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Studies in PhilippiansTerm 4 2013

Contributions by:-Rod Bayley

John Garrett

John & Helen Hobson

Belinda Lakelin

Matt Meek

Aian & Dawn Soden

11 Philippians 1:1–11

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Gospel partnershipsPurpose: To understand the nature of Paul’s partnership with the

church at Philippi

1. Name some famous partnerships in sport, or business, or science, or

the arts? What made this partnership(s) work so well?

Read Acts 16:11-40, and Philippians 1:1-2

2. Where was Philippi, and how did Paul establish a church there?

3. What do we learn from this traditional greeting, in terms of how Paul viewed himself, and also the leadership structure of the church at Philippi?

‘A Joyous partnership – Philippians…………Page 1

Read Philippians 1:3-11

4. Why was Paul thankful and joyful for his relationship with the church at Philippi (v3-5)?

5. What is Paul confident about in verse 6, and what does that teach us about God's involvement in our lives?

6. Why does Paul feel so strongly towards the Philippians (v7-8)? How should that be reflected in how we relate to brothers and sisters in Christ at our church and beyond?

7. In summary, what did Paul pray for the Philippian church (v9-11)?


Think about it

8. What does knowledge and depth of insight lead to? How can we grow in knowledge and depth of insight today (Rom.12:2)?

9. What is the 'day of Christ,' and in what sense can we be 'pure and blameless' until then (v10)? What is the 'fruit of righteousness' and how does it come through Jesus Christ (v11)?

10. How do your prayers for other believers stack up against Paul's model prayer for the Philippians? What things do we often focus on, and what are Paul's priorities given his gospel partnership with them?


2 Philippians 1:12-30

The unchained gospelPurpose: To grasp the impact of the gospel & the confidence it

brings in the face of death

1. What sort of things have frustrated you (stopped you from doing or

achieving something) this week? How many were the result of circumstances over which you had no control?

Read Philippians 1:12-18a

2. List everything we learn about Paul’s circumstances at the time he wrote.

3. How does Paul react to his circumstances?


Think about it

4. How can he be happy about people who preach the gospel from wrong motives?

5. In what ways has “what has happened ... really served to advance the gospel”? (v12)

Read Philippians 1:18b-30

6. What help does Paul have, despite being in prison (v19), and what expectation does he have?


7. How does Paul summarise his aim in life (v21)? Can anyone stop Paul from achieving his aim?

Think about it

8. Is it reasonable to expect all Christians to achieve the attitude and serenity of Paul (v20-23)? Why, or why not?

9. What are the applications and implications of verses 27 and 28 to our ministry and evangelism at WBC?

10. Consider the following bible verses that support the confidence the gospel brings us in the face of death (1 Cor.2:9; 1 Cor.15:54-55; Romans 6:23, 8:18, 28-39). How can these promises help us grasp the privilege ('granted' in v29) of suffering for Christ?



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Imitating ChristPurpose: To reflect on Christ’s humble obedience & the call to

imitate him

1. Have you ever admired someone enough to set about imitating a

particular characteristic of theirs? What did you achieve and why?


Paul expressed the need for unity in the church at Philippi, linking 1:27 in last week’s study with 2:1-2.

2. What were four reasons given by Paul for the Philippians to maintain what they had already experienced as believers in Jesus (v1)?

3. Paul described four results of a practice of unity in the church. Identify them from verse 2.


4. In verses 3 and 4 there are two rebukes and two correlated instructions regarding our selfishness. Use the table below to show these.

DO NOT DOv3

v4

Think about it

5. In light of verses 1 to 4, what would you anticipate if we all practised Romans 12:10 in our church community?


6. Paul sees Jesus as the only solution to the problem of selfishness (v5). How can we take on the attitude of Christ Jesus? (Gal. 5:25; John 14:26; 1 John 3:24)


7. This song of praise to Jesus Christ (v6-11) shows that he is fully God and fully man. From verses 6 to 8, list what Jesus did to accomplish God’s plan? (cf. Isaiah 53)

8. In verses 6 to 8 Jesus showed that he was the willing, obedient son. Read John 4:34, Hebrews 10:7, Luke 22:42 and restate how Jesus demonstrated this.

9. In verses 9 to 11 Jesus is exalted by the Father to the position of Lord. Compare with Hebrews 2:9. How would you recount these events to a non-Christian?

Think about it

10. In what sense will we imitate Christ in terms of our suffering in this life and our future glory (eg. Romans 8:18)?

Read 2 Corinthians 8:9 and offer thanks, gratitude and praise to our Lord.



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Model BelieversPurpose: To consider the example of Timothy & Epaphroditus as we

live out our faith

1. In what areas of life do we find models? How are those people helpful

or unhelpful?


2. What is the relationship between work and salvation? Read Ephesians 2:8-10

3. Once people become Christians: i) how should they live? ii) why?Compare Romans 12:1-2


Think about it

4. What things do you complain about? Why is this inappropriate for Christians? Compare Deuteronomy 32:1-18

5. What things (mentioned here) help us to live God’s way?


6. Who is Timothy and what is he like? (Compare Acts 16:1-3, 1 Cor. 4:17, 1Thess. 3:2,6)


Think about it

7. How do you show genuine concern for other Christians’ welfare? On what occasions are you tempted to put your own interests ahead of Christ’s?


8. What (noble) qualities does Epaphroditus have that we could imitate?

9. Why do you think Timothy & Epaphroditus are ‘model’ Christians?(cf. Philippians 2:3-8)

Think about it

10. Why is the example of others so powerful? Who are you modeling your life on and who is modeling their life on you?


55 Philippians 3:1 – 4:1_________________________________________________________________________________

Knowing ChristPurpose: To reflect on the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ

as Lord

1. We often hear our politicians brag about their own achievements, or

the achievements of their party. What are the characteristics that you would really take notice of?


2. Why do you think Paul calls it a “safeguard” for him to be repetitive and ask the church at Philippi to again “rejoice in the Lord” (v1)?

3. The true inner meaning of circumcision is realized only in believers, who worship God with genuine spiritual worship, rather than trusting in their own human effort (v3). Read also Romans 2:28-30 and Colossians 2:11-15. Why is it so important for the Christian then to have true circumcision of the heart?


4. Why did Paul have reasons to be confident in the flesh before he became a Christian (v4-6)?

5. What did Paul say about his status as a legalistic Jew in comparison to “the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus (v7-8)?

Think about it

6. What does knowing Christ involve in this life and the next (v10-11), and how can we learn to embrace this?

7. Why does Paul write about his change in thinking from basing his confidence before God in performance and privilege (as a Jew) to Christ’s grace (v2)? Why do we need to keep being reminded of these foundational truths also?

Read 3:12 to 4:1


8.. Where does Paul picture himself in his spiritual life? What prize is he after and how is he going to reach his goal (v12-14)?

9. If the Philippians imitated Paul’s attitude, how would that contribute to their maturity and their unity (v15-17)?

10. What are the contrasting destinies of the citizens of this world and the citizens of heaven (v18-21), and how does this help us stand firm in our faith (4:1)?

Think about it

11. Comparing your own spiritual life to a race, are you: a) sitting it out (due to an injury, or maybe no warm-up), or b) focused on the hurdles down the track, or c) raring to go and ready to run flat out?



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Prayer and PurityPurpose: To understand the encouragements to pray and to be

pure in thought

1. Do you think purity of the heart and mind are valued today? Why or why

not?


2. Why would Paul want Euodia and Syntyche to “agree with each other in the Lord” (v2)? Do we seek to do this with our brothers and sisters in Christ?

3. Paul appoints a person, his “loyal yokefellow”, to help Euodia and Syntyche. What sort of things would this person do and say to help these women? When you hear of conflict, do you speak and act in the same manner?



“Gentleness” in verse 5 is a difficult word to translate and may also be translated “reasonableness.”

4. Why would Paul want Christians to behave this way? Can you think of situations in your day-to-day activities where you could be letting your gentleness/reasonableness be evident to all?

Paul tells the Philippians to “not be anxious about anything” (v6). The word translated “anxious” is the same word Paul uses in chapter 2 to commend Timothy for his “genuine concern” for the Philippians (Phil. 2:20).

5. When does “genuine concern” become anxiety and why should we not be anxious about anything?

6. What does Paul encourage us to do instead of being anxious (v6)? Why is thanksgiving particularly mentioned?


7. Make a list of things you worry about in the table below and use it to help you pray. Is there one you would like to share with the group for prayer?

Worry Reason you shouldn’t worry

Prayer request

Thank God for

8. What does verse 7 teach us about how the Lord responds to anxious, yet praying people (see also 1 Pet.5:7)? Why is this so comforting, and how should we respond to anxious Christians?

9. What does verse 8 exhort us to do and why is this important?


Think about it

10. If you were to apply the “Phil 4:8” test to the “screens” (movies, internet, social media etc), books, music and conversations you think about, would they pass? If not, how can we cultivate a greater desire for purity of the heart and mind, and strive to keep shorter accounts with God by coming to Him for forgiveness?


77 Philippians 4:10–23_________________________________________________________________________________

True ContentmentPurpose: To consider the nature of true contentment in all

circumstances

1. Why do surveys usually show that Australians are discontent with their

lot? In what ways do Christians struggle with contentment?


2. How were the Philippians renewing their concern for Paul (v10)?

3. What experiences had Paul faced, and what type of contentment is he speaking of in verses 11 and 12?


4. What is the secret to contentment that Paul has learned?

Think about it

5. What does financial contentment look like in a consumer society where we and our children are constantly told we must have every product and enjoy every available experience? How can we apply Paul's secret to our lives today?

6. Is it right for Christians to encourage each other to grow in this area? If so, why do we generally avoid such discussions, and how can we overcome these hurdles?


7. What is the track record of the gospel partnership between Paul and the Philippian church, and what is Paul looking for at this point (v14-17)?


8. What has Paul recently received from the church, and how does Paul view these gifts? What does this teach us with regard to how we should consider our own giving to missionaries today?

Think about it

9. Is Paul suggesting that we should give in order to receive more monetary wealth, as some churches preach today (v19)? If not, what is Paul saying?

10. What do the final greetings (v21-23) teach us about Christian fellowship? How can we better express this today, and grow our gospel partnerships both locally and globally?


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