What does Philippians 1:17 mean?
Paul referred to those properly motivated to preach Christ in verse 16. In verse 17, his thoughts return to those with inappropriate motivations. Their goals were selfish, jealous, and even hostile. Some might have even spoken about the gospel for the purpose of making Paul's imprisonment worse. Such people were more concerned with their own benefit than the spread of the gospel.However, the opposite was actually the result. First, their selfish ambition led to more people hearing about Jesus. Second, the growing popularity of Christianity may have had something to do with Paul's later release. The church was small when Romans was written in 55–56. Yet by 64, less than 10 years later, Christians had become a large enough minority to receive the blame from Nero for the fires in Rome. Believers endured intense persecution during this time, traditionally including the deaths of both Paul and Peter in or near Rome during Nero's reign (AD 64–68). Both the Gospels of Mark and Luke may have been written in Rome during this time period as well.
Truth is a powerful thing; the harder one tries to suppress it, the more eagerly it seems to spread!
Philippians 1:12–18 explains Paul's perspective on his imprisonment. Specifically, Paul sees the many hardships of his life as a good thing, for one reason: they have led to the spread of the gospel. Paul has been held captive; this has allowed him to preach to his jailers. Paul has seen others repeat his own message in an effort to harm him; this has caused even more people to hear the gospel. This passage sets up Paul's upcoming argument that, whether by life or death, he intends to bring glory to God.
In chapter 1, Paul thanks the Philippian believers for supporting his ministry. Even when Paul was jailed, or persecuted, they had been generous and loyal. Paul encourages these Christians by explaining that all of his suffering has been for a good cause. Even better, these attempts to persecute Paul have actually caused the gospel to spread. For this, Paul is grateful. He fully expects to be released, and to see the believers of Philippi again.