Verse 2
Grace and peace were Paul’s favorite words of blessing in his epistles. He wished that God would bestow these gifts on the Philippians even more than He had. Grace refers to God’s unmerited favor and divine enablement. Peace is the cessation of hostilities and the inner tranquillity that are the result of God’s grace. Charis (grace) is a variation on the word usually used in Greek salutations, namely, chairein meaning "greetings." Shalom (peace) was the traditional Jewish greeting that meant the full measure of divine blessing (cf. Numbers 6:24-26).
The source of these blessings is God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul believed that Jesus possesses full authority with the Father.
". . . How is one to begin to attack selfishness and disunity? By subtly showing from the very beginning that in the Church seniority and high calling do not put one Christian leader above another (Paul and Timothy together are one-they are slaves of Christ Jesus) and that ’church supervisors’ are not above serving, but are by virtue of their office, called to serve (to be diakonoi) ministering to the needs of their fellows." [Note: Hawthorne, p. 13.]
Hawthorne favored the view that the "and" between "bishops" and "deacons" should be interpreted epexegetically as "bishops who are deacons, i.e., servants." He saw only one type of church official in view, namely, bishops. This is a minority opinion.
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