SEV Biblia, Chapter 1:1
¶ Pablo y Timoteo, siervos de Jess, el Cristo, a todos los santos en Cristo Jess que estn en Filipos con los obispos y diconos:
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Philippians 1:1
Verse 1. Paul and Timotheus] That Timothy was at this time with the apostle in Rome we learn from Phil. ii. 19, and also that he was very high in the apostle's estimation. He had also accompanied the apostle on his two voyages to Philippi, see Acts 16. and 20., and was therefore deservedly dear to the Church in that city. It was on these accounts that St. Paul joined his name to his own, not because he was in any part the author of this epistle, but he might have been the apostle's amanuensis, though the subscription to the epistle gives this office to Epaphroditus. Neither in this epistle, nor in those to the Thessalonians and to Philemon does St. Paul call himself an apostle; the reason of which appears to be, that in none of these places was his apostolical authority called in question.
Bishops and deacons] episkopoiv? The overseers of the Church of God, and those who ministered to the poor, and preached occasionally.
There has been a great deal of paper wasted on the inquiry, "Who is meant by bishops here, as no place could have more than one bishop?" To which it has been answered: "Philippi was a metropolitan see, and might have several bishops." This is the extravagance of trifling. I believe no such officer is meant as we now term bishop.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 1. Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ , etc.] The apostle sets his own name first, as being not only superior to Timothy in age, in office, and in character, but the sole writer of this epistle. The reasons of his joining Timothy with him are, because he was with him when he first preached at Philippi, and so was known unto the Philippians, and respected by them; and because he was about to send him to them again, whose commendations he enlarges on in the epistle itself; and to let them see, that there was a continued agreement between them in affection and doctrine. It shows indeed great humility in the apostle to join with him one so young, and so much inferior to him on all accounts; though it must be observed, that Timothy was not a partner with him in composing the epistle; he only joined in the salutation to this church, and approved of the letter to it, and might be the amanuensis of the apostle; but had no hand in the epistle itself, which was dictated by Paul under divine inspiration. He chooses a character which agreed to them both; he does not say apostles, for Timothy was no apostle, though he himself was, but servants of Jesus Christ; not of men; nor did they seek to please men by preaching the doctrines and commandments of men, and which are suited to the carnal reasonings, lusts, and pleasures of men; for then the character here assumed would not belong to them: but servants of Christ; and that not in such sense only as all mankind are, or in right ought to be, since all are his creatures, and therefore ought to serve him; nor merely as all the saints in common are, being bought with the price of Christ's blood, and being effectually called by his grace, and so made willing to serve him from a principle of love, without servile fear, and with a view to his glory; but as ministers of the word, and preachers of the Gospel; they were his servants in the Gospel, they served him under the ministerial character, and as such were the servants of the most high God, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; so that this title is far from being mean and despicable, it is high, honourable, and glorious. To all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons . The persons to whom this epistle is inscribed are here described by the place of their abode, Philippi, and by the various characters they bore in the church; which was at this time very numerous, consisting of many members, and of proper officers, and are both taken notice of here. The members are meant by all the saints in Christ Jesus; they were saints or holy persons, not by Moses and his law; not by ceremonial ablutions and sacrifices, which only sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, but could not take away sin, or cleanse from it; nor by themselves and their moral righteousness; for though thereby men, nay outwardly appear holy and righteous, yet they remain inwardly unholy and impure; nor by baptism, which has no regenerating nor sanctifying virtue in it; if persons are not saints before that, they are never by it; it leaves them as it finds them, and neither takes away original or actual sin: but these were saints in and by Christ; they were become holy in consequence of being in Christ; men are first in Christ, and then saints in him; they are chosen in him before the world began to be holy, and in time are made new men, new creatures, are created in him unto good works by virtue of their being in him; hence he sanctifies his church and people by his blood, they being so nearly related to him, and interested in him, and he in them; hence they being first of God in Christ, he is made sanctification to them; and hence internal holiness is wrought in them from Christ, by his Spirit; which being begun is carried on, and will be performed until the day of Christ; and which was the happy case of these Philippians, as the apostle was confident of. The officers of this church were the bishops and deacons. The bishops were the pastors, elders, and overseers of the church, for a bishop and an elder is one and the same; (see Acts 20:17,28); where the elders of the church at Ephesus are called overseers or bishops; for the same word is used there as here; and the Syriac version here renders the word by ayq , elders: and they design no other than common and ordinary pastors; who have the name of elders from their age, gravity, and seniority; and that of bishops and overseers from the nature of their office, which is to feed, watch, inspect, and take the oversight of the flock, minister sound doctrine to them, and preserve them from error and heresies. It seems