Philippians 1:1 says, Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:  Paul was a prisoner in Rome at this time, and Timothy was there assisting him.  Paul identifies himself and Timotheus, or Timothy, as servants of Jesus Christ.  The letter was written to all those who believed in Christ at Philippi, including, but not limited to, the religious leaders.  Paul did not believe that the religious leaders were the only ones who should hear from him, but that all the followers of Christ were equally deserving to hear.  We need to acknowledge the same thing today, and that is that we may have different callings in service to God, but we are all equal spiritually.  Verse two states, Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.  Paul wishes the Christians there grace and peace, and without the grace of God there can be no real peace, and by His grace we should always be at peace in the world if we are followers of Christ.  Verse three says, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,  Paul said that he thanked God every time he thought about the Christians at Philippi.  We should also thank God when we think about our fellow Christians today.  Just as they are important to God, they should be important to us.  Verse four states, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,  Paul said that he always prayed for their joy, which could only come from a right relationship with God.  I don't believe the things of this world will ever bring us joy, but no matter what is going on in the world around us, we should have joy because of our relationship with God through our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse five says, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;  Paul said that they had remained true to the gospel from the first day that they had accepted it.  We need people to be able to say the same thing about us today.  Verse six declares, 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:  Paul said that they were confident in the fact that Jesus Christ could complete the work that He had started in them.  When we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, our salvation is assured, but it will not be completed until Christ returns.  Until then, we must simply stand fast in our faith.  Verse seven adds, 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.  Paul said that even in his bonds it was good too think about the Christians at Philippi, because they were also partakers of, or believers in ,the gospel.  We today should also thank God for our fellow believers, because we all work together for the glory of God.  Verse eight says, For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.  Paul said that God would be a witness to how much he cared about these fellow believers.  Can we say the same today?  Verse nine adds, And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;  Paul prayed that their love would abound more as they learned more to be obedient to Christ.  As we grow closer to God through Christ, our love for our fellow Christians and especially for the lost of the world should grow.  Verse ten continues, That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;  As Paul told the believers at Philippi, as we live by faith, our actions should be approved by God.  When we do, the things that we do will be excellent and sincere.  Verse eleven concludes, Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.  As with Christians of all times, we should be filled with the fruits of righteousness of Christ..  Righteousness is not something that we attain on our own, but comes only from obedience to God through our faith in Christ as our Savior and Lord.