God’s Word for You

Philippians 1:1-2 To all the saints

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Monday, February 9, 2026

Philippi is just about at the center of the north end of the Aegean Sea. Greece is to the west, with Mount Olympus dominating the skyline. The Dardanelles lie to the east, the waterway that leads past Byzantium (Istanbul) into the Black Sea. The three fingers of the Halkidiki (Χαλκιδική) peninsula stretch south into the sea, with the densely forested Mount Athos rising on the easternmost finger, two thousand feet to its crown. The eastern side of the sea in this area is dominated by four important islands. Philippi is about five miles inland from the north shore of the Bay of Kavala. The ruins of the city are perched on a hill that overlooks the beautiful wetlands that roll down to the sea; it is known for its variety of birds, especially gulls, grebes, cormorants, herons, terns, swans, stilts, sandpipers, curlews, ducks, snipes, ospreys, eagles, falcons, buzzards, and the Greek “Greater Flamingos” with their dark salmon and black-colored wings suddenly rising like a phalanx of Philip of Macedon himself when startled out of their marshes.

Philippi was at first a village called Krenides (Kρενίδες), the “city of springs.” But there was, as they say, “gold in them-thar hills,” and the potential wealth of the place attracted the attention of King Philip of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great. Philip took possession of the town just four years after its founding. He renamed it after himself, and built up the city’s northern defenses (356 BC). It was the site of the battle in which Octavius (later Caesar Augustus) was victorious over the men who murdered Julius Caesar, Brutus and Cassius, and “who met them at Philippi” in 42 BC. After this, the city was made a Roman colony and was given many privileges. It was one of the chief cities of Macedonia in the days of the Apostle Paul. Today it is only a ruin. But the birds are still there.

Paul reached Philippi during his second missionary journey. Luke had joined him, and writes: “We set sail from Troas and set a direct course for Samothrace. The next day we made for Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony” (Acts 16:11-12). Paul spoke to a group of women worshiping at the river outside the city and converted Lydia, who sold dyed purple cloth. After healing a slave girl possessed by a demon Paul was thrown into prison where he converted the jailer and his family through baptism. Paul left shortly after this, leaving Luke behind with the new church. This group sent Paul financial help time after time (Philippians 4:10-18; 2 Corinthians 11:8-9). The Apostle returned during his third missionary trip (Acts 20:6), and when he was imprisoned in Rome, the Philippians sent Epaphroditus to find him and give him their greetings and another substantial gift. It was at this point, toward the end of his first Roman imprisonment (Philippians 2:23), that Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, which was carried back to them by the same Epaphroditus.

A simple outline:

I,  Greetings and personal information (1:1-30)
II,  Exhortation to harmony and humility (2:1-30)
    The example of Christ (2:5-11)
III, Warning against error and call to holiness (Philippians 3:1-4:8)
IV, Thanks and Greetings (4:9-23)

1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul identifies himself as author. This was the usual pattern in ancient letters, so that the reader would know the writer at once. Timothy (a native of central Asia Minor) was with Paul when he first visited the city, having first been circumcised by Paul at his home in Lystra so as not to give offense to the Jews of the region (Acts 16:1-3).

The saints in Philippi are saints “in Christ Jesus.” There is no other kind of saint. In the Bible, “saints” (hagioi, ἁγίοι) are living believers, people who trust in God and in Christ Jesus his son. The word means “holy one,” and such people are called by God to be holy (Romans 1:6). They are the believers in the churches (Ephesians 1:1) but are also scattered here and there in the world where there might not yet be churches, but who still need to be served with the Gospel (2 Corinthians 8:4) and other acts of kindness (1 Timothy 5:10; Philemon 1:7). The saints will inherit God’s greatest blessings (Colossians 1:12), and it is they who study God’s word deeply, to uncover the mysteries “that have been kept hidden for ages and generations” (Colossians 1:26). True faith in Christ is what brings them into this group (Jude 1:3), and the Holy Spirit himself prays and intercedes for them before the throne of God the Father (Romans 8:27).

The overseers and deacons are titles of different workers in the churches. We are free to use these designations or not, according to our needs. Christian churches that understand the work of Christ do not as a rule use the term “priest,” because the hallmark of a priest is one who makes a sacrifice (Leviticus 14:19), and the sacrifice that Christ made was the only one necessary to rescue all the world from sin (Hebrews 10:10). The word “overseer” is obviously one who supervises others. It is sometimes translated “bishop” in English, because the Greek “episcopos” (ἐπίσκοπος) “over-seer” was rendered “bi-sceop” (over-seer) in Old English, and “bishop” in Modern English.

A deacon is another kind of worker in the kingdom. The meaning changes from place to place, both today and formerly. It means “servant,” and could be used of anyone who has a position of service in the church. It is often exchanged for “minister” in many churches, which has the same meaning. It was expected that both bishops and ministers in the church would be married (1 Timothy 3:2, 3:12), just as the prophets and apostles were married. To forbid marriage is a mark of the wickedness of the world, Paul says (1 Timothy 4:3), because marriage is a command from God (Genesis 2:18), and “it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:5).

Grace and peace are always part of Paul’s greetings, in each of his thirteen letters, sometimes in the first verse (1 Thessalonians), usually in the second (such as here), but sometimes in the third verse (1 Corinthians, Galatians, Philemon), or fourth (Titus) or even seventh (Romans), but they are always part of his greeting. Grace is the love God has for mankind that we do not merit or deserve. Peace is the removal of conflict with God that, likewise, we do not merit or deserve, but which is ours on account of the sacrifice of Jesus in our place. “The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

The relationship of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is always on Paul’s mind. The starting point of Paul’s ministry in almost all places was that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the God-man who came into the world to wipe away the guilt of our sins. It is the divinity of Jesus that is being set forward, for to believe in Christ as God was the key doctrine, showing faith and understanding of the forgiveness of our sins. There was little or no need for Paul to explain the Holy Spirit, since the Jews already accepted the Spirit right from the beginning (Genesis 1:2, 6:3; 2 Samuel 23:2). Even in the short time Paul spent with the Greek philosophers at the Areopagus in Athens, he warned them not to think of the divine being as being like gold or silver or stone, but that “he will judge the world with justice by the man he had appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

The heart of the Gospel is our forgiveness in Jesus Christ. The faith that trusts in this is saving faith, and this is what makes us saints in God’s eyes. Whether I might be a servant or master, a bishop or a deacon, my service is a sign of faith and love according to God’s great mercy.

There are 102 more verses beyond these, but this is enough for our souls to find rest and peace tonight.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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