I am writing to all of gods holy people in philippi who belong to christ jesus, including the church leaders and deacons. The fact that several trips were made back and forth between philippi and the place from which paul wrote philippians all within the timespan of his imprisonment phil. Philippians is thought likely to have been written by the apostle paul. The epistle is attributed to paul the apostle and a coauthor named timothy. The book of colossians was likely written between a. Philippians derives its name from the greek city where the church to which it was addressed was located. Book of philippians introduction and summary learn religions.
He also wanted to commend the unselfishness of epaphroditus, as well as informing them of. Books and articles that equip you for deeply biblical thinking and ministry. The unanimous testimony of the early church was that the apostle paul wrote philippines. They had sent him a financial gift through a man named epaphroditus. Experience the joy of the lord walk thru the bible discussion guides. Some of the letters traditionally attributed to paul are questionable, but philippians is generally believed to be genuine. The first half of the book of colossians is a theological treatise that includes one of the most profound presentations of christology anywhere in the new testament.
Letter of paul to the philippians, new testament letter written by paul the apostle. The apostle paul wrote the letter to express his gratitude and affection for the philippian church, his strongest supporters in ministry. The letter, traditionally attributed to the apostle paul, consists mainly of counsels to his younger colleague and delegate timothy regarding. The apostle paul did not write philippians in response to a crisis, as he did with galatians and colossians. Whose names are in the book of life who are genuine christians.
Knowing jesus is a deeply personal and transformative encounter. The book of philippians shows how living as a christian means seeing your own story as a living expression of jesus story. Philippians intro to philippians biblica the international bible. We hope this outline of philippians will help you as you endeavor to study gods letter to you. The epistle is attributed to paul the apostle and a coauthor named timothy, and is addressed to the christian church in philippi. Letter of paul to the philippians work by saint paul britannica. Paul wrote this letter to the church at philippi, which he had established acts 16. One of the reasons paul wrote this book was to thank the church at philippi for their generous gift for the saints, writing no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only phil 4. The church at philippi had sent a gift to paul in rome by the hand of epaphroditus phl 4. The epistle to the philippians, one of pauls prison epistles, was written in rome.
Check out this commentary, summary and key verses from the book of philiipians. Romans, 1 corinthians, 2 corinthians, philemon, galatians, 1 thessalonians and philippians. The apostle paul wrote his letter to the philippians to thank them. Overview of the book of philippians reformed answers to. Experience the joy of the lord walk thru the bible discussion guides baker publishing group on. In the third chapter, paul shows how his own life history was an imitation of that of christ in its downward and upward path. This is one of four letters written by the apostle paul during his first roman imprisonment. There are, however, questions about whether the letter as a whole is unified or a composite of pauline letters sent to the philippian church and later grouped together by an editor.
When he was in prison in rome, they sent help by the hands of epaphroditus. May god our father and the lord jesus christ give you grace and peace. More than any other church, the believers in philippi offered paul material support for his ministry 2 corinthians 8. Philippians 4 new international version niv closing appeal for steadfastness and unity. Asked in the bible, new testament what does philippians mean. Philippi was in an area of greek or thracian control until gold was discovered at a nearby mountain.
Epaphroditus became ill in rome, and when he recovered, paul wrote this letter and sent it by the messenger who had brought him help. Introduction, background, and outline to philippians. When paul wrote the book of philippians, he was in prison. Seven of the thirteen pauline epistles are regarded as genuine epistles by paul. Letter of paul to the philippians, new testament letter written by paul the apostle, while he was in prison probably at rome about ad 62, and addressed to the christian congregation he had established in macedonia.
Book of philippians overview insight for living ministries. Letter of paul to the philippians work by saint paul. The location of pauls imprisonment when he wrote to the philippians, and thus the date of the letter, are uncertain. The epistle to the philippians is one of the most personal of pauls letters, resembling in that respect ii corinthians. Philippi was the first town in macedonia where paul established a church. The letter of paul to the philippians thinking faith. Instead, he wrote to express his appreciation and affection for the philippian believers.
The early church accepted that paul wrote philippians, and modern bible scholars have found little if any reason to disagree. Below i have included material on who wrote the book, when it was written, who it was written to, as well as what. The early church was unanimous in its testimony that philippians was written by the apostle paul see 1. The epistle to the philippians, commonly referred to as philippians, is a pauline epistle of the new testament of the christian bible. One of the obvious reasons that paul wrote his letter to the philippians was to thank them for their generous offering.
Paul wrote to the corinthians, be imitators of me as i am of christ 1 corinthians 11. While some have suggested that paul writes to the philippians from caesarea or ephesus, i am persuaded the evidence points to the traditional view of rome. Paul wrote philippians at a time when he was suffering greatly, at a time when he wondered if he might soon be killed. In phillippians, paul thanks the philippian christians for their. Then the lord said to moses, write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of joshua, that i will utterly blot out the remembrance of amalek from under heaven exodus 17. Intro to philippians biblica the international bible. Paul was a prisoner when he wrote the book of philippians. The fact that extensive evangelistic efforts were going on around paul at the time he wrote to the philippians 1. Todays post is the beginning of blog posts i will be sharing looking at leadership lessons in the book of philippians. It was at philippi, which the apostle visited on his second missionary journey. As moises silva says, no one disputes the possibility that paul was imprisoned during his three years at ephesus, but that he wrote the letter of philippians from there is another matter silva, philippians becnt, second edition. They key personalities are the apostle paul, timothy, epaphroditus, euodia, and syntyche. The book of philippians is in the bibles new testament. The prison epistles generally refer to four letters written by the apostle paul while he was under house arrest in rome.
Philippi was named after philip ii of macedon, who was the father of alexander the great. Watch our overview video on the book of philippians, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The first epistle of paul to timothy, usually referred to simply as first timothy and often written 1 timothy, is one of three letters in the new testament of the bible often grouped together as the pastoral epistles, along with second timothy and titus. The traditional view has been that it stems from pauls confinement in rome, between a. The words joy and rejoice are used 16 times in the epistle. In the first chapter, paul appears to indicate that he wrote philippians. Each letter ephesians, philippians, colossians, and philemon is addressed to a specific church or, in the case of philemon, an individual, and while paul penned each epistle to address specific needs of firstcentury christians and the church, the message of. Author, date and place of writing the early church was unanimous in its testimony that philippians was written by the apostle paul see 1. One of the reasons paul wrote this book was to thank the church at philippi for their generous gift for the saints, writing no church entered into partnership. This summary of the book of philippians provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of philippians. It is evident that paul wrote the letter from prison see 1. Stay connected amidst social distancing receive weekly bible studies to share with family and friends.
The letter to the philippians was from paul and timothy to all the saints in christ jesus who are in philippi, with the bishops or overseers and deacons. It has been called the most letterlike of all the writings of paul, and may be compared in this respect with i thessalonians and philemon. At the beginning of philippians 1, he greets the philippian church, expresses how much he prays and yearns for them, and says how he desires for them to increase in love, discernment, and the fruit of the spirit verses 111. The book of philippians shows christians how to live jesus. The authorship of the book, then, according to most scholars is fairly certain. Philippians is one of pauls shortest letters and one of the smallest books in the new testament but there are such powerful teachings in this little dynamo. With clement also supposed to be the same who was afterwards bishop of rome, and who wrote an epistle to the corinthians, which is still extant.
The second half is a miniethics course, addressing every area of christian life. The many personal references of the author fit what we know of paul from other nt books. Philippians 1 full chapter greetings from paul this letter is from paul and timothy, slaves of christ jesus. To thank the philippians for their solidarity with him while he was in prison and to encourage them to unity and humble service toward each other in christ. An introduction to the book of philippians christopher l. By using this website, i acknowledge that i am 16 years of age or older, and i agree to the terms and. Paul uses this occasion not only to thank them, but to comfort. The material below serves as a basic introduction to the book. A deeper reason was evidently the division that was arising. He wrote some of it we have internal testimony from the pentateuch that moses wrote at least part of it. Why paul wrote the letter to the philippians zondervan.
The joy of the christian experience is the dominant theme running through the book of philippians. The book of philippians is a prison epistle letter written while in prison. The very first verse in philippians attributes the letter to the apostle paul. The book of philippians paul writes a thankyou note to the believers at philippi for their help in his hour of need, and he uses the occasion to send along some instructions on christian unity. The book of philippians was written by paul while he was in prison. Philippians 4 closing appeal for steadfastness and. Internally the letter reveals the stamp of genuineness. Settlers from the nearby island of thasos seized the area.