Advent Season · Second Sunday of Advent · Year C
Philippians 1:3-11
Thanksgiving and Prayer
December 5, 2027
Overview & Insights
“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)
Prescript The prescript, or introductory salutation, of an ancient letter regularly contained three elements: (a) the name of the sender or senders; (b) the name of the recipient or recipients, and (c) a word of greeting or good wishes. Examples abound from letters of the New Testament period, in Greek and in Latin, both literary and nonliterary; earlier examples are the extracts from the official correspondence of the Persian court quoted in the book of Ezra; compare Ezra 7:12, “Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of Heaven: Greetings.” This pattern is followed here, as in all the NT letters: Paul and Timothy are named as the senders and “all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi” as the recipients, and the word of good wishes is “grace and peace.”
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Commentary
Commentary on Philippians 1:3-11 Working Preacher
The Lutheran home commentary on Paul's confidence that God will finish the good work he began.
Philippians 1:3-11 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching
A Reformed preaching commentary on Paul's prayer for a love that grows in insight.
Philippians 1 - Paul's Confidence and Prayer Enduring Word · David Guzik
A verse-by-verse evangelical study of Paul's thanksgiving and prayer for the church.
Philippians Commentaries and Sermons Precept Austin
A gateway to inductive word studies and cross references across Philippians.
Philippians 1:3 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on Paul's opening thanksgiving.
Philippians 1:3 Verse-by-Verse Commentary StudyLight
A large library of expositors stacked verse by verse for a further voice on the passage.
Background & Word Study
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
How does Paul open Philippians?
With joyful thanksgiving for the church’s partnership in the gospel, confident that God will complete his work in them, and praying their love may abound more and more in knowledge (Philippians 1:3–11).
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