Philippians 1:13

The point of this verse is that because of Paul’s imprisonment in Rome many people had heard the gospel who would not otherwise have heard it. The phrase, "my imprisonment in [the cause of] Christ," (NASB) or, "I am in chains for Christ," (NIV) in the Greek text stresses an important fact. Paul’s relationship to Christ, not just his service for Christ, was what had become known. People had become aware of Paul’s personal relationship with the Savior because he had shared his testimony with them.

Two groups had received the apostle’s witness, the praetorian guard and many other people. The praetorian guard probably refers to the soldiers who were members of the regiment assigned to guard many of the high-ranking officials in the Roman government, though the praetorian guard was also a place. [Note: See J. B. Lightfoot, St. Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians, pp. 99-104.] These soldiers were also responsible to guard prisoners who had appealed to Caesar, such as Paul. It was an honor to be one of these guards. They would have been with Paul in his hired house where he was under house arrest 24 hours a day (cf. Acts 28:30-31). Paul had the opportunity to witness to many of these elite soldiers, and he viewed this as a great blessing.

"There were originally ten thousand of these picked soldiers, concentrated in Rome by Tiberius. They had double pay and special privileges and became so powerful that emperors had to court their favour. Paul had contact with one after another of these soldiers." [Note: Robertson, 4:438.]

The "everyone else" group included unsaved members of the Jewish community (Acts 28:17-29), some Gentiles (e.g., Philemon 1:10), and Paul’s fellow Christians. Paul evidently was communicating with many people even though he was a prisoner.