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Philippians UBN

Chapter 1

1 # Philippians 1 ### 1-2 What did Paul write about in verses 1-2? #q In verses 1-2, Paul greeted the believers in the church in Philippi. Paul often started his letters by greetings believers like this. #v1-2 ### 1 ;[servants] ;(no note) #v1 #xr-rom1:1 #xr-tit1:1 #da-servant_slave ;Advice to translators: this note may not be necessary, if the readers understand the local version well. ;[all the saints] Who were the "saints"? #q Paul called all of the believers at Philippi, "saints." Christ had died so that God could forgive them for sinning. This means that God views them as people who have never sinned. #v1 #dg-saint ;[Philippi] ;(no note) #v1 #dm-pauls_missionary_trips ;[overseers] ;(no note) #v1 #dg-overseer ;[deacons] ;(no note) #v1 #dg-deacon ;[grace and peace] Why did Paul start his letter with the words "grace and peace"? #q When Paul wrote to believers, he often prayed for God to give them "grace and peace." Paul wanted the believers to live peacefully with each other and with God, and for the believers to treat each other kindly. #v2 #xr-rom1:7 #xr-gal1:3 #xr-eph1:2 #xr-col1:2 #xr-1th1:1 #xr-2th1:2 #xr-tit1:4 #xr-phm1:3 ;[grace and peace] Why did Paul start his letter with the words "grace and peace?" #q "[Peace](h7965)" was often what Jews said when they greeted each other. In New Testament times, the Jews used the Greek word "[Peace](g1515)." When non-Jews greeted each other, they often asked the gods or important people to "[favor](g5485)" each other. When Paul greeted believers in many of his letters, he often said both of these things. Perhaps Paul was asking God to help the Philippians to have peace with him and each other. Or perhaps Paul was reminding them that it was God who gave them peace and who was favoring them. #v2 #adv #dg-grace ### 3-11 What did Paul write about in verses 3-11? #q In verses 3-11, Paul showed the believers at Philippi that he loved them very much. He also prayed that they would continue to honor God by what they said and did. #v3-11 ### 3-4 ;[thank my God] Why did Paul thank God for the believers in Philippi? #q In his letters, Paul often rejoiced when the people he taught believed the gospel. He also rejoiced when they honored God by living in the right way. #v3-4 #xr-rom1:8 #xr-1co1:4 #xr-php4:15 #xr-col1:3 #xr-1th1:2 #xr-2th1:3 #xr-2ti1:3 #xr-phm1:4 ### 5 ;This note might not be needed, depending on how the local version is translated. ;[partnership in the gospel] What is "partnership in the gospel"? #q The believers in Philippi worked together with Paul to tell people the gospel message. They prayed for him and gave him money so that he could travel and tell people about the gospel. They also sent Epaphroditus to Rome to help Paul while he was in prison (see #php2:25). #v5 #tbd #xr-php4:5 #xr-php4:15-19 ### 6 ;[good work] Why did Paul say God would complete a "good work" in them? #q Some scholars think Paul was speaking about the "good work" that God began when he saved the Philippians. Other scholars think the "good work" think Paul may have been speaking about the "good work" that God began in the Philippians when they partnered with Paul to tell the gospel to people who did not know about God. #v6 ;[the day of Christ Jesus] ;(no note) #v6 #dg-day_of_the_lord ### 7-8 Why did Paul love the believers in Philippi very much? #q Paul loved the believers in Philippi very much because they were his friends. They also worked with him to tell the gospel to other people—even when he was in prison. #v7-8 #xr-act16:20-22 #xr-eph6:20 #xr-php1:15 ### 9-10 What did Paul pray for God to do for the believers in Philippi? #q Paul prayed that the Philippian believers would love each other, and that they would know God better and better. Paul did not say that they did not love God and other people enough. But perhaps the Philippians believers were not always wise in the ways they tried show they loved God. Paul wanted them to choose with wisdom the things they should do, so that they would always honor God by what they did. #v9-10 #xr-col1:9 ### 10 ;[the day of Christ] ;(no note) #v10 #dg-day_of_the_lord ### 11 ;[filled with the fruit of righteousness] What is the "fruit of righteousness? #q Paul spoke a metaphor about a tree that produced a lot of fruit. The fruit was the good things that the believers did in order to honor God. Paul wanted the Philippians to do many good things for God. They could do these good things because they were friends with God. They were friends with God because Jesus had died for them. #v11 #xr-1co1:8 ### 12-26 What did Paul write about in verses 12-26? #q In verses 12-26, Paul wrote that many people were hearing the gospel because he was in prison. Paul very much wanted to honor God. He did not care if the Romans released him from prison or killed him. At this time, however, Paul thought that they would release him soon. #v12-26 ### 12 ;This paragraph might not be necessary, depending on how well the readers understand the local version. ;[advance