Cassidy A Roman Commentary on St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians

1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8245-0167-9
Verlag: PublishDrive
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 232 Seiten

Paul writes his letter to the Philippians referencing two related forms of persecution. The Christians of Philippi are experiencing persecution by the Roman authorities who govern the Philippi. Paul himself is experiencing persecution by the Roman authorities (the Roman emperor's praetorian guard) in Rome. Roman persecution is thus the fundamental context for his letter. Paul's most basic premise in this letter is to hold high the slave, Jesus Christ!
In perhaps the most moving passage he ever wrote (Phil 2:6-11) Paul delineates that Jesus did not count equality with God something to be grasped at but rather empties himself taking the form of a slave and embracing crucifixion, the slave's form of death. Accordingly. God has raised Jesus to the highest place and has caused all on the earth, above the earth, and under the earther to bow at the name of Jesus and to proclaim that Jesus alone is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Very significantly, Paul affirms that Christian slaves are ennobled by Jesus initiatives. Because these slaves now join the other Christian citizens in having 'citizenship in heaven,' Paul's letter constitutes a radical threat to the Roman imperial authorities in this way as well.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cassidy, Richard

Leseproben

Commentary Outline of Philippians I. Opening of the Letter (1:1-11) A. Address and Salutation (1:1-2) B. Thanksgiving (1:3-11) II. Overview of Paul’s Situation (1:12-26) A. Paul’s Chains Advance the Gospel (1:12-13) B. Paul’s Chains Engender Division (1:14-18) C. Paul’s Potential for Death or Life (1:19-26) III. The Same Conflict at Philippi and Rome (1:27-30) IV. Harmony and Unselfishness (2:1-5) V. Drama Depicting Christ’s Descent to a Roman Cross Followed by Cosmic Exaltation (2:6-11) VI. Further Encouragement for the Philippians (2:12-16) VII. Paul Again Envisions His Death (2:17-18) VIII. The Mission of Timothy (2:19-24) IX. The Mission of Epaphroditus (2:25–3:1) X. Paul’s Response to a Threat from the “Circumcisers” (3:2-7) XI. Paul’s Communion with Christ in Life or Death (3:8-16) XII. Paul’s Response to a Threat from “the Enemies of the Cross of Christ” (3:17–4:1) XIII. Entreaty to Euodia and Synteche (4:2-3) XIV. Encouragement to Rejoice and Be Grounded in Christ (4:4-9) XV. Response to the Philippians’ Gift (4:10-20) XVI. Concluding Greeting and Benediction (4:21-23) Philippians 1:1-11
I. Opening of the Letter Introductory Comments THE FIRST ELEVEN VERSES of Philippians consist of the address and salutation (1:1-2) and the thanksgiving (1:3-11). These components are characteristically present in Paul’s other letters whose authorship is not in dispute. (The absence of the thanksgiving component in Galatians is a significant exception.) Within each component, Paul includes material that is pertinent to the situation of the Philippians or to his own situation. In the salutation section (1:1-2) Paul refers to himself and Timothy as “slaves of Christ Jesus” (douloi Christou Iesou). It will become clear that Paul’s opening use of the word “slave” is related to his astonishing characterization of Jesus as a “slave” (doulos) in 2:7. The thanksgiving section (1:3-11) includes prayer (1:4, 9-11). It also introduces ideas that are essential to the letter (Bockmuel 1998, 57). “Communion in the gospel” (1:5) and “the day of Jesus Christ” (1:6, 10) are two of these ideas. Two other major concepts introduced are “my chains” (tois desmois mou) and “the defense and confirmation of the gospel” (te apologia kai bebainosei tou euangeliou), both referenced in 1:7. Paul’s mention of his chains distinguishes Philippians from all of his other uncontested letters save for Philemon. As discussed in the Introduction, Philippians is a “prison letter” and thereby in a different category from 1 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans. Additional elements regarding the character of Paul’s situation as a prisoner will emerge as the letter continues. Paul’s initial references indicate that he is an official Roman prisoner, as opposed to being the captive of bandits. He is chained and situated in a juridical process. Precisely in this setting, Paul is engaged with presenting a “defense” of the gospel. Tracing the Train of Thought The opening of Philippians consists of two units: the salutation (1:1-2) and the thanksgiving/prayers (1:3-11). A. Address and Salutation (1:1-2) 1:1. Paul’s first words identify him as the sender of the letter and depict him and Timothy as Christ’s slaves: “Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.” Paul’s name, his self-designation as a slave, and the reference to Christ Jesus are each