Philippians 1:1–2, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Philippians 1:1–2
Paul Greets a Church He Knows Well
Paul and Timothy greet the whole Philippian church as people who belong to Christ and receive grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why this sits here
Before Paul can thank, report, correct, or encourage, he establishes the relationship: servants of Christ are writing to a whole community that is also identified by Christ.
What helps us understand it
Later material that clarifies it
Philippians 4:21–23Greeting every saint closes the whole-community frame opened by Paul's address to all the saints in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:21 in Philippians 4:21–23 is the reviewed hinge that connects the two units.
Paul opens an actual letter to an actual church. He names Timothy with himself, addresses every believer at Philippi—including recognized leaders—and begins with grace and peace rooted in God and Christ.
How the passage moves
Paul and Timothy identify themselves as servants of Jesus Christ.
They address the whole church, while also naming its overseers and deacons.
What the author is communicating
Why this reading fits
Who is addressed
The repeated emphasis falls on all the saints, with leaders included rather than substituted for the church.
How identity is described
Both the senders and recipients are defined by their relationship to Jesus Christ.
A phrase that matters
servants / slaves
δοῦλοι · douloi
The plural describes Paul and Timothy as belonging to and serving Christ. 'Servants' is understandable English, while 'slaves' makes the ownership dimension more visible; the sentence does not use apostolic status as its opening title.
overseers and deacons
ἐπίσκοποι καὶ διάκονοι · episkopoi kai diakonoi
The terms identify recognized community functions. The KJV's 'bishops' should not automatically import a later denominational hierarchy into this first-century greeting.
A needed correction
Familiar lines can sound much broader when removed from the argument of Philippians 1:1–2. The context rules out these readings:
This passage does not teach that the word 'saints' identifies an elite class of unusually holy Christians; here it addresses the whole community in Christ.
This passage does not teach that the terms 'bishops and deacons' by themselves settle every later question about church government.
What remains true
A Christian community receives its identity and life from belonging to Christ and from the grace and peace of God, with leaders included as servants within the whole body.
How this should shape us
What should a church value?
Address and care for the whole community rather than treating leaders as the church and everyone else as spectators.
What should a reader believe?
Christian standing begins with belonging to Christ and receiving grace, not earning a spiritual title.
Teach it back
Explain Philippians 1:1–2 in your own words. State its main movement, why it appears here, and one boundary on application.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Read it sentence by sentenceEach line inside the larger movement
The whole church is addressed
Paul is the principal voice, Timothy is named with him, and 'all' includes the community together with its recognized overseers and deacons. Leadership is named within, not instead of, the saints.
Grace and peace frame the letter
The greeting is conventional in form yet explicitly Christian in source: God the Father and Jesus Christ are jointly named as the source of grace and peace.
Original-language wording and grammarTechnical detail appears only where it helps
servants / slaves
The plural describes Paul and Timothy as belonging to and serving Christ. 'Servants' is understandable English, while 'slaves' makes the ownership dimension more visible; the sentence does not use apostolic status as its opening title.
How certain? strongoverseers and deacons
The terms identify recognized community functions. The KJV's 'bishops' should not automatically import a later denominational hierarchy into this first-century greeting.
How certain? strongWhat the first readers would have understoodRelevant history and culture
A real community with recognized leaders
The explicit naming of overseers and deacons shows an organized local church, but the greeting does not give enough detail to reconstruct a complete later system of offices.
How certain? strongWhy translations sometimes differMaterial translation choices
Servants, bond-servants, or slaves
English versions differ because doulos carries both service and ownership. The contextual point is allegiance to Christ, not modern voluntary employment.
How certain? strongBishops or overseers
The KJV's 'bishops' uses older ecclesial English. 'Overseers' more directly communicates the ordinary first-century term without deciding a later church-polity debate.
How certain? strongHow this connects with the rest of ScriptureThe passage's own meaning remains primary
Paul's letter openings
Other Pauline greetings use related sender-recipient and grace-peace patterns. The comparison identifies a letter convention; Philippians' distinctive inclusion of overseers and deacons still deserves attention.
How certain? strongTheology that emerges from this passageConclusions drawn after reading the complete section
Theological contribution
Christian identity is corporate and located 'in Christ Jesus,' not grounded in social rank or individual achievement.
How certain? strongTheological contribution
Grace and peace are presented as gifts sourced in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
How certain? very strongResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: The KJV wording and immediate English context for Philippians 1:1–2.
eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Philippians 1; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording and punctuation used as the base text for this passage.
Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Phil.txt, Philippians 1, verses within Philippians 1:1–2.
Supports: Material English translation choices, syntax notes, and textual variants identified for this passage.
NET Bible, Philippians 1, translator and textual notes attached to the verses in Philippians 1:1–2.
Supports: Passage structure, historical setting, Greek analysis, and interpretive alternatives tested against the primary text.
Paul A. Holloway, Philippians: A Commentary (Hermeneia), pp. 61–68.
Supports: A cross-check of the Greek forms and reasonable lexical range for words surfaced to readers.
STEP Bible Data repository, Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (TAGNT) and Greek lexical records, Philippians 1, verses within Philippians 1:1–2.
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: The KJV wording and immediate English context for Philippians 1:1–2.
Exact location: eBible/CrossWire eng-kjv2006 USFM, source files dated 2026-08-19, Philippians 1; archive and normalized-corpus SHA-256 values are recorded in the library policy.
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: The critically edited Greek wording and punctuation used as the base text for this passage.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT repository, data/sblgnt/text/Phil.txt, Philippians 1, verses within Philippians 1:1–2.
Open the Philippians Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Philippians with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, digital edition accessed 2026
Supports: Material English translation choices, syntax notes, and textual variants identified for this passage.
Exact location: NET Bible, Philippians 1, translator and textual notes attached to the verses in Philippians 1:1–2.
Open NET Philippians 1 ↗A major interpretive source
Philippians: A Commentary
Paul A. Holloway
Fortress Press, Hermeneia, 2017
Supports: Passage structure, historical setting, Greek analysis, and interpretive alternatives tested against the primary text.
Exact location: Paul A. Holloway, Philippians: A Commentary (Hermeneia), pp. 61–68.
Open the book record ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: A cross-check of the Greek forms and reasonable lexical range for words surfaced to readers.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data repository, Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (TAGNT) and Greek lexical records, Philippians 1, verses within Philippians 1:1–2.
Open source ↗