PURPOSE: The Philippian church members put together a financial gift for the Jerusalem church and sent it to Paul. In turn, the apostle wrote them a letter thanking them for this gift. His letter was also to strengthen the believers by showing them that true joy comes from Jesus Christ alone.
THE AUTHOR: Once again it is the apostle Paul.
THE ORIGINAL AUDIENCE: The Christians at Philippi.
THE DATE WRITTEN: This correspondence was written in roughly AD 61 from Rome during Paul’s imprisonment there.
THE SETTING: This church in Philippi was founded by Paul and his companions during his 2ndmissionary journey spoken about in Acts 16:11-40. This was the first church established on the European continent. They had sent a monetary gift with one of their members named Epaphroditus. It was to be delivered to Paul (Phil. 4:18). At this time Paul was in a Roman prison. Paul wrote this letter thanking them and encouraging them in their faith.
Happiness is one thing; joy is quite another. Happiness can be fleeting, joy runs deeper and because of that lasts much, much longer. Happiness is based on things, events, hobbies, love, etc. that bring on happy feelings; however, once those things disappear or deteriorate, happiness can be replaced very easily with despair. We use temporal things or situations to make us happy. Joy is something that is linked to God. While it is an emotion, it is brought on by a quiet, confident assurance of God’s love for you and his work in our lives. God is eternal; therefore, joy can be eternal as well if we make God our focal point and not that which surrounds us.
The letter to the Philippian church is Paul’s “joy” letter. Philippians is also a joyful book because it emphasizes the real joy of the Christian life. The concept of “rejoicing” or “joy” can be found 16 times in the letter’s four chapters. It is summed up in Ch. 4, verse 4 with the following declaration: “always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice!”
An example of being joyful in any and all situations can be found in the fact that Paul wrote this letter from a Roman prison. Hmmm, that type of joy must come from God, don’t you think? That would be from focusing on the Lord instead of the things that surround you.
Paul’s recipe for unspeakable joy, is found in Ch. 3:5-10: “I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead.” That is where Paul’s joy comes from ... knowing Christ. Everything is worthless outside of knowing him.
Up next is a look at Paul’s blueprint for Philippians. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing.
In His Name & for His Glory,
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
Resource: The Life Application Study Bible
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