(avg. read time: 7–14 mins.)
This is my second guest post, this time thanks to Dr. Kevin Burr. I first met Kevin my first semester at Asbury Theological Seminary in one of a series of greeting events put on for new PhD students. We only briefly interacted, but we first talked because I noticed his little son (Pete) was wearing a shirt modeled after Goku’s gi from Dragon Ball Z. For a while, that’s all I really had to identify him. Eventually, we started talking more and I started having lunch with him and the older PhD folks at least once a week. It turns out we had many similar interests both in biblical studies and beyond. And anyone who gets to know Kevin will quickly become aware that he is a dyed-in-the-wool Tennessean, as I am a dyed-in-the-wool Texan. After he finished his PhD (with a dissertation on the criteria of authenticity in Historical Jesus research and in broader historical research that is forthcoming in published form), he is now in Corpus Christi, TX. He will tell you it’s because there was a job opening there that he was able to fill, but I know it’s because of my influence that he traded the Tri-Star State for the Lone Star State, and I will not be told otherwise. He is currently the discipleship minister at Kings Crossing Church of Christ in Corpus Christi, and he is also an adjunct professor for his alma mater Harding School of Theology. He also runs a podcast called Faith in the Folds, for which I have been a guest three times (and I will remind him again that I am still available to talk about resurrection). He hails from Nashville. He is married to Linnea, and they have two biblically-named sons, Pete and Samuel, as well as a dog named after a Tennessee-based donut shop, Gibson.
I reached out to him to write something on Philippians because he told me some time ago that he was working on a Bible study on Philippians. I was also an audience member in a “Greek Story Hour” series he put together on Philippians (the recordings of which you can find here). And there are several YouTube videos of a sermon series he did on Philippians. All that to say this is a book he is thoroughly acquainted with, and I know you will benefit from reading and watching his work on it. What you will find below is, as with some of my own posts on this Substack, an adapted extract of his work, though his is from a book:
Kevin Burr, Sharing His Suffering: A Study of Philippians (Searcy, AR: Regnum Media, 2023).
Without further ado, I will let Kevin speak for himself.
A Prayer for Friends
Philippians 1:1-111
There are five different types or genres of literature that make up the twenty-seven books of the New Testament: biography (Gospels), historiography (Acts), letters (from Paul, James, Peter, John, and Jude), sermons (Hebrews and probably 1 John), and apocalypse (Revelation). Philippians fits quite comfortably in the letter genre due to certain formal features: Philippians includes a sender (Paul) plus a co-sender (Timothy), as well as specific recipients of the letter (1:1). At the end of the letter, Paul includes a few short greetings from those with whom Paul has contact (4:21-22); compare these few greetings with the entire chapter of greetings from Paul—not to mention a word of welcome from the secretary who actually penned the letter!—in Rom 16. Paul’s letters often begin with a statement of thanksgiving for his audience (e.g., Rom 1:8-15; 1 Thess 1:2-10; Eph 1:3-14) and sometimes an opening prayer before he begins the body of the letter (Eph 1:15-23; Col 1:9-14; Phlm 6-7).
The primary reason Paul wrote letters was to maintain contact with friends and churches. These letters served as pastoral proxies—communications designed to substitute for his presence when he could not physically be there to teach, encourage, minister to, admonish, and correct the recipients. Reading a letter from Paul was like having Paul in the room. He usually wrote letters to churches he had planted (except Romans) or to individuals he knew in order to address specific situations, questions, and/or concerns. For example, in 1 Cor 7:1a Paul says, “Now concerning the matters about which you wrote ....” Throughout the rest of 1 Corinthians, Paul answers a series of questions the Corinthians sent him, and he addresses some other topics, too. Each new question Paul addresses begins with the phrase “Now concerning,”: see 1 Cor 7:1; 8:1; 12:1; 16:1 (and probably chs. 11 and 15 as well, although these do not begin with the “Now concerning” formula). Sometimes Paul needs to clarify something he wrote in a previous letter. In 1 Cor 5:9-10, Paul says, “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral persons—not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since you would then need to go out of the world” (ESV). Sadly, we do not have the letter mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9. Similarly, we do not have the letter mentioned in Col 4:16, “And when this letter has been read among you, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you read also the letter from Laodicea” (ESV).
Although we know some churches—and undoubtedly some individuals, too—wrote letters to Paul, because we have only Paul’s correspondence we have to read “between the lines” (or “behind the text” as I like to put it) of these letters. Reading the letters to discern what problems Paul addressed, what questions he sought to answer, and what behaviors he needed to encourage or correct helps us determine the “situation” of the letter, that is, what was happening in the churches that prompted Paul to write what he wrote. Reading behind the text like this requires humility because sometimes our conclusions will be tentative.
