Summary: Philippians begins with encouragement to the church to live in hope in Christ in the midst of social and political challenges. The long and warm relationship between Paul and this church is emphasized. A key theme in the opening of the letter is that to live with Jesus Christ as “Lord” has both personal and political implications: How do Christians live with Jesus as Lord in a world with many “gods” and many “lords”? These teachings introduced in chapter 1 will be woven through the rest of Philippians.
