We come this morning to our nineteenth and last sermon on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. Though prompted by circumstances peculiar to Paul’s life and to the situation then prevailing in the Philippian Church, and so very definitely a piece of firs…
We have finished the short section of ethical exhortations so characteristic of the latter part of Paul’s letters. The formally didactic part of the letter is now concluded and, as also characteristic of Paul’s letter writing, he concludes with some …
Text Comment
v.8
Verse 7 ended with the peace of God guarding our hearts and minds. But what God does in us and for us often requires our active participation. We have some responsibility for what goes on in our hearts and…
Last Lord’s Day morning we considered Paul’s exhortation to joy in this string of loosely related instructions for Christian living. Now we move on to the next: his command that Christians live at peace, at peace with one another – let your gentlenes…
We said last time that what we have in these verses is a concluding string of loosely related exhortation such as we find in other of Paul’s letters. It is by no means the case that the reader of these exhortations cannot find some connection between…
The long section of warning and specific exhortation was completed in what is our verse one of chapter four. Now follows a concluding series of general exhortations quite typical of the letters of the Apostle Paul, “a long string of loosely related c…
I have entitled this sermon “Looking East.” A word of explanation is in order. In Christian history the return of Christ is associated with the East, though it is not entirely certain why. And not the Second Coming only, of course. Christian churches…
We are reading this morning the text we read last Lord’s Day morning, 3:1-11, together with the next five verses.
Text Comment
v.12
Interestingly, Paul does not supply the object of the verb in the first clause. The N…
Text Comment
v.1
“In conclusion…” Paul is like those preachers you have heard who say “Finally…” – raising your hopes – only to go on and on. You know Paul and the onrush of his thoughts. One thought suggests another and b…
The previous section of the letter – the exhortation to holiness so characteristic of Paul’s letters to churches – concluded at 2:18. Paul now returns to an account of his circumstances and plans – his missionary report, as it were – picking up the i…
Text Comment
v.15
In verses 12 and 13, we said last Lord’s Day morning, Paul urged sanctification, growth in holiness of life upon his readers. He tells them now that he is particularly interested in their holiness as it w…
There is no doubt that vv. 12-13 are simply the first part of a sub-paragraph that extends to verse 18. In typical fashion Paul makes a general statement that he then follows up with particulars. One old writer characterized this pattern as “breaking…
“Carmen Christi” or “hymn of Christ” is the traditional title for vv. 6-11 and that for two reasons. First, it has long been thought that these verses were not original to Paul, but are, in fact, the citation of an already existing Christian hymn or …
Remember, the section of Paul’s letter to the Philippian Church that we are now considering, the section that follows the introduction, began at v. 27 of chapter 1. This section, extending to 2:18, is an exhortation to holy living such as you find in…
The introduction to the letter – Paul’s greeting of his Philippian brethren, his bringing them up to date on his situation, and his assuring them of his own cheerful calm in the face of an uncertain future – is now complete. The chapter division shou…
So far in the first chapter of this letter Paul has greeted his friends in the church in Philippi and recalled with thanksgiving their participation with him in the work of the gospel. He has brought them up to date on his situation and, in particula…
Text Comment
v.12
With v. 12 Paul moves into the body of the letter and, because the Philippians had been concerned about his welfare, he begins by assuring them not only that he is well, but that the gospel has been flour…
As we take up Paul’s letter to the Philippians, let me remind you briefly of the history of Paul’s acquaintance with these people. As we saw last time, Paul founded the church on the preaching/church planting tour usually called his second missionar…
Today we begin a new series of morning sermons, this on Paul’s short letter to the church in Philippi. I preached through Philippians once before, beginning in January of 1984. Most of you were not here almost 23 years ago and I hope and pray that th…