“And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear — Paul's courage strengthens others in faith (pepoithotai en kyriō, trusting in the Lord). His exemplary fearlessness in suffering emboldens the Christian community to bolder witness. 'Without fear' (aphobōs) suggests the contagion of faith: one person's trust in suffering catalyzes others' boldness. The gospel's advance is thus relational and communal, not individualistic.
Church Fathers on Philippians 1:14
“And that most of the brethren in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word without fear.” This shows that they were of good courage even before, and spoke with boldness, but much more now. If others then, says he, are of good courage through my bonds, much more am I; if I am the cause of confidence to others, much more to myself. “And most of the brethren in the Lord.” As it was a great thing to say, My bonds gave confidence to…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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