Twin-City herald., 1940-06-22

OF the church is given IN the sixteenth
chapter Of the Acts, which tells of
PauPs quiet teaching Of LYDIA and her
companions by the riverside, of his
conflicts with superstition in the
streets of the city, OF his consequent
beating and Imprisonment. Of his
winning the jailor for Christ, and of
his dignified behavior before the mag
istrates. Philippi was Of interest, not
because it was the capital of Macedo-
MIA, Roman Colony, and an import
ant commercial center, nor because it
was the scene Of the battle between
Octavius and Anthony on the one
side and Brutus and cassius on the
other, but because it was the city in
Europe in which Christian church
was established, and because to it,
Paul sent his beautiful letter.
NEXT, The Occasion for the Letter
and its Date.
To Paul while prisoner in Rome,
awaiting trial before Ceasar the Phil
ppians sent a Missionary box
money and gifts-as an expression of
their affection for him and to provide
for his needs. In grateful acknowl-
edgement of their thoughtful kindness
and love this letter was written,
E-paph-ra-di-tus, who brought the
money and gifts, became dangerously
i'll, nigh unto death in Rome but God
had mercy on him, and on his resov-
cry he was eager to return home and
relieve the fears of the Philippians
concerning him. Paul therefore, sent
him back with the letter.
Third, Its Character and Contents
Paul has sent away his closest
friends upon various missions, and you
can imagine he must have been weak
and depressed, not knowing what
things that would befall him there,
but what do we find-joy and thanks.
"He who could sing in the dungeon
at Philippi could also sing in the pri-
son at Rome. In this letter, note,
that Paul has no doctrinal error and
no special evils to rebuke, as in his
letters to the Galatians and the Cor
inthians. His Epistle to the Philipp-
ians is one of the four letters group
ed together as Letters of the impris-
onment' E-PHE-SIANS, CO-LOS-
SLAMS, and PHILEMON, being
the other three.
The Philippians was written from his
prison in Rome, is. shown by its re-
ferences to the Pretorian guard and
to the saints of Caesars household,
and by its expressed hope that he
may revisit Philippi shortly in the
event of gaining his freedom. 1t is an
intensely personal letter written to
friends who were very near and dear
to his heart, which showed the APP
ostle's side.
Careful observation is very evident
that the whole Epistle, with its warm
expressions of affections, with its
hearty recognition of the devotion of
the Philippians and with its unaffect-
ed gratitude for their liberality, COM
bined with its kindly and yet frank
one of the most charming illustrations
we have of the apostles personal
character and the closeness of the ties
which bound him and his koevals to-
gether.
Fourth, From a Literary Point of
View, or Viewpoint.
The Philippians are most informal
and discoursive in style. 1t is far
from being theological treatice, like
the Epistle to the Romans, or a con-
troversial document, like the Epistle
to the Galatians, but it is the most
gracious of all Paul's letters to the
Churches. It is thoroughly letter
like, just as unsystematical as friendly
letters of today are wont to be-per-
haps, herein lies part of its charm.
In all ages of the church-to our
own especially-this Epistle means
great lesson. With all her potential
ities-while we are expending our
strength on theological definitions or
ecclestical rules, it recalls US from
these distractions to the very heart and
center of the Gospel-the Life of
Christ, in this Epistle is the meeting
point of all our differences, the heal
ing of all our feuds, the true life alike
of individuals, and sects, and churches;
in it is doctrine and practice are wed
ded together, for in it is the "Creeds
of Creeds" involved in and arising OFT
of the "Word of Words"