A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: This book was written by “Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and deacons” (1:1) from a prison in Rome (1:13; Acts 28:30), about A.D. 64. It may have been written after the book of Ephesians (see 1:25; 2:24).
B. The subject: the experience of Christ—taking Christ as our living, our pattern, our goal, our power, and our secret.
C. The background: [At the time the book of Philippians was written, the Judaizers were exercising their influence over the believers in Christ (3:2-4).] [According to 1:15-18, some were preaching Christ “because of envy and strife” and “out of rivalry.”] [Another aspect of the background of this book concerns a matter that is very positive, the participation of the Philippian believers with the apostle Paul in the furtherance of the gospel (1:5-7; 4:14-19).] [Even though the Philippian believers participated with Paul in the furtherance of the gospel, there was still at least some amount of dissension among them (1:27; 2:1-4; 4:2-3).] [The reason for this dissension lay in the fact that they were not one in soul. They had been regenerated in the spirit, but they had not yet been transformed in soul. They had no problem in the spirit, but there were at least some problems in the soul, particularly in the mind. Some among them had different concepts, and these different concepts were causing dissension.]
D. The central thought: [In 1:20 Paul says, “Christ shall be magnified in my body,” and in 1:21 he declares, “To me to live is Christ.” These two statements represent the basic concept of the whole book. In this book we are charged to magnify Christ and to live Him. To magnify Christ is not only to express Him; it is to express Christ by causing Him to be enlarged. We should magnify Christ by living Him in a practical way day by day. Our daily living should be a living that lives Christ.]
E. The general sketch: [In the four chapters of Philippians we see Christ as the One lived out and magnified, Christ as the pattern, Christ as the goal, and Christ as our inward strength. This book on the experience of Christ covers four major points: the expression, the pattern, the goal, and the strength. We all need to experience Christ in this fourfold way.]
F. The sections: 1) introduction (1:1-2), 2) to live and magnify Christ (1:3-30), 3) to take Christ as the pattern and hold Him forth (2:1-30), 4) to pursue and gain Christ (3:1-21), 5) having Christ as the secret of sufficiency (4:1-20), and 6) conclusion (4:21-23).