Skip to main content

Philippians 1:18-26


Welcome back! Thank you for joining us on this path through Philippians. Today we're going to share notes on Philippians 1:18-25. These notes are from N.T. Wright's online course.

Here are my notes

  • Here is Paul's intimate reflection about the question of death
  • Paul is in prison and could face death
  • Paul is saying, There would be gain in dying but there's more work to be done
  • He's wrestled with this 
  • He quotes Job 13:16 "... this will turn out for my deliverance" 
  • This word 'deliverance' can also be translated as salvation. Literally, it means "rescue."
  • If you're also doing the course with N.T. Wright, you heard him say "inverted commas"--that's a British expression for quotation marks. Also, Bishop Wright encourages us to look at the context when Paul quotes a verse--to see what's going on--so that we can try to figure out the point Paul is trying to make.
  • Salvation can sum up the entire blessing of the gospel and everything you get by belonging to Jesus.
  • The support of the Spirit and their prayers is how God works. God wants to work through us!
  • Paul has such an intense and intimate sense of who Jesus is and what it means to belong to him that the thought of simply being with him is a wonderful prospect
  • Between death and resurrection there's a time of being with Jesus. Resurrection is bodily.
  • Beyond death there's a sure and certain hope of the presence of Jesus then ultimate resurrection.
Let's end with a reflection question: What fruitful work does God have for you to do?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ash Wednesday 2019

Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive (Joel 2:12-13 CEB) Today is a new beginning. A new season. And anytime we step into something new, we can feel vulnerable. We know our own brokenness. This is a season where we journey through the wilderness of our hearts and souls to the heart of God. This is a time that calls for us to walk carefully and to think deeply. And if we are to make progress on our pilgrim's path, then we must be willing to lay bare all that is hidden, buried, or repressed inside of ourselves. This path is uncomfortable. But if we want to move closer to God, then it is a path we must take. Lent doesn't make sense. It's counter-intuitive. We begin with death and move towards life. Today, many Christians will go to chu...

Philippians 2:19-30

The way many people see Philippians 2:19-30 is that Paul is doing something similar to many preachers who say, "And one more thing . . ." and then preach for another twenty minutes. But I don't see Paul as the typical Baptist preacher. I think this pause is intentional. I don't think it was an early ending and then Paul had more ideas and kept writing. Paul is sending two people to the Philippians, and he's explaining why he's sending them. They are, as Bishop Wright says, "working models" of what Paul has been teaching. They think like Jesus. They understand the gospel, it's meaning, and they're practicing it. They are humble and they are living in this new Jesus way. While these verses may not be the most exciting, they help us to piece together the story of what's going on. Around the year 55 or 56 AD, Paul is in prison--likely in Ephesus. During that time, Paul wrote this letter. Timothy will hand-deliver this letter to the P...

The Grand Tour: Repentance, Justification, and Sanctification

Eventually, in life, we will all wonder if there is more to life than what we do, what we see, and what we feel. Even after we accept Jesus into our heart, we will still feel a longing. We don't believe that accepting Jesus is the final step. Accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior is only the beginning of our faith. The Holy Spirit continues to work in our lives. John Wesley used the illustration of a house to describe this work. When you're beginning to feel that there has to be more to life than this, you take a look at the house. Then, you’re moved to take a risk and step up on the porch of repentance. There you find new life. After that, you walk into the living room through the front door of justification. Justification is when God makes right what we never can; God, through Christ, makes things right. Wesley ended by saying that sanctification is the exploration of the rest of the house. How sad would it be to live your entire life in the living room? That would b...