Greeting
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s letter to the Philippians follows the standard form of letter writing that was used in polite society of the apostle’s day. Our letters conclude with the sender’s name. In Paul’s day the sender mentioned his own name first, then the name of the person or persons addressed. The address was followed by a greeting and then, especially in the apostle’s letters, a thanksgiving and prayer. Then came the body of the letter and the conclusion. Included in the conclusion were personal greetings, a farewell, and, in the apostle’s letters, a benediction.
Paul, the great missionary apostle, is the inspired author of the epistle to the Philippians. This is one of 13 New Testament epistles that flowed from his pen. In this epistle Paul associates Timothy with himself, because Timothy seconds what the apostle is saying and fully agrees with the apostle’s message. Like Paul, Timothy was well known to the Philippians and was deeply interested in their welfare. Timothy had been in Paul’s party when the apostle first brought the gospel to the Philippians. He had probably visited the congregation on more than one occasion and was destined to be sent to them again. Paul may even have dictated this epistle to Timothy, as Timothy was with him during much of that first imprisonment in Rome.
“Servants of Christ Jesus” is how Paul describes both Timothy and himself. The term servant expresses the apostle’s deep devotion to their calling. They were Christ’s own possessions, because he had purchased them with his blood and had taken them into his service. Their great aim was to do the Lord’s work and to serve him with joy. The Philippians, therefore, should gladly receive the message being sent to them, not because Paul and Timothy were important, but because Jesus is, and in this epistle the apostle is speaking for Jesus.
The recipients of this epistle are “all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi.” “Saints” is a term regularly used in the New Testament to designate Christians. The word itself means “separated ones.” By the Holy Spirit’s work in their hearts through the gospel, believers have been separated from the world, cleansed from sin, and made holy in God’s sight. That is the believers’ status in Christ Jesus. Saints are sinful human beings to whom God has shown great favor— and to whom he has given great responsibilities. Whenever we encounter this term, we ought to be reminded of the dignity God has bestowed on those whom he in love has set apart to be his children, and we ought to be grateful that we are included.
Without trying to distinguish between the true believers and those in the congregation who might be hypocrites, Paul simply addresses all the members of the congregation in Philippi as saints. He extends a special greeting to the “overseers and deacons.” Though we do not possess all the details about the structure of the early congregations, it appears that the overseers and deacons were congregational leaders.
Acts chapter 6 indicates that the deacons’ responsibilities lay more in the realm of the congregation’s physical affairs, while the overseers were probably more concerned with preaching and teaching. Paul’s special mention of the overseers and deacons here could well indicate that these leaders had been instrumental in gathering the gift that the congregation had sent to him. Good leaders are the Lord’s special gifts to Christian congregations. The Philippians, apparently, had been blessed with such leaders.
The apostle greets the Philippians with the familiar words “grace and peace.” These are the key spiritual gifts that believers have in Christ. Grace is God’s unmerited favor, the love for the unlovable that moved him to bring about salvation in Christ for a world of sinners. Peace results from grace. It is the spiritual peace that fills believers’ hearts through the certainty that their sins have been forgiven and that God is at peace with them through Christ. These two words, grace and peace, pronounced on believers as a greeting and a blessing, flood believers’ hearts with the joy of salvation and call to mind all that God has done for them in Christ. No more suitable words could be chosen for a greeting to Christians.