‘And you yourselves also know, you Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church had sharing in common with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you only, for even in Thessalonica you sent once and again to my need.'
Indeed he wanted them to know that he had never forgotten that when he had begun his mission in Europe and had left Philippi for Thessalonica, it had been the Philippians alone who had provided him with support, not once but a number of times. He was thus emphasising that rather than being ungrateful he looked on them with especial gratitude.. ‘Giving and receiving' may signify that they gave and Paul received. Alternately it might mean that they had given him material things and in return they had received from him spiritual things, probably through the ministry of his deputies.
‘In the beginning of the Gospel' is looking at the beginning from the Philippian (and European) viewpoint (compare ‘ from the first day until now' in Philippians 1:5). ‘You Philippians' is an affectionate expression indicating the special feeling that he has for them. Far from wanting them to feel that he disapproved of their action, he rather wanted them to recognise that he saw them as partners from the beginning, and acknowledged wholeheartedly their contribution to the European venture. Nevertheless overall it is apparent that he was very concerned that no one should feel that God had been dependent on them and could not have managed without them. That is why he makes clear that in Christ he had known that he had all-sufficiency, whoever sent him gifts (and even if no one did).