The Letter of Paul to the PHILIPPIANS

Philippians overflows with joy and thanksgiving. Paul wrote this letter from prison in Rome (probably about A.D. 61) to the church in Philippi to thank them for a gift. Paul reported the joyful news that Epaphroditus, who had brought their gift to Paul, had recovered from his illness and was returning to Philippi. Paul said that he had learned the secret of being content in any situation, and he told them about this situation in prison. He expressed joy that more people were hearing about Christ even if some were proclaiming the gospel with bad motives. Wanting the Christians in Philippi to be unified, he challenged them to be servants just as Jesus was when he “made himself nothing” and became a man rather than clinging to the rights of his divine nature (2:1-11).

(Text taken from the English Standard Version, Introduction to Philippians. Copyright © 2001 Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers)