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272    THE CONVENTION TEACHER

men a life and a person.  The world saw for the first time a perfect life; not a mere ideal, but a real life that had been really lived upon the earth; a life that stands alone, separate from all other lives unique in its solitary majesty in its unearthly loveliness, in its absolute purity, in its entire unselfishness.  The world saw for the first time the beauty of self-sacrifice.

St. Paul first came to Philippi about the year 52.  It was his first visit to Europe.  He had seen in Asia a vision, a man of Macedonia, who said, "Come over and help us," and he came.  Philippi was the first Macedonian city which he reached for Neapolis, the part of Philippi, was generally (not always reckoned as belonging to Thrace.  It was a Roman city In Paul's prompt obedience to the divine call, that continent received the glad tidings of great joy.  

The church established in Philippi had sent the Apostle a love gift.  His letter to the Philippians is a "specimen of how he returned thanks.  No Epistle is so truly a letter, of all we have from St. Paul's pen is this."

EXPOSITION

I. PAUL AN EXAMPLE TO ALL CHRISTIANS (VV. 1-8.)  (1) Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: — Paul does not assume his official title in writing to the Macedonian churches at at Philippi and Thessalonica.  It is used in all his other Epistles, except the short one to Philemon.  His relations to the Philippians and Thessalonians were those of the deepest personal affection; there was no need of a formal introduction, especially in an Epistle which has so little of an official character as this to the Philippians.  He joins the name of Timothy with his own, as in Second Corinthians, Colossians.  Second Thessalonians and Philemon.  Thus Timothy is associated with Paul in every Epistle in which another name is found except First Corinthians, where Sosthenes is mentioned.  This shows the intimate affection that bound St. Paul to his "own son in the faith."  There was a special reason for mentioning Timothy in this Epistle as he was so well known to the Philippians, and Paul was intending to send him shortly to Philippi.  But Paul writes in his own name from the beginning.  Timothy was not in any sense a joint author; he might have been Paul's amanuensis, as Tertius was in the case of the Epistle to the Romans. the servants of Jesus Christ—slaves, literally made free from sin and become servants to God, whose service is perfect freedom.  to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi—Inclusive of all the Philippians, for Paul was beloved by all the Philippians, and all were dear to him.  There was no hostile faction there, as at Corinth and elsewhere.  Paul uses the word saint as the general name for his converts, like Christian.  The word "Christian" only occurs three times in the New Testament.  Christ's people are called brethren, disciples or saints, by virtue of their relation to Christ.  with the bishops and deacons—St. Paul is addressing the elders of the church at Philippi; not bishops in our sense of the word.

(2) Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  This combination of the Greek and Hebrew salutations is the common form in St. Paul's earlier Epistles; in the pastoral Epistles mercy is added.  Grace is the favor of God, free and sovereign, which rests on the faithful Christian, and brings the gift of peace; which is, first reconciliation with God, and secondly, the childlike confidence and trustful hope which result from faith in Christ's atonement.  from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ—God the Father is the first Author of our salvation; God the Son, the Word made flesh, brought the message of peace from heaven and reconciled us to God.

(3) I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.  All the Pauline Episles except those to the Galatians, Timothy and Titus begin with a thanksgiving.  In this Epistle the thanksgiving is especially warm and earnest.  No cloud of doubt darkened the Apostle's confidence in the Philippians; he pours forth his gratitude to God for their spiritual gifts fervently and without reserve.  my God—The pronoun "my" expresses the inner consciousness of personal relations with God.  upon every remembrance of you—The remembrance (not mentioned) was continuous; he had them in his heart, and that unbroken remembrance resulted in unbroken thanksgiving.

(4) Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, The Greek word for "prayer" and "request" is the same, better rendered "supplication," as in the Revised Version.  It implies not only a lifting up of the heart to God, but an earnest entreaty

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THE CONVENTION TEACHER   273

for a necessary gift.  We meet now for the first time with that joy which is the keynote of this Epistle.  "This Epistle of joy well follows that to the Ephesians, where love reigns.  The fruit of the Spirit is love and joy.  Joy gives life to the prayer."  Intercessory prayer was part of this daily work.  Thus his time was fully occupied; his mind was active.  His prayer flows from love.

(5) For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; St. Paul thanks God for their help; their cooperation towards the work by their prayers, their labors, and their liberal bounty.  This fellowship began in the Gospel.  When the Philippians sent aid to the Apostle at Thessaolonica and Corinth, is continued until now—ten years; they had just sent their alms to Paul at Rome by Epaphroditus.  This verse gives us the cause for which he returned thanks to God—For your fellowship in aid of the Gospel, from the first day until now.  It was a fellowship of faith and love and service, with a view to the furtherance of the Gospel.  It implied a cordial and united action, a thoughtful consideration of the Apostle's wants; a continuance in well-doing, which was at once the proof of the Gospel's power in their hearts, a demonstration of Christian consistency, and a means of sustained success in Gospel work.

(6) Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:  Paul's thanksgiving refers not only to the past but to the future.  He has a confident trustfulness in God's power and love.  that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it—The good work is self-consecration, the sacrifice of themselves, their souls and bodies, issuing in the cooperation of labor and almsgiving.  The good work is God's; He began it and He will perfect it.  The beginning is the pledge of the consummation.  Yet it is also their work, their cooperation towards the Gospel. until the day of Jesus Christ—The perfecting will go on until the great day.  To the individual Christian that day is practically the day of his death; though, indeed, the process of perfecting may be going on in the holy dead until they obtain their perfect consummation and bliss.  These words do not imply that Paul expected the second advent of Jesus during the life of his Philippian converts.

(7) Even as it is meet for me to think this of you, all because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.  It is just right to think this, to entertain this confidence concerning you.  Because I have you in my heart.  His love for them increases his confidence.  inasmuch as both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel—These words may be taken with the preceding, "I have you in my heart," and with the following, "Ye are all partakers of my grace:" rather, "Ye all are partakers with me of the grace."  They were partakers of the grace of God given to him in his bonds and in his work.  The like grace was given to them for the passive and active sides of the Christian life, both in endurance of suffering and in propagating the Gospel.  Thus there seems to be no reference in the words "defense" and "confirmation" to his public defense before Caesar (which probably had not yet taken place), but generally to his work of preaching the Gospel, which was both apologetic, meeting the objections of adversaries, and aggressive, asserting the truth.

(8) For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.  Paul is so united with Christ that he feels with the heart of Christ; he loves with the love of Christ.  The appeal to God marks the sincerity of his love.  But its true origin its pattern, its fervency, are only to be found in the bowels of Christ.  The heart of the Apostle throbs in unison with the heart of Christ.

II.  PAUL'S PRAYER FOR THE PHILIPPIANS.  (vv. 9-11.) (9) And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgement; This is the purport of the prayer already spoken of in verse 4. The conjunction "for" marks the end of St. Paul's prayer, and its purport.  That your love may abound yet more and more—not love for the Apostle only, but the grace of Christian charity.  Paul finds no fault with the Philippians; he prays for their continual growth in love, but not unintelligent love.  in all judgment—Discernment, that delicate tact and instinct which almost intuitively perceives what is right, and almost unconsciously shrinks from that which is wrong.  It cannot exist without love.  With love there comes a spiritual sense, spiritual sight, spiritual hearing, a sense of the beauty of holiness, a fine perception of Christian prosperity,

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