Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 45:1 (NA 1994)
Article: Paul’s Letter To The Philippians In The Light Of Disunity In The Church
Author: Davorin Peterlin

TynBul 45:1 (1994) p. 207

Paul’s Letter To The Philippians In The Light Of Disunity In The Church1

Davorin Peterlin

Paul’s letter to the Philippians is ordinarily seen as reflecting a warm relationship between Paul and the congregation, and a similarly exemplary fellowship within the congregation, marred only by petty bickering. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate that, quite on the contrary, the theme of disunity is more widespread in Philippians than is usually acknowledged, and that it actually underlies the whole of Philippians. It is suggested that the situation of disunity in the church is the background against which Philippians is to be read.

The dissertation is divided into two parts. Part One draws attention to the distribution of the theme of disunity throughout much of the letter. Following the sequential order of Philippians I deal with the following main units: 1:1-11, 1:12-26; 1:27-2:18, 3:1-4:1, 4:2,3. The following questions are addressed: What are the characteristics of disunity in the Philippian church? Which factors contributed to its emergence? Who are the participants? What can be concluded about the dynamics of their interaction? Can all these references be taken as facets of one and the same situation?

The findings suggest that some time prior to Philippians the church came under some kind of external pressure from the pagan environment (1:27-30), possibly in the form of social ostracism. Although active persecution is unlikely, the Philippian Christians apparently felt the pressure quite acutely. This forced the church to think through its understanding of the problem of suffering. Some Christians averred that their God could not possibly desire that any of

TynBul 45:1 (1994) p. 208

his true followers should suffer. This assumption was presumably partly rooted in, and carried over from, their former pagan religious conceptions. Others maintained that their new faith entailed suffering. The dispute involved a large number of Christians, but led to confusion rather than controversy.

Another factor informing the picture of the situation is the presence of a certain perfectionist streak in the church. Its precise nature unfortunately remains elusive, which makes it extremely difficult to gauge its role in, and pinpoint its specific contributio...