The Meaning of Philippians 1:14 Explained

Philippians 1:14

KJV: And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

YLT: and the greater part of the brethren in the Lord, having confidence by my bonds, are more abundantly bold -- fearlessly to speak the word.

Darby: and that the most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord through my bonds, dare more abundantly to speak the word of God fearlessly.

ASV: and that most of the brethren in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear.

Discover Philippians 1:14

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Philippians 1:14?

MEANING: What does Philippians 1:14 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Philippians 1:14 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Philippians 1:14?

What is the context of Philippians 1:14?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

What does Philippians 1:14 Mean?

Verse Meaning

A second reason Paul felt encouraged even though he was in prison was this. His example of aggressive witness had inspired the Roman Christians to be more outspoken in sharing the gospel. Rather than taking a lower profile because their leader was in chains, most of the local believers felt inspired by Paul"s courage. They were standing up boldly for Christ and trusting Him as they had not done before.

Context Summary

Philippians 1:12-21 - "to Live Is Christ, And To Die Is Gain"

It was a matter of comparative indifference to Paul what happened to himself so long as the gospel progressed, because the extension of the gospel meant the growing glory of Jesus. He was quite content to be in bonds, if only by his chains he might gain access to new realms, hitherto untrodden, for proclaiming his Lord. He could even view with equanimity the envy and strife of some, if Jesus might be named to those who had never heard of Him, He was prepared to live or to die, that Jesus might be magnified. He was willing to remain for a little longer outside of heaven, if that would better serve the cause he loved. His main argument for consistency of life on the part of his converts was that the success of the gospel might not be impeded. It seemed good to suffer, if only it were on the behalf of Christ. Oh that we might experience a similar absorption in the great interests of the gospel!

It is clear from this paragraph that death is not an unconscious sleep. It is gain. It is a loosing from anchorage so that the soul may go forth on the broad ocean of God's love. It does not interrupt our conscious fellowship with the Lord. The moment of absence here is the moment of presence there. To die is therefore gain. [source]

Chapter Summary: Philippians 1

¹ Paul testifies his thankfulness to God, and his love toward the Philippians,
⁹ daily praying for their increase in grace;
¹² he shows what good the faith of Christ had received by his troubles at Rome;
²¹ and how ready he is to glorify Christ either by his life or death;
²⁷ exhorting them to unity;
²⁸ and to fortitude in persecution

Greek Commentary for Philippians 1:14

The most of the brethren [τους πλειονας των αδελπων]
“The more part of the brethren.” The comparative with the article with the sense of the superlative as often in the Koiné. [source]

In the Lord [εν Κυριωι]
It is not clear whether this phrase is to be connected with “brethren” or with “being confident” (πεποιτοτας pepoithotas), probably with πεποιτοτας pepoithotas If so, then “through my bonds” (τοις δεσμοις μου tois desmois mou) would be the instrumental case and mean that by means of Paul‘s bonds the brethren “are more abundantly bold” (περισσοτερως τολμαιν perissoterōs tolmāin). [source]

Many [τοὺς πλείονας]
Rev., correctly, the most. Lit., the more. Implying that there were a few who held back. [source]

Brethren in the Lord []
In the Lord should be rather connected with being confident. The expression brethren in the Lord does not occur in the New Testament; while to have confidence in one in the Lord is found Galatians 5:10; 2 Thessalonians 3:4; compare Phlippians 2:24. In the Lord is thus emphatic. It may be correlative with in Christ, Phlippians 1:13; but this is not certain. In the Lord trusting my bonds, signifies that the bonds awaken confidence as being the practical testimony to the power of the Gospel for which Paul is imprisoned, and therefore an encouragement to their faith. [source]

Are much more bold [περισσοτέρως τολμᾶν]
Rev., more abundantly bold, thus holding more closely to the literal meaning of the adverb. For are bold, see on 2 Corinthians 10:2. The boldness required to profess Christ within the precincts of the palace is illustrated by the graffito or wall-scribble discovered in 1857 among the ruins on the Palatine. It is a caricature of Christ on the cross, with an ass's head, while on the left appears a christian youth in an attitude of adoration. Underneath are scrawled the words Alexamenos worships God. [source]

To speak [λαλεῖν]
The verb denotes the fact rather than the substance of speaking. See on Matthew 28:18. They have broken silence. [source]

What do the individual words in Philippians 1:14 mean?

and - most of the brothers in [the] Lord trusting by the chains of me more abundantly to dare fearlessly the word of God to speak

καὶ τοὺς πλείονας τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐν Κυρίῳ πεποιθότας τοῖς δεσμοῖς μου περισσοτέρως τολμᾶν ἀφόβως τὸν λόγον 〈τοῦ Θεοῦ〉 λαλεῖν

τοὺς	-
Parse: Article, Accusative Masculine Plural Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc.
πλείονας	most
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Masculine Plural, Comparative Root: πολύς Sense: greater in quantity.
τῶν	of the
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Plural Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἀδελφῶν	brothers
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Plural Root: ἀδελφός Sense: a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother.
Κυρίῳ	[the] Lord
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular Root: κύριος Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
πεποιθότας	trusting
Parse: Verb, Perfect Participle Active, Accusative Masculine Plural Root: ἐπισείω Sense: persuade.
τοῖς	by the
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Plural Root: ὁ Sense: this, that, these, etc.
δεσμοῖς	chains
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Plural Root: δεσμός Sense: a band or bond.
μου	of me
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular Root: ἐγώ Sense: I, me, my.
περισσοτέρως	more abundantly
Parse: Adverb Root: περισσῶς Sense: beyond measure, extraordinary.
τολμᾶν	to dare
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active Root: τολμάω Sense: not to dread or shun through fear.
ἀφόβως	fearlessly
Parse: Adverb Root: ἀφόβως Sense: without fear, boldly.
λόγον	word
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular Root: λόγος Sense: of speech.
Θεοῦ〉	God
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular Root: θεός Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.
λαλεῖν	to speak
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active Root: ἀπολαλέω Sense: to utter a voice or emit a sound.

What are the major concepts related to Philippians 1:14?

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