Philippians 1: An Introduction to the Apostle Paul's Letter to the Philippians

Class Outline:

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Rejoice in all things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

An Online Christian Church Teaching the Word of God

RORY CLARK

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries, an online Christian Church teaching the Word of God verse-by-verse to the hearers the Lord provides.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  No matter where you are in the world, thanks for listening to this Bible lesson!

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

An Introduction to the Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Philippians

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

Who is this man called the apostle Paul and what is his purpose in writing a letter to a group of people called Philippians, a letter that has become one of the most valued and enjoyed letters in the Bible?  In today’s lesson we’ll learn about Paul and the people to whom the letter is directed.

 

OPENING PRAYER

 

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful to You Heavenly Father for providing us with the absolute truth of the Word of God…

 

…by teaching us how to pray in the Word of God, You have instructed us to give thanks for everything…to make petitions boldly for ourselves…to intercede for others as a reflection of Your power and compassion…and to pray for the well-being of our enemies…and even though You let us know we don’t always pray as we should, You have provided us with God the Holy Spirit to intervene for us during prayer with groanings too deep for words…and You’ve provided Your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as our advocate at Your Right hand…

 

…today I thank you personally for the gift of Pastor-Teacher…for giving me the

choice to follow Your lead in the use of my spiritual gift…I have embraced your invitation willingly…thank you for allowing me to teach the Word of God for nearly three decades…thank you for bringing me out of the deception of the Roman Catholic religion and out of the folly of Systematic Theology…a disgusting, disheartening, unfruitful tour through sin and the law to grace…

 

…thank you for all the teachers you’ve provided along my spiritual life journey… both the good ones and the bad ones…and thank you for the supporters You have provided, especially Deacon Denny Goodall…

 

…as we study Your Word today, give us the wisdom and the discernment to hear the Word, to ingest what we are learning, and to apply Your thoughts to our own lives by returning to the lessons over and over again each week until they are seared into our consciousness…

 

…and we pray that You bring our enemies to the Word of God so they can be saved by responding positively to the gospel message in this lesson…

 

…we ask these things through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

An Introduction to the Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Philippians

 

At Barah Ministries we have studied six of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament verse-by-verse.

 

THE BOOKS WE HAVE STUDIED SO FAR AT BARAH MINISTRIES

 

Romans

First Corinthians

Galatians

Colossians

Philemon

Ephesians

 

Each book of the Bible is a message from the Lord to the human race.

 

Next we’ll study Paul’s letter to the believers in Christ at Philippi.

 

It is a letter about JOY.

 

At Barah Ministries, as those who study with us know, we begin the study of a Biblical letter by answering ten questions.  We’ll answer five of them in this lesson.

 

QUESTIONS TO BEGIN THE STUDY OF A BIBLICAL LETTER

 

1

Who wrote the letter we are about to study?

 

The Apostle Paul is the author of this letter.

 

In fact, Paul wrote thirteen of the twenty-seven New Testament epistles.  There is even the thought that Paul wrote the letter to the Hebrews, which would be a fourteenth authored letter, but there is no solid evidence to prove the speculation.

 

The letters Paul wrote are…

 

NEW TESTAMENT EPISTLES AUTHORED BY PAUL

 

Romans

First Corinthians

Second Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

 

NEW TESTAMENT EPISTLES AUTHORED BY PAUL

 

Philippians

Colossians

First Thessalonians

Second Thessalonians

Philemon

 

NEW TESTAMENT EPISTLES AUTHORED BY PAUL

 

First Timothy

Second Timothy

Titus

 

The last group of epistles (First and Second Timothy and Titus) are known as the Pastoral epistles.

 

QUESTIONS TO BEGIN THE STUDY OF A BIBLICAL LETTER

 

2

To whom is the letter we are studying directed?

 

The letter we are about to study is directed to a group of believers in Christ in the city of Philippi.

 

Philippi is an ancient city in northeastern Greece.  It’s the home of the apostle Paul’s first church planted in Europe.  Previous churches he planted were in Asia.

 

QUESTIONS TO BEGIN THE STUDY OF A BIBLICAL LETTER

 

3

Where do the people who received the letter live?

 

<INSERT MAP 1…Missionary Journey>

 

<INSERT MAP 2…Closeup>

 

 

Philippi is a major mainland Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides (Ancient Greek: Κρηνῖδες, Krēnĩdes which means “Fountains.”)  The city was renamed by Philip II of Macedon in 356 BC and it was abandoned in the 14th century after the Ottoman conquest.

 

The present village of Filippoi is located near the ruins of the ancient city and is part of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace in Kavala, Greece. The archaeological site was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016 because of its exceptional Roman architecture, its urban layout as a smaller reflection of Rome itself, and its importance in early Christianity.

 

 

QUESTIONS TO BEGIN THE STUDY OF A BIBLICAL LETTER

 

4

What do we know about the author of the letter?

