The Epistle of St Paul to the Philippians (Book of Philippians)

The Epistle to the Philippians, in the Vulgate Epistola ad Philippenses, is the warmest of St Paul's letters. A prisoner writes to friends who never stopped caring for him, thanks them for their gift, and begs them to be of one mind and to rejoice in the Lord. In four chapters and 104 verses it gives the Church one of its most precious passages on the mystery of Christ, the hymn of Philippians 2, and some of the best-loved counsels of the Christian life.

The author: St Paul and the witness of the early Church

St Paul the Apostle, with Timothy named beside him in the greeting: "Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ; to all the saints in Christ Jesus, who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons" (Philippians 1). Paul speaks in his own voice throughout: "of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; according to the law, a Pharisee," once "persecuting the church of God" (Philippians 3).

The witness of the early Church is early and unbroken. St Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna and disciple of St John, wrote to the same church in the early second century of "the blessed and glorified Paul," who "when absent from you, he wrote you a letter, which, if you carefully study, you will find to be the means of building you up in that faith which has been given you." The Muratorian Canon, St Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian ascribe the Epistle to Paul, and even the heretic Marcion kept it. The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1911 judges that on external grounds the question permits "no doubt."

Doubt arose only with the Tübingen school in the nineteenth century, and its arguments were answered; today nearly all scholars count Philippians among Paul's undisputed letters. Some modern writers propose that it joins two or three shorter notes into one, a theory that, the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, "met with little success." No decree of the Pontifical Biblical Commission was ever needed. For the Apostle's life, see our article on St Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Date and place: the Roman captivity

In prison at Rome, during Paul's first Roman captivity, about AD 62-63. Challoner's preface says that "it was written about twenty-nine years after our Lord's Ascension."

Paul speaks of "my bands" and rejoices that "my bands are made manifest in Christ, in all the court" (1:13), the Latin praetorium, which St John Chrysostom explains as the name then given to the imperial palace. He closes with greetings from "they that are of Caesar's household" (4:22). Acts 28 tells how at Rome "Paul was suffered to dwell by himself, with a soldier that kept him." He expects release: "I trust in the Lord, that I myself also shall come to you shortly" (2:24), which is why the Catholic Encyclopedia places the letter late in that captivity, between AD 62 and 64. With Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon it forms the group called the Captivity Epistles. Some modern scholars suggest an earlier imprisonment at Ephesus or Caesarea; the tradition of the Church points to Rome.

Philippi and its church

Philippi was, in the words of Acts 16, "the chief city of part of Macedonia, a colony" of Rome. Paul came there on his second missionary journey, answering the vision: "Pass over into Macedonia, and help us." Its first convert was "a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira... whose heart the Lord opened," baptized with her household by the riverside. Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned; at midnight they "praying, praised God," an earthquake opened the doors, and the jailer and all his house were baptized. As Challoner writes, "The Philippians were the first among the Macedonians converted to the faith."

Alone among the churches it supported him: "no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but you only: For unto Thessalonica also you sent once and again for my use" (4:15-16). Paul returned to it on later journeys (Acts 20), and when the Philippians heard he was a prisoner at Rome they sent Epaphroditus with their alms and to serve him.

The occasion of the letter

Epaphroditus had fallen "sick, nigh unto death" at Rome; Paul sends him home with the letter and asks them to "receive him therefore with all joy in the Lord" (2:25-30). He thanks them for their gift, "an odour of sweetness, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God" (4:18), tells them how his imprisonment has served the gospel, urges unity and humility where some, like Evodia and Syntyche, were at odds, and warns them against false teachers, Judaizers "whom he calls dogs and enemies of the cross of Christ," as Challoner summarizes.

What is the Book of Philippians about? A summary

Greeting, thanksgiving and Paul's bonds (chapter 1)

Chapter 1 opens with thanksgiving for their "communication in the gospel of Christ from the first day until now." His chains have made the gospel known; some preach Christ out of envy, others out of love, and "in this also I rejoice." Facing life or death, he cannot choose: "having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, a thing by far the better. But to abide still in the flesh, is needful for you." To them "it is given for Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him."

