Philippians 1:3

I thank my God upon all my remembrance of you, always in every supplication of mine on behalf of you all making my supplication with joy, for your fellowship in furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now.

Significant in this apostolic prayer is the absence from it of any list of things Paul needed to receive from God, and the predominance of those things for which Paul felt the need of giving thanks to God! Paul's prayers were more like a list of things he has already received and for which thanksgiving was offered. One is struck with the startling difference of many prayers heard today.

With joy ... Joy is the key word of Philippians; and Barclay has given a beautiful outline of the joy Paul communicated in this loving letter:

CHRISTIAN JOY INCLUDES

The joy of prayer (Philippians 1:4)

The joy that Jesus Christ is preached (Philippians 1:18).

The joy of faith (Philippians 1:25).

The joy of seeing Christians in fellowship together (Philippians 2:2).

The joy of suffering for Christ (Philippians 2:17).

The joy of news of a loved one (Philippians 2:28).

The joy of Christian hospitality (Philippians 2:29).

The joy of the man who has been baptized into Christ (Philippians 3:1; 4:1).

The joy of the man who has won one soul for the Lord (Philippians 4:1).

The joy inherent in every gift (Philippians 4:10), this being not in regard merely to its value but to the fact of another's caring.[10]

Christian joy is an emotion unspeakably higher than that which may be occasioned by mirth, pleasure, fun, hilarity, gladness, laughter, delight, and the whole family of related emotions unworthy to be compared to Christian joy, that glorious emotion which is not only eternal but sacred, pure and holy as well.

In Philippians 1:3-5, Paul's words seem to be more than usually earnest and impassioned. He dwells long and fondly on the subject; "He repeats words and accumulates clauses in the intensity of his feeling."[11]

For your fellowship ... Many have written on the technical meaning of this word as inclusive of liberality and many other virtues, such as sharing; but Boice has a priceless note on it thus:

Fellowship means more than a sharing of something, like the fellowship of bank robbers dividing the loot. It means a sharing in something, participating in something greater than the people involved and more lasting than the activity of any given moment ... it means being caught up into a communion created by God.[12]

You all ... (Philippians 1:3) is the plural of you, there being no other definite plural of this word in the English language, "you both," "you three," etc., being definite and limited. It is used nine times in Philippians.

From the first day until now ... "This refers to the first day of Paul's preaching in Philippi (Acts 16:13)."[13] Amazingly, this church had contributed financially to Paul's support throughout their acquaintance with the apostle. All people should take this lesson to heart. The true extent of one's love of the Lord is measured by "the amount of sacrifice he is prepared to make to help in the progress of the gospel."[14]

Hendriksen's analysis of the characteristics of that "fellowship" enjoyed by those "in Christ" reveals it as:

A fellowship of grace, of faith, in prayer and thanksgiving, of believers with each other, in love one for another, in helping each other, of contributing to each other's needs, of helping promote the gospel, of separation from the world, and of that eternal warfare of believers struggling side by side against a common foe.[15]

[10] William Barclay, op. cit., p. 13.

[11] J. B. Lightfoot, op. cit., p. 82.

[12] James Montgomery Boice, op. cit., p. 36.

[13] James William Russell, Compact Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1964), p. 487.

[14] R. P. Martin, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Philippians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1959), p. 61.

[15] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 52.