<p>1:1 <i>Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus-</i> Paul was writing from prison in Rome; Timothy was with him. Yet 2 Tim. 4:9 records Paul's request for Timothy to come and be with him there as he was about to die. Perhaps this letter was written after Timothy arrived; or perhaps Timothy was with Paul there at some earlier stage in Paul's time at Rome. This seems most likely, because Paul says he is going to send Timothy to them (2:19) and hopes to come to them himself (1:26). If this was after Timothy had come to Paul on his deathbed as it were, we see here how Paul valued their encouragement more than his own. The emphasis upon &quot;joy&quot; in Philippians is notable, and is all the more significant when we consider that Paul was writing from prison, and perhaps at the end of his life. And we would then read Paul's words in 2 Tim. 4 as written in depression, whereas here he is confident of release and visiting Philippi again (:26); unless we are to read this as the unrealistic hopes of a dying man. Throughout this exposition I have noted hints which would support the idea that Philippians was written at the end of Paul's life, facing death, at around the time he wrote 2 Timothy (see notes on 2:12,16, 17,23; 3:13,20; 4:1,13; Col. 4:14).</p><p><i>To all the saints in Christ Jesus that are at Philippi-</i> The general congregation are addressed first, and then the overseers, as if to emphasize that Paul is writing to all. There would have been a tendency for the illiterate mass of the congregations to feel they were mere spectators at a show, just as there is in large churches today. &quot;Saints&quot; is the term used for all Israel being a &quot;holy people&quot; in that they were all intended to be priests (Ex. 19:6; Dt. 7:6; 14:2). The point was that although they had spiritual leaders, they were all to take priestly responsibility in the new Israel.</p><p><i>With the bishops and deacons- </i>We must respect elders (and indeed all people) for who they are as persons, and not for any &lsquo;office&rsquo; they may appear to hold. Notice how in Phil. 1:1 Paul omits the definite article (&ldquo;the&rdquo;) in addressing bishops and deacons. Those words indicate what they do for people, rather than any position in a hierarchy. Jesus seems to have outlawed the use of any official titles for His ecclesia (Mt. 23:8-12). Paul never speaks of an ecclesial &lsquo;elder&rsquo; but of <i>elders</i> in the plural. The same can be said of &ldquo;bishops (overseers), see Phil.1:1; Acts 20:28. Our groups may have secretaries or teachers, but this individual must never be seen as<i>&nbsp;the </i>elder. There is only one author Gk. &lsquo;pioneer&rsquo; of our faith: the Lord Himself, who worked in our lives to bring us to Himself. This is stressed in Acts 3:15; 5:31; Heb. 2:10; 12:2.</p><p><i>Bishops</i>- Vine notes that &quot;The word was originally a secular title, designating commissioners appointed to regulate a newly-acquired territory or a colony&quot;. Paul may be using it in this sense, for he sought to leave behind in each new church someone who could teach the new converts, whom he saw as colonies on earth of the Heavenly Kingdom. It would therefore be possible to argue that &quot;bishops&quot; were a temporary office designed for a missionary context. &quot;Deacons&quot; are the servants of the church, those serving by practical arrangement of things.</p>