Acts 28: his gift of miraculous healing is quite unimpaired (Acts 28: 8, 9)? This

certainly must be faced from Scripture, and we should like to know the answer.

It has been asserted that because the word "mystery" does not occur in Philippians, the

epistle cannot be written after Acts 28: By the same argument II Timothy, Paul's

last letter, would have nothing to do with the Mystery, for likewise the word does not

occur there! The word `sanctification' does not occur in Philippians. Are we to conclude

then, that this church was not sanctified? Let us face the fact that an argument from

silence is exceedingly weak unless accompanied by strong positive evidence. If Paul had

to mention every basic or important truth in every letter he wrote, he would have been

compelled to have written long volumes concerned with doctrine rather than letters.

Those with dispensational leanings who place Philippians in the Acts should weigh over

very carefully what they are losing in precious truth belonging to the Body of Christ as

against anything they think they are going to gain by so doing.

We have said nothing about the question of "bishops and deacons" (Phil. 1: 1) as this is

no problem as related to the Mystery when viewed Scripturally: but we hope we have

made it clear that we have good ground for placing the epistle to the Philippians after

Acts 28: and written from Paul's house-imprisonment in Rome.

Having given our reasons for believing that this epistle was written from Paul's

imprisonment at Rome, and therefore circulated after the Acts, we note that it is a letter

pre-eminently of unselfish service, in connection with the gospel and the fullness of Truth

made known after Israel's defection. This letter does not go over the ground again of

Ephesians. There was no need to do this. Philippians deals with the responsibility that

comes from receiving the riches of grace and glory that are revealed in Ephesians and

Colossians, the working out of our salvation with a prize or Divine reward in view, and

thus it balances II Timothy with its similar emphasis on a crown (II Tim. 4: 8 and cp.

2: 12).

We are not surprised therefore to find service stressed in the first verse:

and it is the only epistle of Paul's to begin in this way. The word `servant' is literally

`slave', and on the surface it seems extraordinary that the champion of liberty (Gal. 5: 1)

should so describe himself. But ever since his conversion, the Apostle's conception of

redemption was that he had been purchased by the Lord and thus he was entirely the

Lord's property, as his very first question showed (Acts 9: 6). Only those who have this

experience and realize its implications to the full know what real freedom is. Before we