If you read through the four chapters of Philippians in one sitting, it is clear there were no major, extraordinary problems facing the church, unlike some of the other churches Paul interacted with (particularly the churches in Corinth and Galatia). However, it does seem like there were several smaller issues that could become larger and more serious, if left unchecked. New Testament scholar Nijay Gupta lists five main problems Paul addresses in the letter to the Philippians.2 To that list, I will add a sixth reason.
1) Facing some degree of persecution
Early in the letter, Paul says he hopes the Philippians are standing firm together “and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing. For he has graciously granted to you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well ...” (Phil 1:28-29). Some members may be experiencing social ostracization and economic loss as they withdraw from their pagan lifestyles and embrace faith in Christ.
2) The Philippians were worried about Epaphroditus, a fellow co-worker
Paul mentions the Philippians’ concern for Epaphroditus, who almost died attempting to deliver their gift to Paul (Phil 2:27). Paul wants to inform them that Epaphroditus has recovered and Paul is sending him back to them.
3) The Philippians heard Paul was in prison
After the letter’s opening thanksgiving and prayer (1:3-11), Paul assures the Philippians that he is doing well despite being imprisoned (1:12-14). He does not know what will happen to him but he is confident God will work out his situation for good (1:18b-26).
4) There appears to be some threat to the congregation’s unity
Throughout the letter (1:27; 2:1-4; 3:15), Paul urges the Philippians to be unified, to stand together, and to be of one mind. Near the end of the letter, he asks two women in particular to “agree in the Lord” and for a certain unnamed audience member to help them (4:2-3). Given these repeated calls for unity, we can quite reasonably infer this is something they were having some trouble with.
5) Some kind of false teaching may be troubling the Philippians
In Phil 3:2-3, Paul warns the church to “look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (ESV). Because nothing more is said about this particular issue in the letter, we are unsure to what extent the church was being exposed to false teaching on circumcision. Nonetheless, Paul wants to protect them by reaffirming that true circumcision is not a matter of what happens to the flesh.
6) Paul thanks the Philippians for a gift
Near the end of the letter Paul expresses his appreciation for a gift they gave him, probably some aid to ease his suffering while he was in prison.3 Paul is grateful for their help and acknowledges they have done even more than necessary (4:16-18).
With this general introduction to Philippians, we can now turn to Phil 1:1-11.
Paul opens the letter to the Philippians with his customary greeting where he implicitly requests that God extend His grace and peace to the recipients of his letter (1:1-2, my translation).
1 Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the elders and deacons, 2 grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
What does Paul mean when he calls the Philippians “saints”? Contrary to some notions about what it means to be a “saint,” Paul does not mean super Christians who are holier than regular Christians. The Greek word hagios (plural hagioi) can be translated “saints” (ESV, NRSV) or more simply “holy ones.” Paul addresses the Philippians as “saints,” meaning “God’s holy people” (NIV), and this address serves at least three purposes. First, it encourages the Philippians when they are troubled and distressed to recall their special relationship with God. Second, it serves as a reminder for the Philippians to live in ways that honor their special status as God’s holy people. Third, by referring to the audience this way Paul, “establishes the collective identity of the listeners, who are not ... united by ethnicity, social class, age, or gender but by their incorporation in Christ.... Paul indicates that they are the heirs of ancient Israel, the people who were called to be holy (hagios) as God is holy (cf. Lev. 19:2) and separate from the larger society (cf. Lev. 18:1-5).”4 The Philippians and all of God’s people are therefore holy.
After a brief self-description as “slaves” (contra “servants” in the NRSV, ESV, and NIV), which may allude to the time when Paul was called a “slave of the Most High God” in Philippi (cf. Acts 16:16-18), Paul implicitly prays for God to extend his grace and peace to the believers. Grace can be defined as freely given and uncoerced favor, but in the first century it was commonly known that accepting a gift obligated the recipient to the giver.5 Peace likely refers to a high quality of interpersonal harmony, the absence of strife and the presence of right relations with others and God. Jeannine K. Brown says this combination of elements at the beginning of the letter “signals the epitome of God’s action towards humanity (grace) and its result of holistic communal salvation (peace).”6 At the very outset of the letter, Paul longs for God’s grace and peace to come upon his friends in Philippi.