The humility of Christ (chapter 2)

Chapter 2 asks them to fulfil his joy by being "of one mind, having the same charity," doing nothing "through contention, neither by vain glory: but in humility, let each esteem others better than themselves." The reason is Christ Himself: "let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus," who being in the form of God "emptied himself, taking the form of a servant," and "humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. For which cause God also hath exalted him." Then come the command to "work out your salvation," and news of Timothy and Epaphroditus.

Warning and the race to the prize (chapter 3 to 4:1)

Chapter 3 begins "rejoice in the Lord" and turns at once to warning: "Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision." Paul, who had every reason to trust in the flesh, counts it all "but as dung, that I may gain Christ... That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings." He has not yet arrived, but presses "towards the mark." Many walk as "enemies of the cross of Christ... whose God is their belly," but "our conversation is in heaven," whence we await the Saviour, who "will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory."

Peace, joy and thanks (chapter 4)

Chapter 4 gathers the counsels of the whole letter: concord between Evodia and Syntyche, whose names, with Clement and the other fellow labourers, "are in the book of life"; "Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice"; prayer with thanksgiving instead of anxiety, and the peace of God "which surpasseth all understanding"; and a mind set on "whatsoever things are true." Paul thanks them for their gift, having "learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be content therewith," and closes with a doxology and greetings from the saints of Caesar's household.

Themes and the Catholic reading of Philippians

Christ true God and true man. The hymn of 2:6-11 is one of the clearest witnesses in Scripture to the divinity of Christ and to the Incarnation. He was "in the form of God" and "thought it not robbery to be equal with God," yet took "the form of a servant." Challoner explains "emptied himself" as the Latin exinanivit, "made himself as of no account": the Son did not lose His Godhead but hid it under our nature, as Paul says elsewhere, "being rich he became poor, for your sakes" (2 Corinthians 8). See our article on the Incarnation.

The Holy Name. "God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above all names: That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth" (2:9-10), words that echo the oath of God in Isaias 45. Here is the ground of the custom of bowing the head at the Holy Name; the Introit of the feast of the Holy Name begins with this verse: In nomine Jesu omne genu flectatur. See the Holy Name of Jesus.

Grace and perseverance. "With fear and trembling work out your salvation. For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to his good will" (2:12-13), together with "he, who hath begun a good work in you, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus" (1:6).

The Council of Trent draws on all three verses in its chapter on the gift of perseverance (Session VI, ch. 13): God, "unless men be themselves wanting to His grace, as he has begun the good work, so will he perfect it, working (in them) to will and to accomplish," and the faithful must "with fear and trembling work out their salvation." Challoner's note says the words "with fear" are "against the false faith, and presumptuous security of modern sectaries": grace does everything, and yet man must cooperate and may fall.

Humility. The moral teaching of the letter is drawn from the self-abasement of the Son: esteem others better than yourselves, seek the things of others. It teaches the virtue the Litany of Humility asks for.

Joy in suffering. Joy and rejoicing run through all four chapters, written by a man in chains. This joy is the fruit of union with Christ, who is near: "Rejoice in the Lord always... The Lord is nigh."

Death and the life to come. "To be dissolved and to be with Christ" (1:23) shows that the just soul goes to Christ after death, while 3:20-21 looks to the resurrection of the body. On the greeting "with the bishops and deacons" (1:1), St John Chrysostom notes that in those first days "the Presbyters were of old called Bishops."

Famous verses from Philippians

Philippians 1:21. "For to me, to live is Christ; and to die is gain" (Philippians 1).

Philippians 2:5-11. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus... He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross" (Philippians 2).

Philippians 3:13-14. "Forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ Jesus," and 3:20, "But our conversation is in heaven" (Philippians 3).

Philippians 4:4-7. "Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say, rejoice... Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4). Modern versions render 4:6 "be anxious for nothing"; see our article Be Anxious for Nothing: What Philippians 4:6 Means.

Philippians 4:13. In the Douay-Rheims: "I can do all these things in him who strengtheneth me," known in modern versions as "I can do all things through Christ." In context Paul speaks of being content in want and in plenty by the strength of grace; see I Can Do All Things Through Christ: What Philippians 4:13 Really Means.

Philippians in the canon and in the liturgy

Philippians bears the same name and has the same four chapters in Catholic and Protestant Bibles. It was never among the disputed books: the Councils of Rome (382), Hippo (393), Carthage (397), Florence and Trent (Session IV, 1546) list it among the fourteen Epistles of St Paul, where it stands after Galatians and Ephesians and before Colossians and 1 Thessalonians. Written in Greek, it came to the West in the Latin of the Vulgate, from which our Douay-Rheims Bible was translated.