the gospel] Why did Paul say the gospel would advance? #q When Paul said the gospel advanced, he wanted to say that more and more people were believing the message about Jesus. #v12 #tbd #xr-2ti2:9 ### 13 ;[palace guard] Who were the "palace guard"? #q Roman soldiers guarded Paul while he waited for the Roman emperor to decide if Paul had broken the law. There were probably several thousand of these soldiers who guarded the palace and other government buildings. Many of them met Paul or heard about him from other soldiers who guarded Paul. #v13 ;[in chains] What did Paul mean when he said he was "in chains"? #q Paul said he was "in chains" because he was a prisoner. The Romans normally bound their prisoners with chains. #v13 #xr-act12:6 #xr-act21:33 #xr-act26:29 #xr-act28:20 ### 15-16 Why did some people envy Paul? How were they trying to make trouble for him? #q It is not clear why some people envied Paul, or why they tried to make trouble for him. It is also not clear why they thought that they could do this preaching the gospel. Perhaps Paul was writing about believers who wanted Christians to obey the Jewish law. Perhaps these people were teaching Christians this while Paul was in prison and and unable to correct the wrong things that they said. #v15-16 ### 18 Why did Paul rejoice in prison? #q Paul wrote about joy in many places in this letter to the Philippians. He was very happy that people heard the message about Jesus. He was happy even though some people preached about Jesus because they wanted to make trouble for Paul. #v18 #xr-php1:4 #xr-php1:25-26 #xr-php2:2 #xr-php2:29 #xr-php4:1 ### 19-26 What did Paul think the Romans would do to him? #q Paul through the Romans would release him from prison. However, he knew that they might decide to kill him instead. #v19-26 ### 19 ;[turn out for my deliverance] What did Paul want to say when he wrote he would go free after he had suffered? #q When Paul said he would go free, he wanted to say that the Romans would set him free from prison. #v19 ### 20 Why did Paul write that he did not want to be ashamed? #q Paul wanted to obey God by telling people about Jesus. Even if the Romans punished him for doing that, he still wanted to do it. If he feared the Romans and stopped preaching about Jesus, he would be ashamed before God. #v20 ### 21 What did Paul want to say when he said "to live is Christ and to die is gain"? #q While Paul was alive, he only wanted to honor Christ. But Paul often suffered in order to obey Jesus. Therefore, Paul believed that he would be better off if he would die because then he would go to heaven to be with God. #v21 ### 22-24 Why was it difficult for Paul to decide if he wanted to live or die? #q It was difficult for Paul to decide whether he wanted to go free from prison or for the Romans to kill him. Paul wanted to be with Jesus in heaven. But he also wanted to continue to preach the gospel on earth. Paul finally decided that it would be better for the Philippians if he lived so that he could continue to teach and encourage them. #v22-24 ### 22 ;[fruitful labor] What is "fruitful labor"? #q Paul spoke a metaphor about "fruitful labor" to say that people would believe his message about Jesus and and honor God as a result. In this way, those believers would be like trees that gave good fruit. #v22 #xr-php1:11 ### 25-26 What did Paul want the Philippian believers to do if Paul went free from prison? #q Paul wanted to go free from prison so he could visit the Philippians again. He wanted to help them trust in God more and to rejoice because of God. He wanted them to have confidence in Jesus because God had freed Paul from prison. #v25-26 ### 27-30 What did Paul write about in verses 27-30? #q In verses 27-30, Paul encouraged the believers in Philippi to honor God the same way Paul did. They should not be afraid, but instead continue to believe the gospel and tell others about it. #v27-30 ### 27-28 ;[a sign to them] In what way were the Philippians to be a sign to the unbelievers who would persecute them? #q When unbelievers persecuted the Philippian Christians, the unbelievers would see that the Christians did not fear them. They would see that the Christians continued to honor God. The Christians would continue to trust in God. This is how the unbelievers would know that the message about the gospel was true. #v27-28 ### 27 Why did Paul say that he might be absent from the Philippian believers? #q Paul was sure that the Romans would free him from prison. However, he did not know if he would be able to go to Philippi as he wanted to do. #v27 ### 29 Who would cause the Philippians to suffer for Christ? #q God would give the Philippians the gift of suffering for Christ, just as God gave them the gift of believing in Jesus. They could honor God by continuing to trust him and to speak about Jesus as they suffered. The Philippians saw Paul suffer greatly at Philippi (see #act16:19-24). #v29 #xr-php3:10 #xr-1th2:2 #xr-1pe4:16

Chapter 2

1 # Philippians 2

Chapter 3

1 # Philippians 3

Chapter 4

1 # Philippians 4