by this, and the instance of the church at Ephesus, that there were, and so may be, where there is necessity for it, more pastors or bishops than one in a church; unless it can be thought that there were more churches than one in each of these cities; or that the pastors of adjacent churches are here included; neither of which seem to be a clear case, but the contrary: but then these pastors or bishops were all upon an equal foot; one had not any authority or power over another, or more authority than another; they were not metropolitan or diocesan bishops, but pastors of a particular church; and were neither lords over one another, nor of God's heritage. The deacons were such as served tables, the Lord's table, the minister's table, and the poor's table; took care of the secular affairs of the church, received and disbursed moneys, kept the church's accounts, and provided everything necessary for its temporal good. The one sort of these officers were concerned with the souls and spiritual estate of the members of the church; the others with their bodies and temporal estate, by visiting the sick, relieving the poor, etc. and both these exhibit the true primitive plan of church offices and discipline; there being no other order of offices or officers, in a Christian church of divine institution, but pastors and deacons; whatever else is introduced is without warrant, and comes from the man of sin. These officers are mentioned by the apostle, not only to show his respect to them, but to observe to the members of this church, that they ought to esteem them highly for their works' sake; these being offices of great importance and usefulness to the church, which, by having such, was a truly organized church of Christ.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-7 - The highest honour of the most eminent ministers is, to be servants of Christ. And those who are not really saints on earth, never will be saints in heaven. Out of Christ, the best saints are sinners, an unable to stand before God. There is no peace without grace. Inwar peace springs from a sense of Divine favour. And there is no grace an peace but from God our Father, the fountain and origin of all blessings. At Philippi the apostle was evil entreated, and saw littl fruit of his labour; yet he remembers Philippi with joy. We must than our God for the graces and comforts, gifts and usefulness of others, a we receive the benefit, and God receives the glory. The work of grac will never be perfected till the day of Jesus Christ, the day of his appearance. But we may always be confident God will perform his goo work, in every soul wherein he has really begun it by regeneration though we must not trust in outward appearances, nor in any thing but new creation to holiness. People are dear to their ministers, when the receive benefit by their ministry. Fellow-sufferers in the cause of God should be dear one to another.
Greek Textus Receptus
παυλος 3972 και 2532 τιμοθεος 5095 δουλοι 1401 ιησου 2424 χριστου 5547 πασιν 3956 τοις 3588 αγιοις 40 εν 1722 χριστω 5547 ιησου 2424 τοις 3588 ουσιν 5607 5752 εν 1722 φιλιπποις 5375 συν 4862 επισκοποις 1985 και 2532 διακονοις 1249
Vincent's NT Word Studies
1. Paul. The official designation is omitted, as in 1 and 2 Thessalonians and Philemon. It is not easy to explain the use or omission of the title apostle in all cases. Here, and in Philemon and 1 Thessalonians, its omission may be accounted for by the general, unofficial, personal, affectionate character of the letter. In 2 Corinthians and Galatians the reason for its use is apparent from the fact that Paul's official authority had been assailed. But it is also omitted in 2 Thessalonians, which has an admonitory and rebuking character. Its use in the epistles to Timothy and Titus, private letters, is explained by the fact that Paul is addressing them not only as friends, but as pastors. In Romans, while there is no evidence of any challenge of his apostolic claims, there is an authoritative exposition of Christian doctrine which appears to warrant the title.
Timothy. Associated with Paul as in the introductions to 2 Corinthians and the two Thessalonian epistles. Timothy assisted Paul in founding the Philippian church Acts xvi. 1, 13; xvii. 14. Two visits of Timothy to Philippi are recorded, Acts xix. 22; xx. 3, 4. He is evidently preparing for a third visit, see ch. ii. 19. His only part in this letter is his name in the salutation, and in ch. ii. 19.
To all the saints (pasin toiv ajgioiv). In Paul's personal addresses in this epistle the word all occurs nine times. It is sufficiently accounted for by the expansiveness of grateful christian feeling which marks the entire letter, and it is doubtful whether it has any definite or conscious connection with the social rivalries hinted at in the epistle, and which call forth exhortations to unity, as if Paul were disclaiming all partisan feeling by the use of the term. For saints, see on Col. i. 2; Rom. i. 7. The word is transferred from the Old Testament. The Israelites were called agioi holy, separated and consecrated, Exod. xix. 6; Deut. vii. 6; xiv. 2, 21; Dan. vii. 18, 22, etc. The christian Church has inherited the title and the privileges of the Jewish nation. Hence it is eqnov agion a holy nation, 1 Pet. ii. 9. The term implies, but does not assert, actual, personal sanctity. It is a social, not a personal epithet. See on Acts xxvi. 10. Philippi. In Macedonia. Travellers by sea landed at Neapolis, and then travelled ten miles to Philippi along the Via Egnatia, which traversed Macedonia from east to west. The site was originally occupied by a town called Datus or Datum, and was known as Krenides from its numerous springs. It was called Philippi in honor of Philip of Macedon, who enlarged and fortified it. Its situation was important, commanding the great high road between Europe and Asia. This fact led to its fortification by Philip, and made it, later, the scene of the decisive battle which resulted in the defeat of Brutus and Cassius. Its soil was productive and rich in mineral treasures, which had yielded a large revenue, but which, in Paul's time, had apparently become exhausted.
