Philippian Philanthropy

“And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the Gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for needs once and again” (Philippians 4:15-16).

Sometimes help comes from the most unexpected places. Somebody who would never imagine comes through in just the right way and at just the right time. Paul knows all about that. The Roman colonial seaport of Philippi may be in his rearview mirror, but the support of the local believers continues to drop in his lap. These brand new followers of Jesus aren’t exactly rolling in cash. Despite their poverty, they bankroll the apostle’s Good News road trip. Call it Philippian philanthropy. They give so much because they’ve been given so much. 

Paul begins by flipping back through the scrapbook and remembering those crazy days when he first rolled into Philippi. “And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the Gospel” (v15). This was during his second Mediterranean tour and the first time anyone in Europe ever hears about Jesus. Breaking news! The God of Israel is now throwing the doors open to His kingdom to the entire world, not just the Jewish people. Dr. Luke wrote all about how the time Jesus used the Gospel to turn Philippi upside down in his sequel we call the book of Acts (Acts 16:12-40).

Think about the Gospel Paul brought to Macedonia for just a minute. God makes salvation available to anyone and everyone by placing your trust in the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from the boondocks of Galilee. Jesus lived the perfect life of obedience to God’s commandments that we failed to live. He died the brutal death for our sin we should have died. He rose to jaw-dropping new life we don’t deserve. The risen Christ gives us what we could never ever dream of getting for ourselves. That’s the “beginning of the Gospel” and 2,000 years later, it hasn’t stopped. 

Yeah, it was a whole scene in Philippi. Conversions. Riots. Public flogging. A supernatural prison break. Even a bizarre confrontation between Paul and city officials where the apostle demanded public ceremony as his team left town. But Paul’s connection to the Philippian church didn’t end the day he packed up and hit the road. “When I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you” (v15). You see, the goofy little church in Philippi had Paul’s back like no other.

They give. They receive. By writing “giving (Gr. doseus) and receiving (Gr. lempseus)” (v15), the apostle uses financial terminology. He’s describing debit and credit. He’ll use that same language a little later in verse 17. Think QuickBooks. Picture a spreadsheet. Dave Ramsey would be proud. If the apostle was keeping a profit-and-loss statement for churches who provided financial support, he only had to keep one at this point. They do it out of gratitude. They do it out of love. Paul says this is the only kind of debt we should have. “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Rom 13:8). The fellowship at Philippi stood alone. Later, the Thessalonians and Bereans also gave significant cash to the cause (2Cor 11:8-9).

Their financial support continued to flow “even in Thessalonica” (v16). This was Paul’s next church-planting stop after leaving Philippi (Acts 17:1-10). Apparently things blew up after just three weeks of telling Thessalonian Jews that Jesus is indeed the Messiah they’ve been waiting for. Some believed, including many Gentiles as well as a significant number of powerful women. However numerous Thessalonian Jews didn’t buy what he was selling. Think Ferguson. Think Baltimore. As a result, the city erupted in mob violence and rioting with vigilante Jews going house to house, hunting down Jesus’ followers. Thessalonian believers were able to slip the apostle out of town one night down the road to Berea. 

During the those dangerous days in Thessalonica riots, the little Philippian church provided significant financial support to Paul. They “sent me help for my needs once and again” (v16). The money flowed from Philippi to their founding pastor not once, but twice. The apostle kept moving. The Gospel kept spreading. The money kept flowing. During his legendary stop in Athens and his amazing message on Mars Hill, the Philippians had his back. During his 18 months in Corinth, the Philippians had his back. And it’s not like they’re rolling in the cash. Their support for the apostle and his road trip was a huge sacrifice. In one of his letters to the Corinthians, he describes how the Macedonian churches’ poverty didn’t stop their generosity (2Cor 8:1-3). 

Macedonian tour stops include places like Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. Jesus uses Paul and his posse to plant churches in each of these cities. After that, the apostle headed south on the Grecian Peninsula to the Athens and eventually Corinth (Acts 17:6-18:18). While the names of the cities continue to change as the Gospel tsunami washes across the Mediterranean Rim, there’s one constant. God’s love and support for Paul through the Philippians. And nobody saw the philanthropy of the Philippians coming. 

The Philippians give because God has given so much to them. Our incredibly giving God has placed them under the waterfall of His grace and they know it. He gave us His Son (Jn 3:16). His Son gave us His life (1Jn 3:16). He gave us His Spirit (Jn 14:16-18, 26; 15:26; 1Jn 4:13). God is remaking us in His image. There is no great Giver in the history of the universe. He’s making each one of us into overflowing givers too. 

The Philippians get that. How about you? Stop and think for just a moment just how amazingly generous God has been to you. As the old hymn says, “Count your blessings, name them one by one.” Do a little accounting of God’s goodness in your life. Family. Job. Health. Home. Church. I don’t know about you, but it sure seems like I’ve been on the receiving end of the firehose of His grace. I can’t help but give because I’ve been given SO much! That’s what it means to be a giver. I’m to be generous with my money. I’m to be generous with my time. I’m to be generous with my talents. And if you knew me a few years back, you would have never seen that coming. Talk about help from an unexpected source.