Background on Philippians Research Assignment Paper

  BACKGROUND ON PHILIPPIANS
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  Background on Philippians
The eleventh book of the New Testament is the Philippians, originally referred to as the Epistle of Paul and Timothy to the Philippians. There has been doubting as to the authorship of this book but based on both the internal and external evidence; it is clear that Paul wrote it during his second missionary journey to the Philippi where he was arrested and jailed. It was in jail that Paul wrote the letters to the Christians in honor of their support during the hour of need. Along with the thank-you notes, Paul took an opportunity to send along the instructions of unity among other themes to the believers. These events unfolded during the 61 CE approximately ten years after Paul's visit to Philippi. As to the provenance of the Philippians, there are three cities proposed; Rome, Caesarea, and Ephesus. However, based on close examination, Rome is the most probable city as argued by most commentaries such as Fee, Bockmuehl among others. Nevertheless, the differing arguments by the commentaries could be a lack of understanding of the three places, Rome, Caesarea, and Ephesus. Other authors have suggested that it was written in Rome by Paul during his imprisonment at Caesarea but more recently at Ephesus prison. This shows that there is a relationship among the three places. Paul wrote the book of Philippians with the main aim of thanking the church at Philippi for the generous gift for their saints and the main theological themes highlighted are the gospel and its implication, the person and work of Christ, Christian unity, joy in Christ and Christian suffering.
Paul's Purpose
Paul wrote to Philippians for some reasons. One is that he sought to thank them for the generous offering. He also wanted to inform them that he loved them and to comment on the magnanimity of Epaphroditus. Paul was aware of Timothy's coming and wanted to let the people know (Philippians 2:19-20). Paul further wrote to the Philippians to acknowledge the fact that the people would be suffering for the gospel and took the opportunity to warn them against possible false doctrines that would be approaching the church. Lastly, Paul wanted to emphasize his love and joy to the Philippians.
Authenticity
Philippians has virtually gained full acceptance except for opposition from F. C Baur's and a few other scholars. External evidence is strong enough being championed by Polycarp according to his letter to the Philippians. Irenaeus has quoted every chapter to which he refers to as Pauline. Baur critiques two areas. The first one is the contradicting dates in which the bishops and the deacons are highlighted pointing to a day later Paul's day of ecclesiastical development. The second one is the kenosis passage that is claimed to have developed Christology (Philippians 2:6-11). However, Baur has been accused of imposing philosophical framework in his arguments. Nevertheless, the critiques could not dispute the external evidence available. Also, the internal evidence supporting authenticity is overwhelming. For example, the carefulness of the style is outstanding. However, it is clear that even if Baur and other scholars have critiqued the authorship of Pauline, the truth is that the authenticity of most of the epistles has not been denied.
Date
The epistle was written during Paul's imprisonment at Rome that occurred between 59 and 61 CE. The fact that there had already existed some correspondence between Paul and the Philippians suggests that it could have been written slightly past half way of his imprisonment. As it is imminently expressed of his release by the people (Phillipians1:25; 2:24) it clues that the letter might have been written towards the end of the imprisonment. Hence, a date around 61 CE is most realistic.
Theological Themes
The Gospel and Its Implication (Philippians Chapter 27)
Paul was going through suffering in the jail, and he wrote the book to explain to the church of Philippi that a Christian life needs courage and perseverance even during the time of suffering. He uses his case as an example to not only exhort but also command the church to live a life that is worthy of the gospel of Christ no matter the situation of life; during the time of suffering or time of joy.
Paul commands the Philippians to live their lives in a way that they are redeemed by God, the Author of the gospel. This implies that whoever finds the gospel to be cumbersome yet claims to know Jesus Christ is at peril. Such individuals are in jeopardy of forfeiting their souls. Paul urges such people to re-examine their faith and find out if it still exists. The Gospel is a product of Jesus Christ, and he is the author of the gospel. The believers should humble themselves before the gospel as they receive it.
It is through the gospel that Jesus Christ shall deliver the fruits of righteousness to his followers. Philippians 1:11 stipulates that we will be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. This implies that the followers of Jesus Christ should follow the gospel closely son as to live a righteous life.
The Person and Work of Christ (Philippians 2:2-11)
This theme was built through Paul's narration of the Jesus humility when he was on earth. Paul describes how humble Jesus was despite the fact that he was equal to God. He presented himself as a servant of the people's needs. He chose to belong to the human race and underwent the challenges people went through. For example, he died like any other human being. Paul uses the example of Jesus humility to appeal to the Christians to embrace humility to realize joy and unity.
Christian Unity
While still in prison, Paul acknowledged the petty disagreements and selfishness among the churches and decided to encourage the Christians at Philippi to be aware of trials and problems that are likely to tear them apart. He urged them to maintain their unity through three aspects; consideration, humility, and contentment.
Paul urges the Christians to consider the encouragement of being united under Christ, embrace love and Christ attitude towards one another "if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if...