What does Philippians 1:5 mean?
Verse 4 notes the joy Paul receives from the Philippian church. In this verse, he refers to the major source of this joy: "partnership." These believers had been helping Paul to spread the gospel since they first became believers. This letter was written some 12 years after the founding of the Philippian church in approximately AD 49. This partnership included prayer, people, resources, and finances. This is why Paul does not specifically mention money here, though he will in chapter 4.Their partnership was "in the gospel." They supported his missionary work to reach more people for Christ and start new churches. Paul started at least 20 local churches throughout his ministry and likely more. The Philippian church helped fund some of these congregations, making them one of the first "sending" churches, along with Jerusalem (Acts 2) and Antioch (Acts 13). The church at Philippi seemed to understand the importance of spreading the word as far and wide as possible.