<p>1:7 <i>It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, both in my imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel- </i>The &quot;defence and confirmation of the gospel&quot; uses legal terms- the Greek word translated &quot;defence&quot; means a plea entered in a court of law; and &quot;confirmation&quot; refers to supporting evidence offered to a judge. Paul's idea is that in our preaching, our audiences are the judge; and we are entering a plea for the case of none other than God Himself, and His Son. We have to ask whether our witness to the world is indeed a <i>plea</i>- or whether it's a case of merely getting people in our own social group to just drop by at <i>our</i> church rather than their usual one. The fact we are speaking on God's behalf, pleading for His case to be accepted in the hard hearts of men, should impart an urgency, a desire to penetrate minds, and persistence in our witness.</p><p><i>You all are partakers with me of grace</i>- As noted on :6, the grace which they had partaken of was the gift of the Spirit in their hearts, which was constantly at work preparing them for the final salvation of the last day. It is this common experience of spiritual transformation which is the basis of Christian fellowship in practice, rather than solely a common theological understanding. Paul had &quot;fellowship in the Gospel&quot; with the Philippians, &quot;because... ye all are partakers with me of grace&quot; (Phil. 1:5-7 RV). All those in the Lord Jesus by valid baptism, and who remain in Him by faithful continuance in His way, are partakers of His gracious pardon, salvation, and patient fellowship; and they will, naturally and inevitably, reflect this to their brethren as part of their gratitude to Him.</p>