If you grew up in church, you are probably familiar with the many letters of Paul, but Paul was not the only one involved in writing many of his letters. Timothy appears as the co-sender in this letter and elsewhere (2 Cor 1:1; Col 1:1; 1 Thess 1:1 and 2 Thess 1:1 [with Silvanus]; Phlm 1). It is easy to think of Paul as the Lord’s lone ranger, but he often worked with a team. When God calls us to an important work, let us not forget the great benefit of working alongside the brothers and sisters in Christ whom God has placed in our lives. Jesus understood the importance of coworkers, which is why he sent out the disciples in groups of two (Mark 6:7).
After the letter opening in 1:1-2, Paul expresses his deep appreciation for the Philippians’ partnership with him in working for the sake of the gospel (1:3-8). He tells them he mentions them in all of his prayers especially in light of their “sharing” (NRSV) or “partnership” (ESV) in the gospel from when they first believed until the time of the letter’s composition (1:5). What Paul has in view is here is their “close association involving mutual interests and sharing.”7 The Philippians’ work with Paul is evidence of God continuing the good work of salvation which he began in them, concerning which the audience can be confident—along with Paul (1:7)—that it will be completed when Christ returns.8 In other words, God has not forgotten them even when things get difficult. It may be easy for many Christians today who live comfortably away from persecution to forget how many Christians in the first century longed for Christ’s return because at that time he will right all wrongs. Paul’s own imprisonment is one such wrong, but that has not diminished his love for the Philippians or his determination for sharing the gospel in any way (1:7-8).
Following Paul’s opening thanksgiving, he shares a prayer with the Philippians. Although it is kind to tell someone that you will pray for him or her, it is more meaningful whenever someone shares the details of what they pray for someone they love. I know I am genuinely touched whenever I hear, for example, that someone prays for me to find peace in busy seasons, to continue growing in my ministry and as a husband and father—I feel their love and concern. In Phil 1:9-11, Paul shares a prayer for the believers, which has the effect of encouraging them and guiding them toward greater Christ-likeness. His main point in praying for them is for their love to abound increasingly with knowledge and all insight (1:9) for the purpose that the Philippians will become better and better at accepting what is most valuable in God’s eyes.9 That is, “Paul envisages a spirituality where love begets discernment for what is better.”10 Another purpose for their growth in love, knowledge, and insight (of God) is for them to be pure (“being sincere, without hidden motives or pretense”11) and blameless (“being without fault because of not giving offense”12) for when Christ returns (1:10). The results of this kind of life is described as the “fruit of righteousness,” (1:11a). As the Philippians continue to grow in the knowledge of God and love for one another, they will experience the righteous results of sincere loyalty to Christ. Their transformative love will also result in further praise and glory for God (1:11b). Many of us seem to approach the Christian life like this: once we know the right things and the right way to worship, that is sufficient—we just need to wait until Jesus returns. However, Paul’s prayer for the Philippians indicates there is significantly more to it than that. He prays that they continue to grow in insight and discernment in order for them to determine what really matters as they are filled with the fruit of righteousness through the empowerment given by Jesus, all of which results in glory and praise for God.
What is one takeaway from these opening verses of Philippians? Paul frequently begins his letters with a prayer for the recipients. These prayers are generally intended to encourage the audience to continue living godly lives. But that’s not all, for sharing with each other what we pray for one another binds us together more completely in love. For five days in a row, pick a different friend whom you would like to encourage. Write down a specific prayer for each friend, and share it with him or her. Your prayers could be modeled after some of Paul’s prayers in his letters: Phil 1:3-11 (or 1:9-11); Eph 1:15-23; 3:14-21; Col 1:3-14 (or 1:9-14). You could share your prayer through email or text message, but a card or handwritten letter is more personal.
The following material is adapted from the forthcoming book: Kevin Burr, Sharing His Suffering: A Study of Philippians (Searcy, AR: Regnum Media, 2023).
Nijay K. Gupta, Reading Philippians: A Theological Introduction, Cascade Companions (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2020), 20-22.
“Of course we are not told the nature of the gifts, but nothing is more logical than to assume they were material,” states Anthony L. Ash (Philippians, Colossians & Philemon, The College Press NIV Commentary [Joplin, MO: College Press, 1994], 124).
James W. Thompson and Bruce W. Longenecker, Philippians and Philemon, Paideia (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016), 26.
David A. deSilva, “Grace,” Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, 524–26.
Jeannine K. Brown, Philippians: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2022), 63-64.
BDAG, s.v. κοινωνία.
Michael F. Bird and Nijay K. Gupta, Philippians, New Cambridge Bible Commentary (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020), 43.
Lidija Novakovic, Philippians: A Handbook on the Greek Text, BHGNT (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2020), 14.
Bird and Gupta, 46.
BDAG, s.v. εἰλικρινής.
BDAG, s.v. ἀπρόσκοπος.