PREFACE TO THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. Epaphroditus imports that St. Paul, when he wrote the epistle, had been in Rome a considerable time. 'He longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because ye had heard that he had been sick;' chap. ii. 26. Epaphroditus had been with Paul at Rome; he had been sick; the Philippians had heard of his sickness; and he again had received an account how much they had been affected by the intelligence. The passing and repassing of these advices must necessarily have occupied a large portion of time, and must have all taken place during St. Paul's residence at Rome. Thirdly, after a residence at Rome, thus proved to have been of considerable duration, he now regards the decision of his fate as nigh at hand: he contemplates either alternative; that of his deliverance, chap. ii. 23, 24: Him, therefore (Timothy), I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me; but I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly;' that of his condemnation, ver. 17: Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all. This consistency is material, if the consideration of it be confined to the epistle. It is farther material, as it agrees, with respect to the duration of St. Paul's first imprisonment at Rome, with the account delivered in the Acts, which, having brought the apostle to Rome, closes the history, by telling us that he dwelt there two whole years in his own hired house." Hor. Paul., page 242. On the agreement between the epistle and the history, as given in the Acts, Dr. Paley makes many judicious remarks, which I cannot insert here, but must refer to the work itself; and I wish all my readers to get and peruse the whole work as an inestimable treasure of sacred criticism on the authenticity of Paul's epistles. The Epistle to the Philippians is written in a very pleasing and easy style; every where bearing evidence of that contented state of mind in which the apostle then was, and of his great affection for the people. It appears that there were false apostles, or Judaizing teachers, at Philippi, who had disturbed the peace of the church; against these he warns them, exhorts them to concord, comforts them in their afflictions for the gospel, returns them thanks for their kindness to him, tells them of his state, and shows a great willingness to be a sacrifice for the faith he had preached to them. which every serious reader will perceive. There is a divine unction in this epistle THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE PHILIPPIAN S. Chronological Notes relative to this Epistle. Usherian year of the world, 4066.-Alexandrian era of the world, 5564.-Antiochian era of the world, 5554.-Constantinopolitan era of the world, 5570.-Year of the Eusebian epocha of the Creation, 4290. -Year of the Julian period, 4772.-Year of the minor Jewish era of the world, 3822.-Year of the Greater Rabbinical era of the world, 4421.--Year from the Flood, according to Archbishop Usher, and the English Bible, 2410.-Year of the Cali Yuga, or Indian era of the Deluge, 3164.-Year of the era of Iphitus, or since the first commencement of the Olympic games, 1002.-Year of the Nabonassarean era, 809.-Year of the era of the Seleucida, 374.-Year of the Spanish era, 100-Year of the Actiac or Actian era, 93.-Year from the birth of Christ, 66.-Year of the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 62.Year from the building of Rome, according to Varro, 814.-Year of the CCXth Olympiad, 2.Jesus, high-priest of the Jews.-Common Golden Number, 6.-Jewish Golden Number, 3.-Year of the Solar Cycle, 15.-Dominical Letter, C.-Jewish Passover, April 10th.-Easter Sunday, April 11th.-Epact, or the moon's age on the 22nd of March, or the Xth of the Calends of April, 25.-Year of the reign of Nero Cæsar, the sixth emperor of the Romans, 9.—In the first year of Albinus, governor of the Jews.-Year of Vologesus, king of the Parthians, 12.-Year of Domitius Corbulo, governor of Syria, 3.-Roman Consuls; P. Marius Celsus, and L. Asinius Gallus, from Jan. 1st. to July 1st. ; and L. Annæus Seneca, the philosopher, and Trebellius Maximus, for the remainder of the year. CHAPTER I. Paul, in conjunction with Timothy, addresses himself to the saints at Philippi, and gives them his apostolical benediction, 1, 2. Thanks God for their conversion and union, and expresses his persuasion that God will continue his work among them, 3-6. Tells them of his strong affection for them, and prays that they may be filled with the salvation of God, 7-11. Shows them how much his persecution had contributed to the success of the gospel, 12-14. Informs them that there were some at Rome who preached the gospel from unworthy motives; yet he was convinced that this, which was designed to injure him, should turn to his advantage, 15-19. Mentions his uncertainty whether he should be liberated or martyred, and his perfect readiness to meet either; yet, on the whole, expresses a hope that he should again visit them, 20-26. Exhorts them to a holy life, and comforts them under their tribulations, 27-30. Verse 1. Paul and Timotheus] That Timothy was at this time with the apostle in Rome we learn The apostle thanks God for A. M. cir. 4066. PHILIPPIANS. my God upon their fellowship in the gospel. peace, from God our Father, 7 Even as it is meet for me and from the Lord Jesus Christ. to think this of you all, because 3 I thank I have you in my heart; every bremembrance of you, inasmuch as both in my bonds, 4 (Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,) с 5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; a Rom. i. 8, 9. 