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Philippians & Colossians

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Table of Contents

About Joy of LivingHow to Use Joy of Living MaterialsDo You KNOW You Have Eternal Life?

Lesson 1Commentary : Introduction to Philippians Questions : Philippians 1

Lesson 2 Commentary : Philippians 1 Questions : Philippians 2



Lesson 5 Commentary : Philippians 4 Questions : Colossians 1

Lesson 6 Commentary : Colossians 1 Questions : Colossians 2



Lesson 9 Commentary : Colossians 4

Map: Locations mentioned in this study

How to Use Joy of Living Materials

Return to Table of ContentsThis unique Bible study series may be used by people who know nothing about the Bible, as well as by

more knowledgeable Christians. Many find a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as they study. Each person is nurtured and discipled in God’s Word.

Joy of Living is based on the idea that each person needs to open their Bible and let God speak to them by His Holy Spirit, to interpret the Scripture’s message in relation to that person’s needs and opportunities, in their family, church, job, community, and the world at large.

Only a Bible is needed for this study series. While commentaries may be helpful, it is not recommended that people consult them before answering the daily study questions. It is most important to let the Holy Spirit lead a person through the Bible passage and apply it to his or her heart and life. If desired, the student may consult additional commentaries after answering the questions on a particular passage.

The first lesson of a series includes an Introduction to the study, plus the first week’s daily study questions. Some questions are simple, and some are deeper for the more advanced student. The person works through the Bible passages each day, praying and asking God’s guidance in applying the truth to their own life.

For Use in a Group Setting:After the daily personal study of the passage, the students then go to a small group where they pray

together and discuss what they have written in response to the questions about the passage, clarifying problem areas and getting more insight into the passage. The small group leader helps the group focus on the Bible’s truth, and not just on discussing their own problems.

After small groups meet for discussion and prayer, they often go to a large group meeting where a teacher gives a brief lecture covering the essential teaching of the Bible passage which was studied during the prior week and discussed in the small groups. The teacher may clarify the passage and challenge class members to live a more committed daily life.

At home, the student begins the next lesson, containing commentary notes on the prior week’s passage and questions on a new Scripture passage.

Do You KNOW You Have Eternal Life?

Your Condition…For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)But your iniquities (sins) have separated you from your God. (Isaiah 59:2)For the wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)

There is help…For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. (1 Peter 3:18)The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

What do I do?…Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out. (Acts 3:19)Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. (Acts 16:31)

You CAN know…He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal


life. (1 John 5:12-13)

If you would like to make the decision today to repent and trust Christ as your Savior, either for the first time or as a re-commitment of your life, you may want to pray a prayer similar to this one:

Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. Please forgive my sins. Thank You for dying on the cross for me, and for coming alive again. I accept Your gifts of forgiveness and eternal life. I place my life in Your hands. I want to be Yours forever. Thank you for loving me so much. In Your Name I pray, Amen


Philippians & Colossians Lesson 1Return to Table of Contents

Introduction to Philippians

The apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote this letter to the church in Philippi while he was a prisoner. Some scholars say this imprisonment took place in Ephesus, and others in Caesarea. However, the best evidence favors Rome in about 61 A.D. Paul was not yet imprisoned in the Mamertine dungeon in Rome, as he later was when he wrote his Second Letter to Timothy. Rather, he was under house arrest in his own rented house (see Acts 28:14-31), where for two years he was free to preach the gospel to all who came to visit him.1

Though Paul wrote that he was “in chains for Christ” (Philippians 1:13), the tone of his letter doesn’t sound like he was writing from detention with chains or guards restricting him. Instead, he had a light heart and it was evident that his soul was free! There was no atmosphere of depression and disillusionment in his confinement, but only a reflection of the joy of the Lord.

In this letter, Paul portrayed Jesus Christ as our joy and hope. The words joy and rejoice occur repeatedly in this short letter. Perhaps you might like to read the whole letter at one sitting and underline the many times he mentions “joy,” “rejoice,” “be glad,” “Jesus Christ,” and “Lord.” Paul encourages us to always rejoice in the Lord. When we are suffering trials, true joy can only come from Jesus Christ.

Paul mentioned the Lord Jesus Christ’s name forty times in this short letter. Some of the most wonderful things concerning Jesus and the Christian life are found in Philippians. It tells us how our lives may be purified, dangers avoided, and joyful progress made if we are willing to trust Jesus Christ by making Him our Savior and Lord.

Paul’s Background

Paul was known as the great apostle to the Gentiles. His Hebrew name was Saul, and in the Book of Acts he was called Saul until Acts 13:9, which says, “Then Saul, who was also called Paul…” From then on in Scripture he is always called Paul, the Greek form of his name. Paul, a Jew, was a Roman citizen from birth, so he probably bore both names from an early age. The apostle always referred to himself as Paul in his letters.2

Paul was born near the beginning of the first century A.D., in the busy Greco-Roman city of Tarsus, located at the northeast corner of the Mediterranean Sea. There he learned his first language, Greek, was taught a trade, and received his early schooling. Growing up in a Gentile city may have helped him bridge the gap between Gentiles and Jews after his conversion to Christianity. However he was never ashamed to acknowledge himself a Jew (see Acts 21:39) and was proud of his Jewish background (see 2 Corinthians 11:22). He was the son of a Pharisee (see Acts 23:6) and was raised as an orthodox Jew. He was trained in Jerusalem under the famous rabbi Gamaliel (see Acts 22:3).

When Paul first appears in the book of Acts he is called a “young man” (Acts 7:58), and he was already an acknowledged leader in Judaism. He was intensely opposed to Christianity, and actively persecuted the followers of Jesus Christ (see Acts 26:10-11). He was convinced that Christians were heretics and that the 1 1. Kenneth Barker, editor. The NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985. See introduction to Philippians.2 2. Much of the material about the apostle Paul in this and the following paragraphs was taken from:J.D. Douglas, revising editor. Merrill C. Tenney, general editor. The New International Dictionary of the Bible. Grand

Rapids: Zondervan, 1987. “Paul.” 756-761.David Noel Freedman, editor. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000. “Paul.” 1016-1020.

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honor of the Lord God demanded their extermination.

Paul’s Conversion

The story of God’s divine intervention in Paul’s life is told in Acts chapter 9. Paul was on his way to Damascus, planning to arrest any Christians he found there and take them back to Jerusalem as prisoners. A light from heaven flashed around Paul, temporarily blinding him, and Jesus audibly spoke to him from heaven. Paul at once realized how wrong he was, and surrendered to Jesus’ call. From that time on he served Jesus Christ and the church with all his heart.

Paul first became involved in ministry to the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria. The church in Jerusalem had sent Barnabas to Antioch to help lead the growing church there. Barnabas brought Paul to work with him in Antioch, and for a whole year they met with and taught the church there (see Acts 11:19-26). The work of Gentile foreign missions was begun by the Antioch church under the direction of the Holy Spirit when they sent Barnabas and Paul off on their first missionary journey in about 48 A.D. (see Acts 13:1-3).

The Church in Philippi

During his second missionary journey, Paul and his new ministry partner, Silas, were prevented by the Holy Spirit from entering into the province of Asia and into Bithynia. Acts 16:9 says, “During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’” Paul and Silas obeyed God’s call to preach the gospel in Macedonia. They crossed the Aegean Sea from Troas to Neapolis, and walked some eight to ten miles up and over the coastal range to the city of Philippi. The church in Philippi was the very first European church founded by Paul3 (Philippi is located within the modern country of Greece).

God had called Paul to preach the Gospel in a very strategic area. First of all, Philippi (named after King Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great) was famous for its gold mines. These mines had been worked as far back as the time of the Phoenicians. There had also been silver mines here and, Philippi had become a great commercial center of the ancient world.

Philippi was also known as the gateway to Europe as its site was on the chain of hills which divides Europe from Asia from the east to the west. The hills dip into a pass where Philip situated the city. The road between Europe and Asia, and later from Rome to its eastern provinces, wound through this pass in the mountains.

Philippi became a prosperous Roman colony. The city planners determined to make Philippi as similar as possible in design and architecture as Rome itself. The Roman language, Latin, was spoken, Roman dress and customs were observed, Roman titles used for city leaders, and, of course, Roman government ruled the city. A glimpse of Roman pride can be found as some of the people of Philippi brought Paul and Silas before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice” (Acts 16:20-21, italics added). Yet with all this Roman influence, God used Paul, a Jew, to preach the gospel, and Philippi became the birthplace of European Christianity.

The Letter to Philippi

Paul’s primary purpose in writing this letter to the Philippians was to thank them for the gift they had sent him after they learned of his detention in Rome. He also wanted to:3 3. The New International Dictionary of the Bible. “Letter to the Philippians.” pp 781-782.

Philippians & Colossians Lesson 1

report on his own circumstances encourage the Philippians to stand firm in the face of persecution and rejoice regardless of

circumstances urge them to humility and unity commend Timothy and Epaphroditus to them, and warn the Philippians against the legalists and libertines among them.4

Paul certainly had joyful memories from Philippi, which were in part responsible for his ability to rejoice in detention as he wrote this letter. He could look back to the day when Lydia and all of her household responded and believed his message concerning the Lord Jesus Christ (see Acts 16:12-15). He probably remembered with great joy how the slave girl was delivered from a spirit of divination through the power of Jesus Christ’s name (see Acts 16:16-18). As a result of Paul’s intervention on her behalf, he and Silas were severely flogged and thrown in prison, with their feet fastened in the stocks. About midnight as they were praying and singing hymns, God sent a great earthquake, which loosed their chains and opened the doors to the prison. The greatest joy in this memory was the fact that the jailer and his whole family believed in the Lord Jesus Christ that night because of this great happening (see Acts 16:19-34).

As Paul sat in Roman detention thinking about all of these events in Philippi, he must have pondered how God had worked during both pleasant times and difficult times. He must have thought of the placid days of prayer and teaching while he stayed in Lydia’s household as an honored guest and teacher. He probably thought of the pain and fear that he and Silas experienced in the Philippian prison. Yet as Paul thought about all of these things he could rejoice, for he realized that God had worked through all of these events and formed a strong, faithful and joyous group of Philippian believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

When you find yourself in a hard place, in fear, pain or terror, just remember how God used Paul’s experience! You may feel chained to an office desk, a kitchen sink, or to some other situation, but be like Paul and remember what God has been doing in your life instead of becoming discouraged over your present situation. As you praise God for what He has done in the past, you will be reminded of what He has promised to do for you always! As Paul wrote in Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

4 4. The NIV Study Bible. See introduction to Philippians.


Study QuestionsReturn to Table of Contents

Before you begin each day: Pray and ask God to speak to you through His Holy Spirit. Use only the Bible for your answers. Write down your answers and the verses you used. Answer the “Challenge” questions if you have the time and want to do them. Share your answers to the “Personal” questions with the class only if you want to share them.

First Day: Read the Introduction to Philippians.

1. What meaningful or new thought did you find in the Introduction to Philippians or from your teacher’s lecture? What personal application did you choose to apply to your life?

2. Look for a verse in the lesson to memorize this week. Write it down, carry it with you, tack it to your bulletin board, on the dashboard of your car, etc. Make a real effort to learn the verse and its “address” (reference of where it is found in the Bible).

Second Day: Read Philippians 1, concentrating on verses 1-6.

1. a. What does Paul call Timothy and himself in this chapter? To whom is Paul writing this letter? (Philippians 1:1)

b. In the Bible, the word “saints” is not restricted to especially holy individuals, but is a term for the people of God in both the Old and New Testaments.5 If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and trust Him as your Savior and Lord, then you are a saint. How do Romans 1:7a and 1 Corinthians 1:2 help you understand this?

2. Challenge: All believers in Jesus Christ are also called to be His servants. How do the following verses help you understand what it means to be a servant of Jesus Christ?Matthew 8:9

John 14:15

1 Timothy 6:18

2 Timothy 2:24

5 5. Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. “Saints.” 1151-1152.


3. a. What blessings do God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give us? (Philippians 1:2) If possible, look up these words in the dictionary.

b. Personal: Have you received God’s gift of grace and peace through your faith in His Son, Jesus Christ? Read 1 John 4:9-10 with Revelation 3:20. If you haven’t yet trusted in Jesus’ sacrifice, why not pray now to receive Him as your Savior and Lord?

4. What does Paul do every time he thinks of the Philippian believers? Why are his prayers for them filled with joy? (Philippians 1:3-5)

5. a. What wonderful thing did Paul declare about the Philippians believers? (Philippians 1:6)

b. Read Hebrews 13:20-21. How do these verses help you understand what Paul declared in Philippians 1:6?

6. Personal: Do you ever feel discouraged with your life as a Christian? Do you feel that you will never be able to consistently live a life pleasing to the Lord? Remember who it is that both began the good work in you and will bring it to completion. It is not dependent on your power, but on His! Why not pray now and thank God for what He has done and will continue to do in your life?

Third Day: Review Philippians 1, concentrating on verses 7-14.

1. How did Paul feel about the Philippian Christians? (Philippians 1:7-8)

2. What did Paul desire for the Philippians? (Philippians 1:9-11)

3. Challenge: How do the following verses say a believer can discern what is best?John 16:13-14

Romans 12:2

Colossians 1:9

4. Read John 15:5. How can a believer be “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:11)?

5. How does Paul say that his detention has affected his ministry? (Philippians 1:12-14)


6. Personal: Have you ever had opportunities to share your faith because of trouble you have suffered? Has someone else’s life encouraged you as you have seen God work out His plan in their life through a difficult situation? Share if possible, without using any names.

Fourth Day: Review Philippians 1, concentrating on verses 15-19.

1. What motives does Paul state that other Christians have for preaching Christ while he is in prison? (Philippians 1:15-17)

2. How does Paul feel about all who preach of the Lord Jesus Christ? (Philippians 1:18)

3. What similar thing did the Lord Jesus say to His disciples in Luke 9:49-50?

4. Challenge: Read Numbers 11:24-29. What did Joshua urge Moses to do about the two prophets and what was Moses’ reply to him?

5. Personal: Have you ever been jealous because you felt someone was being used for Christ in a way that you would like to be used? Have you ever asked Christ to forgive you for this jealous attitude? Why not stop right now and ask for His forgiveness?

Fifth Day: Review Philippians 1, concentrating on verses 19-26.

1. Paul did not know whether he would be delivered from prison through being released back to freedom or through death. In either case, what did he expect and hope? (Philippians 1:19-20)

2. What was Paul’s attitude about his life and death? (Philippians 1:21-24)

3. Why did Paul believe that it was necessary for him to live a little longer on earth? (Philippians 1:25-26)

4. Challenge: One who has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ never needs to fear death. Read 2 Corinthians 5:1-6. How do these verses describe the believer’s view of life and death?

5. Personal: Do you share Paul’s view of life and death? How would you describe the two ways you are pulled—the things for which you wish to stay on earth versus the desire you have to be with Jesus in heaven?


Sixth Day: Review Philippians 1, concentrating on verses 27-30.

1. What challenge does Paul give these beloved Christians in Philippians 1:27-28a?

2. Read Colossians 1:10-12. How does this passage clarify the way we are to live as believers?

3. What will the Philippian believers’ fearlessness and unity signify, both to their opponents and for the believers themselves? (Philippians 1:28b)

4. a. What privilege is given to the Philippian believers along with the gift of faith? (Philippians 1:29-30)

b. Read 2 Timothy 3:12. Who else is given this privilege?

c. Challenge: What else do you learn about this privilege in the following passages?James 1:2-4

1 Peter 4:12-14

5. Personal: How have you suffered on behalf of Christ? Do you consider it a privilege? If you have not yet suffered on His behalf, consider why that might be. Do you publicly identify yourself as a Christian and stand out as a representative of the gospel?

6. Which verse did you choose to memorize this week? Can you write it down here?



Philippians 1:1-2—Paul’s Opening Greeting

As was the custom, Paul started his letters by introducing who the letter was from and then greeting its recipients. Paul referred to himself and Timothy as “servants of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:1). The Greek word translated servants can also be translated “bond-servants” or “slaves.” By calling himself this, Paul declared his absolute dedication to the Lord Jesus Christ. As he wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:20, “You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price” (NLT). Yes, God had bought Paul with the price of His own Son, Jesus Christ. Paul therefore presented his life in absolute obedience to Christ. To be Jesus Christ’s slave is the way to perfect freedom!

Perhaps you have feared to call yourself a servant of Jesus Christ because you have thought it would mean that your freedom would be exchanged for an unhappy experience of bondage. Perhaps you have thought Jesus would call you to a work for which you were not suited or did not want to do! God—who made you—will never do such a thing as this. He has a perfect plan for your life, and is only waiting for you to submit your will to this plan so that He can work it out to His glory, which will bring great happiness to your heart.

Often we are like a split personality, being willing to give half of ourselves to God and yet wanting to reserve the other half for our own use and desire. This never works! Paul’s letter to the Romans explains why: “Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are free by God’s grace. So since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does this mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master? You can choose sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God and receive his approval” (Romans 6:14-16 NLT).

Paul experienced deep joy because he gave himself totally to God. If he could talk to you today he would say, “Therefore, I urge you…in view of God’s mercy, to offer your [body] as [a] living [sacrifice], holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2). Are you willing to pray and ask God to work out His will in your life as you offer your body as a living sacrifice to Him? Only then will you find that His ways will really satisfy you.

Paul addressed his letter to “all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi” (Philippians 1:1). The term saint in our day sometimes paints a picture of an unworldly pious person. However, in the New Testament, the word saints refers to the whole body of Christians as the holy people of God, set apart for Him in Christ. 6

Paul addressed these people not only as “saints” but also as “in Christ Jesus.” When we are “in Christ Jesus” we have the privilege of living continually conscious of the Holy Spirit within us, conscious of God speaking to us moment by moment, and conscious that we are never separated from the presence of the Lord. Jesus promised His disciples, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you for ever—the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17). As a Christian are you always conscious of the encircling presence of the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you always conscious that the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, lives within you forever? You are never alone if you are “in Jesus Christ” by faith in Him.

Paul’s greeting to his friends was for “grace and peace” for them, which comes “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:2). “Grace” (charis) was a well-known Greek greeting and “peace” (eirene) a common Hebrew greeting. Each of these words was made more precious by the new meaning that Christ gave to them.6 1. F.F. Bruce, editor. The International Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986. p1442.


The word “grace” can be defined as “the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues.”7 As Christians we receive God’s grace by our faith in Jesus Christ. An acrostic that reminds us of the meaning of grace is: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. First, we are recipients of God’s grace when our sins—past, present and future—are forgiven in Christ. This is called regeneration. Then, God’s grace continues to be extended to believers to help us live a victorious Christian life. This aspect of grace is called sanctification. (See 1 Corinthians 15:10; 2 Corinthians 9:8).

The word peace never simply means the absence of trouble. It suggests total well-being, harmony, an undisturbed state of mind, absence of mental conflict and a serenity because we are “in Christ Jesus.” We have both peace with God because our sins are forgiven (see Romans 5:1), and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, in the midst of the difficulties of this life (see Philippians 4:7).

When Paul prayed for grace and peace for the Philippian Christians, he was praying that they would not only have their sins forgiven by faith in Jesus Christ, but that they would live a triumphant life, in unbroken fellowship with God no matter what their outward circumstances. This is the great privilege and joy which every Christian experiences when he or she comes “in Christ Jesus” to God. Have you received the grace and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ? (See Ephesians 2:8-9.)

Philippians 1:3-11—Paul’s Love and Prayer

Good memories of the Philippian Christians were a part of the reason for Paul’s ability to rejoice in prison: “I thank my God every time I remember you” (Philippians 1:3). Paul had built up a close and loving relationship with these believers, so that he could say, “I have you in my heart,” and, “God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:7-8). Paul loved these people dearly and his heart ached for a reunion with them.

Do you have similar feelings for special Christians whom God has sent into your life? Are you thankful for these people who loved you “in Christ Jesus?” If so, why not stop right now and write a letter, make a phone call, or a personal visit to express your thanksgiving and to renew your fellowship with these Christians who have blessed your life and encouraged your Christian growth?

Paul constantly prayed for others. So it should be for every true Christian friend, father, mother, brother or sister. Do you have a prayer list? Do you talk to the Lord about your friends? Do you rejoice in prayer for the answers that God gives?

Paul prayed that the Philippian Christians’ love would grow more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that they would “be able to discern what is best” (Philippians 1:10). He wanted them to have the power to judge rightly and follow the best course of action, and to have a familiarity, awareness and understanding of God’s plan for their lives.

What does it mean to “discern what is best”? In 1 Corinthians 10:23, Paul taught, “‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible’—but not everything is constructive.” The Christian’s life is not controlled by an exhaustive list of “do’s” and “don’ts”, like a train that can only run on a specific track. God gives us the freedom to make a myriad of choices, within the bounds of His loving instruction in the Bible.

Many of the choices we make will help us grow us stronger in the Lord, but other choices—while not intrinsically wrong—are not the best for us. For example, we decide every day how to use our free time. Rather than spend two hours watching TV, you might spend part of that time playing with your children or visiting a friend. Or instead of reading a novel for two hours, you might spend some of that time reading

7 2. Thayer and Smith. “Greek Lexicon entry for Charis”. The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon. <http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexicons/Greek/grk.cgi?number=5485&version=kjv>.


God’s Word, or a book that builds up your faith. Television programs and novels are not wrong in themselves, but if that’s all you spend your time on, you’re missing out on relationship-building and faith-building opportunities. The Holy Spirit will help you make these choices as you read the Bible and seek His leading.

In Philippians 1:10-11 Paul prayed the believers would be “pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.” What “fruit” is Paul talking about? Galatians 5:22 tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” This fruit will only grow in our lives “through Jesus Christ”—these are not qualities that we can grit our teeth and manufacture for ourselves. In John 15:5 Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Finally, Paul said, this fruit in our lives is to be “to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:11). Some people who say they are Christians put on the appearance of being so faultless that they make other people turn away from Jesus Christ. Others profess to be followers of Christ, yet are hard, harsh and judgmental. Some who say they are Christians are so critical of others that they actually repel them from being interested in gospel. Paul is praying that all Christians will have the love and gentleness that will attract others to Christ and bring glory and praise to God.

Philippians 1:12-14—Paul’s Imprisonment

The Philippians were distressed at Paul’s imprisonment, but he told them that what might have appeared to them as a setback was really an important advance for the gospel. First, he said, “It has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ” (Philippians 1:13). According to The International Bible Commentary, the “whole palace guard” referred to “the imperial bodyguard, those powerful and sometimes turbulent troops of whom the emperor was praetor, or commander-in-chief. What a mission field Paul has had among these guards!”8 Not only had the entire Praetorian Guard learned of Christ because of Paul’s imprisonment, but the local Christians had also been encouraged by Paul’s witness and were openly and fearlessly sharing the truth of Jesus Christ.

In another letter, Paul spoke of himself as “an ambassador in chains” (Ephesians 6:20). That short length of chain, which might have bound his wrist to the wrist of the soldier who was his guard, actually helped Paul to witness for Christ! There would, of course, be a round of guards assigned to this duty both night and day. All of these guards knew why Paul was imprisoned—because of his faith—and many of them may have been touched by Jesus Christ and became real believers.

You may consider yourself in a prison of an office, home, neighborhood or city. But remember that God wants you to use your situation just as Paul did! God is just as able to give you the courage and the joy to speak the Word of God without fear as He gave courage to Paul and his fellow Christians in their day. Paul set the example by first of all concentrating on joyful memories of how God had blessed his life and the lives of others, and then engaging in prayer asking for God’s blessing on all of those he knew and met. If you follow his example, you will have a great impact in the place where God has put you, whether it is a prison or a palace.

Philippians 1:15-18—Different Motives

While Paul was imprisoned, other men preached Christ. Some had pure motives, while others had selfish ambitions and used this opportunity to advance their own influence and prestige. Paul showed no personal resentment toward them, and said that as long as Jesus Christ was preached, he would rejoice. The Lord Jesus Christ had set this same example. When one of His disciples said, “We saw a man driving 8 3. The International Bible Commentary. p1443.


out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us,” Jesus replied, “Do not stop him…for whoever is not against you is for you” (Luke 9:49-50).

Does this happen today? Of course! In every generation there is always the possibility that someone is preaching the gospel for selfish motives. But the message of God’s Good News is always good, no matter who speaks it.

There should never be a spirit of division and competition among true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you ever felt jealous because someone was being used for Christ in an outstanding way and you felt that you were left on the sidelines? We should rejoice that anyone is being used effectively if they are preaching Jesus Christ. We need to recognize that God gives everyone differing special abilities (see Ephesians 4:11-13). Why not choose to rejoice when you see a person winning others to the Lord Jesus Christ? Often God allows one person to sow the seed and another to harvest it! (See John 4:37-38; 1 Corinthians 3:6-9.)

Philippians 1:19-26—Willing to Serve

Paul truly believed that the present opposition he was experiencing would work out for good (see Romans 8:28) because the Christians were praying. He expected deliverance through the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, perhaps not deliverance from prison, but in any case deliverance from being put to shame in anything concerning his Christian testimony. Paul’s chief goal in life was to bring glory to Christ, whether he lived or died.

We can sense how much Paul loved the Lord by his statement, “I’m torn between two desires: Sometimes I want to live, and sometimes I long to go and be with Christ. That would be far better for me” (Philippians 1:23 NLT). Yet Paul was willing to stay on earth because, “It is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (Philippians 1:24). Paul was anxious to see the Philippian Christians progress in their joy in the faith, and this was why he wanted to remain alive and come to them again to teach them more.

How much do you care about others’ spiritual growth and joy in their faith? There are needs in every church and every Bible study group for those willing to shepherd the flock by teaching the Word of God or performing other services for the Lord. Are you willing to be open to what God has planned for you to do to bring joy and faith to others and to further encourage fellow Christians and help them progress in their faith? Will you bow your head now and simply tell God that you are willing to be His instrument available in whatever service He may call you to?

Philippians 1:27-30—Paul’s Challenge

Paul made it plain to the Philippians that they needed to stand fast in their faith without being frightened by those who opposed them. He also expected them to “stand firm in one spirit” (Philippians 1:27), unified by their common faith in Jesus Christ. Today we need to remember that all true Christians are bound together in one Spirit.

As Christians stand fast through God’s strength, it causes people to realize that Christians have something that they, as nonbelievers, do not possess. In the world of turmoil in which we live, many people are seeking for a source of peace and stability. When they see the calm courage reflected in a Christian’s life, it opens marvelous opportunities for sharing the gospel. What do the people around you see when they observe your life?

Paul challenged the Philippians not to be frightened by those who opposed them. In fact, he said, “It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him” (Philippians 1:29). Just as we are given the grace to believe in Jesus Christ, we are also granted the privilege of suffering for Him!


The apostle James put it this way: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4). And Peter wrote, “Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:13).

Have you suffered for the sake of Jesus Christ? Did you learn to rejoice in that experience? If you have not suffered for the Lord, do you think people around you even know that you are a Christian? Of course, we don’t seek suffering for its own sake, but its absence might tell us something about the way non-believers see us. Ask God to make you more like His Son Jesus Christ, and then rejoice in whatever that brings into your life!




First Day: Read the Commentary on Philippians 1.

1. What meaningful or new thought did you find in the commentary on Philippians 1 or from your teacher’s lecture? What personal application did you choose to apply to your life?



1. What does Paul hope the Philippian Christians had received? (Philippians 2:1)

2. What did Paul ask the Philippian believers to do if they had received these things? (Philippians 2:2)

3. Personal: Have you received these things from the Lord? Reread Philippians 2:1 and think about your own life. Why not pray now and ask God to work these things in your life through His Holy Spirit within you?

4. a. What should not motivate us? (Philippians 2:3a)

b. How did Paul say believers should treat other people? (Philippians 2:3b-4)

5. Challenge: How do the following passages help you understand this principle?Romans 15:1

1 Corinthians 13:4-5

James 2:8


6. Personal: How can you apply these principles to your relationships with family, friends or co-workers? Is there some particular relationship in which you feel you haven’t done this? Why not pray now and ask God to help you to change how you treat that person?


1. Who are we to pattern our lives after? (Philippians 2:5)

2. Who is Christ in His “very nature”? (Philippians 2:6)?

3. Challenge: How do the following passages confirm that Jesus is God?John 1:1,14

John 14:9

Hebrews 1:3

4. Even though He is God, how did Jesus Christ humble Himself for our sake? (Philippians 2:6-8)

5. Challenge: Jesus “made himself nothing” not by giving up His deity, but by laying aside His glory and submitting to the humiliation of becoming man.9 He is both truly God and truly man. Read Matthew 27. How does this chapter describe the humiliation of His death?

6. Personal: Have you ever thanked Jesus for humiliating Himself and suffering these things for you? Does His example challenge you to make any changes in your life? What are some changes you want the Holy Spirit to do inwardly and then work outwardly through your life?


1. What did God the Father do after Christ willingly humbled Himself? (Philippians 2:9)

2. What must ultimately happen because God has done this? (Philippians 2:10-11)

3. Challenge: We know that today there are many who do not bow their knee to Jesus and call Him Lord of all. When is the time that all people will finally have to admit and confess this, and bow to Him?Matthew 25:31-32

9 4. Kenneth Barker, editor. The NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985.


Romans 14:10-12

2 Peter 3:7-10

4. The Scriptures state that it is God’s desire that all people would be saved (see 2 Peter 3:9 above), but that not all will choose to be saved from their sins. The Lord has made provision for forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life, through the death and resurrection of His only Son Jesus Christ. Sadly, some people may never accept this loving gift offered to them by the Heavenly Father. Read John 3:3,16-18 and Hebrews 9:22. What do these passages say about God’s love and forgiveness?

5. Personal: Are you looking forward to the day when the Lordship of Jesus Christ becomes evident to all? Who, among your relatives, friends or co-workers, will rejoice with you on that day, and who will not? This would be a good time to begin praying regularly for those who do not yet know Jesus as Savior and Lord. Ask God to give you opportunities and the right words to share the gospel with them.


1. Philippians 2:12 by itself may puzzle you. Salvation (forgiveness and cleansing) is a gift from God through faith apart from any human works. How does Ephesians 2:8-10 clearly explain this truth?

2. Personal: What have you been depending on to get you to heaven? If God were to ask you why He should let you into heaven, what would your reply be after reading Ephesians 2:7-10?

3. How are we able to obey God’s commands and do good works? (Philippians 2:13)

4. With what attitude are we to obey God’s commands? (Philippians 2:14)

5. If we follow God’s commands with this attitude, what will result in our lives and in the way we stand in contrast to the world around us? (Philippians 2:15-16a)

6. Challenge: Paul hoped that the Philippian believers’ attitude and conduct would show good fruit resulting from his ministry to them. To what did he compare his imprisonment in Philippians 2:17? How did he feel about this?


1. What did Paul plan to do and for what purpose? (Philippians 2:19-24)


2. Personal: If someone has believed in Christ because of your life and words, do you just leave them alone or do you share Paul’s attitude? What kind of follow-up love, interest and concern can you give to encourage those who are new in their faith in Jesus Christ?

3. Why was Paul sending Epaphroditus back to Philippi? (Philippians 2:25-28)

4. How does Paul instruct the Philippian Christians to receive Epaphroditus? (Philippians 2:29-30)

5. Personal: After reading Paul’s instructions on how the Philippians should receive Epaphroditus, what thoughts do you have concerning your church’s missionaries, pastors, teachers and other workers? Are you as gracious, thoughtful and helpful toward them while they are at home or abroad? How could you improve this situation?

6. Which verse did you choose to memorize this week? Share it with your group if possible.



Philippians 2:1-2—A Challenge to Unity

Paul was proud of the Christians in Philippi. Their dedication thrilled him and he wanted them to keep growing in their faith in the Lord Jesus. Notice that all three phrases in the first verse begin with the condition, “If.” Paul used this term to mean, “In view of the fact that.” He knew that as believers they had received all of these blessings from the Lord.

We, too, can receive these same blessings. To be “united with Christ” is to be saved—and what an encouragement that is! God’s love for us brings us the comfort of resting in Him for all of our needs. In 2 Corinthians 1:3 God is called “the God of all comfort.” When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, He gives us the gift of His Holy Spirit to live within us, a source of constant fellowship that we are never separated from. And we receive the tenderness and compassion that Jesus shows to all His followers. Repeatedly in the gospels we read that Jesus had compassion for those who came to Him.

Because the believers in Philippi had received these blessings, Paul challenged them to be united in their love and convictions and to have a common purpose and spirit. This would make his joy at their spiritual growth complete. To be “like-minded” and “one in spirit and purpose” (Philippians 2:2) does not mean that you have to be a duplicate of every other Christian! God doesn’t expect us to be clones of each other. It does mean that we need to seek a common ground of agreement, based on the truth of Scripture, although we may disagree on minor points of doctrine. Christians who are united in spirit and purpose will desire to work together and serve one another in love.

Philippians 2:3-4—A Challenge to Humility

Paul continued, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit” (Philippians 2:3). Here Paul stated two important reasons for discord in the church, both in that day and today. First, there is selfish ambition, where people work to advance themselves rather than the cause of Christ. Second, there is vain conceit—the desire for personal prestige—which is often a greater temptation than wealth. It is natural to want others to seek your opinion, and to be known as an authority in the church. Yet this is the extreme opposite of what a believer should desire. When a Christian does good deeds, they should be done to glorify God rather than to glorify the doer. Such good deeds should focus people’s eyes upon the Lord rather than on the Christian.

Paul gave the solution to the problem—instead of being controlled by these things, we are to “in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). Humility isn’t something we are able to choose to have. Rather, it is truly seeing ourselves for what we are—that whatever gift or asset we have was given to us by God. If our talents and assets are a gift, we have nothing to boast about, as Paul demonstrated in 1 Corinthians 4:7, “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” If we see every believer as being uniquely gifted to fulfill God’s purpose for them, then we have no room for “selfish ambition or vain conceit.”

This leads naturally to Paul’s next point, “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4). There is nothing wrong with pursuing our own interests. Paul is pointing out that we should have equal concern for the interests of others. My own plans and needs are important, but when the love of Christ controls me, I will desire to put others’ plans and needs ahead of my own. Romans 15:1-2 says it this way, “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.”


The story is told of two young artists, Albrecht Durer and Franz Knigstein who hoped to obtain success, yet both were so poor that they could not go to school to study art. They decided to draw lots and the one would study while the other worked to support the both of them. Then when the one who had been in school made enough money from the sale of paintings to support the two of them, the other would stop working and go to art school.

Durer was the one who was to have the first opportunity to study, while Knigstein began working at hard labor. Durer sold several pictures and now it was the other man’s turn to study painting. Sadly he found that his fingers had become so stiff and gnarled from his heavy labor that he could never work with an artist’s brush. Therefore, Knigstein sadly resigned himself to give up all of his artistic dreams, yet was not embittered by the experience.

Shortly after Knigstein’s discovery, his friend, Durer, found him kneeling by his bed with his hands uplifted in prayer. The artist heard Knigstein unselfishly praying for the continued success of Durer, since he himself could never be an artist. Durer hurriedly sketched the expressive hands of his friend and later completed the now famous painting known as the “Praying Hands.” This painting has brought comfort and courage to countless millions around the world.

How often to you look to the interests of other people and not just your own interests? If you want joy and victory in your Christian life, then put Jesus first and ask Him to change your attitude toward others, as you daily read the Bible and fellowship with Him in prayer. Will you choose to allow Christ to encourage and empower you to put another’s welfare ahead of your own interests?

Philippians 2:5-11—Jesus is Our Model

The language of Philippians 2:5-11 is poetic. This may have been a hymn that was used in the early church’s worship, or Paul may have composed it as he was led by the Spirit to write this letter. This hymn speaks of Christ’s humiliation and exaltation, and is intended to give Christ the honor due Him. It is similar to the hymns sung in Revelation 4:11, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being;” and in Revelation 5:12, “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

Philippians 2:6 proclaims the deity of Christ, for He was “in very nature God.” Jesus is God’s Son—the second Person of the Godhead, absolute God, and co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit (see also John 1:1,2,14; 10:30; Colossians 2:9). Although He was the Son of God, Jesus humbled Himself and left His heavenly home to come to earth, taking the form of a man. He did not leave heaven reluctantly, but “for the joy set before him endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2).

Paul describes five steps in which Jesus humbled Himself.First, He left heaven’s glory. Jesus was willing to give up the status, privileges and high position He held

in heaven. When we turn to His final prayer recorded in John 17:5 we can see what this means: “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

Second, He “made himself nothing” (Philippians 2:7). Jesus came down to this earth a little helpless baby, yet within Him existed the power to speak this universe into and out of existence! He was God, yet He placed limitations upon Himself as He laid aside His heavenly glory. For instance, when the soldiers came to the Garden of Gethsemane to arrest Jesus, He went forward to meet them and asked, “Who is it you want?” They said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He answered, “I am he.” When He said this, for a moment His glory shone forth and “they drew back and fell to the ground.” Yet Christ humbled Himself and allowed Himself to be arrested in that garden as a common criminal (see Matthew 26:36-57; John 18:1-13). He did not lay aside His deity, but He did allow Himself to get weary, hungry, thirsty, and finally to be crucified.

Third, He took upon Himself “the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:7). God’s Son was born to a poor peasant family. The gospels show that servanthood was at the core of His life—“the Son of Man did Philippians & Colossians Lesson 3

not come to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28).Fourth, He allowed Himself to be “found in appearance as a man” (Philippians 2:8). He came in the

human line, born of a virgin, and took upon Himself the limitations of human flesh. The human mind cannot comprehend what true humiliation this was.

Fifth, He “became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8). In John 10:17-18 Jesus said, “I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” Under Mosaic Law, the Jews carried out public executions by stoning. When a Jewish criminal committed a terrible crime he was executed by stoning and then his body would be strung up on a tree for the public to view. The Roman method, death by crucifixion, was the most degrading kind of execution that could be inflicted on a person. Death on the cross heightened Jesus’ humiliation—He died as someone cursed. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’”

Christ left heaven’s glory and came down to earth as a man, willingly dying on the cross to pay the penalty of your sins. He is the holy, righteous God who came to earth to show love and mercy to you. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Have you ever received Him into your life?

