which
must be identified with the Philippians’ salvation, will reach its consummation
only at “the day of Christ Jesus.” It is a work that God alone accomplishes,
but the notion that it is not yet complete shows that it involves a progressive
transformation of the lives of believers.
The “good work” of salvation, then,
includes God’s gift to believers both of the will and of the ability to do good
works. The presence of these good works in turn provides evidence of real belief—evidence
that God has begun and will complete the work of salvation in the person who
displays them. Thus Paul says in 1:28 that the Philippians’ steadfastness in
the midst of persecution serves as a sign of their future salvation, and in
2:12–13 that whereas the Philippians should “work out” their “salvation with
fear and trembling,”
God is the effective power behind this work. This thought
also lies behind Paul’s confession in 3:12, that he presses on “to take hold of
that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” It is only because God in his
grace has taken hold of believers and works within them to produce a life
consistent with the gospel that they can in any sense “take hold” of salvation
on “the day of Christ Jesus.” In other words, those who will be saved in the
future live holy lives in the present, but the holiness that characterizes
their lives is God’s work from beginning to end.
If
this represents a correct understanding of verse 6, then Paul’s first two
reasons for joyful thanks to God are probably bound to one another by a
profound theological truth. Paul thanks God for the Philippians’ partnership in
the gospel not only because of the practical assistance it provided for the
advancement of the gospel but also because it stands as a confirmation that God
is at work in the lives of the Philippians (cf. 4:17). Paul knows, moreover,
that if God has begun a work of grace in the Philippians, he will complete it,
for he has the power “to bring everything under his control” (3:21); he is thus
confident that God will conduct the Philippians safely into the realm of
salvation on the day of Christ Jesus. This, he feels, is reason enough to
rejoice.
From
NIVAC: Philippians by Frank Thielman. Published by Zondervan Academic.
The
Bible Panorama
Philippians
1
V
1–2: PEOPLE Paul gives a brief but all-embracing description of the church to
which he and Timothy write. ‘All the saints’ (which means every Christian) and
‘the bishops and deacons’ are the recipients of the letter. Paul prays that
they will all receive God’s grace and peace.
V
3–11: PRAYER Paul thankfully prays for the Christians. He is grateful for
gospel fellowship with them and is confident of their salvation. He
specifically prays that their love will abound in a knowledge and discernment
that will help them to live holy lives.
V
12–18: PREACHING Paul’s witness for Christ is as a prisoner in chains.
Paradoxically, this helps some to preach more boldly. Although some preach from
wrong motivation, Paul rejoices that Jesus Christ is proclaimed.
V 19–26: PRIORITY With his Christian
confidence that Paul will gain greatly when he dies, his priority is to live
for Christ now. If the choice were his, he would find it hard to decide whether
to be ‘with Christ, which is far better’ or whether to serve Him and His people
on earth.
V
27–30: PURPOSE He urges them to live lives worthy of the gospel and to strive
together, taking persecution without fear by God’s grace.
The
Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.
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