Philippians Historical Background for Passage Philippians was written after the book of Ephesians later in A.D. 61 or 62. Apostle Paul gave both internal and external evidence in Philippians. Internally the letter reveals the stamp of genuineness. Paul wrote the book of Philippians while he was imprisoned. His reference to the whole palace (NIV, Phil. 1:13) right along with his possibility of death (vv. 20-26), stated that he was writing from Rome. The book of Ephesians sets forth the glorious mystery, “the church which is Christ’s body,” Christ as the head of the Church and believers as co-members of one another who are equally blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (NIV, Phil. 1:3; 2:11). Summary While Paul was imprisoned he left …show more content…
1:27-30; 4:4); (4) to encourage them to live in humility and unity (NIV, Phil. 2:1-11; 4:2-5); (5) to commend Timothy and Epaphroditus to the Philippian church; and (6) to warn the Philippians against the Judaizers and the libertarian antinomians who had slipped in among them (NIV, Phil. 3). Paul then launches into a diatribe against the Judaizers, since they still had activity. Perhaps Epaphroditus had brought news of the Judaizers, or else Paul was simply writing a preemptive warning. Paul first chronicled his own attitude, then the work of his opponents; now in the body of the epistle. He first deals with the Philippians’ attitude then their opponents. Paul articulates the basis that the Judaizers were resting on: the works of the flesh (NIV, Phil. 3:1-2). He then points out that he would have a greater claim to boast in the flesh than they since he had the proper Jewish credentials (NIV, Phil. 3:3-6). Still Paul does not boast; in fact, he very graphically explains that the only thing the flesh can produce is dung (NIV, Phil. 3:7-11). The basis of his righteousness, therefore, is the faithfulness of Christ and the goal is Christ’s resurrection power (NIV, Phil. 3:10-11). Then Paul explains that the flesh is still with the
Paul wrote the letter to Ephesus in regards to Christians and how their lives should be directed and it explains how Christ has made the ultimate sacrifice and the results of that sacrifice. Some of the results and benefits include spiritual blessings, the gift of salvation through hearing the word of the truth, and the ability to grow closer to God. Also in Paul’s letter, it provides Christians, new and old, an instruction booklet of how we should live our lives according to how God would want us Christians to live our lives. Such information includes what roads are needed to take in order to get closer to God, how achieve spiritual gifts and powers from the Holy Spirit, and the way to protect against the attacks from the evil one. Ephesians 3:16-18 is spoken in the second part of Paul’s letter when he talks about the gift of salvation. Paul prays that his people may be fulfilled with the power through his Spirit in the inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith.
Paul's letters to the church, also known as epistles, are considered some of the most important documents in the New Testament. Paul's writings continue to shape and forge church even today. His letters were written in some of the darkest, most intense moments of Paul's life, but they also celebrate the grace, love, and life changing power of Jesus. Paul's journey in faith is shown in raw, unapologetic honesty, and inspires Christians to maintain a forward momentum, and to run the race Paul speaks so passionately about in Hebrews 12:1. Paul is able to write with both confidence and humility as he writes about the Christian journey.
Paul is the author of the book of Titus. The book of Titus was written around the years 63-65 A.D. The letter was addressed to Titus who was a gentile and a companion of Paul. Paul called Titus his “True son”. Titus along with First and Second Timothy are called Pastoral Epistles. The reason for being categorized that way is because the letters emphasizes the reason for having leaders within the church. (Votaw, Clyde W. pg.130-38) The book 's theme is instructions to Titus on how to run the churches in Crete and to encourage Titus in faith. The first readers of this letter would be Titus, some of the leaders within the Crete churches, Zenas and Apollos who Paul gave the letter to give of Titus. Paul and Titus most likely visited Crete
The book of Ephesians is one of Paul’s many New Testament letters, or epistles, to the Christian church still in its infancy. At the time of its writing, Paul is in Rome, imprisoned for championing the purposes of Christ and growing the church. We see numerous occurrences where Paul, being a man of little concern for the status quo, is either imprisoned or fleeing capture by Jewish or Roman officials for usurping the latter (Acts 19: 23-41). The date of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is dated 60-61A.D., depending on differing research. While this is certainly one of his epistles known as the “prison letters”, Ephesians was penned prior to Paul’s first roman
Christianity was still quite young at the time Paul wrote to Philemon and was faced with much opposition. The Church existed as local bodies of believers, meeting primarily in homes because there were no church buildings for worship. Persecution of the Church was prevalent and their survival depended heavily on dependence on one another and unity. Many misconceptions and even blatant lies
