place on his way to his martyrdom in Rome, and was kindly entertained and escorted by the brethren,
and in the Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, who expressed his joy that "the sturdy root of their
faith, famous from the earliest days, still survives and bears fruit unto our Lord Jesus Christ," and
alludes to the labors of "the blessed and glorious Paul" among them. Tertullian appeals to the
Philippian church as still maintaining the apostle’s doctrine and reading his Epistle publicly. The
name of its bishop is mentioned here and there in the records of councils, but that is all. During the
middle ages the city was turned into a wretched village, and the bishopric into a mere shadow. At
present there is not even a village on the site, but only a caravansary, a mile or more from the ruins,
which consist of a theatre, broken marble columns, two lofty gateways, and a portion of the city
wall.^1184 "Of the church which stood foremost among all the apostolic communities in faith and
love, it may literally be said that not one stone stands upon another. Its whole career is a signal
monument of the inscrutable counsels of God. Born into the world with the brightest promise, the
church of Philippi has lived without a history and perished without a memorial."^1185
But in Paul’s Epistle that noble little band of Christians still lives and blesses the church in
distant countries.
Theme: Theological: The self-humiliation (κένωσις) of Christ for our salvation (Phil.
2:5–11). Practical: Christian cheerfulness.
Leading Thoughts: He who began a good work in you will perfect it (1:6). If only Christ is
preached, I rejoice (1:13). To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (1:21). Have this mind in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus: who emptied himself, etc. (2:5 sqq.). God worketh in you both to
will and to work (2:13). Rejoice in the Lord alway; again I will say, Rejoice (3:1; 4:1). I count all
things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ (3:8). I press on toward the goal
unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (3:14). Whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any
praise, think on these things (4:8). The peace of God passeth all understanding (4:7).§ 98. The Epistle to Philemon.
Of the many private letters of introduction and recommendation which Paul must have written
during his long life, only one is left to us, very brief but very weighty. It is addressed to Philemon,
a zealous Christian at Colossae, a convert of Paul and apparently a layman, who lent his house for
the religious meetings of the brethren.^1186 The name recalls the touching mythological legend of
the faithful old couple, Philemon and Baucis, who, in the same province of Phrygia, entertained
gods unawares and were rewarded for their simple hospitality and conjugal love. The letter was(^1184) Dr. H. B. Hackett, who visited the spot, corrects the false statement of Meyer and other commentators that there is still a
village (Felibah, or Filibidjek, as Farrar says) on the former site. See his translation of Braune on Phil., p. 6.
(^1185) Lightfoot, p. 64. But almost the same sad tale may be told of the churches of Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor, under the
withering rule of the Mohammedan Turks. Even Ephesus, where both Paul and John labored so successfully, is little more than
a heap of ruins.
(^1186) A worthless tradition makes him bishop of Colossae and a martyr in the Neronian persecution. So Onesimus and almost
every important man in the apostolic church was turned into a bishop and martyr. On the names in the Epistle, see Lightfoot’s
Com. on Col. and Philem., pp. 372 sqq.
A.D. 1-100.