1Paul and Timotheus [Timothy], the [omit the] servants of Jesus Christ [Christ Jesus], to all the saints in Christ Jesus, which [who] are at Philippi, with the 2[ omit the] bishops [overseers] and deacons [helpers]: Grace (be) unto you and peace, from God our Father and from [ omit from] the Lord Jesus Christ.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Php_1:1. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.—(
Ðáῦëïò êáὶ Ôéìüèåïò äïῦëïé ×ñéóôïῦ Ἰçóïῦ
.) See on Eph_1:1 and Col_1:1. Timothy is not mentioned here as joint writer of the Epistle (Meyer), for the first person singular immediately follows in Php_1:3, and in Php_2:19 Paul appears as his director, nor for the sake of honoring him and of securing him greater influence in the church (Schenkel). [It has excited surprise that Luke is not named here as well as Timothy, since he was with Paul at Philippi, when the church was gathered (Act_16:11), and was with Paul at Rome shortly before the time when he wrote to the Colossians (Php_4:14). It is conjectured that some unknown exigency may have called him away from Paul just at the time when he wrote this epistle.—H.] The designation servants (
äïῦëïé
) marks their common relation to the Lord of the church, and corresponds to the familiar character of the epistle, as well as its object, which was to express his thanks for the supplies sent to him from Philippi. The church has by this act served not merely Paul and Timothy, but the Lord whose servants they are. Bengel: Familiarius scribit ad Philippenses, quam ad eos, ubi se apostolum nominat. Sub hoc prædicato communi discipulum Timotheum mediate vocatum sibi human-issime adjungit, qui recens Paulo adjunctus Philippos venerat (Act_16:3-12).—[We certainly miss here Paul’s customary official title of Apostle, omitted elsewhere only in his two earliest Epistles, namely, those to the Thessalonians, and that to Philemon, which relates to a private matter. We are to attribute this, says Schenkel (Briefe an die Epheser, etc., p. 112), not to his courteous regard for Timothy, for he assumes the title in Col_1:1, where, as here, he associates Timothy with himself; but to the almost purely personal occasion of the letter, and its tone of familiarity, which naturally left out of view his official position. Besides, no one here at Philippi had assailed his apostolic authority, and hence he had no reason for giving prominence to his official dignity.—H.]—To all the saints in Christ Jesus, who are at. Philippi.—Comp. Eph_1:1.
Ðᾶóé ôïῖò ἁãßïéò
, comprises all the members of the church. It is worthy of notice that this “all” recurs again and again, as in Php_1:4; Php_1:7-8; Php_1:25; Php_2:17; Php_2:26; Php_4:22. We are to attribute this to the orderly condition of the church, which rendered exceptions unnecessary; not to the ardor of his love (Meyer), or his impartiality with respect to the disagreement (Php_4:2-3) which existed in the church (De Wette), or by way of emphasis with respect to his more confidential friends, for whom chaps. 3 and 4 are intended (Heinrichs), or because he would include also those who had not contributed to his support (Hengel). On
ôïῖò ïὖóéí ἐí Öéëßððïéò
see Introduction, § 5, and on Eph_1:1, and Coloss. Php_1:1.—With bishops and assistants—
óὺí ἐðéóêüðïéò êáὶ äéáêüíïéò
. The
ἐðßóêïðïé
are the
ðñåóâýôåñïé
(Act_20:28),
ðïéìÝíåò
(Eph_4:11), the presbytery. At the head of the church stood, therefore, not one bishop, but several elders. Concerning the
äéÜêïíïé
see Act_6:1-2; 1Ti_3:8-9. llli tum interna, hi externa curabunt proprie (1Ti_3:2; 1Ti_3:8), nee tamen hi non interna, neque illinon externx. Hæc una ad Philippenses epistola ita inscribitur, ut cum emphatica paraphrasi conjungatur mentio episcoporum et diaconorum (Bengel). Paul indicates that as the individual members are united to each other (
ðᾶóé
), so the church with its officers forms a living, beautiful unity, as evinced also by the contribution sent to the Apostle and collected in the church by its officers. More remote, if at all involved, are the supposed references to the fact that it was a regularly constituted church (Rheinwald), which is not to be presumed as true only of the one at Philippi; to the recognition of officers in the church (wiesinger); to the special zeal of the bishops and deacons (Matthies); to Epaphroditus, as one who belonged to the
ἐðéóêüðïéò
(Grotius, et al.), or to the fact that the collection came from the members of the church, without its having an official character (Schenkel).
