Philippians Outline

- Author: Paul writing from prison in Rome is what most scholars agree upon as clearly the letter itself comes from him (1:1). Additionally, the writings of the early church fathers attest to Pauline authorship (Walvoord & Zuck, 1984). There are indubitable echoes of the epistle in Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians, with earlier allusions in the letters of Ignatius and Clement (Martin, 2009). The letter itself was comprised of 221 lines by ancient line count (stichoi) in each (McRay, 2003).

Paul’s prison letters are Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon written while in prison, however, there is not positive proof whether the letters were from his imprisonment in Rome or possibly Ephesus or Caesarea (Gundry, 2003).

- Date: The approximate date of this letter is A.D. 61 or 62 from Rome (Holman Bible Publishers, 2004). Paul writes Philippians toward the end of his imprisonment and expects to be released soon and visit the church of Philippi. This is apparent as one of the church’s members, Epaphroditus, who brought him financial help, and Paul thanks him for this in this letter (Gundry, 2003).

- Major Themes Living the Christian Life, Joy in hardship, Mentality, Beware Judaizers, Fellowship, Pressing Towards the Goal, Words of Encouragement

Living the Christian Life

Out of concern for members of the church of Philippi, Paul encourages them in their Christian Life. According to Paul, living means, living for Christ. Helping each other grow and experience the joy of faith. Praise for their constant witness (1.3-6). Praise for their concern for the Gospel (1.7) and praise shown by his love for them (1.8).

Joy in Hardship

Another theme of this epistle is joy. Paul rejoices in the furtherance of the gosp...

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...ot worry about anything; instead pray about everything, tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done (4.6). Experiencing God’s peace, exceed all understanding. His peace will guard our hearts and minds as we live in Christ (4.7).

Works Cited

The Wayfinding Bible. (2013). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

Goodrick, E., & Kohlenberger, J. (1999). The Strongest NIV exhaustive concordance. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Gundry, R. (2003). A Survey of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Holman Bible Publishers. (2004). Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. (C. Brand, C. Draper, & A. England, Eds.) Nasville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

McRay, J. (2003). Paul: His Life and Teaching. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

Walvoord, J. F., & Zuck, R. B. (1984). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament. Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook.