Philippians 1: 3 “I thank my God every time I remember you.”
This book is powerful! Paul really preached the word through this letter. It’s obvious from the writing that there must have been a great love shared between Paul and the Christians in the city of Philippi.
Philippians 1: 4 “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy”
This book is powerful because you sense, you feel, the love between Paul and the Christians of Philippi.
Philippians 1: 6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
The city of Philippi was a quaint little rich Roman town consisting of a population of 150,000 during Paul’s’ visits.
“Ten miles inland from the harbor city of Neapolis was Philippi. It was one of the principle cities of Macedonia and was historically famous in the annals of both Greece and Rome.” “…Philippi considered itself as being an entirely Roman city. Its citizens were Roman citizens who enjoyed all the rights and privileges of such: exemption from scourging, from arrest except in extreme cases, and the right to appeal to the emperor. The official language was Latin. They were governed by their own magistrates…” “From our point of interest, Philippi is the first place in Europe where the gospel was preached.”
Philippi received its wealth from local gold and silver mines that kept a nice, very nice, revenue stream flowing into the city.
“Philippi boasted all the amenities of a Roman city: theater, magnificent entry arch, temples, elaborate baths, library and a large forum where business was conducted. Lydia, whom Paul and Luke met outside the city by the river, may have had a booth here for her purple dye business. The wearing of purple garments was restricted to the ruling Classes.”
Philippians 1: 8 “God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.”
And of course did we mention that Paul got into trouble in this city also? Actually, it would be a rare occurrence not to always find Paul getting into trouble with the local towns folk and authorities. But that of course is a good thing. If Paul didn’t find himself in trouble always then where would be the material for his letters? Let’s see, in one instance Paul removed evil spirits out of a woman that was making her owners a lot of bucks because of her fortune telling abilities. That really went over well with the locals. And of course Paul left his graffiti in the local Philippi jail cell. This is the jail time when God sent an earth quake to open the prison doors and release Paul’s chains. This is where the fellow in charge of the jail started to commit suicide because he thought his prisoners had flown the coup. But Paul cried out in the night time darkness that he was still there. Paul consequently brought salvation to this jail warden and his household. This jailer might have been the first conversion to Christianity on European soil.
Philippians 1: 12 “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.”
The city of Philippi technically was a part of Europe.
Philippians 1: 14 “Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.”
It was in Philippi that Paul met a local successful business woman who accepted the gospel along with her entire household.
“Apparently, the Jewish population of Philippi was so small that they did not even have a synagogue in which to worship, only a “place where prayer was customarily made” by the riverside. The first convert, Lydia, as exhibited by her conduct in offering her house and hospitality to Paul and his entourage, was a generous and kind woman, and her actions set the tone of generosity for this church.” “…Paul was in Philippi on three different occasions. His second visit was probably his longest.”
Of course this was Ms. Lydia who dealt in the dying and distribution of purple.
“Lydia is the first woman named in Scripture who is described as a retailer. Her name originally might have been the designation of her home. She came from Thyratira, a city in the western part of Lydia in Asia Minor.” “The fact that Lydia is described as a “seller of purple” (Acts 16:14) indicates that she was a wealthy and respected merchant.” “…Lydia was presumably a highly successful merchant. If she were in business today she would have a corporate headquarters and a television program or magazine touting her success.”
In those days purple belonged to the rich mans club as the process to extract the purple dye cost a fortune. It was said the purple dye was three times the value of gold per weight.
Philippians 1: 21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
“Purple was a symbol of power, and, above all, wealth. An ounce of good purple dye would cost many times more than a pound of gold.” “…it still took more than ten thousand Murex mollusks [shellfish] to make one raw wool toga into a purple “toga picta”. Someone had to know where the right varieties of Murex were found and had to dredge the spiny shellfish from the sea, and then they had beat and break them with iron bars — also dangerous work in the days before safety goggles. Then, after the slimy mess sat in the sun for several hours to let the color mature, someone had to wade into the now stinking mess to sop up the ooze and then dry it out.” “…the whole “purple” thing was about ostentatious expenditure — you wanted everyone to know you could afford real Tyrian Purple…”
Philippians 1: 23 “I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;”
A major Roman super highway came through Philippi and brought much traffic from the west and Rome and from the east in Asia Minor. For our purposes Paul made this highway famous for setting his feet on it.
“The Via Egnatia, the ancient Roman road which provided the main thoroughfare from the Adriatic, through Philippi, Greece, on to Macedonia and the Balkans. It was used by Roman officials, soldiers and merchants, like Lydia, as well as the road upon which St. Paul would have traveled from Asia minor.” “Rutted, chariot wheel tracks survive the Via Egnatia to this day. The ancient road bisects the site of Philippi into northern and southern sections as it did in Lydia and St. Paul’s time.”
It’s not a joke to call these Roman roads super highways as they were built better than the roads today. Many of these Roman roads are still in use after over 2,000 years. When the Roman civil engineering corp built it was for ever.
Philippians 1: 29 “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him,”
How do we sum up the book of Philippians?
“THE Epistle to the Philippians is a friendly letter of encouragement and exhortation addressed to a church which was in a prosperous and happy condition. Many causes conspired to make this church an object of Paul’s special regard. The circumstances attending his first visit to Philippi, as related Acts 16:9-40, were extraordinary; and the church which was planted at that time appears to have afterwards evinced, perhaps more than any other church, a strong and constant attachment to the apostle, and veneration for his authority. He repeatedly alludes, in this Epistle, to the proofs of friendly regard which he had continually been receiving from them.”
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