topics that require attention. It is usual for Paul to name himself at the beginning of his letters. Yet owing to the profoundly Roman character of Philippi and controversies involving the Philippian magistrates, Paul’s name may have particular meaning in this letter. Paulos, his name in Greek, directly corresponds to the Latin Paulus (alternatively spelled Paullus). In Latin, the feminine Paulla also appears (Hemer 1985, 183). Acts 16:37-38 and 22:25-29 make clear that Paul was a Roman citizen, and, as such, he would have possessed the citizen’s usual three names: praenomen, nomen, and cognomen. Paulus would have been his cognomen. In the first century AD, this would have been the principal name by which he was known in the Latin-and Greek-speaking regions of the empire (Solin, 1996, 1024–25; Hemer 1985, 179). At the time of his birth, in addition to receiving the customary three names, Paul probably received a fourth name, “Saul,” as a supernomen. This Hebrew name would have reflected the desire of Paul’s parents to associate their son with Saul, the first Jewish king who was also of the tribe of Benjamin (see below on 3:4-6). With respect to the interactions between Paul and the Roman authorities who are mentioned in Philippians, it may be significant that the cognomen, Paulus, was utilized by three prominent Roman families in the first Christian century: the Aemilii Pauli, the Vetteni Pauli, and the Sergii Pauli (Sherwin-White 1978, 153–54). Paul’s praenomen and nomen are not known; however, Harrer has conjectured that Paul’s lineage might have connected him to the Aemilian gens (1940, 22). If this was the case, Paul’s full Roman name, including his Hebrew supernomen might have been Lucius Aemilius Paullus Saul (ibid., 33). If Paul did have Aemilian lineage, then his mission at highly Romanized Philippi had an ironic dimension: Lucius Aemilius Paullus was the Roman general who first brought Macedonia under Roman rule. Paul names Timothy as a cosender of the letter. However, since the lines that follow are written in the first person singular (and by someone bound with chains), it is evident that Paul himself has composed this highly personal letter. Paul may nevertheless envision a key role for Timothy in the transmission and performance of the letter. As noted, Paul identifies himself and Timothy as “slaves of Christ Jesus.” The RSV translates douloi as “servants,” but the word “slaves” more exactly renders Paul’s meaning. Because doulos was, in effect, a term of dishonor in the Graeco-Roman world (although not necessarily in the Septuagint), Paul’s use of this word to characterize himself probably was a shock to the Philippian Christians (Fee 1999, 63). Nevertheless, Paul’s self-designation is not “accidental.” In 2:22 he uses a verbal form of doulos, in edouleusen eis to euangelion (“worked as a slave for the gospel”). There are three dimensions of meaning present in Paul’s self-designation as a slave at 1:1. These aspects have to do, in one way or another, with Christ. Boundaries between them are not demarcated rigidly. Paul’s first dimension of meaning is that he (and Timothy) belong to Christ in the way in which slaves belong to their masters. Paul has earlier used doulos with this meaning at Gal 1:10 and Rom 1:1. They are Christ’s slaves because they are owned by him. In a way analogous to Roman slaves, their role is to follow the will of the one who owns them. As Paul will indicate later in 3:12, it is Christ Jesus who has made Paul his own. Paul’s second dimension of meaning pertains to the chains that he wears. In Roman society chains confirmed the slave status of an individual. As noted in the Introduction, slaves are not identified by any particular insignia or type of clothing. Chains, however, conventionally indicated that the one so chained was a slave. As the letter proceeds, Paul will thrice indicate that he is in chains (1:7, 13, 14). These chains confirm his identity as Christ’s slave. Roman slaves unwillingly accept the chains that their masters confer. Slave Paul willingly accepts the chains assigned to him by his master. Indeed at 1:13 he explains that “my chains are because of Christ.” Paul is in chains because Christ, his Lord, wills it for him. He is also in chains because he has been relentless in his testimony regarding Christ his Lord. Paul’s third dimension of meaning pertains to Christ’s status as a slave. In this dimension Paul affirms his communion with Christ who took the form of a slave and embraced the slave’s form of death. Paul will not explicate Christ’s downward trajectory until 2:6-8. Nevertheless, Christ’s self-emptying to the point of a slave’s death is already in Paul’s view, and at 1:1 this chained prisoner indicates that he is a slave in communion with “slave” Jesus—who is paradoxically Paul’s Lord. Important social consequences for the Christian community at Philippi can be seen to flow from Paul’s...