PHILIPPIANS,
EPISTLE
TO
By
reverent
obedience
let
them
work
with
God
and
effect
His
will
of
good
towards
them,
so
that
at
the
last
day
the
Apostle
and
his
beloved
Phihppians
may
rejoice
in
what
the
gospel
has
done
for
them.
(v.)
The
promise
to
send
Timothy,
and
the
commendation
of
Epaphroditus
to
ih£
Philippians
(2'3-30).
(vi.)
Christian
progress
through
the
knowledge
of
Jesus
Christ,
3^-4'.
To
sum
up
his
letter,
the
Apostle
would
say,
'
Rejoice
in
the
Lord.'
But,
as
though
suddenly
reminded
of
a
danger,
he
returns,
even
at
the
risk
of
wearying
them,
to
a
wamingagainstthejudaists—
dogs,
evil
workers,
mutilators
of
the
flesh.
He
who
beUeves
in
Christ
alone
as
a
sufficient
Saviour
is
the
true
Israelite.
St.
Paul,
who
had
enjoyed
every
Hebrew
privilege,
knows
of
how
small
value
they
were
for
attaimng
true
righteousness,
and
now
he
boasts
only
in
Christ.
For
personal
knowledge
of
Him
he
will
gladly
lose
all
else,
in
order
that
he
may
get
the
righteous-ness
which
is
from
God
by
faith,
and
in
close
union
with
Him
may
realize
the
meaning
of
His
sufferings,
death,
and
resurrection.
Christian
perfection
is
still
in
the
distance,
but
all
who
have
been
laid
hold
of
by
Christ
must
respond
by
striving
eagerly
for
perfect
fellowship
with
Him.
The
mature
Christian
must
keep
on
in
the
path
of
progress,
and
not
be
misled
by
teaching
which
will
end
in
an
earthly
goal
and
the
rejection
of
the
cross.
St.
Paul
and
his
followera
are
to
be
their
example,
for
their
Commonwealth
and
its
ideals
are
above,
whence
Christ
will
soon
come
to
transfigure
them
into
His
likeness.
Wherefore
let
this
Church,
which
will
be
his
crown
at
that
day,
stand
fast
in
the
Lord.
ivii.)
Conclusion,
42-19.
a)
Exhortations
to
individuals
to
unity
(w.2-
s).
Pos-y
'yoke-fellow'
(v.^)
refers
to
Epaphroditus,
or
more
probably
it
should
be
translated
'
Synzygus,'
a
proper
name.
(6)
St.
Paul
their
example
for
Christian
joy
and
conduct
(w.'-').
(c)
Thanks
for
their
gifts
and
for
their
many
past
favours.
Contented
as
he
is
with
whatever
God
sends,
ne
might
have
done
without
them,
but
they
will
add
interest
to
the
account
of
the
Philippians
,
and
he
gives
them
a
receipt
in
full
which
God
will
acknowledge
(w.!"-!^).
(viii.)
Doxology
and
final
greetings
(w.^''-^^).
4.
Purpose
and
Characteristics.
—
Epaphroditus
had
fallen
sick
at
Rome
before
his
work
of
love
for
St.
Paul
was
done,
and
the
news,
having
reached
Philippi,
cast
the
Church
into
anxiety;
Epaphroditus
in
his
turn
having
heard
of
their
alarm
has
grown
home-sick.
St.
Paul
uses
the
occasion
of
his
return
to
set
their
mind
at
rest
about
his
own
imprisonment
for
the
gospel,
and
to
deal
with
some
affairs
about
which
they
had
informed
him.
The
letter
is
so
thoroughly
personal
that
it
has
no
plan
or
any
single
aim.
He
thanks
the
Philippians
for
their
gift,
crowning
many
acts
of
generosity
towards
him,
and
yet,
lest
they
should
feel
that
he
was
too
dependent
upon
them,
he
reminds
them
that
it
is
their
spirit
that
he
values
most.
Again
he
warns
them
against
a
Judaistic
gospel,
and
is
urgent
in
seeking
to
compose
personal
jealousies
of
two
of
the
women
workers.
His
gospel
is
the
only
one,
and
it
is
the
gospel
of
love.
His
union
with
Christ
fills
him
with
love
and
content-ment,
and
thrills
the
lonely
prisoner
with
joy,
which
may
be
called
the
note
of
the
Epistle,
and
he
hopes
by
this
letter
to
impart
some
ol
this
spirit
to
the
Philippians
also.
Should
the
view
that
St.
Paul
was
not
acquitted
be
correct,
this
letter
might
be
called
'
his
last
testament
to
his
beloved
Church';
but
there
is
good
reason
to
believe
that
his
hope
of
release
was
fulfilled.
Philippians
is
an
excellent
example
of
the
Pauline
method
of
sustaining
Christian
life
by
doctrinal
truth
which
is
the
outcome
of
personal
experience.
Human
thought
has
made
few
nobler
flights
into
the
mystery
of
redemption
than
Ph
2«-",
but
it
is
used
to
exalt
the
homely
duty
of
sacrifice
in
the
ministry
of
fellowship.
Like
2
Co
8',
the
dynamic
of
the
truth
lies
not
in
an
intellectual
interpretation
of
the
mystery
of
Christ's
personality,
for
little
is
told
further
than
that
He
was
in
His
nature
essentially
Divine,
and
enjoyed
the
preroga-tives
of
Divinity;
but
it
lies
in
the
fact
that
St.
Paul
had
learned
from
his
own
Intercourse
with
the
risen
Christ
His
extraordinary
power
and
grace
as
the
eternal.