Philippians 2:9 continues, “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.” After Jesus willingly carried out the work for which He humbled Himself, “He was taken from the fathomless depths of Calvary’s woe up to the right hand of God.”10

In Philippians 2:10-11 we read of the result of His exaltation—“that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This means that even those who are doomed to eternal separation from God in hell because of their unbelief in the Lord Jesus Christ will have to bow to Him because He is Lord.

Today each individual may freely choose whether or not to bow to Christ and call Him Savior and Lord, but the day will come when even those who have rejected Him will have to acknowledge that He is Lord of all.

Philippians 2:12-18—Practical Christian Living

Paul continues, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13).

“Work out your salvation” means to live out your salvation, not working for eternal life, but bearing the fruit and doing the deeds that God has planned for your life as you yield yourself to His power daily. This is an absolutely personal matter that no one else can do for you. If you have invited Christ into your life then you are a new creation (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). As you mature in Christ, this new creation that has been planted in your heart will bear fruit in your life—the fruit of the Spirit, the likeness of Christ.

This is serious, eternal business, not to be taken lightly, not to be played at—Paul says “with fear and trembling” to indicate our reverence and singleness of purpose in response to God’s grace.11 Why do we respond this way? Because God is the one doing the work. Philippians 2:13 says, “ It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (italics added). What does that mean? God first works in your heart the desire to do His will, His purpose, then He shows you how to accomplish His will. You can 101. F.F. Bruce, editor. The International Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986. p1445.112. Kenneth Barker, editor. The NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985.


go about it with confidence as you rely on the Holy Spirit’s power. Since Christ lives in each believer in the Person of the Holy Spirit, you have an inner source of direction for God’s plan for your life! Are you willing to yield yourself to His plan and power each day? Are you willing to give Him first priority in your life?

You may be thinking about overwhelming problems in your own life right now and wondering if Christ is sufficient. Let God put your overwhelming problems into perspective. God does not want you to worship your problems nor to ignore them, but to allow Him to come in to be your strength and help. Someone has said, “God has no problems...only plans.” Since God permitted the problems to come into your life, He wants to use them to help you have a deeper knowledge of Himself and His love for you. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

A Right Attitude Next, Paul instructs, “Do everything without complaining or arguing” (Philippians 2:14). In Matthew

5:16 Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” If we are going to “glow” for God, we can’t be grouchy and grumpy! If you have committed your life to the control of the Lord, you are under His orders. No soldier asks his commander-in-chief the “why” of anything he asks him to do. Don’t complain, “If God is my Lord, why did he allow this thing to happen to me?” Obey Him and then, as Paul says, you will “shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life” (Philippians 2:15-16).

Yes, there may be times when we fail to have the right attitude when trouble comes along. We may even fall flat in the process, but as we confess the sin of rebellion and distrust in God (see 1 John 1:8-9) we can grow in our faith. Many lessons can be learned through this fire that refines, purifies and often charts a new course for your life. So if you feel that you have come to the end of yourself, remember that this is the time that God can begin to work! Pray and commit all of your problems to Him and trust Him to work them out to make you more like Himself and to bring glory to Himself. Will you allow the Lord to work in your life in this way? Then God can say, “See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this” (Isaiah 48:10-11).

When Helen Keller, blind from birth, was asked what she considered to be the greatest tragedy that could befall a person, she responded, “To have sight but lack vision.” This was the spiritual sickness that Paul did not want the Philippians to have! God does not want us to have it either! We may have our minds filled full of facts and statistics about world conditions, and religious and cultural differences, but what God wants us to do is to incorporate all of these things into our spiritual vision, holding the torch of God’s Word high so that others can catch sight of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul set the supreme example of a person who has spiritual vision. Not only did he lift up the “word of life” (Philippians 2:16), but he also followed up on those who received Jesus Christ, even writing them letters while he was in prison to encourage their faith and to rejoice over them! Paul showed us the joy of the Christian life lived as a sacrifice to the glory of God. He urged the Philippian believers, “Hold tightly to the word of life, so that when Christ returns, I will be proud that I did not lose the race and that my work was not useless. But even if my life is to be poured out like a drink offering to complete the sacrifice of your faithful service (that is, if I am to die for you), I will rejoice, and I want to share my joy with all of you” (Philippians 2:16-17 NLT). Are you willing to pray and ask God to give you the same attitude of love, concern and prayer for your fellow Christians that Paul had?

Philippians 2:19-30—Plans for Reunion

Paul hoped to come as soon as possible to see the Philippian Christians. In the meantime he hoped to soon send Timothy, who was with him in Rome, to discover and report on conditions in the Philippian church. Paul gave Timothy the highest commendation—“I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ” (Philippians 2:20-21).Philippians & Colossians Lesson 3

At this time Paul was sending back to them Epaphroditus, who had been their own messenger to Paul in his distress. Epaphroditus had been very ill, but for a worthy cause—“For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while trying to do for me the things you couldn’t do because you were far away” (Philippians 2:30). Epaphroditus was not being sent home because he was homesick, though he did long to see the believers in Philippi, but so that Paul would be less anxious about his fellow Christians there. Paul could send word with Epaphroditus concerning his situation and his joy in his circumstances, and he knew that the Philippians would also rejoice at seeing Epaphroditus once again.

The closing thought in this passage, which could have been the key to Paul’s joy in every situation of life, is the statement that he made in Philippians 2:24, “I have confidence from the Lord.” In this verse Paul trusted in the Lord that he would shortly come to Philippi himself. But as we have seen throughout this letter, Paul always put his trust in the Lord. This is the only way that a Christian can relax and rejoice no matter the circumstances!








1. Paul repeated a message that he never grew tired of telling Christians. What did he tell the believers to do in Philippians 3:1?

2. Challenge: How can a believer rejoice in a world so full of sorrow, according to the following Scriptures?Isaiah 61:10

Romans 5:1-5

1 Peter 1:8-9

3. In Philippians 3:2 Paul warns about false teachers who sought to pervert the gospel of Christ by denying the sufficiency of the work of Christ. They taught that followers of Jesus needed to keep the Jewish Law—including circumcision—in order to be saved.12 Read Acts 17:11. What book has God given us so that we may test what people say to find out if it agrees with God’s truth?

4. Challenge: In Philippians 3:3 Paul asserts that those who trust in Christ alone for their salvation are the true “circumcision.” How does he explain this further in the following passages?Romans 2:28-29

123. The International Bible Commentary, p1447.


Colossians 2:9-13

5. a. How does Paul say true believers are to worship? (Philippians 3:3)

b. How did Jesus describe this kind of worship in the following passages?John 4:23-24 (the way we are to worship)

Matthew 15:7-9 (the way we are not to worship)

6. a. How did Paul “put confidence in the flesh” before he came to faith in Jesus Christ? (Philippians 3:4-6)

b. What were all these things worth to Paul after he came to know Jesus? (Philippians 3:7)

7. Personal: When you stand before God one day, in what or whom will you put your confidence? Why do you think He should let you into heaven?


1. What does Paul call Christ? (Philippians 3:8)

2. What does Paul consider the most important thing in his life? (Philippians 3:8)

3. a. What has Paul lost and for whose sake? Does this bother him? (Philippians 3:8)

b. Personal: Have you ever suffered any loss as a result of following Jesus Christ? Do you carry resentment because of this, or do you allow God to give you the same joy Paul experienced, even in your loss? Be specific! Share if possible the joy in loss to encourage others who may have to suffer loss for Christ’s sake.

4. a. According to Philippians 3:9 whose righteousness does Paul depend upon?

b. How is this righteousness obtained? (Philippians 3:9)

c. Challenge: Look up righteousness in a dictionary or Bible dictionary.


5. What do you learn about our own righteousness in the following Bible passages?Isaiah 64:6

Romans 7:18-19

6. Personal: Whose righteousness would you rather depend upon, yours or God’s? Why?


1. Beyond the factual knowledge of knowing about Christ, what experiences will truly knowing Christ lead to? (Philippians 3:10)

2. How can we come to truly know Christ after we accept Him as our Savior, according to the following passages?John 8:31-32

1 John 2:3-5

3. a. Read Ephesians 1:17-20. How can a Christian know Christ better? (verse 17)

b. When the eyes of our heart are opened what do we see? (Ephesians 1:18-19a)

c. Describe what God’s power working within us is like. (Ephesians 1:19b-20)

4. a. According to the following verses, how is it possible to know “the fellowship of sharing in [Jesus’] sufferings” (Philippians 3:10)?Matthew 5:11

Romans 8:35-39

b. Personal: Have you ever experienced suffering and yet felt Jesus Christ’s conquering power and love fill your life through His Holy Spirit within you? If possible, share with your group to encourage someone who is suffering now.

5. Challenge: When Paul said he wished to become “like [Jesus] in his death” (Philippians 3:10), he was saying that he was willing to suffer with and for Jesus, even to the point of death.13 How does he amplify

134. The NIV Study Bible.Philippians & Colossians Lesson 3

this thought in 2 Corinthians 4:10-18?

6. a. What was Paul’s goal in Philippians 3:11?

b. In using the word somehow, Paul was not expressing doubt or uncertainty, but rather his intense longing and anticipation of this event.14 Every person who knows Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord can know with certainty that he or she will be resurrected from the dead. What did the Lord Jesus say concerning the resurrection in John 11:25?


1. a. Did Paul claim to be perfect in his Christian walk? (Philippians 3:12a)

b. Even though he knows he is not perfect, what does Paul do? (Philippians 3:12b)

2. Each of us knows that we are not perfect. God knows and we know how many times we fail to be like Him. Yet, if we are followers of Christ, who empowers us to press on toward the goal?Philippians 4:13

Ephesians 3:16

3. What attitude are we to have toward our past—both our past failures and our past achievements that we might have thought made us good in God’s eyes? (Philippians 3:13-14)

4. Challenge: What do the following passages say about the prize which awaits those who follow Jesus Christ?2 Timothy 4:7-8

1 Peter 1:3-9

1 John 3:2

5. What was Paul’s plea to mature Christians in Philippians 3:15-16?

6. Personal: Paul urged all Christians to obey the truth God had revealed to them. As we obey the truth of

145. Ibid.


God from the Bible we grow stronger as Christians. This brings us back to what we learned on the Fourth Day, Question 2 about how we come to truly know Christ—by obeying His commands. Has God revealed to you ways in which you have failed to obey Him in the past? Are you ready to forget what is behind and press on toward the goal? If you are, confess your disobedience to Him now and ask Him to empower you to obey Him.


1. In Philippians 3:17 Paul urged other Christians to follow his example and to notice other believers who follow the pattern he had given for a joyful Christian life. In contrast to his earlier warnings about legalists (see Philippians 3:2), what does Paul now say about people—sometimes called libertines or antinomians15—who claim the saving benefits of the cross but deny its power in their lives? (Philippians 3:18-19)

2. Challenge: How do Romans 16:18 and Ephesians 5:3-6 describe the type of person Paul spoke of in Philippians 3:18-19? What warning does he give to believers in Ephesians 5:7?

3. a. Read Ephesians 5:8-11. If we are truly followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, how are we to live?

b. We need a source of strength outside ourselves to follow Paul’s example of the Christian life. What is the source of strength that God promises to give every Christian? Read Romans 8:11 and 2 Timothy 1:7,14.

4. In contrast to those whose minds are on earthly things, what is our focus and hope as believers? (Philippians 3:20-21)

5. Personal: What is the focus and hope of your life? What do you spend your time thinking about, and what controls your actions and decisions? If you have been distracted and focused on earthly things, why not pray now and ask God to redirect your thoughts and attitudes by the power of His Holy Spirit?

6. Which verse did you choose to hide away in your memory this week? Write it here with its reference (book, chapter and verse).

15. The NIV Study Bible.



Philippians 3:1—Rejoice in the Lord!

Paul, by the Holy Spirit, wrote to his beloved Philippians and to us that Christ is the true and genuine source of joy. The joy of the Lord gives us the strength to face anything that comes into our lives without crumbling into despair and fear. Henrietta Mears wrote, “A long-faced Christian is the worst advertisement against Christianity. The world doesn’t want a greater burden, it wants a light heart. How can a Christian be joyful in a world so full of sorrow? Paul tells us in the first verse [of Philippians 3]—Rejoice in the Lord!” 16

How can we rejoice in the Lord in the midst of a sin-ravaged world filled with unspeakable horrors? We can rejoice because our sins are forgiven, and because we can have a relationship with the loving and holy God who created us. We can rejoice that this loving, holy God will not continue to allow sin and evil to reign, but in His perfect time will make all things new. We can rejoice that God sees the “big picture”; and we can trust His love for us, even when we don’t understand the situations He allows. We can rejoice because Jesus Christ accomplished all that was needed for the redemption of mankind on the cross—no deeds, actions or works need to be added; all that is needed is faith in Him.

There are no accidents in the lives of God’s people—He is completely in control. Many times God allows difficulties and unexpected calamities to overtake us, but He always works in them for our good. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (italics added).

