This week’s passage completes the statement began in the previous couple of verses. And there is a lot in this brief sentence that brings encouragement into our lives.

See it for yourself in Philippians 1:5-6:

Paul began this sentence by stating that he is thankful for the Philippians and remembers them in his prayers with joy. The reason for that is given now: It is because they partnered with him in spreading the gospel.

This undoubtedly refers to the Philippians gift to Paul, helping support him and his ministry while he is in prison. But the significance runs deeper than that. The word for “partnership” here is the Greek word koinonia. This certainly includes the generosity of the Philippians, but goes beyond that indicating a partnership in sharing the gospel, or even sharing life in Christ.

The word koinonia is generally used to describe fellowship, but the term carries a much deeper significance. A basic understanding of this word could be stated as “a participation in something with someone,” but the specific definition depends upon the particular context. In this instance, the Philippians have shared, or koinonia-ed, with Paul in the Gospel, and that holds layer upon layer of significance, partly because the Philippians have been such partners from the very beginning.

Paul shifts from what the Philippians have done to what Jesus will do. Though the immediate context was the gift the Philippians sent, and that could be the good gift that God began in them, it makes more sense to see that the entire experience of living in Christ is in mind here.

This principle isn’t to applied only to the Philippians. This holds true for you and me today, as well. The work that God began in us, when we placed Jesus in control of our lives and submitted to his Lordship, will be completed. In other words, we aren’t finished yet. God is working, and will continue to work in our lives to produce in us the righteousness he desires.

This work will continue until Christ returns. The modern church has lost the sense of immediacy of Christ’s return. The New Testament is full of a sense of anticipation that the return of Christ was imminent. Now that we are centuries away from the life of Jesus, we have lost much of that sense of anticipation. We need to recapture that longing for an event that could happen at any given moment.

But that implies an further question or two. Do we really want that? And if so, are we ready for it?

Question: Do you long for the return of Christ? Why or why not? Are you ready? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

There is so much packed into the first few verses of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, that it would be easier to split his first couple of sentences into two separate parts, even though that means dividing it up mid-sentence.

Take a look at the first part in Philippians 1:3-4:

In order to examine this initial part of Paul’s letter, we will break it into four phrases. But before digging into those, it is helpful to understand that Paul follows a very common procedure in his letter writing during the first century, especially in this letter.

Letters in Paul’s day very commonly included an opening section that was filled with statements of thankfulness, or prayer, or even best wishes to the reader. In Paul’s case here, he fills this with thanksgiving for the church at Philippi. But before he is finished, we will see that he is thankful for several reasons. He is thankful for them overall. He is thankful because they remembered and supported him. He was thankful for their partnership in his ministry. He was thankful because God was working in their lives.

All of this comes out in the next few verses. We will look at a portion of this now, and examine the rest next week.

Paul begins perhaps one of the most encouraging letters in the New Testament in a most encouraging way. Using his standard greeting, with a few twists, he manages to convey a strong sense of encouragement to the people at Philippi.

Read it for yourself in Philippians 1:1-2:

As mentioned, there are a few twists to Paul’s greeting in this letter. First of all, he does not introduce himself as an apostle. He doesn’t need to. His apostleship is not in question in Philippi; they know well who Paul is.

Paul also includes Timothy in his greeting. Timothy may have been a big part of planting the church at Philippi, and he certainly was known to them. The implication here is that Timothy was with Paul as this letter was being written. Timothy is also included in the greetings of several other Pauline letters.

Finally, Paul identifies Timothy and himself as servants, or slaves. Paul is offering himself as a servant, and expecting the Philippians to follow his example.

Paul now turns to the recipients of his letter. He addresses “all the saints.” The word used here conveys the sense of being “set apart,” in much the same way as the words “sanctification” and “holiness” do. Paul frequently addresses his letters with the idea of “being in Christ.” In fact, this theme is central throughout all of Paul’s writings, and shows just how deep this understanding was in his own life.

Perhaps one of the most encouraging letters in the entire New Testament is the letter to the Philippians. As short as it is, it ranges from practical advice to intense worship, all in four chapters. Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi is one of my favorites, and is full of incredible stuff.

You can read Paul’s letter to the Philippians here.

Several years ago, I decided to make a stronger effort in my life to memorize Scripture. I began with the Sermon on the Mount, moved to a series of several key and favorite passages, and over the past three years, have worked on memorizing the letters of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus.

Sometimes this is easy, sometimes it becomes a bit more challenging. Some passages are easier to grasp than others it seems. But the effort has been well worth it, because I have a much more solid grasp on these portions of the Bible than I ever have before.

My next challenge to myself is to memorize Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi. This letter is probably one of my most favorite portions of the New Testament, simply because it is so encouraging and full of incredible insights. It’s difficult to imagine how so much can be packed into such a short amount of Scripture.

I plan to begin memorizing chapter one next week. This week, I want to give a brief overview of the letter and an introduction to Philippians.