Letters

Philippians 1-Part 1
Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy.  Philippians 1:4


LET IT GLOW

How enjoyable it is to receive a personal letter in the mailbox. When I get one, I always look to see to whom and from whom it is written. Then I read the contents. The same thing happens with emails. Of course, we usually know right away who wrote it. A similar thing happened when I began reading this small book in the New Testament, which is only four chapters long. So I asked myself, "Who wrote this letter?" and "To whom was it written?"

I noticed that Paul included Timothy as a co-author of this epistle. He was with Paul when the church at Philippi was founded, eleven years earlier (Acts 16:1) and had been there since (Acts 19-20). Keep in mind that Paul was in Roman house arrest (Acts 28:30-31) waiting his appearance before Caesar.

In David Guzik's Commentaries on the Bible, he states:

Paul addresses the letter to three groups:
1. To all the saints in Christ Jesus: This means all the Christians in Philippi. All Christians are saints, but only
    in Christ Jesus. (Folks, this would include us.)
2. To the bishops: In a general sense, this speaks of those with leadership responsibilities.
3. To the deacons: Those who have a recognized position of service.

Now that we have that cleared up, we can continue into the meat of the Word. So what does Paul have to say to us? Let's find out.


LET IT GROW

In verse 2, Paul is sending us grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here's what Liberty Bible Commentary had to say about it:

Grace is the foundation and peace is the result. Where there is no grace, there can be no peace. Grace denotes unmerited favor and expresses God's sacrificial love to men. Peace expresses "the tranquil state of the soul assured of its salvation through Christ, a soul fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is." Peace is that harmony and health of the one who has been reconciled to God through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1-2). [emphasis is mine]

Of course we know that the grace and peace come from God and Christ. They are as one unit. We are God's children by new birth, so we can call Him Father. We live under Christ and serve Him, so we can call Christ our Lord.

I hope you continue to walk with me through Philippians. We're going to find out about Paul's joy. Got your empty cup ready to be filled with joy? Mine is.


LET IT GO

Have my eyes and ears wide open to what God has to say to me.

Seek grace and peace from my Lord Jesus.