Philippians 1: Should I Stay or Should I Go Now, the Clash (Part 1, Philippians 1:1)

Today we are going to look briefly at the first chapter of a letter that Paul (and Timothy) wrote while he was in prison in Rome. The letter is to a church he was a part of when he was living in Macedonia.

 

Reading From Philippians1:1:

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:

 

So, who specifically is this letter to? The Deacons and Overseers are mentioned; they are the servers in the church: corps council, Sunday school, volunteers, etc. It is also addressed to “all God’s Holy people.” Who are “all God’s Holy people”? It's us. 'Holy People' or 'Saints' is what Christians are called in the Bible; so then, in the Bible, every time we see the word ‘saint’ or ‘holy person’ we should read ‘Christian’ and if anyone ever asks you what a Christian is, the straightforward answer is ‘a holy person, a saint’ – or what a saint is; it’s a Christian. And it should also be an encouragement for us all to actually be more saint-like in our interactions with each other and everyone else. 1 Peter 1:16, God says “…be holy because I am holy”.

Doctrine 10 of The Salvation Army says, “We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be wholly sanctified [holy], and that their whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Now then: people who live in Vancouver are called Vancouverites; people who live in Victoria are Victorians; what are we called here in Port Alberni? Port Albernians? This letter is written to Philippians. Philippians are people who live in Philippi. They are not to be confused with Filipinos who are people from the Philippines or Philistines who are either uncouth folk or an ancient Aegean people who count among their number the giant, Goliath. Philippians are from Philippi and Philippi was a city in what is now the Greek province Macedonia, which is located just south of the current Country of North Macedonia which was named after Phillip of Macedon (Alexander the Great’s father)

So then this letter is written to Holy Christians living in Philippi in the 1^st Century and I think it actually has a lot of encouragements that apply to us today: Holy Port Albernians.