“Paul and Timothy, servants of
Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the
overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:1-2 (ESV). Following the letter style of the Time
Paul open with a greeting of blessing. But while others might just use these
words as a formality, Paul seems to use them genuinely. Going through the letters
of Paul it can be seen that he is very much so interested in the welfare of
those to whom he is writing. While there are mentions of various reasons for
Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi, he returns time and again to a certain
emphasis; exhortation. Vine’s Dictionary, a dictionary for Old and New
Testament words, defines exhort/exhortation as such, “‘to admonish, exhort, too
urge’ one to pursue some course of conduct… ‘to recommend’… to encourage… ‘a
calling to one’s side,’ and so ‘to one’s aid,’…” (Unger, 1984). These various
meanings seem to take place throughout Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
“… he who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 (NIV).
Here there is the encouragement spoken of above. Paul is encouraged himself by
the partnership of this church with him from the beginning until that point. The
New Bible Commentary, or TNBC (1953) says, “His writing was also an opportunity
to encourage…” TNBC is a work which has been compiled and edited over the years
by various scholars. Their stated purpose is to present the most concise and
condensed version of a commentary without omitting worthwhile content. Here
they have found it necessary to inform that this letter, Philippians, is
written in part to encourage.
“The main reason for the letter… was
Paul's need to give some pastoral advice.” In Exploring the New Testament
(Marshall, 2002) the authors, like those of TNBC, found the most concise way to
report pertinent information about the letter to the Philippians. Here they
express that Paul needed to give pastoral advice. Like in the definition above,
advice is a part of exhortation. What are some other ways Paul exhorted the
Philippians?
“… then make my joy complete by
being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value
others above yourselves,” Philippians 2:2-3
(NIV). Paul is not daunted
with how to exhort the church. He addresses things as he sees them. Here he is
pointing to how they may be of different mindsets amongst themselves, or
perhaps they are of one mind together, but separate from that of Paul’s mind.
Either way he does not want them to continue in this fashion, but to be of one
mind, and that being not of selfish ambition. Zondervan’s Handbook for the
Bible (Alexander, 1973) states, “And what he had heard about them made him long
to encourage and advise.” What had he heard? From what Paul discusses they
heard of Epaphroditus being ill to the point of death. In addition to that they
knew Paul was in need, and this evidenced by the gifts they sent him. Also Paul
mentions being torn between leaving to be with God, and staying to continue the
work of the Gospel. Their reaction to these circumstances may be the cause of
his letter and need to communicate with them, and encourage them. “… To encourage the readers to rejoice always
in the lord.” This is how the author of A Popular Survey of the New Testament (Geisler,
2007) understands it. As Paul exhorts, his focus is on rejoicing and joy, these
occur fourteen times throughout the letter. For a man who has suffered so much
because of the Gospel this seems an odd recommendation. But this is the basis
of Christian life. Paul rejoices if he is to be poured out like a drink
offering. Why? Because of what it produces in the church.
“There is a reason why Paul, near
the end of his long, seasoned ministry, stressed
to
ministers to remain patient with those to whom they taught, encouraged, and
exhorted.
He
said, ‘Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke,
exhort,
with all longsuffering and teaching’ (2 Tim 4:2, emphasis added).” (Gutierrez,
2013). The author goes on to speak of why it is important. She speaks of how
“people are ‘in process’” and the people of God should be patient while
ministering to people. Why does Paul feel the need to exhort a church who by
his own account is doing well, and is a blessing to him? Because things can get
messy. Groups can be formed for good, but turn into places that exclude those
who do not fit the criteria. As at other times Paul addresses circumcision.
This was one of the main issues of the time. And like how children need to be
reminded, the church needed to be reminded of how it ought to conduct itself.
But Paul was not just about advising and
correcting. He was also very thankful. Liebengood, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies
and Director of the Center for Global Service Learning at LeTourneau University,
states, “For Paul, the partnership to which he calls the Philippians clearly
involves financial giving: towards the end of the letter he commends the
Philippians for their faithful giving to his ministry (4:15-16).” (Liebengood,
2015) This is not something Paul is frequently able to do, especially involving
finances. While he is very thankful for the Philippian church partnering with
him in this way, his advice is not changed or adulterated by it; Paul still
addresses the issues he sees and hears of going on in the church at Philippi.
To exhort the church is not an easy
task. It involves skill and tact. Paul was not afraid to speak harshly if the
situation merited it, as can be seen in Galatians 5:12 (NIV) “As for those
agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!” This
is harsh. But Paul does not need a heavy hand here. As he says, “… It is no
trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for
you.” (Philippians 3:1). He knows what he needs to say and living by the
guiding of the Holy Spirit he is capable of doing as he has been called to do;
exhort the church. Philippians is a great example of what it is to exhort the
church. From the start to the finish the words of Paul are impactful and
purposeful, just as his life was, and is today. “The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ be with your spirit.” (Philippians 4:23).
References
Alexander,
D., & Alexander, P., (1973). Zondervan Handbook to the Bible (3rd
ed.). Oxford,
Lion Publishing plc.
Carson,
D. A., France, R. T., Motyer, J. A., &Wenham, G. J., (Eds). (1953). The New Bible
Commentary (21st Century ed.).
Nottingham, InterVarsity Press.
Geisler,
N. L., (2007). A Popular Survey of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, Baker
Publishing Group.
Gutierrez,
T. L., (2013). AN EXPOSITIONAL STUDY OF
THE LETTER TO THE
PHILIPPIANS
WITH SPECIFIC APPLICATION TO CHRISTIAN WOMEN SERVING
VOCATIONALLY
OR VOLUNTARILY IN LOCAL CHURCH MINISTRY. Retrieved April 3, 2016 from http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1856&context=doctoral.
Liebengood, K. D., (2015). Paul’s Expectations
of Generosity. Institute for Faith and
Learning at Baylor University. Retrieved
April 3, 2016 from
Marshall, H., Paul, I., & Travis, S.,
(2002). Exploring the New Testament:
Volume
Two (2nd ed.). Downers Grove,
InterVarsity Press.
Unger,
M. F., Vine, W. E., & White, Jr., W., (1984). Vine’s Complete Expository
Dictionary of
Old and New Testament Words. Nashville,
Tomas Nelson Inc.
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