Bible Studies for Life By Jim Barnette, Ph.D.
Samford University and Brookwood Baptist Church, Mountain Brook
Praying with Joy
Philippians 1:3–11
Pray with joy for what God has done. (3–6)
Paul offers a strong word of thanksgiving and joy, prompted by every remembrance of the Philippians. Remembrance is the “when” of his thanksgiving; the “how” of his thanksgiving is “with joy.” Joy is one of the great keynotes of this letter, the noun occurring five times and the verb or its compound 11 times. After the “when” and “how” in verse 5, Paul moves to the “why,” which is his partnership with the Philippians. It is noteworthy that the “koinonia,” or communion, between Paul and the Philippians is not simply fellowship in Christ, but “in the gospel.” We are bound together in Christ, but we also are bound together in sharing the good news with a world that needs to hear it. The frequency of “partnership” in the letter (1:5,7; 2:1; 3:10; 4:14) testifies to the full identification of the Philippians with Paul’s message and mission. “The first day” may mean the beginning of Paul’s time in Philippi, when Lydia opened her home to him and helped advance the preaching of the gospel.
An earlier sign of the partnership between apostle and Church was when the Philippians sent material help more than once while Paul labored in Thessalonica (4:16), at which point the Church in Philippi could not have been more than a few months old. The most recent expression of “koinonia” was the help sent through one of their members, Epaphroditus (4:18).
Pray with joy for what God is doing. (7–8)
References to the praetorian guard, or palace guard, and to Caesar’s household tell us Paul is in the powerful hands of Roman authority. Paul is apparently being held in a barracks or guardhouse where Roman officials and supporting military are quartered. Imprisonment was for persons awaiting trial and not punishment following conviction. “Defense and confirmation” are legal terms. “Confirmation” probably meant vindication of one’s claims. Paul’s trial also is the trial of the gospel, and he expects it not only to be defended but vindicated. The thought of distancing himself from his claims for Christ for his own security apparently never entered his mind. He is prepared to defend the gospel whatever the consequences.
Pray with joy for what God will continue to do. (9–11)
In verses 9–11, Paul asks three things for the Philippians: “love” that will increase and overflow, “knowledge” that will give them the gift of discrimination and “righteousness” that will ready them for the day of Christ. Paul confesses his yearning to be with them. Note that he yearns for them not just with his own love, but with the “affection of Christ Jesus” in him. Joseph Lightfoot explains this love effectively in his 1868 commentary: “The believer has no yearnings apart from his Lord, his pulse beats with the pulse of Christ.”
“Discernment” signifies insight or perception. In this context, love is seen as having the moral instinct to perceive what is right. Love’s disposition is to trust and to understand, but it also must be informed if it is to function adequately. “Determine what is best” used to be translated as “approve what is best.” However, more recent translations suggest that it refers to “discerning the things that matter.” Prudent discernment of what really matters in life and faith can lead us to the righteousness attained by effectively following Christ. “Righteousness” is both right standing with God and the salvific work of God that makes us righteous should we profess faith in Him. This gracious act is God’s work and not the result of our own works, no matter how good they might be (Eph. 2:8–9).
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