Some Books of the bible are very short and some are very long but this one is one of the shortest.
PHILIPPIANS - NEW TESTAMENT - EPISTLE
11th book of the NT
50th book of the Bible
It starts with a lovely greeting of Grace & Peace in verse 2
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
Then in verses 3 & 4 it continues into thanksgiving for the Philippians and assures them of Paul's Prayers for them.
This makes the letter feel so personal and loving.
Verse 6 brings the Philippians encouragement by reminding them of the way God is working in their lives.
Teach Sunday School tells us the following
"Considered to be one of the most encouraging epistles for those under trial"
What is it?
The Book of Philippians is one of the Epistles in the New Testament which means it is a Letter.
How Long is it?
It has 4 chapters.
When was it Written?
It was written between 60 & 62 AD
Who Wrote it?
The Apostle Paul
The first verse of the book tells us that Timothy was included with Paul in the sending of this letter.
"Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ,To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:"
Who was it Written to?
It was written to the church at Philippi which was a Greek city in the region of Macedonia.
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Why was it Written?
It was written as encouragement to the people of the church in Philippi which was the church that had been started in the house of Lydia and we read about Paul's ministry there in Acts ch. 16.
Timothy and Silas had also been in Philippi with Paul and of course that is where Paul & Silas were in prison when there was the earthquake at midnight and their jailer got saved.
Paul talked about their Saviour and His death and what His focus was
Paul also encouraged them as to what they shoud think about
The Overview Bible tells us the following
"An encouraging letter to the church of Philippi from Paul, telling them how to have joy in Christ."
which is seen the whole way through this book
Teach Sunday School tells us the following
"The Apostle Paul did not write Philippians to address a crisis, like he did with other letters. Instead, he wrote to express his appreciation and affection for the believers in the church at Philippi."
What is unique to this book?
It is considered to be the happiest book in the Bible even though it was written from a prison.
The words "joy" or "rejoice" in some form or another are found 16 times in this book.
chapter 1
v4(joy), v18(rejoice)twice, v25(joy), v26(rejoicing)
chapter 2
v2(joy), v16(rejoice), v17(rejoice), v18(rejoice), v28(rejoice)
chapter 3
v1(rejoice), v3(rejoice)
chapter 4
v1(joy), v4(rejoice)twice, v10(rejoiced)
How does it end?
"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."
The Overview Bible gives us the following
Quick outline of Philippians
- Rejoice! Christ is our life (Phil 1)
- Rejoice! Christ is our example (Phil 2)
- Rejoice! Christ is our glory (Phil 3)
- Rejoice! Christ is our strength (Phil 4)
