Sorry for the length of this blog! How do I take 4 chapters of such love and encouragement and condense it into 3 small paragraphs? I'm sending this out early I will be travelling very early and all day driving home from SC with my Daughter and two class mates for the Christmas break.
Paul the author of this letter is identified in Phil 1:1. This letter was written around A.D. 61
Why did Paul write this letter? Paul visited Philippi on his second missionary journey see Acts 16:22. It was an encouragement to the church that was planted there as well as a thank you for the monetary contributions the church made for Paul. As he addresses the letter we can assume the church is thriving "bishops (elders) and deacons" shows good structure.
This letter is filled with tons of spiritual food to chew on. Some of the key verses are
Phil 1:21, 3:7, 4:4, 4:6-7, and of course 4:13.
This letter can be titled "Seeking Christ through suffering" it is about Christ in our mind, Christ in our life, Christ as our goal, Christ as our strength, and Christ our joy through our suffering.
Setting: About thirty years after Christ ascended and roughly 10 years after Paul first went to Philippi, Paul was Nero's prisoner in Rome! We all know how crazy Nero was and how much he hated Christians:
The first Emperor to persecute the Christians was Nero. "In the year 64 A.D. during the reign of Nero, fire broke out in Rome. For six days and nights the fire burned. The greater part of the city was laid in ashes. The rumor got around that Nero himself had caused the city to be set on fire. This aroused great hatred in the people of Rome against the emperor. To turn this hatred away from himself, Nero accused the Christians of having set fire to Rome. The accusation certainly was not true, but large numbers of Christians were arrested and a terrible persecution followed. Many Christians were even crucified. Some were sewn up in the skins of wild beasts; then big dogs were let loose upon them, and they were torn to pieces. Women were tied to mad bulls and dragged to death. After nightfall Christians were burned at the stake in Nero's garden (human lampstands!). The Roman people who hated the Christians were free to come into the garden, and Nero drove around in his chariot wickedly enjoying the horrible scene" (The Church in History, by B.K. Kuiper, p.8).
It was during this reign of Nero that the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter were put to death. Later, under another emperor by the name of Marcus Aurelius, many believers were thrown to wild beasts in the amphitheater as thousands of people watched.
Philippians is divided into sections as follows
Chp 1. Jesus the Christians life: Finding joy in spite of suffering.
Chp 2. Jesus the Christians path: having Joy in humble service.
Chp 3. Jesus the Icon of Christians desire, faith, and our expectaions.
Chp 4. Jesus source of strength: Joy through anxiety.
So, the application of Philippians is the need for us Christians to be united in complete humility. We are together with Christ and we must strive to be united to each other in the same way. Paul reminds us here to be "like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose" and to put away conceit and selfishness, "but in humility consider others better than yourselves" looking out for the interest of others and caring for one another (Philippians 2:2-4). There would be far less conflict in the world and churches today if we all took Paul's advice seriously and proactively.
Another application of this awesome letter is that of the joy and rejoicing which are found all throughout his letter. He rejoices that Christ is being proclaimed (Philippians 1:8); he finds joy in his persecution (2:18); he encourages others to rejoice in the Lord (3:1); and he refers to the Philippian brothers as his "joy and his crown" (4:1). He sums up with this encouragement to believers: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say Rejoice" (4:4-7). As believers, followers in Christ we can rejoice and experience the peace of God by putting all our cares and worries on Him, if we "in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let [our] requests be made known to God" (4:6). Paul's joy, in spite of persecution and imprisonment, comes screaming through this letter (epistle), and we are promised the same joy that Paul experienced when we center our thoughts on the Lord (Philippians 4:8).
Weather you face, faced or will be facing, sickness, divorce, unemployment, death, depression, anxiety, addictions (of all types) Loss of a loved one. Iraq, Afghanistan, war, Terrorism, Hurricane Gloria, Andrew, Katrina, Ike, Irene, or Sandy, Tsunamis, earth quakes, forest fires, or Newtown CT, God is still in control, Christ still reins, satan is still actively seeking ways to turn people away from God, and Christ will see you through if we trust in Him.
Philippians 4:6-7 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Chuck Goulart
President
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203-943-0961
"Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes."
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