Tag Archives: Philippians 1:12-18

Structure of Philippians 1:12-18

1) Here’s my student Joe leading our Greek 3 class in a discussion of the structure of Phil. 1:12-18.

2) I’ll repeat: There is nothing I enjoy more than watching my students teach. Here Joe is taking us through the Greek text of Phil. 1:12-14.

His analysis clearly shows how, in this section of Philippians, Paul is turning his attention to the progress of the Gospel, as seen in two ways: 1) his guards (and others) know that he’s in prison for the cause of Christ, and 2) the Christians in Rome are more actively (and fearlessly) proclaiming Christ. That little word mallon shouldn’t be overlooked. The “progress” that Paul’s describing came “unexpectedly.” One would think that imprisonment would mean the end, not the beginning of something. But God delights in making good out of evil. (More on that below.)