Filipi 1:12

Ministry as a Prisoner

1:12 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, ¹  that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel: ² 

Filipi 1:22-23

1:22 Now if I am to go on living in the body, ³  this will mean productive work ⁴  for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer: ⁵  1:23 I feel torn between the two, ⁶  because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,

Filipi 1:25

1:25 And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress ⁷  and joy in the faith, ⁸ 

Filipi 2:19

Models for Ministry

2:19 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you.

Filipi 2:27

2:27 In fact he became so ill that he nearly died. ⁹  But God showed mercy to him – and not to him only, but also to me – so that I would not have grief on top of grief.

Filipi 3:13

3:13 Brothers and sisters, ¹⁰  I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: ¹¹  Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead,

Filipi 3:18

3:18 For many live, about whom I have often told you, and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.

[1:12]  ¹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:12]  ² tn Grk “for the advance of the gospel.” The genitive εὐαγγελίου (euangeliou) is taken as objective.

[1:22]  ³ tn Grk “flesh.”

[1:22]  ⁴ tn Grk “fruit of work”; the genitive ἔργου (ergou) is taken as an attributed genitive in which the head noun, καρπός (karpos), functions attributively (cf. ExSyn 89-91).

[1:22]  ⁵ tn Grk “what I shall prefer.” The Greek verb αἱρέω (Jairew) could also mean “choose,” but in this context such a translation is problematic for it suggests that Paul could perhaps choose suicide (cf. L&N 30.86).

[1:22]  sn I don’t know what I prefer. Paul is here struggling with what would be most beneficial for both him and the church. He resolves this issue in vv. 24-25.

[1:23]  ⁶ tn Grk “I am hard-pressed between the two.” Cf. L&N 30.18.

[1:25]  ⁷ tn Grk “for your progress.”

[1:25]  ⁸ sn Paul’s confidence in his release from prison (I know that I will remain and continue with all of you) implies that this Roman imprisonment did not end in his death. Hence, there is the likelihood that he experienced a second Roman imprisonment later on (since the belief of the early church was that Paul died under Nero in Rome). If so, then the pastoral letters (1-2 Tim, Titus) could well fit into a life of Paul that goes beyond any descriptions in the book of Acts (which ends with Paul’s first Roman imprisonment). Some have argued that the pastorals cannot be genuine because they cannot fit into the history of Acts. But this view presupposes that Paul’s first Roman imprisonment was also his last.

[2:27]  ⁹ tn Grk “For he became ill to the point of death.”

[3:13]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:12.

[3:13]  ¹¹ tn Grk “But this one thing (I do).”