Augustus planted at Philippi a colonia. See on Acts xvi. 12. 172 A variety of national types assembled there - Greek, Roman, and Asiatic - representing different phases of philosophy, religion, and superstition. It was therefore an appropriate starting-point for the Gospel in Europe, a field in which it could demonstrate its power to deal with all differences of nation, faith, sex, and social standing.173 Bishops (episkopoiv). Lit., overseers. See on visitation, 1 Pet. ii. 12. The word was originally a secular title, designating commissioners appointed to regulate a newly-acquired territory or a colony. It was also applied to magistrates who regulated the sale of provisions under the Romans. In the Septuagint it signifies inspectors, superintendents, taskmasters, see 2 Kings xi. 19; 2 Chron. xxxiv. 12, 17; or captains, presidents, Neh. xi. 9, 14, 22. In the apostolic writings it is synonymous with presbyter or elder; and no official distinction of the episcopate as a distinct order of the ministry is recognized. Rev. has overseers in margin.
Deacons (diakonoiv). The word means servant, and is a general term covering both slaves and hired servants. It is thus distinct from doulov bond-servant. It represents a servant, not in his relation, but in his activity. In the epistles it is often used specifically for a minister of the Gospel, 1 Cor. iii. 5; 2 Cor. iii. 6; Eph. iii. 7. Here it refers to a distinct class of officers in the apostolic church. The origin of this office is recorded Acts vi. 1-6. It grew out of a complaint of the Hellenistic or Graeco-Jewish members of the Church, that their widows were neglected in the daily distribution of food and alms. The Palestinian Jews prided themselves on their pure nationality and looked upon the Greek Jews as their inferiors. Seven men were chosen to superintend this matter, and generally to care for the bodily wants of the poor. Their function was described by the phrase to serve tables, Acts vi. 2, and their appointment left the apostles free to devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. The men selected for the office are supposed to have been Hellenists, from the fact that all their names are Greek, and one is especially described as a proselyte, Acts vi. 5; but this cannot be positively asserted, since it was not uncommon for Jews to assume Greek names. See on Rom. xvi. 5. The work of the deacons was, primarily, the relief of the sick and poor; but spiritual ministrations naturally developed in connection with their office. The latter are referred to by the term helps, 1 Corinthians xii. 28. Stephen and Philip especially appear in this capacity, Acts viii. 5-40; vi. 8-11. Such may also be the meaning of ministering, Romans xii. 7. Hence men of faith, piety, and sound judgment were recommended for the office by the apostles, Acts vi. 3; 1 Tim. iii. 8-13. Women were also chosen as deaconesses, and Phoebe, the bearer of the epistle to the Romans, is commonly supposed to have been one of these. See on Rom. xvi. 1.
Ignatius says of deacons: "They are not ministers of food and drink, but servants (ujphretai, see on Matt. v. 25) of the Church of God" ("Epistle to Tralles," 2.). "Let all pay respect to the deacons as to Jesus Christ" ("Tralles," 3.). "Respect the deacons as the voice of God enjoins you" ("Epistle to Smyrna," 8.). In "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles" the local churches or individual congregations are ruled by bishops and deacons. "Elect therefore for yourselves bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord; men meek and not lovers of money, and truthful and approved; for they too minister to you the ministry of the prophets and teachers. Therefore despise them not, for they are those that are the honored among you with the prophets and teachers" (xv. 1, 2).
Deaconesses are not mentioned.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
1:1 {Paul} (Paulos). He does not mention his apostleship as he usually does. Omitted also in I and II Thess. and Philemon. {Timothy} (timoqeos). In no sense the author, but associated with Paul because with him here in Rome as in Corinth when I and II Thessalonians written and in Ephesus when I Corinthians sent and in Macedonia when II Corinthians written. Timothy was with Paul when the Philippian church was founded (#Ac 16:1,13; 17:14). He had been there twice since (#Ac 19:22; 20:3f.). {To all the saints} (pasi tois hagiois). The word saint (hagios) here is used for the professing Christians as in #1Co 1:2 which see as well as #Ro 1:7 for the origin of the word. The word "all" (pasi) means that all individual believers are included. Paul employs this word frequently in Philippians. {In Christ Jesus} (en Christ"i iesou). The center for all Christian relations and activities for Paul and for us. {In Philippi} (en Philippois). See on Ac 16:12 for discussion of this name. {With the bishops} (sun episkopois). "Together with bishops," thus singled out from "all the saints." See #Ac 20:17,28 for the use of this most interesting word as equivalent to presbuteros (elder). It is an old word from episkeptomai, to look upon or after, to inspect, so the overseer or superintendent. In the second century episcopos (Ignatius) came to mean one superior to elders, but not so in the N.T. The two New Testament church officers are here mentioned (bishops or elders and deacons). The plural is here employed because there was usually one church in a city with several pastors (bishops, elders). {And deacons} (kai diakonois). Technical sense here of the other church officers as in #1Ti 3:8-13, not the general use as in #Mt 22:13. The origin of the office is probably seen in #Ac 6:1-6. The term is often applied to preachers (#1Co 3:5; 2Co 3:6). The etymology (dia, konis) suggests raising a dust by hastening.
