As might have been expected, the thanksgiving for the Christian state of the readers is in this epistle of unusual cordiality. In the mention of their "fellowship in furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now," there is perhaps a delicate allusion to the material assistance which they had sent him from time to time and especially a little while before the writing of the letter; but such material assistance was for Paul of course not the only, or even the principal, manifestation of their fellowship. Here as often, the thanksgiving runs over into a prayer--and this time it is a prayer of singular beauty and depth.
3. PROGRESS OF AFFAIRS IN ROME. Phil. 1:12-30
In this section, Paul hastens to relieve the minds of his readers about the course of events in Rome. Even his bonds, and the jealousy of certain preachers, have resulted only in the furtherance of the gospel. With regard to the outcome of his trial, there is every reason to be hopeful. For his part he would prefer to depart and to be with Christ, but there is still work for him to do. And whether he is present or absent, let the Philippians give him joy by living in a manner worthy of the gospel, and by being steadfast in the persecutions which are bound to come to them as well as to him. It is a high privilege not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for him.
With the utmost earnestness, Paul here appeals to his readers to keep their Christian life free from selfishness and quarreling. The stupendous "Christological" passage of the epistle, vs. 5-11, which has given rise to endless discussion, is introduced merely in an incidental way, in order to strengthen the apostle's exhortation. So it is frequently in the letters of Paul. The apostle was always able to make the profoundest verities of the faith immediately effective in conduct. Theology in Paul was never divorced from practice. The converse of the proposition, however, is also true. If Paul's theology did not exist apart from practice, neither did his practice exist apart from theology. It is the latter proposition which needs to be emphasized to-day. Modern liberalism has sometimes endeavored to reproduce Paul's religion apart from his theology; but the effort has resulted in failure.