Philippians

1:1-11

1. Introduction, 1:1-11

Greeting, thanksgiving and prayer for the church

In this opening section of Paul's letter to the Philippians, Paul initially greets his readers, v1-2, then expresses his appreciation for the Philippians' friendship in the gospel, v3-8, and finally follows up with a prayer for the church, v9-11.

A thanksgiving for the Philippians' fellowship in the gospel, v3-8. Paul, thanks God because it was God's doing that the Philippians shared in the work of evangelism, probably financing Paul", Synge.

eucaristw pres. "I thank" - I give thanks. The present tense is obviously iterative where the action is repeated.

tw/ qew/ "[my] God" - to God [of me]. Dative of direct object, "I give thanks to my God."

epi + dat. "time" - on, upon, at the time of [every remembrance of you]. Possibly expressing purpose, "because of", but more likely denoting time, "at the time of." So, possibly "for all your remembrance of me", Moffatt, ie, "you" as the subject, being the Philippians and their financial support to Paul, but more likely "every time I think of you", CEV.

Regarded as a parenthesis by some commentators, Lightfoot etc., "and praying for you does make me happy." On the other hand, O'Brien and others regard the joy Paul feels, when he prays for the Philippians, as the first ground for his thanksgiving.

dehsei (iV ewV) "prayers" - requests, entreaties, prayers. Usually in a specific sense, "supplications".

uJper + gen.. "for" - for, on behalf of, for the sake of.

pantwn adj. "all [of you]" - Not always translated, but Paul seems to stress inclusiveness with the Philippians, possibly due to congregational disunity.

thn dehsin poioumenoV (poiew) pres. part. "I [always] pray" - the prayer doing. The participle takes the middle voice and with the noun "prayer" forms the simple verb "I pray", possibly with a temporal sense, "whenever I pray for you", REB.

pantote "always" - every time, always.

meta + gen "with [joy]" - The preposition expresses association. "When I pray for you, and that means all of you, I always feel very happy."

If v4 is not a parenthesis, then this verse states the second ground for Paul's thanksgiving.

epi + dat. "because" - in view of. Probably causal, "because of / on the basis of"; "for they (my prayers) bring back to my mind how we have worked together for the gospel", Phillips.

th/ koinwnia/ (a) "partnership" - fellowship, participation, sharing. Some argue for a passive sense, but an active sense seems best; "your cooperation in promoting the gospel", O'Brien.

eiV + acc. "in [the gospel]" - into [the gospel]. In the sense of "with respect to / with reference to."

to euaggelion (on) "the gospel" - the important message. Tending always to refer to the important divine message proclaimed by John the Baptist, Jesus ..., namely "the kingdom of God is at hand." Often referred to as the good news, but it's certainly not good news to those who have rejected it. Here, probably not just the actual message, but the business of communicating it; "for your cooperation in spreading the gospel", Weymouth.

apo thV prwthV hJmeraV "from the first day" - Presumably "from the first day it arrived among you", Barclay.

Most likely the third ground for Paul's thanksgiving, namely, his confidence that God will finish the good work.

pepoiqwV (peiqw) perf. part. "being confident" - having become confident. The participle is adverbial, possibly causal, "because of"; "for of this I am confident", Weymouth.

auto touto "of this" - this thing. Not referring to some particular antecedent, but rather underlining his confidence, "I am confident with just this confidence", Hawthorne.

oJti "that" - Introducing a dependent statement, the object of Paul's confidence, namely the completion of the good work.

oJ enarxamenoV (enarcomai) aor. part. "he who began" - the one having begun. The participle functions as a substantive. The agent is obviously God.

ergon agaqon "a good work" - work good. Given the context, the good work is the work of the gospel that the Philippians were participating in, a work begun by God and one that will ultimately be completed by him. None-the-less, the idea of completing this work may indicate that Paul has in mind their salvation which "began" when the gospel was preached to them.

en "in [the gospel]" - in, with, by, to. Possibly locative, "in / within [you]", as NIV, reflecting the view that the "good work" is the eternal salvation of the Philippian believers. On the other hand, an instrumental sense is possible, "by means of [you]", reflecting the view that the "good work is the work of evangelization. The Philippian believers, along with Paul's mission team, served as God's instrument for evangelizing Philippi.