In this case, he does the same things in regard to his rivals. Paul uses pathos in order to convince the church to adopt a countercultural lifestyle than those around them. He takes his rivals and uses himself as a foil against them. He contrasts the motives and the purposes of the rivals and tells the church to do the opposite. The rivals are preaching “from envy” (1:15) but he tells them to “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit” (2:3). The rival preachers are preaching from “strife” but he tells the Philippians to do all things with the proper attitude which includes not “grumbling or disputing” (2:14). Paul states that the rivals are preaching “out of selfish ambition” (1:17) but he tells the church, “do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of
Christian ought to examine himself and seek to bear his own sins. As motivation to do good, Paul
In the first close reading of the text, I discovered Paul articulated his desire for all believers to be of the same attitude or frame of mind as Christ. Creating a sense of relationship with God through the example of the servanthood of Jesus. This study revealed the traits of Christ’s life and character found in verses: “he was formed of God” (2:6), “emptied himself’ (2:7), “in human form” (2:8), “name above every name” (2:9), “every knee should bend” (2:10), and “every tongue confess … glory to God” (2:11). Looking at each verse, challenged me to read between the lines and wonder what might be happening within the church of Philippi. Textual Criticism
Well we have seen in this above with the introduction that this deals with the humility when it is genuinely exercised and the rewards that are awarded by God. Well let’s discuss through this Philippians chapter two, one through eleven. Before going into the deeper first let us discuss what it says in the first five verses of this chapter. Well though it is always good to hear from the scholars. To say that in the verse one it clearly states that this chapter was linked to the previous chapter, because this chapter was started with “Therefore” which indicates that Paul began with the unity that was ended up in 1:27. This shows that it has four clauses which deals with the Philippians sharing and as well as their experiences. These are stated to promote unity especially through experiences in the people of Philippians. Richard R. Melick Jr. stated in his book of Philippians, Colossians, Philemon commentaries that,
Our source of knowledge of the apostolic work of Paul comes first from the Book of Acts. The epistles written by Paul serve to further our knowledge of his mission. These letters were written to churches that he had founded or churches that were known to him. Luke’s account of Paul introduces us to the basic facts about this important biblical figure. A more complete understanding of Paul’s journeys can be gleaned from his letters. These epistles were written almost at the time they occurred and they comprise some of the earliest works contained in the New Testament.
As with any interpretation of a passage of Scripture, the proper interpretation of Philippians 2:2-11is relied on accurate examination of its context. Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians to thank them for the gift, in which was sent to him by Epaphroditus while in prison. Although most scholars have argued that the current Epistle to the Philippians was basically several separate letters, based on different tones throughout the chapters, in 2:2 it clearly associates the first chapter of the Philippians with the second. The direct context of Philippians 2:2-11 is the sermon to unity found in Philippians 1:27-30. With this, we see Paul urging the Philippians to essentially live as citizens who are worthy of the gospel. He then continued this theme into chapter two where he continued to advise the Philippians to humility.
Paul visited Ephesus on his first missionary journey, on the way from Greece to Syria. After his third missionary journey, he stayed there and pastored the Ephesian church for 3 years (Easton, np). “Though Paul was not the first to bring Christianity to Ephesus, for Jews had long lived there, he was the first to make progress against the worship of Diana” (Orr, np). Because of his strong ties to the church, Paul cared deeply about the faith of the believers there (Macarthur, np).
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
Paul claims to be the author of Ephesians. In fact, the letter was spread around the world recognizing Paul as the author, early in the church history. However “Since the nineteenth century Pauline authorship of Ephesians has been doubted”(The Baker Bible Handbook, 835).This is because notable differences in language and style have been found between Ephesians and other letters claimed to be written by Paul such us Colossians. Anyways, those who believe it was written while Paul , have concluded that he wrote
In this letter Apostle Paul showed how great his love was for the church of Philippi, showing his gratitude for their financial support to further the work of the ministry and to express his concern about their spiritual walk. His only thought was about advancing the cause of Christ and building the Philippians’ faith to continue their mission in spite of the persecution they were facing. Within their church many of the people were at odds and some were trying to hinder the spread of the Gospel. Because of this, Paul encourages the church of Philippi to "stand fast, be of the same mind, rejoice in the Lord always but by prayer let your request be made known and the peace of God shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (4:1-7).