'Philippians' Tagged Posts

A common error is to mistake happiness for joy. Happiness is fickle, being dependent on external situations. On the other hand, joy is a state of being that is not tossed to and fro by every wind of circumstance. Paul penned Philippians in the chains of imprisonment, yet we see no dampening or diminishment of his joy. As we close our examination of this encouraging epistle, let us note some simple lessons on how we attain and maintain true joy.…

Twenty years ago, I was blessed to get to know C.W. Bradley, a great gospel preacher and absolute prince of a man. (My kids were infatuated with brother Bradley because I had told them that he preached Elvis Presley’s funeral!) In his gospel meetings, he would often preach from Philippians 3 and the keys to spiritual growth. I always loved his emphasis on Philippians 3:12-14 and the phrase “this one thing I do.” Truth be told, there are several components…

Philippians 2 admonishes us to have the mind of Christ, who “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (v 8). In my experience, most believers only consider the cost of the cross in terms of the physical death and emotional distress of our Lord. But the necessity and reality of the cross cost Jesus far more than just those things. Consider: The cross cost Jesus His equality with God. Speaking of…

Though Christ was always the focus of Paul’s preaching and writing, joy and rejoicing are the theme of this encouraging epistle. These words appear some fifteen times in four brief chapters. In my view, Philippians is Paul’s most personal epistle written to a church. His love for those good brethren is evident from start to finish. In the more than one hundred verses, there is only one of mild admonishment or rebuke (4:2). Should I ever be separated from my…