Valentinian Gnostics of the 2nd century, who taught that the Spirit
"Sophia" fell from the "fulness" of divine spirits in heaven to the
"emptiness" of the lower world. This objection is too fantastic to
deserve serious refutation. It is, in fact, little more than a play
upon words. It was urged (2) that in Phil. ii. 7 the manhood of Christ
is said to have come into existence at the incarnation, whereas in 1
Cor. xv. 47-49 it is said to have existed in heaven before the
incarnation. This idea rests on a false interpretation; in 1 Cor. xv.
Christ is called "of heaven" {189} because His manhood became heavenly
at His ascension. It was urged (3) that in Phil. iii. 6 the writer
says that he had been, "as touching the righteousness which is in the
Law, found blameless," whereas St. Paul in Rom. vii. speaks of his
revolt against the Law. But it seems that in Phil. iii. St. Paul is
laying stress rather on his external privileges and external
conformity, while in Rom. vii. he speaks of what is inward and secret.
It was urged (4) that the mention of "bishops" (or rather _episkopoi_)
and "deacons" in Phil. i. 1 shows that the Epistle was not written in
the apostolic age. But there is nothing to make it impossible that
such offices did exist at that period, and there is much evidence in
favour of them. Christians who are attached to the historical form of
Church government will now note with interest that, since the
genuineness of this Epistle has been practically demonstrated, some
writers have suggested that these words do not refer to special
ecclesiastical offices![1]

[Sidenote: To whom written.]

Philippi was named after Philip, King of Macedon, in the 4th century
B.C. It was in Eastern Macedonia, on a steep hill at the edge of a
plain; its seaport, Neapolis, was about eight miles distant. It was on
the Egnatian road, the great high-road which connected the Aegean and
the Adriatic seas, and therefore connected Asia with Europe. It was
made into a Roman colony, with the title _Colonia Augusta Julia
Philippensium_, after the victory of Antony and Octavian over Brutus
and Cassius. Its new name was, therefore, a memorial of the murdered
but avenged Julius Caesar. St. Paul brought Christianity to Philippi
early in A.D. 50, during his second missionary journey. St. Paul's
first visit here is described in Acts xvi. 12-40, and it has a special
interest as the story of the apostle's first preaching in a European
town.