Observations

Now we move on to make observations about our passage.

Literary:There is a continuation of the theme of thankfulness “I thank my God”, “I hold you in my heart”, “I yearn for you with the affection of Christ”. We see a causation in “he who began… will bring it to completion.” There is an explanation from Paul in verse 7 that explains why he feels these emotions for the church, because they are “partakers with me of grace.”

Grammatical:God is the pronoun in “He began a good work in you and will bring it to completion.”

Historical:We know Paul first visited the Philippians on one of his missionary journeys(Acts 16) and we read that many came to believe in Christ through Paul’s message. Paul normally went to the synagogue first in each city he arrived in, however, he did not do this in Philippi which indicates there may have been no synagogue and likely little Jewish influence. Paul was beaten and thrown into prison and then miraculously freed. When he mentions his imprisonment, the Philippians would be very familiar with his time in jail and the miraculous way he was freed. The Philippians were not just bystanders watching what Paul was doing, they were actively in partnership with him both in sharing the gospel and also in his imprisonment.

Cultural:Paul wrote this letter to thank the Philippians for a gift they had sent him since he was imprisoned. Philippi was clearly hostile towards christianity, which gives us a better understanding of the sincerity that Paul speaks of when he is saying how thankful he is of the Philippian church and their faith. Paul speaks in such a way that shows they are equals with him, he is not above them in any sort of way, in verse 7 they are “partakers” with him in his imprisonment and the sharing of the gospel.