epitelesei (epitelew) "will carry it on to completion" - will complete, accomplish, bring about. Carrying the sense of both continuation and completion, so "will continue to work ........ until he has finished what he has planned", TH.

kaqwV "-" - just as, as. Often taking a causal sense, "because / since / in so far as." Because of v3-6 it is only right for Paul to feel the way he does. "Indeed it is only right ..." Hawthorne.

fronein (fronew) inf. "to feel" - to think, to be concerned for, feel. The infinitive forms an infinitival phrase which functions as the subject of the verb to-be, "to fell ....... is [only right for me]." The word expresses both feelings, "a sympathetic attention to", but also "the holding of an opinion"; "it is only natural for me to be thinking of you all", Moffatt.

dia + acc. "since" - because of, on account of. Taking a causal sense, "because".

en "in [my heart]" - in, within. Obviously locative. The word order is ambiguous so possibly also expressing Paul's knowledge that he is very dear to the Philippians; "I have a secure place in your hearts", Bruce.

te "weather" - both [in my bonds .... and ....].

kai "or" - and. "And also while I was free to defend ...", TEV.

th/ apologia/ (a) "defending" - the defence. To speak against accusations presumed to be false*.

bebaiwsei (iV ewV) "confirming" - confirmation, verification, vindication. "To defend and establish the truth of the gospel", Barclay.

ontaV (eimi) pres. part. "-" - being. The participle of the verb to-be is adverbial, possibly causal, "because all of you share ..."

sugkoinwnouV (oV) "share with" - fellow participants, sharers together, partakers.

caritoV (cariV) "grace" - Paul uses the word "grace" here in the sense of the gift of his apostolic ministry. That ministry was a gift of God, exercised in authority and power against great odds. "All of you have helped in the work that God has given me", CEV.

gar "-" - for. Here probably functioning as a connective and therefore left untranslated.

martuV (uV uroV) "testify" - witness. The clause functions as an oath witnessed by God; "God knows that I am telling the truth", Barclay.

wJV "how" - as, like / while. Possibly expressing degree, "God knows how much I long for your companionship", Phillips, possibly manner, as NIV, but more likely introducing the content of the witness, rather than its quality; "God witnesses to the fact that I yearn for you", Hawthorne.

epipoqw (epipoqew) "I long for" - I yearn for, yearn after, long for. Paul is expressing an intense longing for the Philippians, a longing that is deeply affectionate, loving.

pantaV adj. "all [of you]" - Note again Paul's use of this inclusive descriptor.

en + dat. "with" - in, with, by, to. Obviously an instrumental sense here.

splagcnoiV (on) "affection" - the entrails, bowels of affection. Used in the sense of a deep feeling of intent or affection. Probably brotherly love best defines this feeling. Yet, here not so much of human affection, although that would be a strong aspect of it, but rather a love transformed to another level. Paul's love for the Philippians is the love of Christ for them. Paul is a channel of Christ's love toward the church. They are one in Christ and are therefore bound together in his love.

Cristou Ihsou "of Christ Jesus" - The genitive is possibly subjective, ie. an "affection" poured out from Christ from Christ, possibly ablative, ie. expressing origin, an "affection" sourced from Christ, or just simply adjectival, ie. an "affection" which is Christ-like, a Christ-like type of affection.

Paul now articulates his prayer; "this is my prayer", v9-11.

iJna + subj. "that [your love] may abound" - [this I pray] that. This construction is being used here to introduce a dependent statement / object clause, expressing the content of the prayer.

hJ agaph (h) "[your] love" - No object of the love is supplied indicating the possession of a quality rather than the action of being loving. It is that which is "the central element of the Christian life", Beare.

perisseuh/ (perisseuw) pres. subj. "may abound" - may abound, overflow, have exceeding much, be extremely rich. The present tense indicating ongoing action; "may continue to abound."

eti adv. "-" - yet, still [more and more]. An ever expanding love. "That your love may overflow with deeper and deeper knowledge, and with greater and greater sensitive awareness of every kind", Barclay.

en + dat. "in" - The sense is locative, "within the domain of knowledge and all insight", O'Brien.