As believers, we can bear up under these troubles with a faith that looks beyond the present, rather than rebelliously questioning why God allows such things to happen in our lives. Eternity will reveal the sufficient and wise purpose for all that happens to us. First Corinthians 13:12 promises, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

In Philippians 3:1 Paul goes on to say, “It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.” Paul thought it was worth repeating himself. He went on to write down the warnings that perhaps he had given them verbally when he was with them, and now like any good teacher was not afraid to repeat as a reminder of their importance.

In our everyday lives, we expect to eat food and to drink water every day as long as we live. As Christians we need to listen again and again to the truth, which is the Bread of Life (see Matthew 4:4; John 6:35) and the Water of Life (see John 4:13-14; 7:38-39; Revelation 21:6). No believer should find it difficult or uninteresting to go over and over the great basic truths of the Christian faith. We may enjoy fancy dishes at our meals, but the basic foods are essential and necessary for good physical health. So it is with the preaching and teaching of side issues, which may be attractive and have their place, but it is essential that the fundamental truths of the Bible be continually taught along with them.

Philippians 3:2-7—Beware of Legalism

In Philippians 3:2, Paul goes on to warn, “Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.” What did Paul mean by this statement? In the Old Testament, the word dogs often referred to evil men (see Psalm 22:16; Isaiah 56:10-11). Paul used this harsh word for his opponents because they aggressively opposed the gospel. Their false teaching was destructive, like the attack of a 161. Henrietta C. Mears. What the Bible Is All About (Ventura: Regal, 1997) 495.


pack of wild dogs (see Galatians 5:15). These men distorted the meaning of circumcision, so that it became mutilation, a useless cutting of the body. They insisted that Gentile followers of Christ must be physically circumcised, in direct opposition to the Spirit-led decision of the apostles (see Acts 15:1-20).

In the Old Testament, God had ordained circumcision as a sign and symbol that the Jews were the people with whom He had entered into a special covenant relationship (see Genesis 17:9-10). When Jesus Christ came to earth and established the new covenant, circumcision was no longer required as a sign in the flesh. True circumcision is now shown in believers who worship God with genuine spiritual worship, and who trust in Christ as their Savior rather than trusting in their own human effort (see Romans 2:28-29; Colossians 2:9-13).

If anyone could have put his confidence in the flesh—in his own human effort—it was Paul. In Philippians 3:4-7 he lists the qualifications that had brought him high regard among the Jews:

He was physically circumcised on the eighth day according to God’s instructions to Abraham (see Genesis 17:10-13).

He was born a Jew—which was better than being a converted Gentile—of the tribe of Benjamin. As a “Hebrew of Hebrews,” his language, attitude and lifestyle were the epitome of Judaism. He was a Pharisee, an influential sect of the Jews that studied the traditional teachings on the

Law of Moses and lived in strict accordance with their interpretation of the Law. They made life difficult for themselves and bitter for others, despising those whom they did not consider their equals.17

Before he came to know Christ, Paul persecuted the church with great zeal, which brought him the approval of the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders. At that time he also considered himself faultless because he scrupulously followed all the legalistic standards the Pharisees had set up around the Law.

Yet after mentioning all these things he had counted as profit, he said, “I now consider [them] loss for the sake of Christ” (Philippians 3:7). Paul’s confidence no longer rested on anything he was or could do; it rested entirely on Jesus Christ and what He had accomplished on the cross.

Philippians 3:8-9—Knowing Christ Jesus

Paul weighed both the world and Christ, and knew the truth of the words of the Lord Jesus, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Paul was truly united with Christ, being “found in him” (Philippians 3:9). To be “in Christ” is to be linked to Him in a living relationship of faith, so that His life pulsates throughout our being and His power motivates and moves us (see John 15).

Notice that Paul called Jesus Christ “my Lord” (Philippians 3:8). In the Roman Empire at this time, everyone was required to call Caesar—a mere man—“Lord.” Christians faced the wrath of Rome because they refused to participate in emperor worship, a refusal the state judged to be treason.18 In contrast to Roman expectations, Paul said, “Christ Jesus is my Lord. He’s the one whom I worship.” He went on to say that he counted everything he had lost for Jesus’ sake as “rubbish.” He did not trust in anything or anyone other than Jesus Christ. The One whom he once hated—Jesus Christ—he now trusted above all else!

The story is told of John Bunyan, the seventeenth century English preacher and author of The Pilgrim’s

172. Merrill C. Tenney, general editor. The New International Dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987. p778-780.

183. Frank E. Gaebelein, editor. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990). See notes on Matthew 22:21-22.


Progress, of the amazing realization that led to his salvation as he walked through the cornfields one night. He said, “I did not see myself as only a sinner, but as sin from the crown of my head to the sole of my feet. I knew that John Bunyan could not stand in the presence of God.”19 Then this verse came to him and changed his life, “…not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith” (Philippians 3:9). What happened to Paul and to John Bunyan has also happened to millions of men and women throughout all ages. It is the revolution of the soul that completely changes from a faith in their own righteousness and any law they may be trying to keep to a complete faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Philippians 3:10-14—Growing in Christ

Paul continues, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection” (Philippians 3:10). He wanted to experience the reality of Christ’s presence in his life. The power of Christ’s resurrection not only gives us the future hope that our bodies will be resurrected after death, but enables us to live a new life now, no longer dominated and controlled by our sinful nature (see Romans 6:4-11; 8:10-11).

Paul also wanted “to know…the fellowship of sharing in [Christ’s] sufferings” (Philippians 3:10). Shared suffering produces a deeper knowledge and understanding of the person with whom you suffer, and a greater depth in the relationship. As we share in Christ’s suffering, we often begin to understand the heart of God. Do you have loved ones who aren’t walking with the Lord, perhaps a child who rebels and because of his rebellion loses out on all the good things you long to give him and do for him? Then perhaps you understand now how Jesus felt as He wept over Jerusalem saying, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37). The fellowship of sharing in Christ’s sufferings helps us understand and feel God’s compassion and love for those around us.

I once received a letter from a woman who was in real trouble. “I asked you to pray for healing for me. Within one year I lost my mother under tragic circumstances; my husband went broke and we lost our home; and I was found to have cancer which necessitated the removal of both breasts—all this while trying to raise three wonderful children. Truly God’s grace is sufficient, but I need prayer for courage. But, oh, what I am learning in the furnace!” This woman went on to write about how she had been drawn closer to Christ through these experiences.

Paul goes on to speak of perseverance in Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” Comparing the Christian life to a race, Paul knew he had not yet finished running and taken the prize, but he was pressing on toward the goal to which Jesus Christ had called him. Paul elsewhere defined that goal—“That you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” (Philippians 2:15); “To be conformed to the likeness of [God’s] Son” (Romans 8:29). What a blessing to know that Jesus must “take hold” of us before we can press on toward such a lofty goal! He provides the resources we need in order to run the race. Remember, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). We aren’t running in our own strength.

Philippians 3:15-21—Follow Paul’s Example

In Philippians 3:15 Paul urges his readers to accept his teaching, “All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.” True persuasion concerning this would have to come from God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit: “But 194. Bunyan wrote, “There is in man, as man, now no soundness at all, but from the crown of the head, to the sole of

the foot, botches and boils, putrefactions and sores.” A Defence Of The Doctrine Of Justification By Faith In Jesus Christ; Proving That Gospel-Holiness Flows From Thence. [http://www.gotothebible.com/HTML/bunyanworks2.txt]


when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).Philippians 3:16, “Only let us live up to what we have already attained,” suggests that we put into

practice the truth that God has already made clear to us. He holds us responsible for the truth we currently possess. He will open our eyes to fuller, deeper truths as He leads us into closer relationship with Him.

Paul used himself as an example to follow in Philippians 3:17, “Join with others in following my example, brothers.” This is not the only time in which he offered himself as an example. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, he told the Christians at Corinth, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” Paul added, “Take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you” (Philippians 3:17). The life of every believer is an open book which everyone else, believer or not, can read. What does your life say to those who observe you? Do you think they can see Christ through what you say and do?

In Philippians 3:18-19 Paul warned the Philippians about another kind of false teaching. These libertines or antinomians taught that if Christians were within the grace of God by faith in Jesus Christ, it didn’t matter what they did; God would forgive them. They felt quite safe in their initial salvation by faith and taught that no further discipline or obedience to God was necessary.

In contrast, the Bible tells us that believers have two natures within us—the old, sinful nature, and the new nature we receive in Christ. Paul told of his own experience struggling with the sinful nature: “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (Romans 7:19). The good news is that Christ has given us ultimate victory over the sinful nature: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When we come in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ our eyes are opened and we are given a new direction; our hearts are changed so that we really want to please God. Then, God begins the process of sanctifying us. Under His guidance and power, we learn to obey Him more and more, and are controlled less and less by our old sinful nature.

The antinomians were “enemies of the cross” because their teaching contradicted the gospel. Though they claimed to be saved, they were destined for destruction. Their assertion that believers could do anything they wished to satisfy their earthly appetites and desires showed that they were not truly followers of God—rather “their god is their stomach” (Philippians 3:19).

In contrast with this kind of life, Paul pointed out that mature Christians live as a colony of heavenly citizens whose temporary home is earth. We are to wait patiently and expectantly for Christ’s return when He will bring full deliverance from all sin, illness and death, and complete the process of perfection.

What a promise Paul left the Philippians and every Christian in the last verse of this chapter! When the Lord Jesus Christ returns, He, “by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21). The full nature of the change to our bodies is not detailed in the Bible, but is hinted at in 1 Corinthians 15:35-57. We do know that we will no longer be subject to death and we will be released from the limitations that we now know. In 1 John 3:2 we read, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

Isn’t it exciting to think that the Christian will have a body throughout eternity that will be like Christ’s glorious body! Many people think of Christians having wings in heaven and just being spirits drifting out into space. But the Bible definitely says that our body will be changed from a natural body and raised into a spiritual body. What a tremendous and exciting event we await—we will see the supernatural power of God in action! Do you have faith in Jesus Christ so that you will know and see and experience this “power of His resurrection?” If you know Him you will experience having your present body, which is subject to sin, disease and death, transformed into a new body like the resurrection body of our Lord (see Luke 24:36-43). Your body will be deathless, diseaseless, sinless; it will be designed for you as a citizen of a “better country” (see Hebrews 11:13-16)—a heavenly kingdom! This change will be brought about by Christ’s great power. Do you have the Lord Jesus Christ in your life? Have you invited Him in all of His mighty power? (See Revelation 3:20.)








1. How did Paul describe his affection for the believers in Philippi? (Philippians 4:1)

2. Challenge: The Philippians, whom Paul had led to Jesus Christ, were like a reward—a “crown”—to him. What do you learn in the following passages about the crowns that are in store for believers?2 Timothy 4:7-8

James 1:12

1 Peter 5:2-4

3. Read Revelation 4:10-11. What do the 24 elders do with their crowns, and what do they say to the Lord?

4. Who is it that gives a Christian the power to live in such a way that the Lord can give crowns for keeping the faith, for perseverance under trial, and for serving God’s people? Read Ephesians 6:10.

5. Personal: Do you think you will receive a crown from the Lord? Why? What will you do with it when you stand before His throne?

6. a. Two women, Euodia and Syntyche, had some form of disagreement. They were both in the church at Philippi. What did Paul strongly urge them to do? (Philippians 4:2)


b. What did Paul ask one of his fellow workers to do in Philippians 4:3?

c. Personal: Has God ever asked you to be a peacemaker for Him? Have you obeyed this call? God honors those who obey this call from Him. See Matthew 5:9.


1. What should our attitude be at all times, no matter what our circumstances? (Philippians 4:4)

2. a. What should others be able to see in us? (Philippians 4:5)

b. The term translated “gentleness” can also mean “yielding, kind, forbearing, or lenient.” Involved is the willingness to yield one’s personal rights and to show consideration and gentleness to others.20

Gentleness does not always come naturally to us. Where does the gentleness of a believer come from, according to the following verses?John 15:5

Galatians 5:22-23

3. a. What does Paul say we are not to do in Philippians 4:6a?

b. Read Matthew 6:25-34. Why did Jesus say it is foolish to worry?

4. What are we to do when we are anxious? (Philippians 4:6b)

5. What will result if we follow this advice? (Philippians 4:7)

6. Personal: Have you learned to give your burdens to the Lord to carry for you? What is causing you to worry today? Why not pray now and ask God to give you His peace about that issue or situation? Every time you are tempted to worry about it again, stop and give it to God once again. Read Ephesians 3:16-20. How does this encourage your faith in God’s desire and ability to handle your problem?

205. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary



1. List the things with which God wants us to fill our minds and continually think about. (Philippians 4:8)

2. Whatever we allow to occupy our minds will eventually determine our speech and actions. If we wish to become the people God wants us to be, we must be willing to allow His Spirit to work in and through us. What does the apostle Peter encourage us to do in 2 Peter 1:5-7 that ties in with Philippians 4:8?

