Viewpoint Sample

Introduction to Philippians

Main Theme: Life in Christ

Key verse: Phil. 1:21

Authorship: Even the liberals defend the Pauline authorship (see Vincent, International Critical Commentary, p. v; Scott and Wicks, The Interpreter's Bible, pp. 8-9). For a formal conservative defense see Lightfoot, pp. 74-77; Muller, pp. 11-17.

Date: Some scholars hold that it was written early in the Roman imprisonment (A.D. 60, Lightfoot, pp. 30-46), but most maintain that it was written later (Thiessen, p. 251; A.D. 61; Muller, p. 28, A.D. 62-63; Zahn, I, 548, A.D. 63).

Place of Origin: The vast majority of commentators advocate the Roman imprisonment of Acts 28 as the place. For a formal defense, see Zahn, I, 539-556; Muller, pp. 21-28. A few liberals have suggested Ephesus (Michael, Deissman); fewer still have suggested Caesarea (Lohmeyer).

Interpretive Outline (The subpoints follow the paragraph divisions of the Greek text):

Introduction Phil. 1:1-2

  1. Suffering for Christ: Joy in handicaps Phil. 1:3-30
    1. Confident joy although in bonds vv. 3-11
    2. Confident joy although in affliction vv. 12-26
    3. Confident joy although in conflict vv. 27-30
  2. Serving like Christ: Joy in humility 2:1-30
    1. The humiliation of Christ brought glory to God vv. 1-11
      1. The exhortation to service like Christ's vv. 1-4
      2. The example of Christ's service vv. 5-11
    2. The humiliation of believers brings light into the world vv. 12-18
    3. The humiliation of ministers brings increased effectiveness vv. 19-30
  3. Striving toward Christ: Joy in a hard race 3:1-21
    1. Rejoice in the Lord v. 1
    2. Renounce confidence in the flesh vv. 2-11
    3. Run the race with determination vv. 12-16
    4. Remember the goal: the Lord in heaven vv. 17-21
  4. Standing in Christ: Joy in harsh afflictions 4:1-23
    1. Standing fast with joy v. 1
    2. Serve with unity, love, and peace of mind vv. 2-9
    3. Serve with contentment and confidence vv. 10-20

Salutation and conclusion vv. 21-23