Written by Larry M. Jaynes:

One of the reasons that the Epistle of Philippians was written is to show us a group of believers who were practicing the truths contained on the practical side of Ephesians chapters 4-6.  The Church of believers in Philippi had been walking together in unity as Ephesians describes, further setting an example for the believers of today to also receive God’s spiritual blessings so that we may enjoy God’s divine grace and peace.  The Epistle further encourages believers to stay the course they are on, for this will perpetuate their continued spiritual inner revival that has begun growing within their very hearts.

Philippians 1:2 – Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

In all the Church Epistles, grace and peace are always mentioned in each salutation. The lesson in the salutation of grace and peace is that we need God’s grace daily, and that we can come to enjoy our lives immersed in the peace that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ gives.

Philippians 1:3-5:
-3:  I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
-4:  Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
-5:  For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

Every time the Apostle Paul thought about the believers he thanked his God for their lives. The word “request” in the Greek Text has reference to praying for personal needs, it is praying with a specific request in mind, and that prayer request was made known to the Apostle Paul as well as other believers in their area. God is truly our sufficiency, and as He continues answering our prayers, we will begin to offer them even more to Him with joy. In Philippians we find that not only was God answering their prayers but because they shared their prayer requests with the other believers, the believers also saw that it was God Who answered their requests. Paul’s prayer was offered on their behalf with joy because the believers he was praying for were having “fellowship in the gospel.” Fellowship means a full sharing, and their sharing was in the Gospel. The word “gospel” literally means the good news. The Gospel of the good news that they were enjoying was in their full sharing of what God had blessed them with, the truths within the epistles. The believers were sharing God’s blessings and abundance with one another “from the first day until now,” for they had their fellowship in the Gospel which was becoming ever more real to them.

Philippians 1:6 – Being confident of this very thing, that he {God} which hath begun a good work in you will perform it {perfect it} until the day of Jesus Christ:

The “good work in you” is that God has already placed the spiritual seed of Christ in you. The word “perform” means that the good work that God began, the work of placing Christ within will eventually bring the believers into perfection and full maturity, which will occur when Christ returns for us. Christ will return for us on the day the Scriptures call “the day of Jesus Christ.” Paul had great confidence in the truth that Christ who is within us can strengthen our believing to continue walking with God, and in the end when Christ returns, our lives will be perfected. Our earthly bodies will be changed to bring us (literally) beyond the gates of heaven, all the way into the very presence of the Creator, seated at His table, in His throne room.