3. What will the result of this effort be according to 2 Peter 1:8?

4. a. What does Paul urge the Philippians to do in Philippians 4:9a?

b. Challenge: What do you learn in the following Bible passages about the kind of example that Paul set for believers in his daily life?1 Corinthians 10:31—11:1

1 Thessalonians 2:4-12


5. If we fill our minds with the things of the Lord and put into practice what the Bible teaches, what will be the result? (Philippians 4:9b)

6. Personal: What do you allow to occupy your mind? Who do you think of as your role models? Is God prompting you to change in some way the things you are feeding your mind with and the type of person you model your life after? Whatever your decision, pray and ask God to help you follow through on these changes so that you can experience His peace and become effective and productive for Him.


1. How did the Philippian believers show their concern for Paul, and what did this mean to him? (Philippians 4:10,14-16)

2. Although Paul appreciated the gifts from the Philippian believers, was he ultimately dependent on their aid? (Philippians 4:11)

3. a. What kind of circumstances had God allowed Paul to experience? (Philippians 4:12)


b. Challenge: What do you learn about some of Paul’s experiences in the following Scriptures?1 Corinthians 4:11-13

2 Corinthians 6:4-10

4. a. By whose strength did Paul learn to be content in every situation? (Philippians 4:13)

b. Personal: Have you learned to be content whatever your circumstances? Is there something in your life right now that you are discontented about? If so, ask God to help you learn to respond to this circumstance in the way He wants you to.

5. a. How did the Philippians’ gifts benefit Paul? (Philippians 4:18a)

b. How did the Lord view the Philippians’ gifts?

6. Personal: Our “fragrant offerings” and “acceptable sacrifices” to God—the giving of ourselves, our time and our possessions to others—are not meant to atone for our sins. Instead, these offerings and sacrifices are thanksgiving and praise offerings. We give of ourselves in response to the love Jesus Christ showed in giving Himself for us. God has changed us so that we now want to give. If a believer regards giving as a burdensome duty, something is wrong. What is your attitude when you give of yourself to others? Do you need to ask God to change your attitude?


1. What will God do for every believer who trusts in Him? (Philippians 4:19a)

2. a. How will God accomplish this according to Philippians 4:19b?

b. Read Ephesians 1:18-21. How does this describe God’s “glorious riches in Christ Jesus” with which He will meet all our needs?

3. Personal: God’s way of meeting our needs isn’t always what people expect. He meets our needs to accomplish what He wants to do in our lives. He met Paul’s need for grace to endure beatings, hunger, nakedness and prison, and He met it so abundantly that Paul could rejoice. He meets our need for wisdom, grace, peace, and joy in the midst of difficulty. Do you trust that God will meet all your needs? Or are you trusting in yourself, in some other person, or in your money and possessions?

4. What is Paul moved to declare in Philippians 4:20 after his statement about God’s blessings in the previous verse?


5. Paul sends greetings from the saints, or believers, in Philippi to those in Rome, from where he is writing. How does he close his letter in Philippians 4:23?

6. Which verse did you choose to memorize this week? Write it down here. Are you praying for Christians in some countries of the world who are not allowed to have a Bible?



Philippians 4:1—Live in Christ’s Sufficiency

The opening verse of this chapter again expresses the warmth of Paul’s affection for his Philippian friends. “Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!” (Philippians 4:1). As the shadows of Paul’s life closed around him, those whom he had brought to Christ were his greatest joy. In fact, he had no greater joy than to hear of their spiritual health and prosperity. The apostle John expressed similar emotions concerning his “spiritual children” in 3 John 3-4: “It gave me great joy to have some brothers come and tell about your faithfulness to the truth and how you continue to walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

Paul begins this sentence in Philippians 4:1 with the word, “Therefore,” which indicates that his following remarks are based on the Philippian believers’ heavenly citizenship and the glorious future they can look forward to. His challenge to “stand firm” refers to his remarks in Philippians 3, where Paul wrote of Christ as being the one true goal in a believer’s life. He urged the Philippians to recognize the spiritual purpose in their lives and to pursue unity as believers.

Notice the affection that Paul literally breathed out as he used so many terms of endearment! He called his fellow Christians: “my brothers,” “whom I love,” “whom I…long for,” “my joy,” “my…crown,” and “dear friends.” All of these words create a vivid picture of Paul’s tender affection for his fellow Christians. What an example this is for Christians today!

The Greek word Paul used for “crown,” stephanos, was a woven wreath awarded to a winning athlete. It was also used to place upon the head of a guest at a banquet. This crown signified both triumph and festivity! Paul pictured himself as an athlete running toward the goal of service to Christ, and the belief and perseverance of the Philippians was his crown. There is no joy in the world to compare with bringing someone else to Jesus Christ! Paul was pleased with the evidence of the sincerity of the Philippians’ faith and obedience to God.

At the same time he also wanted to encourage them to “stand firm in the Lord” (Philippians 4:1). To stand firm means to stay close to Jesus Christ and constant in His service until the end of life. We can do this only by His help rather than trusting in ourselves. Christians must recognize their own insufficiency and hold fast to Christ’s sufficiency. Paul had learned this lesson in his own life. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, he wrote, “But [the Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

The Greek word Paul used for “stand firm,” steko, was the word which was used for a soldier standing fast in the shock of battle as the enemy surges upon him. It is only in Jesus Christ that the Christian can resist such temptations as cowardice, weakness, depression and defeat. Safety against such temptations is found when we are “in the Lord.” Jesus Christ is always with the Christian. His presence is around us, about us and in us, if we have faith in Him! (See Ephesians 6:10-18; John 16:7.)

Philippians 4:2-3—Agreement in the Lord

Women had an important place in the church at Philippi. In Acts 16:9-40 we read of Paul’s first work in Macedonia. When he arrived in Philippi, the leading city of the area, Paul’s first contact was a prayer meeting at a riverside where he spoke to women who had gathered there. One of the women, Lydia, immediately responded to the good news of Jesus Christ. After she and the members of her household This study may not be duplicated. For individual use of the purchaser only.Copyright 2008, Joy of Living Bible Studies, Inc., Ventura, CA.800-999-2703 • 805-650-0838 • fax 805-650-6730 • e-mail: [email protected] • web site: www.joyofliving.org

were baptized, she welcomed Paul and his associates into her home.Apparently there were two women in the Philippian church, Euodia and Syntyche, who had had some

kind of quarrel or disagreement. These women must have played a leading part in the affairs of the church. Paul said they had “contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers” (Philippians 4:3). To help bring about the reconciliation of the two women Paul appealed to a “loyal yokefellow,” who remains anonymous, but apparently had a gift of being a peacemaker.

The only things that we know today about Euodia, Syntyche and the “loyal yokefellow” are contained in these two verses in Philippians. Suppose your life were to be summed up into one sentence. What would that sentence say about you? Would you go down in history as a person who could not be at peace with other Christians? Or would you rather be known as a peacemaker?

Paul referred to the two women and Clement, and the rest of his fellow workers “whose names are in the book of life” (Philippians 4:3). The “book of life” is a common symbol in the Bible for God’s recognition of those who belong to Him. It appears in several passages of Revelation (3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12,15; 21:27). Old Testament references to this symbol are found in Exodus 17:14; 32:31-33; Psalm 69:27-28; Isaiah 30:8; and Daniel 12:1. The prophet Malachi wrote, “Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. ‘They will be mine,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him’” (Malachi 3:16-17). Is your name written in the book of life because of your faith in God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ? (See also John 20:31; Acts 3:19; Ephesians 2:8-9; Luke 10:20.)

Philippians 4:4-5—Rejoice in the Lord

Christians are commanded to rejoice not because of their circumstances but in the Lord, at all times, in all places and circumstances. We are to rejoice when circumstances seem promising and when everything seems wrong, for we know that God is in control no matter what the situation. We can say with the prophet Habakkuk, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights” (Habakkuk 3:17-19).

Would someone observing your life see joy? Or does your life portray discouragement, anger, or dissatisfaction? You may say, “But if you only knew what I am facing!” Yes, but what about Paul? He had been imprisoned and beaten repeatedly. In addition he had been stoned once, shipwrecked three times, and was often falsely accused by enemies (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-30). Yet he didn’t complain or give up. In fact, he knew the secret of joy, and without boasting he could point to himself as an example for the believers to follow (see Philippians 4:9). Joy such as Paul portrayed is a result of remaining, or living, in Christ (see John 15:5). As we live in Him and His words live in us, we begin to see things from His perspective, and that changes our outlook—even when difficulties come.

Paul then urged believers to let their gentleness be evident to all. The New Living Translation puts it well: “Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do” (Philippians 4:5). When you are upset by circumstances, it is natural to find it difficult to be gracious and considerate. Yet Paul commands that gentleness be shown to all people—believers or unbelievers, friends or persecutors, anyone at all. Gentleness, like a joyful spirit, is not something we can work up in ourselves, but is the result of remaining in Christ.

We see this in the life of George Mueller, who built many orphanages in England in the nineteen century. Without a personal salary, he relied entirely upon God to supply the money and food needed to support the hundreds of children he befriended in the name of Christ. For many years he kept a motto on his desk that said, “It matters to Him about you.” George Mueller was asked, “What is the secret of joy in Philippians & Colossians Lesson 5

your life? You are always a radiant Christian. What is the explanation? Are you that way all of the time?” His answer was something like this, “No, many mornings when I get up I do not have the joy of the Lord in my life. But I get my Bible, and I read it until I have the joy of the Lord in my life.” Mueller relied upon God’s help and rejoiced always. At the end of his life he said that the Lord had never disappointed him, but always faithfully supplied his needs.

There is power in joy. In the book of Nehemiah, many of the exiled Jews returned to Judah after years of captivity in Babylon. After they had finished rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, the people assembled at the Water Gate and Ezra the scribe read from the Scriptures from daybreak until noon. As the people listened to the reading of commandments in the law, which they had failed to obey, they began to weep. Though Nehemiah, Ezra and the Levites appreciated their penitence, they felt that since the day (the feast of Trumpets) was sacred to the Lord, it was a time for rejoicing rather than for weeping. So Nehemiah told them, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10, italics added). Yes, he told the people what is true today also—There is power in the joy of the Lord!

Happiness and joy are two different emotions. Happiness is apt to be more related to circumstances. Christian joy is delight coming from the assurance of a present and future that are rooted in God regardless of circumstances. Joy unrelated to circumstances is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22). It is not something that you can work up by your own strength!

Paul’s final suggestion was to always remember, “The Lord is near.” These words can refer both to God’s present nearness, His calming and encouraging presence, and to Christ’s future coming again. Psalm 145:18-20 speaks of His present nearness: “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfils the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.” The apostle James uses words similar to Paul’s as he speaks of Jesus’ future return, “You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near” (James 5:8). The blessed hope of Christ’s coming again casts its gracious influence over all of life. Do you live your life as if Jesus is with you every moment? Do you look forward to His return? (See also Matthew 24:3—25:46; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 12:35-48; 17:20-37; 21:5-36.)

Philippians 4:6-9—The Secret of God’s Peace

Henrietta Mears said, “The way to be anxious about nothing is to be prayerful about everything. The prayer of faith must be a prayer of thanksgiving because faith knows how much it owes to God. Put your request into God’s hands and go off and leave them there. Do not worry about them. Give them completely as the farmer gives the wheat to the soil after the soil has been properly plowed. If you do this, then the peace of God will stand guard over your heart and mind [see Philippians 4:7].” 21 This peace is a fruit of the Spirit with which God fills believers as we remain in Christ.

Paul stressed that we can pray about everything. There is nothing too great for God’s power; and nothing too small for the Father to care about. As a child can take anything great or small to a parent, so we can take anything to our heavenly Father. Just as a child never doubts that his parents will be ready and willing to listen to him, we should never doubt that God will do above and beyond what any human parents would consider doing for their child.

We can pray for ourselves, for forgiveness for the past, for the things we need in the present, and for help and guidance in the future. We can pray for others. Paul emphasizes that as we pray, thanksgiving must be the universal accompaniment of prayer. We are to give thanks in laughter and in tears, in sorrows and in joys alike. By this we show gratitude and perfect submission to the will of God. When we believe that God is working in all things for our good because we love Him and because He has called us, then we can really pray like this (see Romans 8:28). It is comforting to know that the Lord who guides us sees 211. Henrietta C. Mears. What the Bible Is All About (Ventura: Regal, 1997) 497.


tomorrow more clearly than we see yesterday!When Christians turn from anxiety to prayer, God gives us His peace, “which transcends all

understanding” (Philippians 4:7). Unbelievers who witness this are mystified by such a peace in difficult circumstances. God’s peace actually guards our hearts and minds from all worry and despair.

Worry is a major factor in the breakdown of personal health and may shorten your life! When worry clouds your mind, why not take the tested and proven advice of the apostle Paul? Talk to the Lord, and trust Him to do what He knows is best for you. Then, after you have prayed, set your thoughts upon Paul’s prescription for maintaining God’s peace: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9).

