Verse Lens · Context pointer
Philippians 1:8 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 8. 8For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
Paul calls God as witness to the deep, Christ-shaped affection he has for the entire church.
Read It With
- Philippians 1:3–8
Read verses 3–8 together. Paul's affection in verse 8 completes a thanksgiving shaped by prayer, partnership, confidence in God, and shared grace.
Why It Needs Context
Verse 8 expresses Paul's affection but does not explain its basis by itself. Verses 3–7 show the shared gospel life that gives this affection substance.
Read Philippians 1:3–8 together
Why these verses belong together: Thanksgiving, confidence, shared grace, and affection form one movement.
Verse 3. 3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
Verse 4. 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
Verse 5. 5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
Verse 6. 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Verse 7. 7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
Verse 8. 8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Philippians 1:3–11 — Paul Thanks God and Prays for Their Growing LoveSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
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 1:3–11.
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 1:3–11.
Open the Philippians Greek text file ↗