Reading for June 11th

Read Philippians 4.8-20.  In 4.8-20: A call for consistency in all situations. A brief, poetic passage commends right thinking and right action (vv. 8-9) and notes the proper attitude toward changing circumstances (vv. 10-20). In verses 8-9: The whatever statements indicate a series of attitudes for living that can help the community face any difficulty. In verse 10: Revived your concern, the Philippians maintained concern for Paul even when they could not express it. In verses 10-13: Paul's attitude resembles Cynic and Stoic discussions of his time, but he does not see the source of endurance in himself. Paul challenges the Philippians to learn the value of "humiliation," shunned by conventional society but reinforced elsewhere in the letter (2.3, 8; 3.21). In verses 15-19: The community never lacked concern for him (v. 10), even though he neither needed nor sought it. Their reward is from God. In verse 16: Paul never accepted gifts from a church while he was with them (see 1 Cor 9; 1Thess 2.9; 2 Cor 8.1-5). In verse 18: On sacrifice see 2.17. Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 10th

 Read Philippians 4.2-7. In 4.2-7: Exhortations to overcome disunity and opposition. In verse 2: Be of the same mind: The point of disagreement is unknown, but a number of the letter's key expressions (same mind, struggled side by side, work of the gospel) come together here. Book of life, see Ex 32.32; Ps 69.28; Dan 12.1. In verses 4-7: Brief exhortations to develop the right attitude; guard, a military term, describes God's peace. Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 9th

 Read Philippians 3.1b-4.1. In 3.1b-4.1: The example of Paul. A transition (v. 1) and warning (v. 2) lead into Paul's renunciation of his advantages to counter any tendencies to arrogance (vv. 3-11). He commends perfection but notes, a play on words, how perfect people (relatively speaking) know they have not reached perfection (vv. 12-16). Finally, while enemies of the cross have an earthly orientation, Paul commends a heavenly citizenship in which the believers await the glorification in the future (3.17-4.1). In verse 1: To write the same things, probably about disunity; Paul positions the words he writes about his own life as a safeguard for the community's problems. In verse 2: Beware, repeated three times, or "watchout for," warns about a possibility, not what already exists. Verses 2 and 18-19 likely refer to practices of the community, rather than actual opponents, that breed disunity. Dogs in ancient writing were examples of shameless greed. In verse 3: Circumcision, metaphorically, God's people. In verse 7: Regard echoes 2.3, which commends church-members to "regard other better than themselves," and 2.6 which asserts that Jesus did not "equality with God as something exploited." In verse 10: Becoming like ("symmorphizomenos") Jesus, a link to 2.7, in which Jesus took on the "form" ("morphen") of a slave. In verses 13-14: The image is of running a race. In verse 17: Imitation, see 1 Cor.16; 11.1; 1 Thess 1.6. In verse 20: Citizenship, not political but heavenly. See Gal 4.26. Comments or Questions.. 

Reading for June 8th

 Read Philippians 2.9-3.1a. In 2.19-3.1a: Timothy and Epaphroditus: examples of unselfishness. Timothy (2.19-24) and Epaphroditus (2.25-20), examples of unselfishness concerned with the whole church. In verse 22: Timothy, see Acts 16.1-3; 1 Cor 16.10-11; 1 Thess 3.1-6> In verse 25: Epaphroditus, see 4.18; Col 1.7; Philem 23. In verses 29-30: Honor such people, Paul continues to redefine honor: Honor those who risk their lives for Christ (2.30). In 1a: Finally, a transition (aslo at 4.8). Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 7th

 Read Philippians 12-18. In 1.12-18: Applying the hymn to life. Based on the honor of being a slave who brings glory to God, Paul commends efforts that seek to please God, oriented toward the day of Christ, for God began and would continue to work among the Philippians until it was completed on that day (1.6). In verse 12: Work out or "work forth" (that is demonstrate) salvation, a work that is not yet complete. In verse 15: Crooked and perverse generation (Deut 32.5), in contrast to God's blameless children who shine like the stars. In verse 16: Labor, Paul's efforts in proclaiming the gospel, oriented to the day of Christ on which he can boast if his church holds fast. In verse 17: Being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice, Paul's present suffering for the gospel. Later, he views the Philippian's gift as a "sacrifice," That is a financial hardship on behalf of the gospel (4.18). Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 6th

 EXAMPLES OF THE GOSPEL'S RECONFIGURATION OF HONOR

In 2.1-4.7: Specific examples of Jesus (2.6-11), Timothy and Epaphroditus (2.19-3.1a) and Paul himself (3.1b-4.1a) expresses the frame of mind Paul commends before he exhorts the Philippians toward unity in the church (4.1b-7).

Read Philippians 2.1-11. In verses 1-4: The proper mind. The Philippians must seek true honor, not their own glory. In verse 1: If there is any encouragement in Christ ..., not an expression of doubt but a call for consideration. In verse 2: Make my joy complete, that is more joy than he already has despite difficult circumstances; an appeal based on the common benefits he and his audience share as believers. In verse 3: Self-centered ambition seeks to elevate one's own status (1.15, 17); conceit, "empty glorying," is an improper motive when the goal of life is the "glory" of God (1.11; see 4.20). In verses 6-11: A hymn on Jesus' unselfish disposition. It is unclear whether Paul composed this hymn himself or is quoting it. The example of Jesus is central to the message he brings the Philippians. Just as Jesus is described as a slave (v. 7), so are Paul and Timothy (1.1; 2.22). Just as Jesus submitted to the point of death (v. 8), so Epaphroditus moved "close to death" (2.30) for the sake of Christ. Voluntarily giving up privileges for the sake of others and to God's glory redefines conventional views of honor in which persons compete fiercely to gain more favor than their peers. Comments or Questions..

Reading for June 5th

 Read Philippians 1.27-30. In 1.27-30: Living worthy of the gospel. In verse 27: Live your life, literally "conduct life as a citizen" of heaven (3.20). Worthy of the gospel of Christ, that is, in a manner that does not seek one's own elevation above another (2.6-11). In verse 29: Paul suffers for the gospel to show that suffering is part of grace. In verses 27-30: A series of athletic or military images includes striving side by side (compare 4.3), struggle (the contest of defending the gospel to outsiders), and even standing firm. Comments or Questions..