epignwsei kai pash/ aisqhsei "knowledge and depth of insight" - advanced knowledge and perception/discernment. Paul is obviously praying for an improvement in the quality of their love. He is praying for a knowledge of God, of his will and person. Such knowledge is gained through a study of the Bible. As Vincent puts it in his commentary, Paul is praying for an "intelligent and discerning love". For a believer to love, it is essential to be able to know the truth. We have to be able to distinguish good from evil. That is, we must understand the ethical implications of any action. To act in a loving way necessitates a correct understanding of the mind and character of God. It is when we understand the "good", we are then able to apply that knowledge to each and every situation. Our action then becomes a loving act. Although much of our behavior stems from the best of intentions, it is often done with little understanding of the mind of God. The unthoughtful act is often anything but loving. So, a loving act must be an "intelligent and discerning" one. "in deeper knowledge and broader perception", Hawthorne.

eiV to dokimazein (dokimazw) inf. "so that you may be able to discern" - that you may test. The articular infinitive with the preposition eis "most commonly expresses purpose", Burton #409. The verb translated "discern" in the NIV either means "test", to prove something by testing, or "approve", having tested and proved the worth of something. Muller states in his commentary that with their love directed by knowledge they will "be able to determine, by judicious discernment, what things really matter, what is the best and most virtuous, and what is of most importance." They will be able to judge/discern, to gain spiritual insights as to the right value of actions and beliefs. Such discernment can be applied to self, to the life of the church, and to the workings of society. The end result is "that small things should as small be seen, and great things great to us should seem", Barth. "Approve", RSV; "discriminate", NEB.

to diaqeronta (daqerw) pres. part. "what is best" - the things being superior, excellent, worthwhile. The participle functions as a substantive.

iJna + subj. "[and may be pure ...]" - that. Unlikely to form a causal clause, "for I want you to be pure and blameless", Barclay, possibly a final (purpose) clause, "in order that / so that", Moffatt ("and" in the NIV repeats the "so that" at beginning of the verse), or a consecutive (expressing consequence, result) clause; "then [as a result] on the day of Christ you will be flawless and without blame", REB.

eilikrineiV (hV) kai aproskopoi (oV) adj. "pure and blameless" - wax-like and blameless. With a "gift of true discrimination", a believer can shape their behavior toward others in a sincere way that does not give offense or lead another into sin. This is probably what Paul means by "pure and blameless". The word translated "pure" in the NIV is virtually unknown, but probably means something like "genuine" or "sincere". The word translated "blameless" in the NIV is something like "without causing offense / causing to stumble". An intransitive sense is possible, "without stumbling", O'Brien. The problem with the NIV choice of words is that they convey the idea of a faultless moral life. This suggestion is a dangerous one, given that the words in the Greek text do not push to such an extreme. The sense is of our life-style being both ethically sincere/true and inoffensive (particularly in the sense of leading a brother into sin - ie. causing a brother to abandon Christ).

eiV + acc. "until [the day of Christ]" - to. Possibly taking a temporal sense, "leading up to / until" as NIV, or "on the day of Christ", TEV, "when you meet with Christ on the last day", possibly also spacial, "toward": "mindful of the day of Christ", Muller; "in view of the day of Christ", Bruce; "in preparation for the day of Christ", O'Brien.

hJmeran Cristou "the day of Christ" - The genitive is descriptive, the day of judgment and glorification when Christ returns.

peplhrwmenoi (plhrow) perf. pas. part. "filled" - having been filled, completed. "The perfect tense indicating a completed state. The participle is probably attendant circumstance expressing action accompanying the action of v10; "Reaping the harvest of righteousness", NEB.

dikaiosunhV (h) "[the fruit] of righteousness" - Possibly righteous in the sense of a right status, that which is ours by grace through faith, although it is possible that the participle phrase, "filled with the fruit of righteousness" expresses action accompanying the action of "may be pure and blameless", in which case an ethical quality is being described; "abounding in the fruits of right-doing", Williams.

ton "that" - The article serves to identify "the fruit [of righteousness]"; "which fruit comes through Jesus Christ."

"comes" is supplied.

dia + gen. "through" - through, by means of [Jesus Christ]. "The harvest of righteousness which Christ produces", Moffatt.

eiV "to" - into, to, for [glory and praise of God]. In the sense of advantage for, "all this is for the glory and praise of God", O'Brien.

Philippians Introduction

lectionarystudies.com