Signs of Healthy Church Members Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 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. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in
Introduction Authorship Paul authored Philippians during his imprisonment in Rome around AD 60-62. Internal evidence of Paul’s authorship includes his name being in the introduction (Phil 1:1) and the writing of the letter in general—“the entire style and wording ring with Pauline tones.”[i] Commentator H.A.A. Kennedy sums up the internal evidence saying, “Perhaps no Pauline epistle bears more conclusively the stamp of authenticity. There is an artlessness, a delicacy of feeling, a frank outpouring of the heart which could not be simulated.”[ii] External evidence for Pauline authorship consists of: Those who quote the Letter early—often specifically mentioning it as by Paul—include Ignatius,