Php_1:2. Grace (be) unto you and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ,
×Üñéò ὑìῖí êáὶ åἰñÞíç ἀðὸ èåïῦ ðáôñὸò ἡìῶí êáὶ Êõñßïõ Ἰçóïῦ ×ñéóôïῦ
.—This accords with Eph_1:2, which compare.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
Comp. on Eph_1:1-2, and Col_1:1-2.
1. Paul comprises under
äïῦëïò ×ñéóôïῦ Ἰçóïῦ
the relation of both Timothy and himself as servants. So great and glorious is their Master that before Him all distinctions in rank and importance vanish. These distinctions are authorized, and yet care is to be taken that they be not overstrained, or hierarchically established, or abused. It is one thing for the Apostle in his humility to associate himself with his assistant, and quite another for the latter to arrogate to himself an equality with the former.
2. The Apostle in the first place distinguishes between the church and its servants; but, secondly, he does not separate the two, so that the servants stand exalted above the church, but places them in the church, from which they are taken, and for which they are employed. Thirdly, he distinguishes also the different servants of the church, and names some
ἐðßóêïðïé
and others
äéÜêïíïé
, without stating any thing more definite in regard to them, except that the former are employed especially in the training and instruction of the Church, the latter in the care of the poor and sick. But, fourthly, he unites these together as belonging to one body and subordinate to one head. Fifthly, he speaks of a single church as having not merely
äéÜêïíïé
, but also
ἐðßóêïðïé
, so that we do not discover here the beginning of the Episcopal system, but find rather a college of presbyters at the head of a single congregation.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Comp. on Eph_1:1-2; Col_1:1-2.
Be not confused by the distinctions among men, nor in the presence of them, that thou mayest clearly recognize the common position of all before the Lord. But do not, on account of this equality in His sight, despise the distinctions which He has appointed. Thou who art more highly honored, follow Paul; and thou who art less elevated follow Timothy. The pastor is not lord over the church which has a claim upon him and his office. The church may have stronger grounds of complaint against him than he against the church.
Starke:—One must not seek for saints in heaven only, but find them already upon earth. He who does not become a saint here will not be one there.
Rieger:—Paul places himself here by the side of his young co-laborer, Timothy, that others also may feel a well grounded confidence in him. The kingdom of Christ is throughout a kingdom of love. No one there desires to be alone, or misuses his gifts and advantages for the injury or depreciation of another, but, on the contrary, every one desires to lift up the younger and weaker ones, and to draw them after him. The welfare of the church is the main work. Bishops and servants are appointed to care for its interests and to maintain good order in it.
Schleiermacher:—When we say “peace,” we know that it is the deepest, grandest, expression of our hearts for the soul’s true welfare.
[Robert Hall:—“Peace,”Php_1:2. This was the term in which the primitive Christians were accustomed to salute each other in the common meetings, and in the streets, and market places. This was sanctified by Jesus Christ. He said: “My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you (by compliment, etc.): let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” They were accustomed to express all this by the term peace; and the best thing we can wish for our fellow-Christians and for ourselves is, that “peace may be multiplied.”—H.]
Schenkel:—The true importance of the office in its relation to the church: (1) as an office in the church; (2) as an office from the church; (3) as an office for the church.
Footnotes:
Ðñὸò Öéëéððçóßïõò
,
à
, A B F S K, et al.; D E have
ðñὸò Öéëéððçíóßïõò
preceded by
ἄñ÷åôáé
(found also in F G). There are fuller titles, as in the case of the Epistle to the Ephesians.
Php_1:1. [Timotheus occurs in the A. V. seventeen times and Timothy seven times, for
Ôéìüèåïò
, in Acts and the Epistles. The anglicized form is the easier one.-—H.]
Ibid.
×ñéóôïῦ Ἰçóïῦ
,
à
B D E, et al.; A is uncertain. F S K L have
Ἰçóïῦ ×ñéóôïῦ
. [Lachmann, Tischendorf, Meyer, Wordsworth, Lightfoot and others adopt the former collocation.—H.]
Ibid.
Óὺí ἐðéóêüðïéò
, B, et al.;
óõíåðéóêüðïéò
is a correction [and arose probably, says Ellicott, from the epistolary style of later times. The A. V. translates this Greek title by “overseers” in Act_20:28.—H.]
Ibid. [Instead of “deacons” (
äéáêüíïéò
), as in A. V., Braune renders “helpers” (Helfern), but Luther “servants” (Dienern.)—H.]
Php_1:2. [The Greek has no verb after
÷Üñéò
. Luther, whom Braune follows, omits the copula here. The A. V. in this elliptical form of salutation omits or supplies “be” without any rule. In respect to the nature of the ellipsis, see remarks on Philem., Php_1:4 (Vol. VIII., p. 12 b).—H.]
