Philippians

Paul has one concern for his Philippian brethren. He would have them live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Obviously, we cannot live in such a way that our lives would be ‘deserving of’, or ‘worth’ the death of Christ.  Paul cannot be meaning “worthy” in that sense.  All of our righteous deeds are as filthy rags before him, and as the most we could ever do would only be our duty (Isa 64:6; Luk 17:10).  Rather,…

As Paul writes to his beloved Philippians from house arrest in Rome, he’s intent on 1) thanking them for their generous contribution, 2) dissuading them from further giving, since they are impoverished and he is well-supplied, and 3) addressing the divisions that are creeping into their fellowship. He does so by setting before them a self-less kingdom minded example to follow (Phil 3:17; 4:9). The kingdom advances In chapter 1, vv. 12-18a, Paul wants to assure the Philippians that he…