Fee's reflections

Philippians 1:9-11

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Gordon Fee reflects:

"Paul prays (1) for their love to abound yet more and more;
that (2) this be accompanied by full knowledge and moral insight,
so that (3)they might approve the things that matter,
so that (4) they might be unsullied and blameless when
Christ returns,
as (5) they are now full of the fruit of righteousness,
fruit that is (6) effected by Christ Jesus
and (7) for the glory and praise of God." (Fee, Gordon D. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1995. )

"...Paul is now praying a second thing, that along with an ever-increasing love they may also experience an ever-increasing knowledge (of God and his will) and moral insight. An increased knowledge of God is what is needed in order for them to "walk worthy of the gospel" and in the one Spirit to contend for that gospel as one person (1:27)." (100)

Fee comments on Philippians 1:3-8

Philippians 1:3-8

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,
because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
And I am sure of this,
that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

It is right for me to feel this way about you all,
because I hold you in my heart,
for you are all partakers with me of grace,
both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

For God is my witness,
how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

From Paul's Letter to the Philippians (Fee, Gordon D. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1995. 173) by Gordon Fee:

That Paul is not an academic, but a passionate lover of Christ Jesus, is made plain by the deep and uninhibited expressions of affection that permeate this thanksgiving, since academics tend to be embarrassed by such displays! But there is much here to be learned by those on the church who have pastoral care of any kind, including that of parents for their children. The emotion, after all, in Paul's case is simply the outflow of his theology and the spirituality that issues from such theology. The theology has to do with the gospel, which has God as its source and sustainer. Whatever else, those whom we love in Christ first of all belong to God. God has begun the "good work" in them that he has committed himself to concluding with eschatalogical glory. That "good work" is the result of "the affection of Christ Jesus," through whom God has brought about this "good news" on behalf of his people." (95)

Fee's comments on Philippians 1:29-30

Philippians 1:27-30 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that e you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

"One of the reasons most of us in the West do not know more about the content of vv. 29-30 is that we have so poorly heeded the threefold exhortation that precedes: (1) to stand firm in the one Spirit (overall our pneumatology is especially weak); (2) to contend for the faith of the gospel as one person (the "faith of the gospel" has been watered down in so many ways, on all sides [not just by "liberalism", but by the blatant materialism that erodes the evangelical church], that it is sometimes not worth contending for; and our sectarianism has more often resulted in in-house furor than in contending for the gospel in the face of pagan opposition); and (3) to do so by not being intimidated in any way by the opposition (who tend to focus on our many weaknesses, so as to continually deflect our contending for the gospel of our crucified Savior per se)." (Fee, Gordon D. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1995. 173)

Philippians 1:19-20 in the ESV is as follows:

... for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

In Paul's Letter To The Philippians (Fee, Gordon D. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1995), Fee paraphrases the section:

This whole affair will turn out to my ultimate salvation and present vindication, when, through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Christ my earnest expectation and hope are realized at my trial and not only am I not brought to shame but in a very open (or bold) way Christ is magnified in every way-whether I am given 'life' or sentenced to death. (132)

I enjoyed this paraphrase by Fee because it brought what Paul was saying into a more 'real' light for me. Sometimes, I think because of the wording, passages in the Bible come across as grandiose statements instead of what I believe they were; heartfelt words of the authors. In this case, Fee's paraphrase helped me to see that this was not just rhetoric for Paul; he desperately cared about the gospel and about Christ being magnified. He was not just 'tub-thumping' for his readers.

Gordon Fee on Philippians 1:1-2

Philippians 1:1-2

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Comments on Philippians 1:1-2 by Gordon Fee in Paul's Letter To The Philippians(Fee, Gordon D. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1995), a volume in The New International Commentary on the New Testament:

"Paul and Timothy are thus to be thought of as "slaves/servants of Christ Jesus." Here is the absolute predominant motif in this letter. Everything is in, of, by, and for Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus is the basis for their common existence; he is the focus and content of the gospel in which Paul, Timothy, and the Philippians are partners; and he is the Lord, to whom every knee shall bow..." (64)

"Exactly as one finds the earliest (1 Thessalonians) and later (1 Timothy) letters, both reference [to overseers] are plural. No evidence exists for a single leader as the "head" of the local assembly in the Pauline churches." (67)

"It is worth noting that this [Grace to you and peace] is the invariable order of Paul's words, not "grace and peace to you" as in most translations. Very likely there is significance to this order; the grace of God and Christ is what is given to God's people; peace is what results from such a gift." (70)