 

Paul is an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans, Chapter 1, Verse 1…

 

ROMANS 1:1

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called by God as an apostle and a set apart one for the dissemination of the gospel of God (to the Gentiles)…

 

It is thought by many Biblical scholars that Paul is the replacement apostle for Judas Iscariot.  To be an apostle of God you must have seen the Lord Jesus Christ in His resurrection body.  People in various churches around the world today who claim to be apostles are liars.

 

Paul was assigned the task of evangelizing to the Gentile world (Gentile means nations), a quite distasteful idea to someone as Jewish as Paul.  The Gentiles were thought to be barbarians.

 

When this letter was written, Paul was near the end of his life.  He died around

64AD at the age of sixty-three years old.  Paul packed a lot of amazingness into sixty-three years.

 

Paul had a great perspective about death…Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verses 6 to 10…

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:6

Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we believers in Christ are at home in the physical body, we are absent from the Lord—

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:7

…for we walk by faith, not by sight—

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:8

…and we are of good courage, I say, and prefer to be absent from the body and to be at home face-to-face with the Lord.

 

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:9

Therefore, we believers in Christ also have as our ambition, whether at home with

the Lord or absent from the Lord, to be pleasing to Him.

 

SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:10

For all believers in Christ must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one of us may be compensated for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

 

Paul also is known as Saul of Tarsus…Acts, Chapter 9, Verse 11…

 

ACTS 9:11

And the Lord said to Ananias, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul…

 

By his own admission, Paul was the worst person of all time before he became a believer in Christ.  First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 9…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:9

For I (Paul) am the least of the apostles…and I am not fit to be called an apostle… because I persecuted the church of God.

 

As a persecutor of the Church, Paul is described in Acts, Chapter 9, Verses 1 and 2…

 

ACTS 9:1

Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest…

 

ACTS 9:2a

…and asked for letters from the high priest to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if Paul found any people belonging to the Way (Christians)…

 

ACTS 9:2b

…both men and women…he might bring them bound to Jerusalem (to be killed).

 

Paul is Jewish and he is a Pharisee…Philippians, Chapter 3, Verse 5…

 

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:5a

…circumcised the eighth day (as is Jewish tradition)…of the nation of Israel

(God’s chosen nation)…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:5b

…of the tribe of Benjamin (the most strict of the Jewish tribes)…a Hebrew of Hebrews (a Jewish man’s Jew)…as to the Mosaic Law, a Pharisee…

 

As a Pharisee, Paul was a lifelong student of Old Testament Scripture.

 

QUESTIONS TO BEGIN THE STUDY OF A BIBLICAL LETTER

 

5

When did the author write the letter?

 

The Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians around AD 60 to 62 while imprisoned in Rome, making it one of his four “prison epistles.”  The other three prison epistles are Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians, all of which we have studied.

 

They are called prison epistles because they are letters written while the apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome awaiting the chance to talk to the Emperor of Rome at the time, Nero, the evilest Roman Emperor to ever hold the office.

 

So there are the first five questions that introduce this new letter of study.  When we return from the break, we’ll request an offering and we’ll close with the gospel message, the Lord’s invitation to salvation for every member of the human race.

 

FIVE-MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

An Introduction to the Apostle Paul’s Letter to the Philippians

 

OFFERING INTRODUCTION

 

One of the reasons we have become an online ministry is because we could no longer afford the thirty thousand dollar a year rent for the facility.  For those of you who are regular listeners, we’ll be counting on you much more to keep the ministry going with your financial gifts.

 

Rest assured we appreciate your faithful giving to the ministry and we welcome any ideas on how to fund this ministry as we go forward.

 

Let’s listen to Deacon Denny Goodall present one of his always inspiring offering messages.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

JOHN 3:16a

“For God the Father loved the world unconditionally…and He loved the world so much…that He gave His uniquely born Son (the God-man…the Lord Jesus Christ…”

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

JOHN 3:16b

“…to be crucified on a Cross) … so that WHOSOEVER believes in Him shall not perish, but has eternal life.”

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

Instrumental Version

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race

 

The final ten minutes of this lesson could be the ten most important minutes of your life.  You’ll be introduced to the good news concerning how you can spend all eternity in heaven when you close your eyes in this life.  We want you to know that…

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

He Wants You Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

…and what He wants for you is that you make the most important decision of your life.

 

The Fifth Dimension is a world famous American vocal group from the 1960’s and 1970’s.  For those too young to remember them, scurry off to You Tube and type in “The Fifth Dimension - Aquarius  Let the Sunshine In.”  Then sit back and enjoy a great song.

 

Next, type in “The Fifth Dimension - This Is Your Life” and listen to these chilling lyrics…

 

This is your life you’re living

And it’s the only one you’ve got

It’s your life you’re giving

Don’t you think it’s time you asked yourself for what?

 

This is your life…not a game that you play…it’s your life…

 

On the day of your physical birth the Lord (God the Son) gifted you with the same life He gifted to Adam, whom the Lord made the federal head of the human race. Genesis, Chapter 2, Verse 7…

 

GENESIS 2:7

Then the Lord (God the Son…Yahweh) formed man from the dust of the ground

and breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives…and the man became a living being.

