Studies in Philippians
Term 4 2013
Contributions by:Rod Bayley
John Garrett
John & Helen Hobson
Belinda Lakelin
Matt Meek
Aian & Dawn Soden
1
Philippians 1:1–11
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Gospel partnerships
Purpose: 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)?
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Think about it
8. What does knowledge and depth of insight lead to?
knowledge and depth of insight today (Rom.12:2)?
How can we grow in
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?
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2
Philippians 1:12-30
The unchained gospel
Purpose: 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?
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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?
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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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3
Philippians 2:1-11
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Imitating Christ
Purpose: 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?
Read Philippians 2:1-4
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.
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4. In verses 3 and 4 there are two rebukes and two correlated instructions
regarding our selfishness. Use the table below to show these.
v3
DO NOT
DO
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?
Read Philippians 2:5-11
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)
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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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4
Philippians 2:12-30
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Model Believers
Purpose: 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?
Read Philippians 2:12-18
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
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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?
Read Philippians 2:19-24
6. Who is Timothy and what is he like? (Compare Acts 16:1-3, 1 Cor. 4:17, 1Thess.
3:2,6)
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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?
Read Philippians 2:25-30
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?
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5
Philippians 3:1 – 4:1
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Knowing Christ
Purpose: 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?
Read Philippians 3:1-11
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?
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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?
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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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6
Philippians 4:2-9
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Prayer and Purity
Purpose: 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?
Read Philippians 4:2-3
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?
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Read Philippians 4:4-9
“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?
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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?
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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?
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7
Philippians 4:10–23
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True Contentment
Purpose: 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?
Read Philippians 4:10-13
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?
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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?
Read Philippians 4:14-23
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)?
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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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