Summary Of Paul's Letter To Philippians

It seems as though our world is getting eviler and more corrupt by the minute. Just watching the news, the headlines are filled with murders, rapes and political disputes resulting in violence. Even this past week there was the worst mass shooting at a church in US history. There is a constant feel of hatred and revenge where we are and everyone feels entitled to something. The unfortunate fact of the matter is, our world is in a constant state of turmoil and conflict. There is pride, lust, deceit, and brokenness surrounding as at all times, regardless of where we go or what time of the day, week, month, or year it is. As Christians, it is hard to discern how we should respond in spite of these events of destruction. Should we ignore these catastrophes and stay in our Christian bubble? Or be surface level and passive about our response? In Paul’s book to Philippi, he addresses the issue at hand. He tells the Philippians how to be a light in a world of darkness by living in harmony and clinging to the Word of God.
Historical Context
Although there is not a direct time frame for Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we can look at different theories to better understand the time period and location in which Paul was writing to the Christians in Philippi.
Before we dissect where this letter was written, we must first look at the foundational facts that will guide us towards the origin of these letters. Hawthorne states the main factors that surround these conclusions. 1: Paul was in prison, 2: he faced a trial that could result in his death, 3: wherever he wrote from, there was a “palace guard”, otherwise known as Herod’s palace in Caesarea, 4: Timothy was with Paul, 5: there was evangelism going on around him, 6: Paul planned on visiting Philippi if he was released, and 7: several trips were made back and forth between Philippi and wherever Paul was placed. Taking all of these factors into consideration, scholars believe Paul wrote these letters in Caesarea, Rome, or
Ephesus.
Caesarea is thought to be one of the places of origin because “Paul was a prisoner in Caesarea for two years (A.D. 57-59) and had access to his friends” written in A.D. 56-67. Although this is the only evidence of Paul’s location, the theory of Rome can fill in more gaps. Rome seems to be what majority of scholars believe to be the place of origin. This is because of the people and places he was able to reach while still imprisoned. Written in early 50 or 60 A.D., Vincent gives reasons to why, saying “the time required for journeys in the communications between Rome and Philippi is implied in the letter” and since he was able to freely and frequently see the praetorian soldiers, sending these letters from Rome would not be a hassle as they would be elsewhere. In regard to Ephesus, the letter mentions long distance journeys from Paul’s location and the Philippians. Written around A.D. 54-55, it is presumed that more than “six trips may have occurred” during the time of the letter that weaken the argument of Ephesus being the origin. Along with this, the probability of Paul writing from Ephesus is weakened by the fact that Paul was facing a life or death trial in which Caesar would not be able to prosecute quickly if in Ephesus. From these theories, we can presume not knowing where or when Philippians was written due to the little information Paul gives about his surroundings.