[Another Glimpse into an Upcoming Project: Philippians Excursus. The excursuses will attempt to address the sort of questions you might get in a typical Bible class. Or questions that might be worth asking…]

“Why” questions can be dangerous. If we aren’t told, we must be cautious about drawing too many conclusions. However, there seem to be two possible reasons, and both are hinted at in the content of the epistle. (1) Paul knew these good brethren intimately. This is obvious from the next paragraph (1:3-11). To say nothing of the warm, familial “brethren” used throughout. They already know he is an apostle, and he is not having to draw hard and fast lines in the sand. The closest he gets to that is in 3:1-11, and that seems to be more preventative than corrective (see comments there). If he were having to come out and strongly rebuke or convict, he would probably have leaned on his apostolic authority more, as he did nearly every other epistle.[1] A point he seems to suggest to Philemon (see Philem 1:8-9). (2) The purposeful use of “servant” surely prepares the reader for the Servant of servants, Jesus in the Christ Hymn. While Paul only hints at this idea in chapter 3, the subtle point is that they should be like Paul, who is like Christ. Christ is a servant; Paul is a servant.

[1] Except Thessalonians. This could possibly have something to do with his closeness with the region of Macedonia as well. See Ben Witherington III, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2011), 42.