In the 1962 Roman Missal, Philippians gives the Epistle of Palm Sunday and of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on 14 September (2:5-11); of the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, whose Introit Gaudete in Domino semper is 4:4 (4:4-7); of the Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost (1:6-11); and of the Twenty-Third (3:17-21; 4:1-3). The Gradual Christus factus est pro nobis obediens usque ad mortem (2:8-9) is sung on Holy Thursday and on the Exaltation of the Cross, and in the Office of the last days of Holy Week. Follow these days in our liturgical calendar and in the Breviary.

How to read the Book of Philippians

It can be read whole in a quarter of an hour, as the Philippians first heard it. Read first Acts 16 to meet Lydia and the jailer, then the four chapters at a sitting. Then return slowly to chapter 2 with the Vulgate beside the English, where forma and exinanivit carry the doctrine of the Incarnation. Then read Colossians and Ephesians, from the same captivity, and Romans for the fuller treatment of the justice "which is of God" that Paul names in 3:9.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote the Book of Philippians?

St Paul the Apostle wrote it, naming Timothy with him in the opening greeting (1:1). St Polycarp, the Muratorian Canon, St Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian all ascribe it to Paul, and nearly all scholars today agree.

Did Polycarp write the Book of Philippians?

No. St Polycarp of Smyrna wrote his own Letter to the Philippians, in the early second century, to the same church. In it he recalls "the blessed and glorified Paul" and says that Paul "wrote you a letter," which is one of the earliest witnesses that the Epistle in the Bible is Paul's. His letter is not part of Scripture.

When was the Book of Philippians written?

About AD 62-63, during St Paul's first imprisonment at Rome. Challoner's preface dates it "about twenty-nine years after our Lord's Ascension," and the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia places it between AD 62 and 64, near the end of that captivity.

Was the Book of Philippians written in prison?

Yes. Paul speaks of "my bands," says his chains are known "in all the court" (the praetorium), and sends greetings from "Caesar's household" (4:22). It is one of the four Captivity Epistles, with Ephesians, Colossians and Philemon.

Who was the Book of Philippians written to?

To the Christians of Philippi in Macedonia, "to all the saints in Christ Jesus, who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons" (1:1). Paul founded this church on his second missionary journey, as Acts 16 tells; its first convert was Lydia, a seller of purple.

Why did Paul write the Book of Philippians?

To send back Epaphroditus, who had brought the Philippians' gift and fallen gravely ill at Rome, and to thank them for that gift. He also wished to call them to unity and humility after the example of Christ, and to warn them against Judaizing false teachers.

What is the main theme of the Book of Philippians?

Joy in Christ, and the humility that makes unity possible. It is often called the Epistle of joy, for a prisoner bids the Philippians rejoice in every chapter. At its centre stands the example of Christ, who "emptied himself, taking the form of a servant" and was exalted above every name (2:5-11).

How many chapters and verses are in the Book of Philippians?

Philippians has four chapters and 104 verses in the Douay-Rheims and the Vulgate: 30 in chapter 1, 30 in chapter 2, 21 in chapter 3 and 23 in chapter 4. Read chapter 1 to begin.

What book of the Bible is Philippians?

It is the eleventh book of the New Testament, one of the fourteen Epistles of St Paul, placed after Ephesians and before Colossians. In Latin it is called Epistola ad Philippenses, in the Douay-Rheims "The Epistle of St Paul to the Philippians."

Read the whole Epistle to the Philippians verse by verse, Latin and English, in the Iter Fidei Catholic Bible app.

Sources. The Epistle to the Philippians and the Acts of the Apostles, Latin Vulgate and Douay-Rheims (Challoner revision, 1749-1752), with Challoner's preface and notes; St Polycarp, Epistle to the Philippians, 3 and 11; St John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Epistle to the Philippians; St Irenaeus, Against Heresies; the Muratorian Canon; Council of Trent, Session IV, Decree on the Canonical Scriptures (1546), and Session VI, Decree on Justification, ch. 13 (1547); The Catholic Encyclopedia (1911), "Epistle to the Philippians"; Missale Romanum (1962); Breviarium Romanum (1962).