How to Read the Book of Philippians

More Than Hobby Lobby Verses

The book of Philippians is full of what I like to call Hobby Lobby verses. They’re on all the pictures and pillows and wall signs at Hobby Lobby. But Philippians is so much more than a few Bible verses pulled out of context. 

So before we pull a single verse off the wall, let’s learn to read Philippians the way Paul wrote it: as a letter, start to finish, to a real church he loved. You can read the whole thing in one sitting. It takes about fifteen minutes. But before we dive into such a short read, let’s talk about how to read the book of Philippians. 

Paul’s Story

Before he wrote a word of Philippians, Paul was Saul. He hunted Christians down, and he stood by while they died. Then Jesus met him on a road, and everything changed. The man who set out to destroy the church became the man who planted it. 

Where Is Philippi?

Philippi was a Roman colony in Macedonia, in what’s northern Greece today. It was a proud, military-minded city where Roman citizenship was a badge of honor. 

The Cultural Context of Philippi

Philippi sat right on the Via Egnatia, the main highway running from the eastern provinces toward Rome. That means traffic, trade, and news all flowed through this city. It was named after Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great, who took the city because of its gold and silver mines. 

By Paul’s day, Philippi was a Roman colony with full Italian rights. It had been settled with retired Roman soldiers after a major battle was fought on its plains in 42 BC. Roman citizenship was the badge everyone wore. That’s what makes it so striking when Paul tells this church that their citizenship is in heaven. 

There were also so few Jews in the city that there was no synagogue. That’s why Paul finds Lydia, and the church starts in her home. 

How the Church in Philippi Started

Acts 16 tells the story. Paul plants this church with an unlikely trio. There’s Lydia, a wealthy dealer in purple cloth. There’s an enslaved girl that Paul sets free from a spirit of divination. And there’s the Roman jailer who falls at Paul’s feet and asks, “What must

I do to be saved?” They are rich, oppressed, and powerful. Three totally different people, all meeting the same Jesus. 

Where Paul Is Now

Roughly ten years later, Paul writes back to this church from prison. He’s in chains, and yet joy runs through every single chapter. 

Why Is Paul Writing This Letter in the First Place?

The simplest answer is that Philippians is a thank-you note. The church had sent Paul a financial gift by way of a man named Epaphroditus, and Paul writes back to thank them for their partnership in the gospel. 

But Paul has more on his mind than that. Epaphroditus had gotten dangerously sick, so Paul is sending him home and explaining why. The church is worried about Paul being in prison, and imprisonment carried a real social stigma that Paul wants to address head-on. So he writes to reassure them that the gospel is actually advancing because of his chains. 

On top of that, there’s friction between two women in the church, Euodia and Syntyche, and false teachers are pressing in from the outside. So what starts as a thank-you note becomes a letter about joy, unity, and keeping Christ at the center when life is anything but joyful. 

How the Book of Philippians Is Relevant to You

In the West, as Americans, we have the rights to life and liberty — and the pursuit of happiness. What’s interesting is that word, “pursuit.” Life and liberty are rights. Happiness is something we only get to chase. It isn’t guaranteed to anyone. 

And most of us chase it the same few ways: comfort, finances, and relationships. But in Philippians, happiness gets turned into joy. Joy isn’t something you have to chase down. It’s something you can find in any and every circumstance, through Christ. 

So as you read Philippians, here are three ways to read it and live it. 

Read it as Paul’s letter first. Hold onto everything we just walked through. The prison cell. The Roman colony. The gold mines and the highway. Lydia’s living room, the jailer, and the thank-you note. The joy on these pages cost Paul something. 

Then read it as a letter to your church. It’s the same friction between people who love Jesus, the same pressure from the outside, and the same temptation to make church about comfort. Would Paul say some of the same things to your church this

Sunday that he said to the church in Philippi? 

Then read it as a letter with implications for your faith. Because underneath all of it is one big question: what are you going to do with this life God has given you? That’s where those famous verses come home. To live is Christ, and to die is gain (1:21). He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion (1:6). Shine like stars in a crooked and twisted generation (2:15). Forgetting what is behind, press on toward the goal (3:13-14). I have learned to be content in any and every situation, and I can do all things through him who gives me strength (4:11-13). Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (4:6-7). 

Those verses aren’t just wall art. That’s Paul, in chains, describing a life. It’s the life he wanted for the Philippians, and it’s the life he wants for you and me.