V. The value of the letter
Two outstanding features of the letter may be mentioned. First, the Philippian letter will always remain as a tribute to the apostle’s attitude to his sufferings. By the grace of God he is able to rejoice under the most trying circumstances of his captivity and impending fate. His constant call to rejoicing (the word ‘joy’ and its cognate forms is found 16 times) is a distinguishing characteristic, as Bengel noted in his famous phrase: ‘summa epistolae, gaudeo, gaudete’. And the secret of that joy is fellowship with the Lord who is the centre of his life, whatever the future may hold (1:20–21).
Secondly, no introduction to the letter would be complete without a reference to the great passage in 2:5–11. Here we find the locus classicus of Paul’s doctrine of the person of Christ and the nature and scope of Christian salvation, and for that reason the Philippian Epistle will ever remain in the forefront of Pauline studies so long as the great apostle’s writings continue to engage the attention of Christian students.
