Philippians (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament)

Silva, Moisés, Yarbrough, Robert W., Stein, Robert

• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Year: 2005
• ISBN:
  9781441202475
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Teología y religión
• Subtopic: Comentario bíblico

With its user-friendly design, this commentary by Moisés Silva provides a substantive yet accessible discussion of Philippians to help pastors, students, and teachers understand and explain this letter. Each passage is presented in three parts: Silva's own translation of the Greek text; exegesis and exposition of each unit of thought; and additional notes on textual matters. Throughout the commentary, Silva asks what is distinctive about this letter and shows how each passage contributes to Paul's overall argument. The second edition has been updated to interact with important recent scholarship on Philippians and to incorporate the well-regarded BECNT layout.

➤ I. Opening (1:1–11)

II. Paul’s Missionary Report (1:12–26)

III. A Call to Sanctification (1:27–2:30)

IV. Doctrinal Polemics (3:1–4:1)

V. Final Concerns (4:2–23)

I. Opening (1:1–11)

All of the NT epistles that bear Paul’s name exhibit certain common structural traits, one of which is the natural inclusion of an introductory paragraph clearly set off from the body of the letter. This paragraph normally consists of a standard salutation, immediately followed by a thanksgiving.

Some variations occur. For example, Paul expands the salutations in Romans, Galatians, and Titus by the inclusion of material that anticipates important themes developed in those letters. On five occasions—2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, 1 Timothy, and Titus—he omits a thanksgiving and therefore appears to move from the salutation right into the body of the letter, though one could argue that the benedictions in 2 Cor. 1:3–7 and Eph. 1:3–14 parallel the thanksgivings in the other letters. (As for Galatians, the rebuke in 1:6–10 takes on special significance when one realizes that it corresponds structurally to the section where the reader expects a warm word of thanksgiving to God.)

It is not always pointed out, however, that Philippians and Colossians differ from the other epistles by the inclusion of a substantive prayer of intercession following the thanksgiving (Phil. 1:9–11; Col. 1:9–12). To be sure, the distinction between petition and thanksgiving should not be pressed, since Paul can move from one to the other very easily, as in Rom. 1:8–10 and Philem. 4–6 (and may not the assurance in 1 Cor. 1:8 also be understood as an expression of Paul’s prayer?). Moreover, the prayer in 2 Thess. 1:11–12, though somewhat removed from the thanksgiving in verses 3–4, certainly parallels Phil. 1:9–11 and Col. 1:9–12.

In spite of these qualifications, Philippians and Colossians correspond to each other so closely, both structurally and conceptually, that the relationship deserves special attention. The exposition that follows, therefore, divides the introduction into three sections:

A. Salutation (1:1–2)

B. Thanksgiving (1:3–8)

1. Initial statement (1:3–5)

2. Expansion (1:6–8)

C. Prayer (1:9–11)

Exegesis and Exposition

1[From] Paul and Timothy, servants of ⌜Christ Jesus⌝, to all in Philippi, including overseers and deacons, who are holy through their union with Christ Jesus: 2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

3⌜I thank⌝ my God every time I remember you [or, for your every remembrance of me]—4yes, always, in every prayer of mine on behalf of all of you; and it is with joy that I make my prayer 5because of your participation in the work of the gospel from ⌜the⌝ beginning of your faith until this very moment.

6Moreover, I am confident of this truth: the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of ⌜Christ Jesus⌝. 7And indeed it is right that I should feel this way about all of you—for I hold you dear in my heart [or, because you hold me dear in your heart], since you all have participated with me in the grace of my apostolic ministry, both when I have been in chains and when I have defended and confirmed the gospel. 8Truly God is ⌜my⌝ witness how I long for all of you with the intense love of Christ Jesus.

9Now this is what I am praying for: that your love may ⌜abound⌝ more and more in knowledge and in total discernment, 10so that you may approve the things that really matter and thus show yourselves pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11that is, filled with the fruit of right conduct that comes through Jesus Christ ⌜to the glory and praise of God⌝.

A. Salutation (1:1–2)

The standard opening in the letters of the Hellenistic period consisted of three words: name of sender (nominative case), name of addressee (dative case), and the infinitive χαίρειν (chairein, usually translated “greeting”).1 Variations were minor: inversion of sender and addressee, further identification of the sender, and strengthening of the greeting (e.g., by adding the infinitive ἐρρῶσθαι, errōsthai, good health).

Paul follows the convention in general yet imparts his own distinctiveness by changing chairein to the cognate χάρις (charis, grace), which calls attention to the very essence of the Christian message; by adding εἰρήνη (eirēnē, peace), a reminder of the rich themes of spiritual welfare evoked by the Hebrew equivalent, שָׁלוֹם (šālôm); and by specifying the true source of our well-being, “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Note that 1 and 2 Timothy add ἔλεος, eleos, mercy; further, Colossians and 1 Thessalonians vary slightly from this format.)

