Philippians 1


Philippians 1 is the first chapter of the Epistle to the Philippians in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is authored by Paul the Apostle about mid-50s to early 60s AD and addressed to the Christians in Philippi, written either in Rome or Ephesus. This chapter contains the greeting, thanksgiving, prayer and exhortation as an introduction to the major narratives in the next chapters.

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 30 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
The epistle opens using a formula found in other Paul's epistles, here with the introduction of himself and Timothy as Christ's "slaves" as in.

Verse 1

The wording is identical to.

Thanksgiving and Prayer 1:3–11

This is a common feature in Paul's epistles. Except in Galatians, Paul thanks or blesses God for the good things he has heard about a particular church in the beginning of his letters. In this epistle, Paul mixes it with his prayer for the church and with joy, "a combination he will recommend in 4:6". Lutheran pietist Johann Albrecht Bengel says that the whole letter can this be summarised: "The sum of the epistle is, I rejoice, rejoice ye". Similarly Paul writes to the Thessalonians: Rejoice always; pray without ceasing.

Paul's Situation in Chains 1:12–26

This section deals with Paul's condition during the confinement in a Roman administrative center, where he could still preach the gospel. It consists of two subsections with distinctive keywords: the first subsection was marked off with two words, "progress" and "confidence", and the second one has the inclusio markers "joy", "progress" and "trusting".

Verse 18

Paul states his wish that the Philippians have "steadfast unity in fidelity to the gospel" and "bold resistance to their opponents".