And know also *ye*, O Philippians, that in [the] beginning of the gospel, when I came out of Macedonia, no assembly communicated [anything] to me in [the] way of giving and receiving save *ye* alone;
Writing from prison, Paul looks back to the days when the gospel first reached Europe. He names the one church that stood with him financially when no other did. Three questions follow: what "the beginning of the gospel" means, what "giving and receiving" involved, and why Philippi stood alone.
The word "gospel" can mean either the message itself or the work of announcing it. Here it means the preaching, so it marks a point in time.
In some passages, both in Mark and in the Letters of Paul, the word "gospel" points to a system of doctrine — the substance of the message of good news, not the act of proclaiming it. Elsewhere Paul says that "the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:14). These men preach a doctrine, but they do not live off a doctrine. It is by their service that they live, while preaching the doctrine… In Philippians 4:15, by the expression "the beginning of the gospel" he points out the beginning of the preaching of this good news.
Philippi's partnership began in one home and spread to the whole church. Corinth belonged to Christ too, but never learned this kind of sharing.
God called both Corinth and Philippi into the fellowship of His Son. But Philippi knew a fellowship that Corinth was a stranger to. Corinth needed the reminder that God had "commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel." Philippi needed no such reminder. The Lord opened Lydia's heart. She then opened her house to His servants, and the group of believers she belonged to locally opened their purse. They sent "once and again" an expression of fellowship.
Why did the other churches hold back? One writer points to their spiritual state.
It appears that he rarely received gifts from the people of God. Perhaps he met few even among them who could have been trusted. It would have done harm because of their lack of spiritual feeling. They might have thought something of it, or the gospel might have suffered in their minds or with others through it. But the Philippians were simple and spiritual enough. We know what delicate feelings the power of the Spirit can produce. So they had the privilege of ministering to his needs.
Paul's rule was to preach free of charge. One writer asks whether other churches joined in later.
Paul says it was "in the beginning of the gospel" — as I understand it, in the early days of the gospel in Europe — that "no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving." It is possible that later on some of the other assemblies did have fellowship with him in this way. But Paul tells us that his "reward" for preaching the gospel is, "that in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge" (1 Cor. 9:18). That seems to have been the principle Paul generally worked on; but the assembly at Philippi was a very bright exception: from them again and again he received gifts.
Paul still remembers what they did.
Love is never forgetful; it treasures up acts of service. And the apostle treasured up in memory the ways in which he had been cared for. God delights in service done to His saints; even what is done to the world He delights in too.
The Philippians were not wealthy donors.
Right after their conversion they helped support him. They sent help to him twice while he was in Thessalonica (ch. 4:16), at a time when he received nothing from other assemblies… Moreover it was by no means wealth that made this possible. Writing to Corinth, Paul mentions the churches of Macedonia. In a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity.
Their giving was personal, carried by someone they knew, to a man whose situation they knew.
In the letter to the Philippians we have a sweet instance of how an assembly cared for the apostle Paul from the very first (Phil. 4:15). He had hardly left before he received at Thessalonica a love-gift to supply his need… This was no cold, formal dropping of money into the box each week for workers they did not know, or paying into a ministers' fund. The assembly had the worker's need on their heart, and their own messenger carried the gift.
Churches still owe this care to those who preach:
An assembly would be to blame if they knew an evangelist was working and did not help him. They would be losing one of their privileges. The Philippians were very eager to do it… Locality makes no difference. An evangelist is a servant of Christ, not of the assembly.
- Beginning. "The beginning of the gospel" marks when the preaching started in Europe. Philippi backed Paul from that first day.
- Fellowship. Giving and receiving is partnership, not charity: Lydia opened her house, and the assembly opened its purse.
- Alone. No other church joined in. One writer says the rest lacked the spiritual state to give without harm to themselves or to the gospel's name.
- Cost. Their giving came out of extreme poverty, not surplus. It began right after their conversion.
- Memory. Paul still names their gift long afterwards. Love keeps records. God delights in such service, and a church that ignores the Lord's workers loses a privilege.
for also in Thessalonica once and even twice ye sent to me for my need.
Paul writes from prison to thank the church at Philippi, and he reaches back years to do it: while he was still in Macedonia, they had already sent help twice. That memory raises a large question — what does it look like when a church takes real responsibility for the person who brought it the gospel?
Start with how little time there was.
As far as we know, Paul was only in Thessalonica for a short time. It may have been just three weeks, though we cannot be sure. But at least twice in that short time, the believers in Philippi sent gifts to him.
What stands out is the timing. They did not wait until they could send something impressive.
Poor as they were, they clearly understood Paul's need and felt it deeply. They sent to him as soon as they could. They did not hold back until they could raise a bigger amount; they sent what they had as they got it. This is typical of the poor who love the Lord.
One writer aims the point straight at readers who have little to give:
I have no doubt that every one of these gifts was a sacrifice — but they were "sacrifices of joy." And they, in their deep poverty, were the only ones making these sacrifices... You do not need wealth to be generous... The apostle gladly accepted the gifts of the Philippian believers, though he would accept nothing from the wealthy Corinthians.
The New Testament has a word for this kind of giving: fellowship. It comes from ordinary business life, and it changes how we read the gift.
The Greek word for it comes from the word used for "partners" in Luke 5:10. James and John were partners with Simon in the fishing business... When Paul was preaching in Thessalonica and the believers in Philippi sent him gifts, they were sharing jointly in the gospel — "fellowship in the gospel."
How they gave mattered as much as what they gave.
Galatians 6:6 says, "Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches." In the letter to the Philippians we have a lovely example of how a church cared for the apostle Paul from the very first. He had only just left them when a love-gift reached him at Thessalonica to meet his need... This was no cold, formal matter of putting so much into the money-box each week for workers nobody knew, or giving so much into a ministers' fund. The church carried the worker's need on their heart, and their own messenger delivered the gift.
Years later Paul can still name the city and count the times they gave.
Love never forgets; it stores up acts of service. The apostle kept in his memory every way they had cared for him. God delights in service done to His saints.
Paul at once turns the credit away from himself and onto them.
With them it was no case of "out of sight, out of mind." They had kept him in their hearts while he was away. This touched him deeply — though, as he assures them, "not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit."
The gift arrived in Thessalonica, where believers were living right beside Paul and had not yet learned to do this themselves.
It may well seem strange to us, reading these words, that the Thessalonians were so slow to recognise and claim one of their highest privileges. The same witness records their "work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." So let us not only wonder as we read; let us learn. The lesson is for us. The grace they once lacked was given to them later.
- Partners, not donors. The word for fellowship is the word for business partners. Their money made them joint participants in Paul's work.
- Poverty gave first. They were the poor ones, and they were the only ones giving. Generosity does not wait for wealth.
- Speed over size. They sent as soon as they had something, twice inside a very short stay, instead of waiting to gather a larger sum.
- Personal, not institutional. Their own messenger carried the gift to a man whose need they held on their hearts. It was not coins dropped in a box for strangers.
- Credited, not consumed. Paul remembered every gift. He wanted it counted as fruit to their credit, not as relief for himself.