Dr. J. Vernon McGee :: Notes for Philippians

OUTLINE Outline for Philippians

PHILIPPIANS

“The Earthly Walk of a Heavenly People”

WRITER: Paul (Philippians 1:1)

DATE: A.D. 62; Written at the same time as Ephesians, it is one of the prison epistles.

CITY OF PHILIPPI: Philippi was a Roman colony. Although it was a miniature of Rome and imitated and aped Rome in every way, it was nonetheless a city which had a higher cultural level than other cities visited by Paul.

KEY: The epistle is practical; its key thought is joy. It has been labeled “The Secret of Joy.” Some form of the word occurs 19 times. It answers the question, “How may I have joy in my heart?” The man who wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4), was in the Mamertine prison in Rome. Joy does not depend upon circumstances.

REMARKS: After Paul and Barnabas had completed their first missionary journey, they determined to visit again the Galatian churches to see their progress. A sharp division arose over the feasibility of taking John Mark along again.
The result was that Paul took Silas and departed for the Galatian country. After visiting the churches, Paul was evidently planning to extend the circumference of his missionary activity by taking the gospel to Asia (the province of Asia, of which Ephesus was the leading city). This was a very prominent, populous, and prosperous region at that time. The Spirit of God put up a roadblock, however, and they “were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6). Then Paul attempted to go north into Bithynia, along the coast of the Black Sea, where there was a very large population. Again the Spirit put up a roadblock — “but the Spirit allowed them not” (Acts 16:7). They had come from the east, they could go neither south nor north, so there was only one way to go — west. It was not Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune who first said, “Go west, young man, go west,” it was the Spirit of God speaking to Paul.
Paul proceeded then to Troas where he waited for orders. He was given the vision of a man of Macedonia beseeching him to come over to Europe. The party of Paul crossed over to Samothracia, went on to Neapolis, and to Philippi. Luke joined the party at this juncture (Acts 16:10). Silas and Timothy were already with Paul.
When Paul arrived in Philippi, he discovered that the man of Macedonia was actually a woman by the name of Lydia, holding a prayer meeting by the riverside (Acts 16:13-15). Paul got rough treatment in the city because he cast the demon out of a girl who, by the spirit of divination, was making money for her owners. Paul and Silas were imprisoned. When they sang praises to God at midnight, the prison was shaken, and this led to the conversion of the jailer (read Acts 16). He and his family were some of the converts in this church who were especially drawn to the apostle Paul in the bonds of Christian love.
Paul visited Philippi at least one other time, possibly more. The church in Philippi kept in close touch with the apostle (Philippians 4:15) but apparently lost track of him when he was arrested in Jerusalem, and for two years there was no communication. They finally heard he was in prison in Rome and immediately dispatched their pastor, Epaphroditus, to Rome with words of sympathy, a gift, and many expressions of love.
The Epistle to the Philippians is the answer of Paul to their communication and the coming of Epaphroditus. It is his thank-you letter.