Loading...In this thread summarizing each book of he New Testament, I come now to the book of Philippians, one of my favorite Pauline epistles since I first started reading the New Testament seriously when I was 17! The first biblical verse I memorized (apart from the Lord’s Prayer!) was Philippians 1:21: “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” I memorized it because it was oh, so short.
But once I did that, I realized I could maybe memorize some other favorites from the NT. And started doing that. Philippians was the first book I memorized in its entirety (again, as a teenager). (It too is short!)
I’ve never tried to summarize it in 50 words, so here’s my first attempt. If you know it well yourself, give it a shot. For now, here’s what I’ve come up with:
Paul writes the gentile Christians in Philippi from prison (we don’t know where), thanking them for sending much needed funds, urging them to remain joyful in their faith whatever the circumstances, exhorting them to live for others instead of themselves, and warning them against false teachers who promote Christian circumcision.
Now I will try to unpack the letter a bit, in a larger Nutshell.
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“This “captivity” setting for the letter makes it all the more remarkable that Paul…”
So while Paul was in jail, he could have a visitor who could dictate a letter for him?
Yup.
“Paul indicates that he had been imprisoned a number of times for his Christian activities. It’s not that Christianity was declared illegal (that would not happen for another 200 years); he may have been seen simply as a trouble maker who was disrupting the peace.”
I believe I read Paula Fredriksen write that Paul may have been imprisoned occasionally for telling Gentiles to stop worshipping their pagan gods which the Romans did not like. Is that a reason for Paul being imprisoned?
It could have been. Unfortunately, he doesn’t explain the charges against him.
I memorized a verse from Philippians “auf Deutsch”! My German prof at a Christian college had it posted on the wall: “Ich vermag alles durch den der mich mächtig macht, Christus.” I’m sure you know which verse: Philipper 4:13. I don’t have many other passages memorized, though, in either language!
After following your blogs on the Pauline letters, I feel like I’m getting a good grip on Paul’s personality. He seems like a man who could get cross easily, and maybe very quickly. Why did the man end up in jail frequently, especially since Christianity wasn’t illegal during his day. As you indicate, his personality had a way of getting on people’s nerves, that probably included local authorities. Paul likely was the type to preach from the public square (and very loudly) and wouldn’t stop when warned.
Yup, my guess is that he was seen as a bit of a public trouble maker.
Mr. Bart,
I hope you’re doing well! I recently experienced a moment of joy when I read the section of your article that discussed how being blameless in the law doesn’t mean being without sin, but rather following the guidelines to help restore your relationship with God after sinning. In doing so, you fulfill your duty under the law.
I’ve been thinking about this concept for some time but hadn’t expressed it to anyone. So, I felt a burst of joy when I came across your thoughts on this in your blog. However, my thoughts emerged on this particular thought when looking at Luke’s account of Zacharias and Elizabeth who he says was righteous in all the Commandments of God.
Have a beautiful day!