How This Book Came About
Different books are written for different reasons. In his "Personal Foreword" to God Our Contemporary, J.B. Phillips writes, "I believe that modern man can never possess a faith which can both command his intelligent loyalty and influence every part of his thinking and feeling until he discovers the unique authority of Jesus Christ." It was out of that significant personal conviction his book grew. The little volume of mine which you now hold in your hand is the realization of a dream. It was a dream which lasted for years. I should like to tell you about it.
I think I have always loved the Bible since I was old enough to read. Certainly I have always respected it. Perhaps there were times when I feared it. I began to become acquainted with it as a mere child. My father, who had been an agnostic, suddenly came to know Jesus in a very realistic way. It made a profound change in his life, and in ours. Although he had little formal schooling, he resolved that his children would not grow up ignorant of God's revelation. We had daily studies of the Word as a family. By the time I was twelve years old I had been completely through the Bible twice. That includes the genealogical charts with their list of "begets" as well. We did not skip any part of it.
At first I read it because I had to. It was one of the daily chores, like filling the woodbox behind the stove or feeding the chickens. Eventually I no longer looked upon it as a task to be fulfilled, but as a blessing to be enjoyed. It was then it "came alive" to me. As I began to write books of exposition of its teaching, and to share my growing insights, there was a deepening realization that I would some day, if my life was spared, write a kind of running commentary on one of the apostolic letters.
I wanted to do this because I knew that each of these letters had grown out of a situation, or a combination of conditions, which called for advice, counsel and assistance. It seemed logical that if one were to be able to interpret them properly, he must first place them back in their historical settings. They needed to be looked at in their own frame of reference. I thought about all of them, but each time I reviewed them I kept coming back to Philippians. This little volume is the result.
I was motivated in the selection by several factors. It was a letter of thanks to a community of saints which Paul had planted. From the very first they had been deeply concerned about him. They had shared with him their material blessings more than once. However, they had lost track of him for a long time, but learning of his imprisonment in Rome, they gathered up those things which would relieve his needs. They sent their gift by the hands of one of their own members, Epaphroditus. He became seriously ill on the journey and almost died. The letter which he carried when he became well enough to return to Philippi was one of deep appreciation for the grace of God, and the thoughtfulness and generosity of the brethren.
This letter was written by a prison inmate. He was incarcerated because of his fidelity to the call of Christ. It is a letter of rejoicing. One is hard put to keep in mind that it was written by a prisoner. It puts hardship and persecution in proper perspective. It demonstrates how one can be free in spirit even while his body is chained. There are tremendous truths to be found in the four chapters into which we have divided this apostolic letter. The deciding factor, however, was the link between the language of the letter and the geographical location of the congregation. Paul uses the word politeuma to describe their relationship to heaven. The word never appears anywhere else in Scripture. It is possible it would have served only to create wonderment, rather than enlightenment, elsewhere. But at Philippi it was especially appropriate, because Philippi was a Roman colony as Luke informs us in Acts 16:12.
Rome planted colonies at strategic points throughout the empire. These were not made up of conquered peoples, but of Romans. They were primarily to preserve the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome. This was the great dream of the Romans. Universal peace would be secured by recognition of one lord, the Emperor. Every year upon his birthday, every citizen in the world was expected to burn a pinch of incense in front of his bust and audibly declare, "Caesar is lord!"
A Roman colony was a "little Rome." It was set down in an alien world, where its citizens were strangers and foreigners to the land in which they lived. They spoke Latin, the language of Rome. Their dress, their customs, their whole manner of life was dictated to them by Rome, not by the social customs of the people of the land. The education of their children was to enable them to be proud citizens of Rome. They were taught to look forward with great anticipation and expectancy to the coming of the Emperor. That coming was resplendent in glory and pageantry. The colony must be ready at all times. There was to be no shame if the coming was unannounced.
To the alert mind of the apostle the little community of saints was a colony planted in an alien world. It was there to propagate the peace of heaven. This was to be a universal peace to be achieved by acknowledging one Lord-Jesus Christ. Every week the disciples gathered about a table and ate and drank in memory of Him. The colony of the Spirit which began with Lydia and her household was "a colony within a colony," and the last was the pagan culture in which the first was set down.
This explains Paul's use of politeuma. It was the word for citizenship. After having encouraged them to be followers together of him, and to observe those who did follow him as an example, he declares, "For we are a colony of heaven; from which we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." What a thrill it must have been to the little persecuted minority in Philippi to realize they were actually a colony planted by heaven, set on a victorious course which would one day be world-shaking.
The careful reader will note that I have generally avoided the word "church." I have done so because it does not adequately translate the Greek ekklesia. It has become a theological term, and has taken on a kind of professional or institutional connotation. There is no indication in the Scriptures that God intended to form what we call the church. Certainly He did not design "churches," with their varied creeds, laws and concordats.
I have used the word "community," which seems to me to best render the word ekklesia. Congregation is a good term. It comes from the Latin grex, flock, and means "to flock together." But it also has suffered from the abuse of theologians, who tend to corrupt the words they use. Ekklesia literally means "called out," but it also implies a calling together, and in the case of God's call, it is a calling together into a fellowship, the sharing of eternal life. The community of God in any area embraces all who are a part of the family of God. It consists of all who have heard the call of God and have properly responded to it. There may be many "churches" in a city, but there is only one community of heaven. Churches embrace those who see things a certain way. The community of heaven is composed of all who have embraced Him as the Way. There is a difference in "the life of the church" and the community of the Life.
The word community suggests those who are bound together by a common tie. This common tie is not a creedal compilation, a written code, a particular opinion, or a special way of doing things. The tie that binds is faith in the person of Jesus. It was this which separated the community in Philippi from members of the Roman colony. As the Roman colony was planted about the standard of the Caesars, so the colony of heaven was planted around the cross of Jesus. The apostle wept when he told them that many were enemies of the cross of Christ.
The Roman colony consisted of mustered-out soldiers of the emperor. The colony of heaven consists of mustered-in soldiers of the King of kings. Rome had captured the material world. Blood had flown in streams, and universal peace, uneasy as it was, had been achieved and was being maintained by the sword. But the colony of heaven was engaged in a contest for the hearts of men. For this they were furnished the sword of the Spirit. The task of this colony has not altered. Its citizenry must have a strategy of world conquest, seeking to win men, not to itself but to the King of glory. We are engaged still in the great controversy of the ages. On one side is the philosophy that might makes right; on the other, that of right makes might. It is to be hoped that this little analysis of the letter written by an ambassador in chains may help us all to renew our efforts for the kingdom.
CONTENTS
Chapter 1: The Community in Philippi
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