“Now Those Who Were Scattered Abroad Went About [Through

1 Peter 5:5-7 “If we refuse to humble ourselves and receive His grace, then there is no relationship. As we come to the Lord and tell Him how we are falling short in those areas then He will meet us in that need with His grace. God is not demanding that we change ourselves. Instead He asks us to come to Him in honesty and faith, and cast all our cares on Him.”

The first step in the interpretive journey process is to take the text and search for the original situation surrounding it and to search for how the text was interpreted by the biblical audience, thus grasping the text in their town. First Peter was written in Rome from “the late A.D. 50s or early 60s.” Apostle Peter wrote 1 Peter as a letter addressing the Christians in the Asia Minor who where undergoing persecution, to encourage them and to teach them “holy conduct” that they should practice during this time of suffering. The meaning for the biblical audience was intended to remind them to put their

Philippians 2:5-7 ~ Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men.

As we go through struggles and trials in our life, the theology of 1 Peter portrays the greatness of going through these trials. One of the worst things that could ever happen to you is to be thrown into exile, where you lose everything that you are familiar with and everything that you have ever known. We see many people going through the hardest of struggles with being thrown into exile realize that God is there and caring for them. God allows struggles in our life for us not to lose faith, but to persevere through trials and become closer with him. 1 Peter shows us that we do not have to be bummed when going through struggles in our life.

However, Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians that his heart’s desire, his zeal now is to know Him (Christ) and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (Php 3:10 KJV). Paul uses some very strong language in describing what he was like before Christ and how he has been transformed into the image of Christ. His zeal is no longer to live as a Pharisee but to live as an Apostle to the

Paul wrote the book of Philippians as a letter to the church of Philippi. Paul uses this letter to thank the church for sending him financial aid while also trying to “bolster their enduring faith” (Neal, 88). Throughout this letter, Paul gives guidance to the church, however, in chapter 4 he focuses on encouraging “harmony”, “Christian joy and peace”, and “a sense of satisfaction” (Elwell & Yarbrough, 296-297). Each topic Paul discusses continues to be issues today and Paul’s words of wisdom remain true. In my own life, I have learned from Paul’s teaching to cast all my cares on God and try to lean on His, rather than my own, understanding.

Observation 1: In verse 14 [If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed…] Peter is comforting the church on the amount of suffering they may be experiencing. This I s important as the church experienced many trails at that time, and to be consistently reminded of the joy it will bring them- even if it is not observed until the end of time.

In identifying himself as a slave of Christ at the very beginning of the letter, Paul intended that the Philippians—who had been struggling with issues of steadfastness amidst conflict (Phil 1:27–30; 4:1), unity among believers (Phil 2:1–2; 4:2–3), humility (Phil 2:3–9), and joy amidst persecution (Phil 2:17–18; 3:1; 4:4)—would be reminded that they too are slaves of Christ Jesus, and that that identity would inform their responses to those situations.

Exegetical Idea - Peter told the persecuted church in Asia minor to submit to unjust governing authority by following the example of Christ’s suffering.

NT2200-Week Four Philippians Function Discussion The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians has many themes throughout it covering topics such as an attitude of gratitude, unity among the brethren, joy in spite of suffering, and confidence in Christ. However, the theme of joy and rejoicing seems to be primarily the thought Paul is expressing in Chapter One verse four and continues to be expressed with gratitude and love for the Philippians who have shown Paul great love in supporting him during his time of incarceration. Thomas G. Gombis (2010) states, “This is one of Paul’s most personal letters, written to a church that was founded during his second journey and that he had visited during his third journey (Acts 20:3,6). The Philippian church

No one is immune from sorrow, pain, or death - not the poor or rich, young or old, the innocent or guilty. Not even those of us who have put our faith in Jesus Christ, have any sort of special protection from suffering. The Bible tells us that suffering exists because we live in a world that has been corrupted by sin. Yet as Christians, we get why the world has adversity, but can have a difficult time understanding why the Lord would allow it in our own lives.

Peter is not a person at all, he is just a mere thought that all the boys

In the book of I Peter, it is a letter to elders in the new Christian Church and to new believes both of whom are attempting to set up and maintain a new religion while being dispersed throughout the Roman world. Peter writes this letter as encouragement and guidance to help the scattered followers of Jesus have courage in the face of persecution and suffering. He advised them to “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Peter 5: 6-7 KJV. As with all of the writers of the letters in the New Testament, Peter is addressing a specific situation relating to new believers in the hostile environment of the Roman world, not long after the crucifixion of Christ. These letters inclusion into the books of the New Testament indicates that they are directly related to the lives of Christians today, not just situational directives or history lessons. Learning how to effectively study the Bible is to understand a passage in its historical context in Biblical times and then to discover what

God created the world, a place free from suffering and pain where humankind could live in peace and harmony,however when man chose the way of Satan by eating the forbidden fruit, this was the beginning of sin in the world. God makes it clear to Adam and Eve the consequences of sinning, and from this moment on suffering was declared. Since dying on the cross, through the letter of St Paul to the Colossians, Christ expects us to bind our sufferings with his. As a result of sin, God allows us to suffer because he loves us and wants us to have free will and the choice whether to love/not love. With this freedom, mankind has broken laws which result in pain and suffering which act as an early warning system when we exercise wrong decisions. Catholics believe that suffering is a test of faith and this is exampled in the book of Job where God lets good people suffer: Job loosing everything he owned, the death of his childer etc. Job examples the reaction to our own suffering. Instead of asking why, the Church teaches us to endure through our suffering and remember that God loves us and no matter the situation will lead us back home. In Pope John Paul’s apostolic

As in the interpretation of any passage of Scripture, the correct interpretation of Philippians 2:1-11 rests upon a careful examination of its context. Paul is writing the letter to the Philippians in order to thank them for their gift which they sent by Epaphroditus to him in prison. Although some scholars have argued that the current Epistle to the Philippians was originally several separate letters, based upon the sharp change of tone in 3:1, the “therefore, then, accordingly” in 2:1 clearly connects chapter two with chapter one. The immediate context of 2:1-11 is the exhortation to unity in 1:27-30. In this section, Paul urges the Philippians “to live as