Divine
Son
of
God.
Everything
earthly
becomes
worth-less
in
comparison
with
the
excellency
of
the
knowl-edge
of
Christ
Jesus,
his
Lord.
The
contrast
between
PHILISTINES
His
earthly
life
of
suffering
and
death
and
the
eternal,
glorious
existence
involved
in
the
vision
of
the
risen
Lord,
has
become
the
religious
motive
of
supreme
efficacy.
Similarly
in
S*-"-
'"■
21
the
doctrine
is
deduced
from
experience,
and
is
to
be
wrought
into
character.
The
emphasis
on
the
practice
of
virtue,
especially
in
4'-",
is
said
to
reflect
the
finest
contemporary
teaching
of
the
pagan
world,
but
the
form
is
pervaded
with
the
purest
Christian
spirit.
5.
Authenticity
and
Integrity.
—
The
objections
urged
against
this
Epistle
by
Baur
and
his
followers
are
not
seriously
regarded
to-day,
and
have
been
abandoned
by
all
but
a
few
extremists
who
start
from
certain
pre-suppositions
as
to
primitive
Christianity,
and
are
offended
by
the
tone
of
3"
4',
as
well
as
by
the
abrupt
transition
in
3'-2.
The
recurrence
of
the
motives,
ideas,
and
language
of
the
great
Pauline
Epistles,
and
the
external
evidence
of
its
use
from
the
early
sub-Apostolic
age,
make
it
unnecessary
to
consider
the
objections
in
detail.
More
plausibility
attaches
to
the
theory
that
the
Epistle,
as
we
now
have
it,
consists
of
two
letters,
which
are
joined
at
32,
the
last
two
chapters
being
probably
earlier
and
addressed
to
different
readers.
In
support
of
this,
appeal
is
made
to
Polycarp's
letter
to
the
Philippians
(iii.
2),
where
the
words
'who
also
wrote
you
letters'
are
held
to
prove
that
they
had
not
then
been
united.
But
in
itself
this
supposition
is
baseless;
and
Polycarp,
who
knew
apparently
only
our
letter,
may
either
have
heard
of
others
which
St.
Paul
wrote
to
the
Philippians
or
have
employed
the
term
loosely;
or
perhaps
he
was
referring
to
a
collection
of
St.
Paul's
Epistles
used
widely
tor
edification
by
all
the
Churches.
The
abruptness
in
3'-
2,
however,
is
explained
by
the
fact
that
St.
Paul
is
expressing
himself
freely
in
an
intimate
letter
to
his
friends,
and
perhaps
it
was
partly
due
to
something
in
their
letter
to
him
which
he
suddenly
remembered.
R.
A.
Falconeh.
PHILISTIA.
—
See
next
art.
and
Paiebiine.
PHILISTINES.—
The
inhabitants
of
the
Maritime
Plain
of
Palestine
(cf.
art.
Palestine,
1)
from
the
period
of
the
Judges
onward
to
the
6th
cent,
or
later.
They
are
said
to
have
come
from
Caphtor
(Am
9',
Jer
47<,
Dt
2"),
which
is
with
much
probability
identified
with
Crete.
At
all
events
they
came
from
over
the
sea.
Kameses
iii,
of
the
XX
th
Egyptian
dynasty
encountered
a
piratical
sea-faring
people
on
the
borders
of
Syria,
whom
he
called
Purusati
(,
=
Pulista
or
'
Philistines
'
)
.
'They
afterwards
made
incursions
on
the
northern
coast
of
Egypt
as
well
as
on
the
coast
of
Palestine.
In
the
latter
country
they
gained
a
permanent
foothold,
owing
to
its
disorganized
condition.
When
Wenamon
made
his
expedition
to
Leb-anon
for
a
king
of
the
XXIst
dynasty
(c.
1100),
a
Philistine
kingdomexistedatDor.
(For
these
facts
cf.Breasted,A?jcien<
Records,
iv.
274
£f.,
and
History
of
Egypt,
p.
513.)
The
Philistines
first
make
their
appearance
in
Biblical
history
late
in
the
period
of
the
Judges,
when
Samson,
of
the
tribe
of
Dan,
is
said
to
have
waged
his
curious
single-handed
combats
with
them
(Jg
13-16).
These
conflicts
were
the
natural
result
of
the
impact
of
the
Philistines
upon
Israel's
western
border.
The
reference
to
the
Philistines
in
Jg
3"
is
a
later
insertion
(cf.
Israel,
§1.
11).
During
the
time
of
Eli
these
invaders
were
trying
to
make
their
way
into
the
central
ridge
of
Palestine,
and
in
one
of
the
battles
captured
the
ark
of
Jahweh,
which
a
pestilence
(probably
bubonic
plague)
induced
them
to
return
(1
S
4-6).
When
Saul
became
king
the
Philistines
tried
to
break
his
power,
but
were
defeated
through
the
bravery
of
Jonathan
(1
S
13.
14).
Saul
did
not
permanently
check
their
progress,
however,
as
by
the
end
of
his
reign
the
whole
of
the
rich
plain
of
Jezreel
was
in
their
possession,
including
the
city
of
Bethshean
at
its
eastern
end
(1
S
311").
David
early
in
his
reign
inflicted
upon
them
a
severe
defeat
(2
S
S'''i'-),
afterwards
reducing
them
to
vassalage
(2
S
8').
Down
to
this
time
Philistine
power
was
concentrated
in
the
hands
of
the
rulers
of
