Philippians--The Epistle of Joy

“Joy: The mood of one who is pleased or delighted.” C. S. Lewis wrote his autobiography which he called, Surprised by Joy. In it he says that joy and happiness are not the same. Happiness may be a prolonged state of well being brought on and maintained by one's fortunate circumstances. Joy is more like a surprise, not necessarily resulting from one’s circumstance, but appearing suddenly, and bringing great delight. Wordsworth expressed the same feeling when he wrote, “My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky.” When Paul wrote this letter he was in prison, not in a place that would be conducive to a delightful mood, or could it provide a state of sustained happiness. Lewis understood what Paul meant by “joy.” Paul’s dear work fellow, Ephroditus had just arrived from the church at Philippi with a gift for him. He had been in need, and, not free to make and market tents as he had been doing for years; he needed help. Just imagine that day when Paul was weary with his plight and suddenly a guard announced, “Paul, someone is here to see you.” What a surprise! What joy! This love and the thought of Christ’s love for him filled his heart with joy. This joy was Paul’s motivation for writing this Epistle of Joy to his beloved church at Philippi.


When Paul was at Troas in Asia, he saw a vision of a man from Macedonia in Europe saying, “Come over and help us.” He responded by going to Philippi, converting Lydia and the jailor with his family. With there in 51AD, he established the Philippian church, which sent aid to him several times when he was away on mission. Now, years have passed and he is in prison at Rome. But his beloved church remembers him and sent aid to him by Epaphroditus, who took this letter from Paul back to his beloved brothers and sisters at Philippi. This church was one of the purest and most faithful of all the churches. For this reason this letter is called, “The Epistle of Joy.” Silas had helped Paul establish this church and Timothy was with him in Rome. But in this dark cell he is alone, except that Christ lived in him mightily. He had been in jail at Philippi and now his church is being persecuted while he is imprisoned in Rome. He had no reason to scold them; he wanted only to encourage them. This letter is his encouragement.

Chapter 1
“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1, 2). Instead of declaring his apostleship, Paul declared himself a bond-servant of Christ. All true believers are bond-servants of Christ, having been purchased by his blood. And all true believers are saints because they are holy. The church at Philippi, along with all the other congregations, was independent and autonomous, having its own “bishops (elders) and deacons.” Paul planted many independent churches and returned to ordain men who had become qualified to fill these offices. There was no hierarchy, diocese, synod, etc. in those days. All such governing entities, along with their traditions and creeds, evolved over a long period of time, changing the original church into something far different from what it was originally.

“Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Grace and peace were what the persecuted church needed. You who take this letter seriously will also find grace and peace in this “epistle of joy.”

“I thank God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is right for me to feel thus about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and conferment of the gospel , you are all partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (3-11).

From chapter one, learn:
· True believers pray for one another.
· Prayer is a privilege and a joy.
· Each believer is a partner in the gospel.
· Whatever God has begun in our lives, he will complete.
· Our united witness defends and confirms the gospel.
· We should “yearn” to be together because Christ’s affection is in our hearts.
· Our love should “abound more and more” as we gain greater knowledge and discernment.
· With this growth we will “approve what is excellent” and keep ourselves pure and blameless –pure because our sins are forgiven and blameless because there are no charges against us.

What marvelous lives we will live if we indentify with Paul in these matters. We too will be “filled with the fruits of righteousness” by Christ working in us. And our lives will bring “glory and praise to God.”

We need to study and learn this letter well. Better yet, we need to live it well. Paul wrote it while rejoicing; it will fill our hearts with the same joy. Read it thoroughly and prayerfully; understand and appreciate what you are reading. Then share it with others. We need to study with both our minds and our hearts, with understanding and deep feelings about what we have come to understand.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.