The Book of Philippians – Overview and Introduction

Bible Study Lesson:

Philippians: Overview and Introduction

• Paul found the church at Philippe on his second missionary journey. (Acts 16:11-40)
• The letter to the Philippians is like a ‘Thank You’ letter for the gift sent by the church.
• Philippian church sent a monetary gift to Paul through Epaphroditus (Phil 4:18) (Bible study on Spiritual Gifts)
• Epaphroditus fell very sick during his trip, almost up to the point of death. (Phil 2:27)
• Very personal letter, ‘I’ are used more than 100 times by Paul.
• Letter was written in about 61 a.d. from Rome in prison.
• It was the first church planted in Europe.

  

Philippe – Overview:

• Roman colony
• Located in Macedonia, present day Northern Greece
• Leading city in Macedonia
• Church constituted mainly of gentiles

Church Background:

• Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke visited Philippe on their second missionary journey around A.D. 50. (Acts 16:12)
• Other religions were not allowed in the city, so Paul and Co. used to go out of the city to preach. (Acts 16:13-15)
• Lydia was the first believer, she was a business woman.
• Paul casted out evil spirit from a slave girl who had a spirit of fortune-telling. (Acts 16: 16-18)
• Paul and Silas were thrown in to prison due to that.
• The jailer and his household became Christian after series of unusual events. (Acts 16: 27-34)
• Paul, the citizen of Rome, were then escorted out of prison. (Acts 16:39)

Major Theme of the letter to the Philippians:

• Rejoice in Suffering
• Joy, Gospel
• Jesus Christ – used more than 25 times
• Church of Philippi was a persecuted church. Phi 1:30 – “Since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.”

Interesting Facts:

• Greece – Athens was birth place of Olympics and Running was the first Olympic game. See how Paul uses this analogy to his walk with Christ. (Phil 3:14)

Check out excellent resource on Introduction of Philippians – The Church that Almost wasn’t there from thebiblepost.com.

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