1 Cor. i. 4. Ephes. i. 15, 16. Col. i. 3. 1 Thess. i. 2. 2 Thess. i. 3.- b Or, mention.Rom. xii. 13. xv. 26. 2 Cor. viii. 1. Ch. iv. 14, 15.- d John vi. 29. 1 Thess. i. 3. e Or, will finish it.- f Ver. 10.- -g Or, ye have me in your heart.- b 2 Cor. iii. 2. vii. 3.Li Eph. xvi. and xx., and was therefore deservedly dear to the church in that city. It was on these accounts that St. Paul joined his name to his own, not because he was in any part the author of this epistle, but he might have been the apostle's amanuensis, though the subscription to the epistle gives this office to Epaphroditus. Neither in this epistle, nor in those to the Thessalonians and to Philemon, docs St. Paul call himself an apostle; the reason of which appears to be, that in none of these places was his apostolical authority called in question. Bishops and deacons] ЕTIσKOTO The overseers of the church of God, and those who ministered to the poor, and preached occasionally. There has been a great deal of paper wasted on the inquiry, "Who is meant by bishops here, as no place could have more than one bishop?" To which it has been answered: Philippi was a metropolitan see, and might have several bishops." This is the extravagance of trifling. I believe no such officer is meant as we now term bishop. Verse 2. Grace be unto you] See on Rom. i. 7. Verse 3. Upon every remembrance] As often as you recur to my mind, so often do I thank God for the great work wrought among you. Some think that the words should be translated, For all your kind remembrance; referring to their kind attention to the apostle, in supplying his wants, &c. Verse 4. Always in every prayer] I pray often for you, and have great pleasure in doing it, seeing what God has already wrought among you. n m A. M. cir. 4066. A. D. cir. 62. A. U. C. 814. An. Imp. Neronis Cæs. Aug. 9. and in the defence and confirmation of the 9 And this I pray, P that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; iii. 1. vi. 20. Col. iv. 3, 18. 2 Tim. i. 8.- * Ver. 17. be the best; though we know it to be a fact that they were liberal in supplying the apostle's necessities, and, no doubt, in ministering to the support of others. Verse 6. Being confident] There shall be nothing lacking on God's part to support you; and to make you wise, holy, and happy; and bring you at last to his kingdom and glory. Verse 7. It is meet for me to think this] Eori ĉikator" It is just that I should think so, because I have you in my heart—you live in my warmest love and most affectionate remembrance. Inasmuch as both in my bonds] Because you have set your hearts upon me in my bonds, sending Epaphroditus to minister to me in my necessities, chap. ii. 25, and contributing of your own substance to me, chap. iv. 14, sending once and again to me while I was in bonds for the defence of the faith, ver. 15, 16; those things which being a sweet savour, a sacrifice well pleasing and acceptable to God, ver. 18, confirm my hope concerning you; especially when 1 find you yet standing firm under the like afflictions, having the same conflict which ye saw in me, when I was among you, Acts xvi. 12, &c., and now hear to be in me, chap. i. 30. Whitby. Verse 8. For God is my record] I call God to witness that I have the strongest affection for you, and that I love you with that same kind of tender concern with which Christ loved the world when he gave himself for it; for I am even ready to be offered on the sacrifice and service of your faith, chap. ii. 17. Verse 9. This I pray] This is the substance of all my prayers for you, that your love to God, to one another, and to all mankind, may abound yet more and more, eri paλov kai μalλov жepioσevy, that it may be like a river, perpetually fed with rain and fresh streams, so that it continues to swell and increase till it fills all its banks, and floods the adjacent plains. Verse 5. For your fellowship in the gospel] If we consider kovovia as implying spiritual fellowship or communion, then it signifies, not only their attention to the gospel, their readiness to continue it, and perseverance in it, but also their unity and affection among themselves. Some understand the word as expressing their liberality to the apostle, and to the gospel in general; for the term may not only be applied to communion among themselves, but to communications to others. This sense, though followed | his great designs in the gospel. by Chrysostom and Theophylact, does not appear to In knowledge] Of God's nature, perfections, your own duty and interest, his work upon your souls, and And in all judgment] Και παση αισθησει" In all spiritual or moral feeling; that you may at once have the clearest perception and the fullest enjoyment of those things which concern your salvation; that ye may not only know but feel that you are of God, by the Spirit which he has given you; and that your feeling may become more exercised in divine things, so that it may be increasingly sensible and refined. Verse 10. That ye may approve things that are excellent] Big To Ɛokiμaštiv vμaç тa diapepovra To the end that ye may put to proof the things that differ, or, the things that are more profitable. By the pure and abundant love which they received from God they would be able to try whatever differed from the teaching they had received, and from the experience they had in spiritual things. That ye may be sincere] Iva nrɛ ELXIKρIVELS. The word eidirpiveia, which we translate sincerity, is compounded of aλn, the splendour of the sun, and Kou, I judge; a thing which may be examined in the clearest and strongest light, without the possibility of detecting a single flaw or imperfection. "A metaphor," says Mr. Leigh, "taken from the usual practice of chapmen, in the view and choice of their wares, that bring them forth into the light and hold up the cloth against the sun, to see if they can spy any default in them. Pure as the sun." Be so Jurified and refined in your souls, by the indwelling Spirit, that even the light of God, shining into your hearts, shall not be able to discover a fault that the lure of God has not purged away. Our word sincerity is from the Latin sinceritas, which is compounded of sine, without, and cera, wax, and is a metaphor taken from clarified honey; for the pel sincerum, pure or clarified honey, is that which is sine cera, without wax, no part of the comb being left in it. Sincerity, taken in its full meaning, is a word of the most extensive import; and, when applied in reference to the state of the soul, is as strong as the word perfection itself. The soul that is sincere is the soul that is without sin. Without offence] ATроGкоTо Neither offending God nor your neighbour; neither being stumbled yourselves, nor the cause of stumbling to others. Till the day of Christ] Till he comes to judge the world, or, till the day in which you are called into the eternal world. According to this prayer, a man, under the power and influence of the grace of God, Or, Cæsar's court. J hOr, for Christ. Or, to all others. may so love as never to offend his Maker, to the latest period of his life. Those who deny this, must believe that the Spirit of God either cannot or will not do it; or, that the blood of Christ cannot cleanse from all unrighteousness. And this would be not only anti-scriptural, but also blasphemous. Verse 11. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness] By righteousness we may understand, here, the whole work of the Spirit of God in the soul of a believer; and by the fruits of righteousness, all holy tempers, holy words, and right actions. And with these they are to be filled, wεñλnρwμεvoi, filled up, filled full; the whole soul and life occupied with them, ever doing something by which glory is brought to God, or good done to man. By Jesus Christ] That is, according to his doctrine, through the power of his grace, and by the agency of his Spirit. Unto the glory and praise of God.] God being honoured when the work of his grace thus appears to men in the fruits of righteousness; and God is praised by all the faithful when his work thus appears. Every genuine follower of God has his glory in view by all that he does, says, or intends. He loves to glorify God, and he glorifies him by showing forth in his conversion the glorious working of the glorious power of the Lord. Verse 12. That the things which happened unto me] St. Paul was at this time a prisoner at Rome, and it appears probable that he had already been called to make a defence for himself, and to vindicate the doctrines of the gospel; and this he had been enabled to do in such a manner that the honour of the gospel had been greatly promoted by it. As the Philippians loved him greatly, he felt it right to give them this information relative to his state, and how God had turned his bonds to the advantage of that cause on account of which he was bound. Verse 13. My bonds—are manifest in all the palace] In consequence of the public defence which he was obliged to make, his doctrines must be fully known in the court, and throughout the whole city, as on his trial he would necessarily explain the whole. The prætorium, pairwρtov, which we here translate palace, signifies the court where causes were heard and judged by the prætor or civil magistrate; it sometimes signifies the general's tent, and at others, the emperor's palace. It is supposed that it is used in Some at Rome preached Christ A. M. cfr. 4066. A. U. C. 814. fear. 14. And many of the brethren 18 What then? notwithstandin the Lord, waxing confident | ing every way, whether in preby my bonds, are much more tence or in truth, Christ is bold to speak the word without preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. 