The Journey Through Philippians

Paul’s epistle to the Philippians is the apostle’s personal thank-you letter to the church in that city. His immediate reason for writing it was to acknowledge and thank them for their gift of financial support to him, brought to him in Rome by Epaphroditus, one of their members. But Paul goes far beyond the initial cause of his gratitude, expressing his thankfulness to God for all that He has given us in Christ, including the fellowship of other saints. Philippians is often called Paul’s letter of joy; three times he urges his readers to rejoice in the Lord, and he expresses his own joy throughout—even though his personal circumstances were not what most people would call joyful. From Philippians, we learn where our joy truly resides and how we can keep progressing toward it—what Paul describes as the upward call of Christ toward an eternal prize.