This is not always easy when so many thoughts and concerns press in on us. All we can do is ask God to help us as each worrisome thought tries to enter our mind—to help us mentally thrust the worry from our thoughts and turn instead to the Lord or to one of His promises. Sometimes the battle is hard, a moment-by-moment fight to keep your thoughts on what is right, and at other times it is easier.

A friend told about a time in her life when so many things were going wrong and she was overwhelmed with grief and worry. She remembered Paul’s admonition, but the only thing she could think of at the time that fit it—something pure and lovely—was a daisy. Every time she started to despair, she would turn her thoughts to a daisy and how perfectly beautiful God had created it. We all have times when we need to fight the negative with a promise or truth from God’s Word, or just a simple element from God’s beautiful Creation.

No matter what your circumstances, center your thoughts on the things mentioned in Philippians 4:8-9. Let the Holy Spirit discipline your mind by dismissing suspicion and replacing it with hope and trust. Forego grudges and envy. Be appreciative, kind and gentle. Rejoice in the Lord and be thankful for all He has done and is doing for you! Take pleasure in beauty and virtue. Let your mind dwell on Christ, and He will change your life so that you will radiate His love to others.

Philippians 4:10-23—Contentment In the Lord

The apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians from behind prison bars, but he was perfectly content with his lot, for he had found his satisfaction in God. Despite his circumstances, his deep inner peace and assurance of the Lord’s presence was unshaken. To Paul, God was the God of peace. In fact, this was one of his favorite titles for God (see Romans 15:33; 16:20; 1 Corinthians 14:33; Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23).

As the letter drew to an end, Paul expressed his gratitude for the gift that the Philippians had sent to him. He knew that he had always been on their hearts and minds, but apparently the current circumstances had given them no recent opportunity up until now to show their concern and love him (see Philippians 4:10,14-18).

As he expressed his thanks, Paul inserted his thoughts on contentment in Philippians 4:11-13. He wanted the Philippians to recognize that his joy in the Lord did not result from satisfaction that his personal needs were being met, but from the closeness of his fellowship with Christ, on whose strength he constantly drew.

One of Aesop’s fables told of a tortoise that was unhappy because he couldn’t fly. As he saw the birds having a good time floating through the air, he said to himself, “Oh, if only I had wings so that I could rise up and sail about as they do, then I would be content!” Calling to an eagle, he offered him a great reward if he would only teach him to fly. The eagle told him this was impossible. The tortoise was so insistent that the eagle finally said, “Well, I’ll see what I can do!” Carrying the foolish tortoise to a great height, the eagle let go when the tortoise exclaimed, “I’d like to shove off now and try my hand at flying.” Despite the Philippians & Colossians Lesson 5

flapping of his short legs, the poor creature fell down and down until he landed on a hard rock below and was dashed to pieces! He was not satisfied with what God had created him to be and where God had put him.

Some Christians are never satisfied—they always desire to be something other than what the Lord has made them! Many a believer has turned away from a life of fruitful service by trying to be something for which God has not fitted them. We are to be “be content with what you have” (Hebrews 13:5). Everyone lives in one of two tents—either in Con-Tent or in Discon-Tent! Which “tent” do you live in today? “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,” said Paul in Philippians 4:11.

Contentment is never the result of multiplying riches, increasing pleasures or gaining fame. Most people who gain such things still find themselves unsatisfied. Contentment depends upon conditions on the inside! Paul did not come to this realization in a moment. He said, “I have learned the secret of being content.” Aspiring to be what we are not, or grasping after riches that elude us, is not the way to happiness. Contentment comes from a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and choosing to serve Him in all that we do with the talents and opportunities He has given us: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” (Colossians 3:23). What opportunities has Christ presented to you? Have you answered His call to serve Him with the strength that He has promised to give?

Paul closed his letter to the Philippians with this wonderful verse, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). What a great promise! God does not just grudgingly agree to give us the bare minimum we need to survive. Instead, He offers to freely give to us from His bounty. The God that has the power to create the world, to keep everything running, and to raise His Son Jesus Christ from the dead, has promised to meet all of our needs through this same power.

Introduction to Colossians

Paul wrote this letter to the Colossians, as well as his letters to the Philippians, the Ephesians and Philemon, while he was a prisoner in Rome. Some scholars say this imprisonment took place in Ephesus, and others in Caesarea. However, the best evidence favors Rome in about 60 A.D. Paul was not yet imprisoned in the Mamertine prison in Rome, as he later was when he wrote his Second Letter to Timothy. Rather, he was under house arrest in his own rented house (see Acts 28:14-31), where for two years he was free to preach the gospel to all who came to visit him.22

It seems that Paul had not personally met the believers in Colosse. He wrote, “We have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints;” and, “I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally” (Colossians 1:4; 2:1). Epaphras had been their evangelist, acting on Paul’s behalf (see Colossians 1:7). But Paul felt responsible toward all Christians everywhere, even those he had not met, that they should be taught correct doctrine and right belief.

The Church in Colosse

First century Colosse was an ancient but declining commercial center in Asia Minor, about a hundred miles east of Ephesus. It was situated on the Lycus River, near the cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis, and on the great east-west trade route leading from Ephesus on the Aegean Sea to the Euphrates River.

During Paul’s three-year ministry in Ephesus (see Acts 19:1-10), it appears that Epaphras had been converted and had carried the gospel to Colosse. Christian churches had also been established in Laodicea and Hierapolis, some of them house churches (see Colossians 4:13-16; Philemon 2). Most likely these 222. Kenneth Barker, editor. The NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985. See the introductions to Philippians

and Colossians.


believers in Asia Minor were primarily Gentile. When the young church in Colosse became the target of heretical attack, Epaphras visited Paul in Rome, leading to Paul’s writing of this letter of correction and encouragement.

The false teaching that had broken out in the church at Colosse was a mixture of Jewish ceremonialism, which held to strict rules about the kinds of permissible food and drink, religious festivals and circumcision; and early gnosticism, which was based on the belief that the material world was inherently evil. Gnostics taught that one’s body was evil—a prison—and the way of release was by superior knowledge (gnosis) granted to the initiated, leading to perfection (teleiosis). In Colosse, this belief led to teaching that the body should be suppressed by rigid asceticism.23

The false teachers were also instructing the Colossians to worship angels (see Colossians 2:18), and belittling the significance of Jesus Christ. This was the reason that Paul felt called to emphasize the supreme Lordship of Christ. This letter draws a faithful portrait of Christ in all His glory and dignity—the only One to be worshipped. The place that Christ holds in any religious teaching determines whether it is true or false. It is good for us as we read Colossians to examine our own belief and see that we put the Head, Christ Jesus, in His rightful place in our thinking and glorify this wonderful One.

233. F.F. Bruce, editor. The International Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986. See introduction to Colossians.




First Day: Read the Commentary on Philippians 4 and the Introduction to Colossians.

1. What meaningful or new thought did you find in the Commentary on Philippians 4 and the Introduction to Colossians or from your teacher’s lecture? What personal application did you choose to apply to your life?


Second Day: Read Colossians 1, concentrating on verses 1-2.

1. a. How did Paul introduce himself in Colossians 1:1?

b. Challenge: Look up the word “apostle” in a dictionary and give the definition you believe applies to Paul.

2. How did Paul say he became an apostle in Colossians 1:1?

3. a. What did Paul call Timothy in Colossians 1:1?

b. Why did Paul call Timothy a “brother,” even though they were not related by blood?John 1:12

2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15

4. a. How did Paul describe the Colossian Christians in Colossians 1:2?


b. Challenge: Read 1 Corinthians 1:2 and 1 Peter 1:1-2. How are believers made holy in the sight of God?

5. What did Paul say was available to them from God, the Father? (Colossians 1:2b)

6. Personal: Have you been made holy by accepting Jesus Christ’s payment for your sin through His death on the cross? Read John 3:16-17, inserting your name for “the world.”

Third Day: Review Colossians 1, concentrating on verses 3-8.

1. What did Paul do whenever he prayed for the believers in Colosse? (Colossians 1:3)

2. Why did he do this? (Colossians 1:4)

3. a. Where did these qualities in the Colossian believers’ lives come from? (Colossians 1:5-6a)

b. Challenge: What else do you learn about this hope in the following verses?Romans 5:1-2

Ephesians 1:18-20

Titus 1:2

4. What good news did Paul share about the growth of the church? (Colossians 1:6b)

5. Who had brought the gospel to the people of Colosse, and then shared news of the Colossian believers with Paul? (Colossians 1:7-8)

6. a. Paul was overjoyed that the gospel was growing and “bearing fruit,” both among the Colossians and all over the world. Read John 15:16-17. How can the gospel bear fruit in a believer?

b. Personal: If you are a believer, are you allowing the gospel to bear fruit and grow in your life? How does John 15:4-5 challenge you? Why not pray about this now?


Fourth Day: Review Colossians 1, concentrating on verses 9-12a.

1. What was Paul’s prayer for the Colossian believers? (Colossians 1:9)

2. Personal: Throughout his writings, Paul continually speaks of praying for the spiritual growth of believers. Do you pray for anyone in this way? You may wish to start a prayer notebook to remind you to pray for specific people and groups in this manner.

3. What is the purpose and result of receiving “the knowledge of [God’s] will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding”? (Colossians 1:10a)

4. How can we please the Lord in the way we live our lives? (Colossians 1:10b-12a)

5. Challenge: Biblical knowledge is not just the possession of facts. True knowledge and wisdom will affect the way we live our lives. How does James 2:14-17 illustrate this?

6. Personal: Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-12 is for the believers to grow in knowledge, which leads to service, resulting in strength and thanksgiving. Do you see this progression happening in your own life as you study God’s Word? Rather than just gaining head knowledge, why not pray now and ask God to help you apply His Word to your heart and life?

Fifth Day: Review Colossians 1, concentrating on verses 12b-23.

1. a. What has God done for every believer? (Colossians 1:12b-14)

b. God rescued us by paying the price of our redemption. What was the price He paid?Matthew 20:28

1 Peter 1:18-19

2. When God rescues us from the kingdom of darkness, He brings us into the kingdom of His Son, Jesus Christ. How is Christ supreme—and therefore ruler—over all creation? (Colossians 1:15-17)

3. How is Christ supreme in redemption and over the church? (Colossians 1:18-20)

4. When Christ died on the cross, He made peace possible between God and man. Although Colossians 1:20 speaks of the reconciliation of “all things,” this does not mean that all people are saved even if


they don’t accept God’s offer.24 When we accept God’s gift of reconciliation through Christ, how does He then see us? (Colossians 1:21-22)

5. Although we are saved by our faith in Christ’s sacrifice for us, what is our responsibility after we are saved? (Colossians 1:23)

6. a. Paul urged the Colossians to continue in their faith by rejecting false teaching and staying true to the gospel. Believers today are also confronted with false teaching. How can you know whom to believe? Read John 14:26 and Acts 17:11.

b. Personal: Do you accept without question what you read or hear from Christian teachers and preachers? By studying God’s Word you are preparing yourself to evaluate the truth of teaching you receive from other people. Pray and ask God to help you understand and remember the truth from His Word, so that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit you will be able to discern and reject false teaching.

Sixth Day: Review Colossians 1, concentrating on verses 24-29.

1. What did Paul rejoice in? (Colossians 1:24)

2. Christ’s atoning sacrifice was complete, and Paul did not need to add to it. Rather, Paul was saying here that he was willing to experience the added sufferings necessary to carry the good news to a lost world.25 Who gave Paul this task? (Colossians 1:25)

3. a. Paul speaks of the “mystery”—the purpose of God which is unknown to man except by revelation. To whom is the mystery now revealed? (Colossians 1:26)

b. The world commonly defines a saint as someone who has been particularly holy or has performed miracles. But the Bible says that every person who trusts Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is a saint. How do Romans 1:7a and 1 Corinthians 1:2 help you understand this?

4. a. What is the mystery that has been revealed? (Colossians 1:27)

b. Challenge: It was prophesied in the Old Testament that Gentiles would turn to the God of Israel and be saved (see Romans 15:9-12, which quotes several Old Testament passages), but it had not been previously revealed that Gentiles would be admitted to the church on equal terms with Israel. If you do not understand what “Gentile” means, look up the meaning in a dictionary. Who are the Gentiles?

244. The International Bible Commentary. p1455, and The NIV Study Bible.

255. The NIV Study Bible


5. a. What was Paul’s goal in life according to Colossians 1:28?

b. Paul recognized that he could not attain his goal without the power of the Holy Spirit working in him. How does he express this thought in Colossians 1:29?

6. a. Personal: Have you learned to depend on this power to accomplish God’s plan for your life? Read Philippians 4:13,19 and Zechariah 4:6.

b. Which verse did you choose to memorize this week? Write it here with the reference. Do you remember to pray for people around the world who have no Bibles?



