Survey of the Bible - Philippians
Text: Philippians 4:4-13
I. The letter to Philippi is among the prison letters - Philippians 1:13; 4:22
A. Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon were believed to have been sent out together.
B. Philippians came a bit later, just before Paul’s release, probably around AD 62 - Philippians 2:24
C. The letter is an expression of Paul’s gratitude for the brethren. If one word describes the book, it is “rejoice”
1. “Joy” appears five times in the book and “rejoice” appears eleven times.
2. Repeated Paul emphasizes that we need to be of the same mind toward each other.
II. Background
A. The city of Philippi was named after Alexander the Great’s father, King Philip of Macedonia.
B. But it was to Philippi, a city of Macedonia, that Paul soon visited after receiving his vision - Acts 16:9-12
C. Under the Roman Empire it was Roman colony - Acts 16:12
1. This means that citizens of Philippi were regarded as Romans citizens, with its special privileges.
2. Paul uses this to make a point in the letter - Philippians 3:20
D. It was also a military outpost and not a commercial center. Likely for this reason it did not have the minimum number of Jews needed (12 men) to form a synagogue - Acts 16:13
1. Lydia and others were the first converts - Acts 16:14-15
2. A jailer and his family soon joined them - Acts 16:30-33
E. Luke stayed behind in Philippi as Paul and the others continued their journey - Acts 16:12; 17:1
F. As Paul continued his journey, Philippi at least twice sent him aid - Philippians 4:16; II Corinthians 11:9
G. Paul visited them again at least twice on his third journey - Acts 20:1-2, 6
H. While Paul was a prisoner in Rome, Philippi sent aid via Epaphroditus - Philippians 4:18
1. Epaphroditius became ill while in Rome, long enough that word got back to Philippi and for word of their concern to get back to Paul - Philippians 2:25-30
III. Outline
A. Paul’s current circumstance - Philippians 1
1. Salutation - Philippians 1:1-2
2. Prayer of Thanksgiving - Philippians 1:3-11
3. How the gospel has spread even while in prison - Philippians 1:12-18
4. Paul’s expectation of being released soon - Philippians 1:19-26
B. The mind of Christ - Philippians 1:27-2:30
1. Be of the same mind - Philippians 1:27-30
2. One mind in humility - Philippians 2:1-4
3. Christ’s example - Philippians 2:5-16
4. Paul’s example - Philippians 2:17-18
5. Timothy’s example - Philippians 2:19-24
6. Epaphroditus’ example - Philippians 2:25-30
C. The knowledge of Christ - Philippians 3
1. Against Judaism - Philippians 3:1-7
2. Know Christ - Philippians 3:8-15
3. Follow the same rule and have the same mind - Philippians 3:16-17
4. Focused on earth or on heaven? - Philippians 3:18-21
D. The peace of Christ - Philippians 4
1. Peace with brethren. The application of same mind - Philippians 4:1-3
2. Peace with the Lord - Philippians 4:4-9
3. Peace regardless of circumstances - Philippians 4:10-19
a. Their gift was a source of joy for Paul - Philippians 4:10-14
b. Their gift was a blessing to them - Philippians 4:15-19
4. Conclusion - Philippians 4:20-23
