A Time Line for Philippians
1. The letter begins at the point of Epaphroditus’ arrival, which had a two-fold purpose (a) to present the Philippians gift to Paul (reflecting their concern for him); and (b) to inform him about the situation back home. For Paul, these two matters merge into one main concern: the progress of the Gospel.
2. Paul is currently absent from them, which calls for the first two sections of the letter. First he reports about his “affairs” (1:12-26), that from his perspective (beyond what Epaphroditus would tell him) his imprisonment was advancing the Gospel; at the same time he joyfully (and hopefully) anticipates the outcome. He will be satisfied no matter what Caesar decides, for Paul, living means living for Messiah, and dying is even better (1:21), for to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (Second Corinthians 5:8).
3. But Paul’s real concern is their “affairs,” which in their present condition are unlikely to advance the Gospel. Although he expects to come soon for the sake of “their progress,” in the meantime a letter will take his place; thus 1:27 to 2:18 addresses their current situation, in which he points to Messiah as the model of the selflessness and humility necessary for unity to be achieved.
4. At 2:19 two kinds of chronology are at work: (a) from the perspective of his writing the letter (with both Timothy and Epaphroditus presently); (b) from the perspective of the Philippians, as the letter is being read. Thus, he writes a letter to accompany the return of Epaphroditus, which comes next in terms of actual chronology, but the second (after verses 19-24) in terms of his concerns for writing.
5. Thus, very soon Paul hoped to send Timothy, whose task is twofold: (a) to inform the Philippians about the expected outcome of his trial; but (b) to return to inform Paul as to whether the letter had done any good. Thus, Timothy was to return to Paul, before Paul himself set out, which would apparently happen shortly thereafter (2:19-24). Paul expected to be released (1:23-26, 2:17 and 19-24, especially verse 24), and never once contemplated that it might go the other way.
6. In the meantime Paul sent Epaphroditus back home with his letter (2:25-30).
7. The next encouraging section (3:1 to 4:3) is written from the perspective of Epaphroditus’ return and his reading this letter in their midst (which took the place of Paul’s presence). Framed by the necessity to rejoice in the Lord (3:1 and 4:4), it warns them – for their own safety – of matters Paul had often brought to their attention before, and uses that warning to refocus their attention on their eternal security (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer).
8. At 4:4 Paul begins the final set of essential teachings (4:4-9) with which he regularly concludes his letters.
9. But he breaks that off just before his final greetings (4:21-23) to acknowledge their gift to him, so that the final words they hear will be those of gratitude, cooperation from ADONAI Himself, and praise (4:10-20).5
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