Congregational Evangelism in Philippians

'Careful readers of Paul's letters are often surprised to find no explicit, unambiguous commands to entire congregations to be involved in mission. Explanations of this phenomenon have usually not done justice to the large number of implicit commands scattered throughout these epistles and particularly in Philippians. Keown builds on several recent works that have begun to rectify this situation and provides the most detailed exegetical analysis yet of the call for the entire Philippian congregation to proclaim the gospel verbally whenever they can. While not every piece of evidence Keown marshals proves equally persuasive, overall his case is a highly convincing one.'

--Craig Bloomberg is Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary



'This is a detailed case-study of Philippians that demonstrates carefully how the local congregation is involved in evangelism and thus provides important exegetical input to the continuing discussion concerning Paul's understanding of mission. The author's fresh examinations of some key texts deserve careful attention.'

--I. Howard Marshall is Emeritus Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Honorary Research Professor at the University of Aberdeen