The Book Of Phillipians

The Apostle Paul’s strategic mission of expanding the church and spreading the Gospel was significant considering the challenges he had to conquer. His life and example was and is applicable to modern cross-cultural leaders and organizations. Philippians 2 is a letter written by Paul to the church of Philippi. It was prepared during his imprisonment in Rome for spreading the Gospel of Christ in an area where people predominately and traditionally believed in Judaism. His writing in this passage highlights Christ as the ultimate example of humility and Paul’s encouragement to his followers to keep the unity, as they are the light of the world.

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.

For many years the Apostle Paul and his pastoral leadership has given me great insight as to how live life daily. His missionary journey’s as God’s representative has had great influence on my own theological thought and preservation of my faith. The book of Colossians is filled with stories of redemption, knowledge and the power of prayer. The Apostle’s extraordinary life from darkness to light can only be attributed to the Grace of the Lord.

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

Paul was disquieted about their lack of expectancy as it pertained to the gospel and the hope that was. Imaginably they were bemused by the situation that life present. Maybe their toil with hope was because of their misconception that God was not rich or charitable towards them, they had trouble believing God to be so rich to them. Because of their vulnerabilities, that really were issues of faith, they robbed themselves of experiencing the fullness of God's power. The power to:

Philippians is a letter written by Paul when he was in jail. It is unknown where he was in jail at. The letter is written to the people of Philippi who have helped support Paul in his early journeys and church planting missions. Paul addresses suffering, unity, and having joy in Christ. Paul also includes a well know Christ hymn.

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.

In his new book Becoming the Gospel Michael Gorman provides an interesting look at the life and letters of the apostle Paul. Gorman wants his readers to consider that more than knowing the gospel and its power to save, Paul want his recipients of his letters to live out the gospel in their lives. Thus Gorman’s central argument in this book is that “Paul wanted the communities he addressed…to become the gospel, and in so doing to participate in the very life and mission of God” (Gorman 2). Gorman explores this idea by taking the reader through a look at the letters of Paul using a “missio Dei” lens, to provide a new view of what Paul is teaching to these early Christian communities.

In verse two we can find the second half of the conditional statement of Paul which was given. The means of fulfilling this command is then given in four clauses which emphasize unity by synonymous expressions.7 The way in which the Philippians can “fulfil” Paul’s joy is by having “the same mind”, “the same love”, being “one

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.

     The meaning of the passage to Paul is to strengthen his brothers in the faith. Paul wrote this to show them that things will not always be perfect and that some times they will face trials but with Jesus all things are possible. Paul also encourages himself through the encouragement of the church of Colosse. I think that when Paul writes to the church’s and tell them what he thinks, encourages them , prays for them, or even just telling them what he face for the gospel, that it gives him a sense of accomplishment or even a sense of why he is doing what he is doing.

The book of Philemon is an Epistle written by the Apostle Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome. It was written to his Christian friend Philemon. Paul's purpose in writing was to ask Philemon to forgive his runaway slave named Onesimus.

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

In Philippians 1:27, Paul writes; “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in

I chose to write my paper on Philippians 3:12-21. Before writing this paper I was not entirely familiar with the reasons for Paul’s letters to the church of Philippi. It was an interesting study once I understood the background and reasoning for Paul’s writings. Paul writes a thank you letter to the Christians at Philippi for their contributions and support in his hour of need, and he uses the occasion to send along some instructions on Christian unity. Paul is also giving them an update on his circumstances. Most of Paul’s letter to the church of Philippi dealt with areas such as joy, rejoice, praise, thankfulness, and attitude.