In the middle of his opening prayer, Paul says it is right for him to feel such strong affection for the church at Philippi because they have been participating in his ministry from the very beginning. It seems odd that Paul would have to defend his right to feel thankful for the church, but since he is in prison the church may have wondered if the Gospel was hindered. They may have thought any
Paul’s wording in verse seven sounds emotional (“feel this way”), but the verb he uses is more intellectual than modern English. But in vs. 8 Paul says he is “yearning with affection.” The verb (ἐπιποθέω) is quite passionate, a strong desire for something, even a “jealousy.” Most people are familiar with the word from the image in Psalm 42:1 (LXX 41:2). Paul used the verb to describe his emotional longing to see other churches (Rome, Rom 1:11; Thessalonica, 1 Thess 3:6, Timothy 2 Tim 1:4, in Phil 2:26, Ephaphroditus longs to see the Philippians again). Paul even calls on God as a witness that he has this level of strong emotion for his conviction that the people at Philippi will be brought to completion.
Imprisonment was not at all like the modern institution. In Paul’s case he is under house arrest as a Roman citizen. He was free to rent rooms where he wanted, but he was responsible for all of his household needs. Paul calls what he is doing a defense (ἀπολογία) and confirmation (βεβαίωσις) of the Gospel. He is not sitting in a cell doing nothing: he is making his defense daily to both local Roman Jewish leaders who visited him, as well as to the Romans with whom he had contact.
By defense, Paul may have in mind his legal defense before Rome, the word has legal connotations (Acts 25:16, 2 Tim 4:16). A “confirmation” has the sense of validating or grounding something. The adverb form of this root has the sense of ensuring something was “high on a scale of reliability,” to make some claim “beyond a doubt” (BDAG). Paul is making the sort of legal defense expected in in his situation, but he is also laying an intellectual foundation for his faith in Jesus as the Christ. This confirmation was made, in my view, in his frequent contact with Jews in Rome (or wherever he is in prison if it is not Rome).
The Philippian church, therefore, participates in Paul’s ministry by their gift of support. This demonstrates their partnership in Paul’s ministry, so Paul concludes his prayer by encouraging them to increase their commitment to the Gospel all the more.
In Philippians 1:7-8, Paul expresses his warm thoughts about the Philippians. Paul’s imprisonment sheds a negative light on the shame of the ancient world, but the Philippians stood tall along with him. Even during Paul’s imprisonment, he continued to share the gospel with everyone around him. Paul expressed his thankfulness for the church in prison since the gospel could have been hindered. In verse 7, Paul sounds vulnerable and emotional as he says things like, “feel this way about you all” and “because I hold you in my heart” (pg. 2280). Verse 8, Paul sounds more confident in God as his witness and yearns for affection from Christ Jesus. Paul’s imprisonment meant he was on house arrest as a Roman citizen and responsible for all household needs. He is making a good impression on the Jewish Roman leaders who visit. Paul is creating a defense to argue his point. Paul is shown support from the Philippian church as people give him gifts and partner with him in his ministry. In moments of hardship, Paul needs to have support from others who are alongside him. The support further encourages him to spread the gospel and teach others the gospel.
After reading Philippians 1:7-8 and this blog post, Paul did thank the church and also went on to explain how much he would care for them. I also felt that it was bit odd that Paul had to defend his right from the beginning because he was the one preaching and teaching the ways of God. Also the word that Paul ended up using for “feel” is something that doesn’t just mean the emotion but it means that he is sure or really convinced that they are showing that true partner through the Gospel. The Greek word that he used as well means deep longing which is similar to how deer go to thrift for water which happened in the book of Psalms. During this time though Paul was actually under house arrest arrest because of everything going on, this didn’t mean he was actually arrested and put in a jail cell but was more so he had to pay for everything. Instead of the gospel being stopped from the house arrest Paul would still talk to Jesus about more opportunities to grow even more.