15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and a strife, and some also of good will : 16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds : A. M. cir. 4066. 19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of d the Spirit of Jesus Christ, e 20 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be 17 But the other of love, knowing that I am | ashamed; but that s with all boldness, as set for the defence of the gospel. always, so now also, Christ shall be magnified b this latter sense here. There were, no doubt, persons belonging to the emperor's household who would bring the news of so remarkable a case to the palace; for we find that there were Christians even in Cæsar's household; chap. iv. 22. Verse 14. Waxing confident] Finding the effect produced by the public defence which the apostle made, they were greatly encouraged, and the more boldly and openly proclaimed the doctrine of Christ crucified. The word] The doctrine of Christ ; several excel lent MSS. and Versions add, some Oɛov, others Kopov, the word of God, or, the acord of the Lord. This is a respectable reading, and is probably genuine. Verse 15. Some preach Christ even of envy and strife] These must have been the Judaizing teachers, who insisted on the necessity of connecting the Mosaic rites with the Christian institutions; and, probably, denounced Paul to the Jews dwelling at Rome as not only an enemy to the law and the prophets, but also as a very imperfect Christian, because he declared strongly against the doctrine of circumcision, &c.; and no doubt endeavoured to prejudice him with the heathen Romans. e Rom. viii. 19. Rom. v. 5.——8 Eph. vi. 19, 20. they denounced the apostle as an enemy to the divine institutions, because he spoke against circumcision. Verse 17. The other of love] Through a sincere desire, not only to make known the way of salvation to the people, but also to vindicate and help the apostle, because they considered him as appointed by God to preach and defend the gospel. The 16th and 17th verses are transposed by ABDEFG, and several others; the Syriac, Arabic of Erpen, Coptic, Sahidic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, Itala, and several of the Fathers. On this evidence Griesbach transposed them in his edition. Verse 18. What then ?] It is a matter of little importance to me how Christ is preached, provided he be preached. I rejoice that any thing is known of him; and am truly glad that the gospel is even made partially known, for this will lead to farther inquiries, and in the end be of service to the truth. Verse 19. This shall turn to my salvation] That is: It will be the means of my temporal safety; of my deliverance; for so the word owrnpia is here to be understood. The Jews had denounced the apostle as an enemy to Cæsar; but he knew that, when the nature of the gospel should be fully known, the Romans would see that he could be no enemy to Cesar, who proclaimed a prince whose kingdom was not of this world; and who had taught, in the most unequivocal manner, that all Christians were to give tribute to whom tribute was due, and while they feared God to honour also the king, though that king was Nero. The word preach is not to be taken here as implying that the different persons mentioned were what we call preachers of the gospel: all that we can understand from St. Paul's use of the word is, that they proclaimed Christ as the promised Messiah, espoused the Christian cause, and contended, whether in public or private, that this Jesus was the Christ; but nothing of this kind appears to have been intended in reference to the conversion of sinners. Through your prayer] Knowing them to be geSome also of good will.] Some, through mere bene-nuine followers of Christ, he was satisfied that their volence to the apostle, both espoused his doctrine prayers would be very available in his behalf; and and vindicated his cause. under God he places much dependance upon them. Verse 16. Preach Christ of contention] The Ju- The supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ] The daizing teachers, they also preach Christ; they | word emuxopnya, which we translate supply, signifies acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ or promised Messiah, and preach him as such. Not sincerely] Ovx ȧyvwç Not chastely, garbling the gospel; not speaking the whole truth, but just what served their purpose; and at the same time also furnishing whatever is necessary. The Spirit of God he expected to help all his infirmities, and to furnish him with all the wisdom, prudence, strength of reason, and argument, which might be necessary for him in the different trials he had to pass through |