By Marie Seva
Philippians is a letter that was sent by Paul not only to preach God’s word, but to thank the Church of Philippi for the gifts they sent him.
Here are 10 other interesting facts about the book:
1. Philippians is the 6th of all the letters written by Apostle Paul, the 11th book in the New Testament and the 50th book in the Holy Bible.
2. This Epistle or Letter of Apostle Paul or Saint Paul is composed of 4 chapters, 104 verses and about 2,000 words.
3. This letter, according to Biblical scholars, was written sometime in 60-62 A.D. in Rome. It was addressed and sent to the Church of Philippi.
4. Philippi was a city named after the King of Macedonia, Philippi II, who instituted the city in 356 B.C. It was located in the Eastern part of Macedonia. Today, traces of ancient Philippi will be found in a suburb called, Filippoi, situated in Kavala, Greece.
5. Paul’s first visit to Philippi was in 51 A.D., together with Timothy, Luke and Silas. This is about 9-11 years prior to his writing the Letter to the Philippians.
6. The Church of Philippi was the very first Church assemblage Paul instituted in the European continent. It became the heart of Christianity in Greece.
7. This Letter is counted among the four “Prison Epistles” of Paul, named as such due to the letters being written while Paul was incarcerated in Rome. The other three letters are: Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon.
8. Epaphroditus was the messenger from the Church of Philippi who was sent to deliver the gifts to Paul. During the implementation of this task, he fell tremendously ill with a life-threatening disease before he was able to return to Philippi. Upon his recovery, he was the same person sent by Paul to deliver his epistle back to Philippi, bearing his message of gratitude, news of his sentence, and his message regarding following Christ’s way of life.
9. The imprisonment of Paul had surprisingly brought hope and confidence to the faithful at the time, instead of expected fear and hopelessness. Philippians 1:12-14 states, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
10. One of the messages regarded as most important in Paul’s epistle teaches the faithful that nothing will be impossible to them when they put their trust entirely in God, who is the source of all good and strength. It is written in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Source