 

Our parents do not give us life.  They each participate in giving us birth.  God the Son gives us the gift of life by breathing human life into us…the moment when biological life meets soul life from God.

 

What will you do with the gift?  So many squander the gift and fail to make the most important decisions of their lives.  This gospel message is an invitation for you to stop, right now, right this minute, right where you are, to make the most important decision of your life.

 

Perhaps you don’t know you were born with a problem.  You were born in a state of sin.  Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 12 says…

 

ROMANS 5:12

…through one man…Adam…sin entered into the world…and spiritual death

entered the world through his sin…so spiritual death spread to all men…because all men were considered by God to have sinned when Adam sinned.

 

It’s not your fault you were born in a state of sin, but IT IS YOUR CIRCUMSTANCE.

 

Who says so?  The Lord says so in His Word…the Bible…the inerrant Canon of Scripture.  First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a

For all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human being who comes to earth) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…

 

Luckily a “state” is a temporary condition.  The Lord…Jesus…the Christ (the Messiah) knew He would do something for us that we could not do for ourselves.  He fulfilled God the Father’s plan by taking our sin problem upon Himself.

 

The gospel message you are about to hear is the Lord’s message to you, informing

you how He took care of your sin problem.  What He wants you to do is to accept His plan for your salvation.

 

There is nothing for you to DO to take advantage of God’s plan for your salvation.  You cannot save yourself.  In fact, anything you do to save yourself is an interference with God’s plan for you.

 

Romans, Chapter 4, Verse 4 says you CAN'T work for salvation…

 

ROMANS 4:4

Now to the one who works for salvation, his wage for his work is not credited to

his account as a favor from the grace of God, but his wage is credited as what is

due for the work.

 

Yet your hardest work is not perfect enough save you.  It’s best to take the Lord’s advice on how to be saved.

 

RIGHT WHERE YOU SIT, RIGHT NOW, you can make a one-time decision and be saved for all time.  In John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

JOHN 14:6

Jesus said to the doubting apostle Thomas, “I am the way (to salvation) … and I am the truth (of the gospel message in the Word of God) … and I am the resurrection life (eternal life) … and no one comes to God the Father in heaven but through believing in Me.”

 

Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31 exhorts…

 

ACTS 16:31

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved by God…you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4 tell you about the One who saves you…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3

For I (the apostle Paul) delivered to all of you as of primary importance the gospel

message I also received from God…that it was Jesus Christ who died for your sins

according to the Old Testament Scriptures…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4

…and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Old Testament Scriptures…

 

The only perfectly satisfactory payment for your sin in the eyes of God the Father is what the Lord Jesus Christ did to pay for your sins with His blood at the Cross.

 

In John, Chapter 3, Verse 36 the Lord provides an invitation and a warning…

 

JOHN 3:36

“He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment…but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”

 

Your soul, once born, never dies.  It is eternal.  You have the free will to make a choice where your soul spends eternity.  You can believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and spend eternity in heaven with Him when you close your eyes in this life, or you can spend eternity in the Lake of Fire, commonly known as hell, a very real place with very real, eternal consequences.  Matthew, Chapter 13, Verses 40 to 42…

 

MATTHEW 13:40

…just as tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.

 

MATTHEW 13:41

The Son of Man (the Lord Jesus Christ) will send forth His elect angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks (unbelievers)…and those who practice lawlessness (unbelievers)…

 

MATTHEW 13:42

…and the elect angels will throw unbelievers into the Lake of Fire…and in that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (for all eternity).

 

What’s your choice?  Do you choose an eternal relationship with the Eternal God or would you prefer to work at saving yourself?

Put your pride aside and take the free gift of salvation.  In John, Chapter 6, Verse 37, the Lord says…

 

JOHN 6:37b

…the ones who come to Me…to believe in Me…I will certainly not cast out into the outer darkness…the Lake of Fire.

 

There aren’t many sure things in life.  Your salvation is one of them.  Simply BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Almighty God and Father…

 

Thank you for the hearers You have brought to this message…thank you for Pastor John Farley’s friendship that helped us both blossom in our knowledge of the members of the Godhead…please say hello to him for me…

 

…thank you for forgiving all of us for all the times we caused others to stumble in their spiritual lives…and thank you for all the educational experiences in this life, as painful as some of them have been, that have allowed us to experience just a few of the things that happened to Your Son during His time on earth…the temptations, the betrayals, the abandonment, the pain, and the chance to pick up a cross and follow His direction…

 

As we go forth into the coming week with which you have gifted us, remind us to revisit this lesson so that we hear it differently the second and third times through, and show us through this lesson how to live our lives the way You want us to live them…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.

 

GOT BIBLICAL QUESTIONS OR WANT US TO PRAY FOR SOMEONE?

 

Ask the Pastor

pastor@barahministries.com

 

KEEP ON STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD DAILY!

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

 

www.barahministries.com