Philippians 1:1

Timothy was an associate of Paul’s and may have served as his secretary as Paul dictated this letter (cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:17), but Timothy was not the co-author of it (cf. Philippians 1:3; Philippians 2:19-23). The Philippians knew him since he had been with Paul when Paul had founded the church in Philippi (Acts 16:1-12) and on subsequent occasions (Acts 19:22; Acts 20:3-6). Now Timothy was with Paul in Rome during Paul’s house arrest there.

Paul’s lack of reference to his apostleship is in harmony with the overall emphasis of this epistle (cf. 1 and 2 Thess. and Phile.). This was a personal letter rather than one giving correction that needed apostolic authority behind it so the recipients would accept it and act on its instructions.

The writer characterized himself and Timothy as bond-servants (Greek douloi) of Christ, a favorite title of early Christian leaders (cf. James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1; Judges 1:1; Revelation 1:1). It stressed the strong commitment of the Christian to his or her Lord. The Septuagint translators of the Old Testament used doulos (singular) to describe Moses and other dedicated prophets (Psalms 105:26; Jeremiah 25:4; Amos 3:7) as did John when he described Moses (Revelation 15:3).

"Undoubtedly the background for the concept of being the Lord’s slave or servant is to be found in the Old Testament scriptures. For a Jew this concept did not connote drudgery, but honor and privilege. It was used of national Israel at times (Isaiah 43:10), but was especially associated with famous OT personalities . . ." [Note: The NET Bible note on 1:1.]

The apostle Paul was fond of addressing his fellow believers as saints (cf. Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 2 Thessalonians 1:10; Philemon 1:5; Philemon 1:7). This title reflects the Christian’s present justified standing before God though not necessarily his or her present sanctified standing in the sight of other people.

In no other of his epistles did Paul address the elders (Gr. episkopois) and deacons (diakonois) of the church specifically in the salutation. Perhaps they received special mention because Epaphroditus had come to Paul with money from the Philippian church (Philippians 2:25) and or because friction existed within this church (Philippians 4:2-3). These are the two offices of the church that Paul expounded elsewhere (1 Timothy 3; Titus 1).

"Even though these titles occur only here and in the Pastoral Epistles in the Pauline corpus, one should not construe this to suggest either that the other Pauline churches did not have such leaders or that this is a later development in his churches." [Note: Fee, p. 67.]

Normally Paul appointed elders in the churches that he founded (Acts 14:23). This was an office that carried over from Jewish synagogue life. [Note: See Alexander Strauch, Biblical Eldership, p. 154.] The elders whom Paul appointed were probably Jewish converts who had good backgrounds in the Old Testament. The terms elder, presbyter, overseer, bishop, and pastor all refer to the same office (cf. 1 Timothy 3:1-2; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 5:1-2).

The deacons were the official servants of the church who functioned as the elders’ assistants. This is the only place in the New Testament, except 1 Timothy 3, where a New Testament writer mentioned both elders and deacons together as the leaders of the church. Note that in Philippi there was a plurality of both elders and deacons in the church. At this stage in the growth of the church probably there was only one church in Philippi and there was a plurality of both elders and deacons in the one assembly. [Note: J. N. D. Kelly, A Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles, p. 74.]

This reference to elders and deacons does not prescribe that there must be a plurality of elders and or deacons in every modern church. The verse is descriptive rather than prescriptive. However it does indicate that there was a plurality of official leaders in this church. In this respect the Philippian church was typical of many others in its day (cf. Acts 14:23).

"No evidence exists for a single leader as the ’head’ of the local assembly in the Pauline churches." [Note: Fee, p. 67. See also J. Alec Motyer, The Message of Philippians, pp. 37-38.]