Philippians

Exodus 25-27; Philippians 1, Psalm 90 – Partnership and Presence

Amazon.com Widgets Partnership and presence are the two words that resonate in these texts. When it comes to partnership, we see that God gives instructions to Moses to have a collection for the building of the tabernacle. From every person whose heart is moved, there is to be a collection of precious materials – gold, [...]


Notes on Philippians – A Short Commentary

Chapter 1 1:1 Service. Paul and Timothy see themselves as servants of Christ. What a great posture for leaders! The key to spiritual authority is service. The more you serve others with a heart of humility and generosity, the more people will see you as a leader. The greatest in the kingdom of God is [...]


Philippians 1:27-30 – Suffering

Philippians 1:27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28 without being frightened [...]


Gal. 1:10; 1 Thes. 2:4; 1 Cor. 9:19-23; Phil. 2:5-11

Does Christian love call us to please people? This is a more complex question that it first appears. On the one hand, we might say, of course, we should please people and not ourselves, but Paul is rather emphatic that a servant of God cannot in the end be a people-pleaser. He writes in Galatians [...]


Philippians 4:10-23 – Bible Study – Contentment

a. Introduction Paul ends this letter on a note of thanksgiving, but not before giving one more lesson on contentment. To be sure Paul is thankful for the gifts that he has received and he does thank those who have provided. However, he wants to persuade them that what is more important than receiving gifts [...]


Philippians 4:1-9 – Bible Study – Rejoicing in all Circumstances

a. Introduction Paul ties a few loose ends in this section of the letter: a summons of reconciliation for Euodia and Syntyche, a call to rejoice and pray, and an exhortation to think on noble things. A little reflection on each of these points will prove to be insightful.


Philippians 3:12-21 – Bible Study – Paul’s Testimony 2, From Perfection to Imperfection

a. Introduction Paul continues to write against false teachers, but this time he is writing against a different strand of false teaching. Most likely these teachers were saying that there were made perfect in some way. Paul had dealt with very similar things in the church of Corinth. Consider his words in 1 Corinthians 4:8-13:


Philippians 3:1-11 – Bible Study – Paul’s Testimony 1, From Perfection to Imperfection

a. Introduction In this section, Paul begins to argue against false teachers in Philippi. Although we cannot be certain of who these false teachers were, we can assume that they were emphasizing the Jewish law to some degree as a means of salvation. Paul uses his former Jewish life and zeal for the law as [...]


Philippians 2:19-30 – Bible Study – Two Examples of Godliness

a. Introduction One of the benefits of reading a letter that is so personal is that we are able to gain insights into the life and world of the author. Therefore, careful reading can pay great dividends on many different levels. The goal of this section is to examine persons of Timothy and Epaphroditus, in [...]


Philippians 2:12-18 – Bible Study – Christian Maturity, How it Happens (?)

a. Introduction Sanctification or Christian maturity is a mysterious process in the final analysis. How does a person really grow as a Christian and what does it look like? Does growth take place through great discipline and sheer determination of the will? Or is growth a process where we allow God to change us from [...]


Philippians 2:1-11 – Bible Study – Humility, A Christian Trait

a. Introduction Not only are the Philippians experiencing a certain amount of persecution from the outside, even if we do not know the details (1:28), but they are also facing conflict within their own community. This is certainly why Paul urges unity and like-mindedness among the Philippians. In addition, it is good to keep in [...]


Philippians 1:27-1:30 – Bible Study – A Perspective on Suffering

a. Introduction In these short verses, Paul introduces the topic of suffering as good “citizens.” However, this point is easily missed, because many of our English versions translate the Greek verb, politeuesthe, in 1:27 simply as “to live,” when in fact it means, “to live as a citizen”. These notions of citizenship would have certainly [...]


Philippians 1:12-26 – Bible Study – Unexpected Spread of the Gospel

a. Introduction Often times we ask God to change our circumstances, especially when our circumstances are not what we desire. This prayer is not wrong at all. However, we must be aware of the possibility that God may want to teach us something through unpleasant circumstances. In other words, he may want to give us [...]


Philippians 1:1-11 – Bible Study – Paul’s Confidence and Prayer for the Church

a. Introduction It is clear that Paul has a very close relationship with the Philippians. He states that they had a partnership in the gospel with him from the very first day (1:3), and that he has them in his heart (1:7). The partnership that he mentions was most likely a reference to the church’s [...]


Philippians – Bible Study – Background

1. Background Information a. Authorship When it comes to the book of Philippians, there is little doubt that Paul wrote the letter.  Both internal and external evidence lead to this fact. For example, the theology of the letter is consistent with what we know of Paul’s theology, the many personal references point to intimate knowledge [...]