Self-Giving Love: The Book of Philippians

By Dean Flemming

“Have this mind among yourselves..."

Everyone needs examples. We all need mentors we admire and after whom we can pattern our lives. Without them, we will not mature.

Philippians is a letter full of good examples. Paul, Epaphroditus, and Timothy are all portrayed as exemplars. But none is more important than Jesus himself. In Self-Giving Love, Dean Flemming shows how Jesus and the story of his self-emptying love are the very heart of Philippians. This ultimate example provides a lens for clearly seeing the rest of the letter. By emulating Jesus' radical love, we will become mature, foster unity, and find joy.

Self-Giving Love presents the message and themes of Philippians in a concise and accessible guide, with probing questions for reflection and discussion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Release date: Jan 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781683594499

Dean Flemming

Dean Flemming (PhD, Aberdeen) is Professor of New Testament and Missions and MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas. He has spent more than twenty years as a missionary educator in Asia and Europe and is author of several books, including Contextualization in the New Testament, which won a 2006 Christianity Today Book Award.

Book preview

Reading

1

INTRODUCTION

Tell me a story! I can’t tell you how many times I spoke those words when I was a child. I directed them to my mom, my dad, my grandmother, my teacher at school—anyone who would listen. These days, my mind still stands on tip-toe when I hear a meaningful, well-told story, whether from a preacher, a teacher, a favorite novelist, or a biblical writer. As human beings, we are wired to love stories. Stories are basic to who we are and how we interpret the world around us. Even in his letter to the Philippians, Paul, in effect, tells a story. But this is not just any story. For Paul, it is the story of stories, the story that is at the heart of everything God is doing in the world. The story of Christ that Paul narrates in chapter 2 not only becomes a key to understanding the message of Philippians, but it also has the potential to shape the character of our Christian lives today. I invite you to join me in listening to the story that emerges from Philippians, a letter that has profoundly enriched and challenged my own life in Christ.

Overview

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians has been called a small gem.¹ Although one of the shortest of Paul’s letters, it remains one of the most beloved by the church. Surely this is partly due to the letter’s joyful, affectionate tone. In contrast to letters such as 1 Corinthians and Galatians, Philippians addresses a church with which Paul enjoys a warm, enduring partnership in the gospel (Phil 1:5). Near the beginning of the letter, he assures these Christians, God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus (1:8). Paul became this congregation’s spiritual father, founding it on his second missionary journey. But now his situation has changed. He writes this letter from prison, probably in Rome. In part, Paul writes to thank the Philippians for generously caring for him through their representative, Epaphroditus (4:10–20), and to assure them that his present imprisonment in no way hinders the progress of the gospel (1:12–26).

Map

This letter, however, is not in the first place about Paul. Above all, Philippians has to do with the advance of the gospel and the formation of a Christian community into the cross-shaped likeness of Christ. As a result, the main part of the letter is saturated with both examples for the Philippians to follow (see 1:12–26; 2:5–11, 19–30; 3:4–17) and instructions to heed (see 1:27–2:18; 4:2–9). At the very heart of these exhortations and examples, we encounter the story of Christ’s self-giving love (2:5–11), a story that shapes the character and mission of the church. What’s more, Paul brackets the entire letter with a pair of thanksgiving bookends: he begins and ends by expressing gratitude to his beloved friends in Philippi and thanking God for them (1:3–11; 4:10–20).

The Backstory

Why did Paul write this letter to this church? Paul’s reason for writing Philippians arises not only from his own situation as a prisoner of Rome, but also from the circumstances of the Christian congregation in Philippi. This letter has a backstory, one that Paul likely heard about from the Philippians’ messenger, Epaphroditus. Three aspects of the circumstances in Philippi help to shape Paul’s exhortations to the church. First, this local congregation apparently faced disagreements and interpersonal tensions within the church (Phil 4:2; we’ll say more about this later). Christian unity, then, emerges as an important theme in the letter (1:27; 2:1–4; 3:15). Second, Paul sees a potential threat on the horizon from Jewish Christian agitators (Paul calls them dogs and evildoers; see 3:2–4). It’s likely that Paul was concerned that these teachers might infiltrate the church, bearing a counterfeit teaching that supplemented the gospel by forcing gentile Christians to submit to the Jewish law, especially the practice of circumcision.

Third, the congregation in Philippi met serious opposition from people outside the church. Paul says that the Philippians were engaged in the same struggle as he was; they, too, were called to suffer for the sake of Christ (Phil 1:29–30). This harassment most likely stemmed from the Roman populace in their city. Philippi enjoyed the privileged status of a Roman colony. The city functioned like a miniature Rome, outside the capital. In such a setting, loyalty to Caesar and his empire would have been intense. In a city such as Philippi, all kinds of events—including public festivals and meetings of private associations, and even social events such as birthday parties—provided occasions to give honor to the emperor and the local gods that stood behind Caesar. Those who dared to worship a Lord other than Caesar likely would have been considered a threat to Rome and Rome’s colony. Consequently, "Christians in Philippi might experience the kind of ostracism, discrimination, or even violence that