Paul begins the second section of his letter by saying what has happened to him has in no way hindered the preaching of the Gospel. “What has happened” is Paul’s arrest and imprisonment. Assuming the traditional view, Paul was placed in protective custody in Jerusalem when a crowd at the Temple thought he might have brought a Gentile into the Jewish section of the Temple courts. He spent two years under house arrest in Caesarea, used a pawn between the Roman governor Felix and the Temple aristocracy from Jerusalem. After he appealed to Rome, Paul spent a significant time traveling by ship to Rome, was shipwrecked and washed ashore at Malta. By the time Paul writes this letter, he has been under house arrest for more than two years, perhaps as long as four years. He does not know whether this long time under Roman guard will end in acquittal or execution. (Here is a post on the options for where Paul was in prison when he wrote this letter. If Paul was in prison in Ephesus or Caesarea, his point is still valid.)
Paul believes all of this hardship has actually advanced the gospel. To “advance” (προκοπή) has the sense of progressing towards a goal or an “advanced state” (BDAG). People sometimes say “we made good time” when they travel, or if they get a great deal of work done on a project they says “we made good progress.” The word is used in contemporary Greek for advancement in a career. On a tombstone found in Rome, the word describes the career of a man named Rufinus who was advancing his career in public service in Egypt when he suddenly died (NewDocs 4, 36). To die suddenly, in the midst of one’s career is something potentially shameful. One is cut off mid-life, perhaps because he has offended a god.
Perhaps Paul is using this somewhat rare word in the New Testament in a similar way, even if his personal career is cut short, the Gospel will continue to advance.There may have been people who observed Paul’s career (the selfish preachers in the next section) and thought that Paul’s arrest would end his Gentile mission, or that his death would mean the end of the preaching of the Gospel of the Grace of God. But just as the book of Acts ended, Paul might be in chains, but the Gospel is not.
This is an important point: There is no single person in the history of the church so important to a ministry that the Gospel will be hindered if they were to leave! It is possible some pastors have thought that they were the only person holding a ministry together, or a person thought if they were to leave a particular ministry within a church would fail. In fact, I might consider a person who thought they were that important to the advance of the gospel to be deluded (and possibly leading a cult of some kind). If a pastor (or professor) looks at their career advancement as the goal, they have failed already. The goal for Paul was the advancement of the Gospel alone.
It is probably true some small churches are held together by a single, dedicated pastor, so much so that if that pastor died the ministry might cease. But this is not at all the same as the Gospel failing. Paul’s point in this section of Philippians is that the Gospel will continue to advance whether God prospers Paul’s career or not.
Is it dangerous for a pastor to see a small church as a stepping stone to a larger church? What about a youth pastor who looks at their job as the first step toward a “real” pastor’s job?
How would Paul’s attitude transform the way a pastor leads a local church?
Although Philippians has traditionally been viewed as written from Rome, recent scholarship has debated that view. There are three locations that Paul could have written the letter from, Rome, Caesarea, and Ephesus. Several factors must be considered when examining the most likely place of origin. First, Paul says that he is “in chains”, indicating that he was in prison at the time (Phil 1:7). Paul was under house arrest in Rome according to Acts 28 and before that, he was in prison in Caesarea. There is no clear evidence that Paul was ever imprisoned in Ephesus however he did spend three years in the city so there were plenty of opportunities for him to be arrested. Second, depending on the interpretation, there could have been up to six occasions of people traveling between Paul’s location and Philippi (Long, 129). Rome and Caesarea are 800 and 600 miles respectively away from Philippi (Long, 129). This distance seems too great to allow for that many trips in the amount of time Paul was in prison in either city. However, Ephesus was only 100 miles away from Philippi which would have allowed easier travel (Long, 129). Third, Paul expressed a desire to visit Philippi again (Phil 2:24). This desire would have been almost implausible if he was writing from Rome but possible if writing from Ephesus (TTP, 198).
In Philippians 1:12-14, Paul speaks upon his imprisonment and how through this the “gospel has been advanced”. Paul’s imprisonment, as Long notes, assuming the traditional perspective, found him in the custody in Jerusalem after some Jews thought Paul brought a gentile individual to a section of the temple which was only intended for a Jewish audience. Following this, Paul spent two years in prison in Caesarea, which after he made an appeal to Rome, traveled to Rome and experienced a shipwreck in Malta. Once Paul began the writing of Philippians, he most likely had been under house arrest for two to four years.
One might presume this imprisonment would discourage Paul, leading to a decline of the movement of the gospel and the growth of the church. Yet, Paul seems to believe the opposite, speaking upon the advancements made for Christ during this hardship by those who preach the gospel. This use of the word “advance” signifies moving towards a goal that is desired to be accomplished. As Long identifies, the contemporary use of this word in Greek often refers to advancement in one’s career. This promotes the idea that while Paul’s ministry may be slowed and eventually stopped because of persecution and his inevitable death, the gospel will continue to spread. This establishes a key principle, the movement of the gospel and good news of Jesus will not be halted even if influential figures may be killed or removed from active ministry. This is an important message for not only the ancient audience but for modern audiences as well, emphasizing the perseverance of the gospel despite hardships, suffering, and persecution.
I could see Paul seeing himself as the one holding together the ministry because of the time and culture. Especially seeing how things were unfolding with him in prison would have been worrying for him. I think this perspective of Paul “holding together” the entire ministry is very selfish and takes away from God. I don’t believe that that is really what Paul was going for but as a human the flesh is sinful and in certain times ministries can become very self-centered and focused that people lose sight of what God is doing and focus more on what they are doing. I don’t think that it is particularly dangerous for a pastor to see a small church as a stepping stone for a larger church especially if they believe that God is taking them to that point. I believe God can take small ministries and make them great but sometimes that is not God’s will for certain ministries. Big ministries aren’t always the best and can shy away from the truth and what truly matters, which is Jesus. Same with youth pastors, one needs to wait on the call from God and be given an opportunity, not so much seek for it in a fleshly way. Paul’s attitude makes it seem like he is the one holding it together when it should be focused on what God’s doing. Which is what the local pastors need to do and if they are looking at Paul they could change how they do their ministry.
Hi, Kylie
I believe that there are so many ministries in the world, and some are very large and some are very small, and people do not even recognize these small ministries. Some big ministries might have so many members and make a lot of money, but that does not really mean that they are the best. I heard of one big ministry in the Philippines, and they have so many followers and are very rich. But the leaders were corrupted, and they sued each other because of money. They went to court, and some leaders went to jail. That ministry was falling apart, and it does not exist anymore now. There is one small ministry in Burma with around 50 people, but they feed over a thousand poor people every month, and they also provide kids who do not have families financially with shelter and food. When we walk with God by obeying and listening to him, God is always with us.
Paul in Philippians 1:12-14 takes a very selfless tone when discussing his role in advancing the gospel. Instead of making this advancement about his effort, Paul is understanding that he is not the cornerstone of the gospel, Jesus is. Churches today are all filled with and run by flawed people. When you receive a title that people listen to and respect it becomes easy to forget the true purpose. So many pastors fall into the trap of counting their efforts as what the advancement of the gospel is built on. Paul reminds us of that even when he is in prison and cannot do the work, the gospel is still being advanced. This goes on because he knows his efforts are not what matters but the work of God that is being done. Pastors should not look at advancement through a view that brings them advancement but the gospel advancement. The work that God has put on people’s lives should not be looked at to an end. There must be a reverence and an honor to be able to do the Lords work no matter what that is. “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel” (Philippians 1:12 ESV). Paul gives us the reminder that in all that we do and is done to us we must be seeking to advance the gospel no matter what.