It is also instructive, however, to note certain variations that turn up when we compare the greetings in Paul’s epistles. First, Paul in Philippians includes Timothy as one of the senders. This feature is also found in 2 Corinthians, Colossians, and Philemon, while 1–2 Thessalonians include Silvanus (Silas) as well as Timothy (1 Corinthians mentions Sosthenes; Galatians has “all the brethren who are with me”).

Although commentators are correct in pointing out that this feature does not indicate coauthorship, it would be a mistake to ignore or downplay its significance. Not only was Timothy actively involved in the evangelization of Macedonia and Achaia (Acts 16–18), but he also appears to have provided special support for Paul during the latter’s imprisonment (Phil. 2:20–22), a factor that accounts for Timothy’s inclusion in the salutations of Colossians and Philemon. There is also good reason to believe (see comments on 2:19–30) that the Philippians had a strong attachment to Timothy. This faithful minister, therefore, constituted a link that bonded the apostle with his Macedonian congregation; it would have been surprising had his name been omitted.

It should further be noted that the inclusion of Timothy’s name was more than a friendly or sentimental gesture. Paul, though self-conscious of his unique apostolic authority, did not intend to monopolize the attention of his converts; and his teachings, while distinctive in emphasis (“my gospel,” Rom. 2:16; 16:25; 2 Tim. 2:8), were hardly idiosyncratic in substance. We may then recognize that the apostle, by joining Timothy’s name to his, calls upon his coworker as a corroborating witness of the truths he expounds. Timothy, in turn, lends his influence and authority to Paul’s words, which he commends as an expression of his own thoughts.

Second, notice the omission of ἀπόστολος (apostolos, apostle). It is intriguing to find that of the four epistles in which Paul does not introduce himself as an apostle, three were addressed to Macedonian churches: Philippians and 1–2 Thessalonians (the fourth is Philemon, where the delicacy of the occasion, as seen especially in verses 17–20, accounts for this feature). In view of the early date of 1–2 Thessalonians (and assuming a later date for Galatians), we may consider the possibility that Paul had not yet found it necessary to emphasize his apostolic authority, which began to suffer systematic challenges during the third missionary journey (so also Perkin 1986: 99). On the other hand, we should note 1 Thess. 2:7–8, 17–20 and 3:1–10, passages that suggest a special and mutual affection bonding Paul with the believers in Thessalonica.

However we explain the absence of apostolos in 1–2 Thessalonians, its absence in Philippians is generally understood as evidence of the warm relationship existing between Paul and the saints in Philippi. Not only was there no need to remind the Philippians of Paul’s authority—Paul may have even considered such a reminder inappropriate in view of the character of this epistle as, at least in part, a thank-you note.

Third, Paul identifies himself and Timothy as δοῦλοι (douloi, servants, slaves). This designation, although common in Paul, occurs in the salutation of only two other letters, Romans and Titus. Here it takes on special significance precisely because it replaces apostolos. In view of the prominence that Philippians gives to the subject of humility, we can hardly doubt that Paul is here exploiting the word’s reference to lowly service rather than suggesting the notion of privileged position.2

I find it somewhat misleading, however, to say that “the word has pejorative force here.”3 Since “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25), the humility that appears contemptible to unbelievers receives God’s praise. Moreover, the truth that he who was rich “became poor” by taking the form of a doulos (2 Cor. 8:9; Phil. 2:7) injects into this word, paradoxically, an undeniable dignity. Thus, quite apart from the Hebrew OT use of עֶבֶד (ʿebed, servant) with reference to the prophetic office, the Greek doulos in Christian parlance is not an insult, but the highest commendation possible.

It has often been pointed out that this passage is the only instance in the Pauline letters in which the apostle shares the title doulos with anyone else. Hawthorne (1983: 3–4) puts great emphasis on this fact: he calls it “a radical departure from Paul’s standard procedure” and argues that Paul was here willing to share “his otherwise carefully and jealously guarded uniqueness” to teach the Philippians a lesson in humility. This remark seems to me an overstatement, since Paul clearly had no reservations about using the term σύνδουλος (syndoulos, fellow-servant) with reference to Epaphras and Tychicus (Col. 1:7; 4:7; Hawthorne accepts the Pauline authorship of Colossians); but I would not wish to deny that an element of humility is indeed present here.

Fourth, we should note the unique reference to ἐπισκόποις καὶ διακόνοις (episkopois kai diakonois, overseers and deacons). As is well known, the Pastoral Epistles, and 1 Tim. 3 in particular, stress the importance of these two church offices, though this factor is interpreted by large segments of current scholarship as evidence of a late date. Outside the Pastorals, the word episkopos and the related term πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros, elder) do not occur at all in the Pauline corpus. Clearly, the presence of episkopois and diakonois here requires some explanation.

One suggestion is to understand these titles as functional (describing activity) rather than official in some technical sense. However, though Paul can certainly refer to church workers without specifying an office (cf. Rom. 12:8; Gal. 6:6; 1 Thess. 5:12), here he must have “in view individual members of the congregation who are unequivocally characterised by the designation. . . . Otherwise the addition has no meaning” (H. Beyer, TDNT 2:616). It seems clear t...