Philippians - Verse-by-Verse Biblical Exegesis

continue their experiential sanctification. He addresses a special group of mature believers with the
Vocative “beloved.” If this verse was addressed to all the believers in Philippi, he would have used
“brethren” instead of “beloved.” Paul wants all the Philippian believers to continue growing in the
spiritual life, but the phrase that follows is applicable only to those who are making progress every
single day, i.e., believers in supergrace B.
Paul uses two temporal adverbs to point to the consistency of this special group of believers in the
intake, metabolization and application of Bible doctrine. These believers have always (Gnomic
Aorist tense) obeyed his authority (Latin: obedience) by taking in doctrine every single day, not just
when they feel like it. And not only have they been faithful when he was teaching them in person in
Philippi, but they continued to be faithful while he was in Rome and elsewhere. Paul didn’t have to
check in on them to see how they were doing. They showed up at Bible class every night, or they
read his letters over and over again on a daily basis. The phrase “in my absence” (Latin: in absentia)
points to Paul as their non-resident apostle, similar to our non-resident pastors and teachers.
Geographical location is not a critical factor when it comes to learning doctrine. Your pastor and/or
teacher does not have to live in your city, or even your state. Especially in today’s world of modern
communication, you can learn by radio, TV (although what I’ve seen lately doesn’t qualify as
teaching), books, the internet, etc. The Philippian believers were continuing to learn from Paul even
though he had been in prison for a long, long time. Due to periodic reports from visitors, Paul has
heard how well they have been doing. This makes him so happy that he is able to call these
believers, not just “brethren,” but also “beloved.” And his command to them, even though these
believers don’t need to be commanded to do this, is to “keep on keeping on” in the spiritual life
(Iterative Present tense).
Paul wants this special group of supergrace B believers to continue producing spiritual fruit, moving
on to ultra-supergrace. He wants them to advance by overcoming all opposition, both internal and
external. He wants them to continue their advance with caution, vigilance and circumspection,
occupied with Jesus Christ. He wants them to continue having respect for Bible doctrine because it
is the primary building material for their spiritual progress. He wants them to continue their growth
in experiential sanctification, advancing through the no-man’s land of suffering and testing to the
ultra-supergrace life. He knows there are dangers facing them from within and without, so he
chooses his word carefully, emphasizing caution, preservation in danger, and respect for the
doctrinal rationales that will enable them to pass evidence testing.
The Greek word “soterion” does not always mean “salvation” in the positional sense. Quite often it
is translated “deliverance” or “preservation.” Those with a limited, restricted understanding of the
etymology of this word have forced the idea of positional, eternal salvation into verses where it does
not belong. Salvation in this context refers to sanctification-salvation, not justification-salvation.
Paul is talking about our experiential growth by means of Bible doctrine and the filling of the Holy
Spirit, not our initial entrance into the spiritual life at regeneration. As pointed out by Jody Dillow,
salvation can be seen in three phases (justification-salvation, sanctification-salvation, and
glorification-salvation), and it is crucially important to understand which phase is being