Colossians 1:1-2—Paul’s Greeting

Paul called himself an “an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (Colossians 1:1). The essential qualification of an apostle is being called and sent by Christ. Jesus chose the original twelve apostles from the much larger group of His followers (see Mark 3:13-19). The Twelve were to be with Jesus as disciples and to be sent out to preach and teach as apostles. One of the Twelve, Judas Iscariot, betrayed Jesus to the Jewish authorities, and later hanged himself in remorse. After Jesus ascended into heaven, the remaining eleven apostles chose Matthias as a replacement for Judas.

Paul’s claim to apostleship was based on the divine call of Christ. He was an apostle, “not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead” (Galatians 1:1). His encounter with the resurrected Jesus (see Acts 9) served as the basis for his unique claim to be an “apostle to the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13). His apostolic commission was to serve God primarily through preaching the gospel.26 In Colossians 1:1 Paul pointed out that he did none of this work by his own effort, strength, or sufficiency, but “by the will of God.”

Paul greeted the church from Timothy “our brother,” and called the church members “brothers in Christ” (Colossians 1:1-2). What did he mean? They were not related by blood or even by culture. John 1:12 explains, “Yet to all who received him [Jesus Christ], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” No matter what the differences among Christians—race, culture, or social status—as God’s children we can have intimate fellowship as one spiritual family. Have you experienced this amazing bond when you meet fellow believers?

The Colossian Christians are also called “holy” (Colossians 1:2). Does Paul mean they were particularly wonderful or well-behaved people? Not at all! Believers are declared holy in the sight of God because we are “in Christ” (Colossians 1:2)—because Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sin. God continues to make us holy in our daily lives through the sanctifying work of His Holy Spirit within us. What a blessing to know that we do not have to work in our own strength to please God. Instead we can rest in what He has done for us to make us holy.

Paul used the greeting, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father” (Colossians 1:2), in some form in every letter he wrote to the churches. In Scripture, “grace” denotes the favor of God, the essence of God’s saving activity in Christ.27 God used a form of this word to describe Himself to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7: “The Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”

The Biblical meaning of “peace” is also different from our common usage. We usually think of peace as the absence of conflict. But Paul’s meaning is richer and broader, referring to total well-being and inner rest of spirit, to being in fellowship with God. All true peace is a gift from God, as Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you” (John 14:27). Have you received God’s grace and peace that He longs to give to you, His dear child?

Colossians 1:3-8—Our Hope

Paul thanked God whenever he prayed for the Colossian Christians, because he had heard of their faith 261. Much of the information in this section was drawn from: Walter A. Elwell, editor. Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical

Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Books. 1996.272. Frank E. Gaebelein, editor. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990)


in Christ and of the love they had for all believers. Remember, Paul had never personally met the Colossians, but word of their faith in Jesus Christ had reached him through the reports of Epaphras. Their faith produced the fruit of agape love—caring love, the love that counts no sacrifice too great for the one loved.28 Their love was not merely a feeling. In fact, it proved the reality of their faith. As James 2:17 says, “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

The Colossians’ faith and love did not result from their great virtue, or from their hard work, but “spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven” (Colossians 1:5). This hope of all believers is not wishful thinking. It is the solid assurance of our eternal reward—a treasure stored up for us in heaven. Peter described it this way: “In [God’s] great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).

In Colossians 1:7-8 Paul showed his love and admiration for Epaphras, calling him “our dear fellow-servant” of Christ.” In his letter to Philemon, probably written at the same time as the letter to the Colossians and sent to Colosse with the same travelers, Paul called Epaphras a “fellow-prisoner in Christ Jesus” (Philemon 23), perhaps indicating that at some time he had shared in Paul’s imprisonment. Paul also called Epaphras “a faithful minister of Christ on our [Paul’s] behalf.” Apparently Epaphras had represented Paul, that is, had preached in his stead, in establishing the work at Colosse.29

Colossians 1:9-14—Paul’s Prayer

Paul prayed that God would fill the Colossian believers with the knowledge of His will for their lives and that they would, through God’s power, live according to His will. Learning to know God’s will involves being conscious moment by moment of His presence and listening to His guidance through prayer and the Scriptures (see Romans 12:1-2). If our desire is to live according to God’s will, He will help us do it. We do not need to agonize over what to do. Rather, we rest in our knowledge of Him, and allow His Spirit to guide us. If Scripture does not forbid a course of action, and if God gives us His peace as we prayerfully consider it, then we can proceed down that path.

Many people who claim to have Biblical knowledge fail to see the connection between God’s Word and their life. But, Paul says, the purpose of spiritual wisdom and understanding is “that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way” (Colossians 1:10). Paul summarized what he wanted the Lord to do within the hearts of these Colossian Christians. He prayed that they would:

bear fruit in every good work grow in the knowledge of God be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might, leading to great endurance and

patience joyfully give thanks to the Father (see Colossians 1:10b-12a)

Remember that you are not the one who provides the power to change and to please God. It is God who fills us with spiritual knowledge, wisdom and understanding. It is by the power of His Spirit within us that we bear the fruit of good works. It is by His power that we can patiently endure trials, even giving thanks in the midst of them. Our part is to remain in the Word and in prayer, asking God to help us continually submit to His work in our lives.

We can also, like Paul, pray for the spiritual growth of our fellow believers. Who is God putting upon your heart to pray for today? James 5:16 teaches, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for

283. Ibid.294. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary.


each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Colossians 1:12-18—Christ is Supreme

Paul now summarizes what God has done for every believer, “Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12b-14). We look forward to our future inheritance in the “kingdom of light”—eternal life in Heaven with God—and also rejoice in the fact that He has already rescued us from the “dominion of darkness.” We are no longer under Satan’s authority, under the rule of evil.

And God didn’t stop with rescuing us from evil. He has brought us into the kingdom ruled by His Son, Jesus Christ. Paul tells us why Jesus qualifies to rule this kingdom. First, “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). Paul used the Greek word eikon for “image,” meaning “exact reproduction.” If photography were known in Paul’s time, he would have described the Lord Jesus as a clear picture of the Father—not in physical appearance but in personality and character. It was in Christ that God became visible to man (see John 1:1,14,18). The Lord Jesus Christ reveals God’s love, mercy and graciousness to us.

And Christ is “the firstborn over all creation” (Colossians 1:15). Jesus is the only Son of God (see John 3:16), uniquely begotten of the Father (see Luke 1:28-35). In Bible times, the firstborn son had certain privileges and rights over and above his siblings. In the same way, Christ has certain rights in relation to all creation—priority, preeminence and sovereignty.30

In Colossians 1:17, “He is before all things,” it is made very clear that Christ existed prior to all creation. Verse 16 says He was the Creator Himself and all things were created for Him (see also John 1). All creation centers in Christ and has its consummation in Him. In fact, it is through him that “all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17). Apart from Jesus Christ, the very atoms of the universe would fly apart! Hebrews 1:3 says He is “sustaining all things by his powerful word.”

Colossians 1:18 tells us that Christ is the “head” of the body of believers. As the head directs and controls all the activities of the human body, so Christ directs and controls all the activities of the Church, His spiritual body. And, Paul continues, Jesus is “the beginning”—the start of the new creation—“and the firstborn from among the dead.” In using the term “firstborn,” Paul refers to the fact that Christ was the first to rise from the dead with a resurrection body that will never die. Others who were raised from the dead, such as the boy raised by Elisha (see 2 Kings 4:32-35); and the widow’s son, Jairus’ daughter, and Lazarus raised by Jesus (see Luke 7:12-15; Mark 5:35-42; and John 11:39-44), were raised in their natural bodies only to die again later. When Jesus returns to earth, every believer will receive a resurrection body like His (see 1 Corinthians 15:52).

Colossians 1:19-23—Reconciliation

The fullness of God dwells in Christ (see Colossians 1:19). The word Paul used for “fullness,” pleroma, means, “that which is filled with the presence, power, agency, and riches” of God.31 Christ contains and represents all that God is.

Only through Christ does God bring reconciliation: “And through him [Christ] to reconcile to himself [God the Father] all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:20). In the Old Testament, the priests sacrificed animals to cover the sins of the people, but these sacrifices in themselves could not take away sin. Jesus’ death on the cross 305. Kenneth Barker, editor. The NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985.316. The NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon


was the final sacrifice to which all the former sacrifices pointed. The result of this reconciliation of the believer with God is “to present you holy in [God’s] sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Colossians 1:22).

Paul goes on to say that it is important that we fully believe the truth and stand in it steadfastly—never shifting from trusting Christ to save us. This does not mean that we will never have doubts or questions. When we are confronted with teaching that may lead us away from the truth, we have the great privilege of searching God’s Word and going to Him in prayer. Through His Holy Spirit within us He will help us discern the truth and stand fast.

Colossians 1:24-29—The Mystery of God

Paul rejoiced in the fact that he could suffer for Christ and His Body, the church. He said, “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church” (Colossians 1:24). What did Paul mean by “what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions”? Christ’s atoning sacrifice was complete, and Paul did not need to add to it. Rather, Paul was saying here that he was willing to experience the added sufferings necessary to carry the good news to a lost world.32

He continued, “I have become [the church’s] servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints” (Colossians 1:25-26). The word “mystery” refers to the purpose of God, which is unknown to man except by revelation. Paul next defined that mystery—“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). God had planned the redemption of His people through Jesus Christ from the very beginning: “[Christ] was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1:20).

Although it had been prophesied in the Old Testament that Gentiles would turn to the God of Israel and be saved (see Romans 15:9-12, which quotes several Old Testament passages), it had not been previously revealed that Gentiles would be admitted to the church on equal terms with Israel. Paul confirmed this revelation in Colossians 1:27, “God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery.” In Acts 15 the apostles and elders in Jerusalem confirmed this fact, ruling that Gentiles did not have to convert to Judaism and be circumcised in order to be saved.

Paul’s goal was to proclaim Jesus Christ and bring into spiritual maturity to all those who had faith in Him. This required labor and struggle. But it was God that empowered Paul. He said, “To this end I labor, struggling with all [Christ’s] energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:29). Are you called to this kind of ministry? Your church needs teachers; your neighborhood, your home, or your business will give you opportunities to proclaim Jesus Christ and build up believers. Are you looking for these opportunities, trusting God for His power that works mightily in you?

327. The NIV Study Bible




First Day: Read the Commentary on Colossians 1.

1. What meaningful or new thought did you find in the Commentary on Colossians 1 or from your teacher’s lecture? What personal application did you choose to apply to your life?



1. a. What did Paul say he was doing and for whom? (Colossians 2:1)

b. Challenge: How do the following verses help you understand what Paul was doing for these believers?Luke 22:44

Galatians 4:19

Colossians 4:12

2. Personal: Do you love your fellow Christians enough to pray fervently for them? Do you ever pray for Christians you have never seen, yet are concerned for? Share some examples to encourage others.

3. a. What was Paul’s objective as he prayed for these believers? (Colossians 2:2a)

b. Challenge: Jesus also both commanded and prayed for His followers to be united in love. In the following verses, how did He say we can do this, and what will be the result?John 13:34-35


John 17:20-23

4. Personal: If you wish to, personalize the verses in question 3 by putting your own name into them. Challenge yourself to trust God to work out this love through your life toward other believers. Will you pray and ask God to help you in your relationships with others?

5. Without God’s love, believers are not ready for spiritual development. What spiritual growth did Paul desire for them? (Colossians 2:2b-3)

6. Challenge: Again Paul stresses knowledge, refuting the heresy that emphasized human knowledge as the means of salvation. What do you learn about the genuine knowledge given to believers in the following verses?1 Corinthians 1:22-25

1 Corinthians 2:4-7


1. What is Paul’s concern for the believers he is writing to? (Colossians 2:4)

2. What similar warning do you find in Romans 16:17-18?

3. Even though he is writing to people he has never met, what relationship does Paul have with the Christians in Colosse? (Colossians 2:5)

4. a. What did Paul urge Christians to do in Colossians 2:6-7?

b. Read John 1:12. How do we receive Jesus Christ?

c. Read 2 Corinthians 5:7. How do we continue to live in Him?

5. Accepting Christ as Savior is not an isolated decision. It is the beginning of a relationship with the living and true God. How does this relationship affect the believer’s daily life—thoughts, attitudes, decisions and actions? What do you learn about this in the following verses?1 Thessalonians 1:3

Galatians 5:19-25


6. Personal: Have you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If so, do you want to be “rooted and built up” in Him? Ask God to work this in you through His Holy Spirit. He will do it!

Fourth Day: Review Colossians 2, concentrating on verses 8-12.

1. What did Paul warn of in Colossians 2:8?

2. a. We are not to accept any teaching that relies on inadequate human reason as the source of spiritual truth. Why is Jesus Christ the only source of meaning and truth? (Colossians 2:9)

b. How does John 1:1,14 confirm this fact about Jesus Christ?

3. What does this mean for the Christian? (Colossians 2:10)

4. a. For the Jews, circumcision was the outward sign that the individual stood in covenant relationship with God. How does Paul say this practice was fulfilled by Christ’s work in the believer? (Colossians 2:11)

b. Challenge: Even in the Old Testament, God made it clear that the outward sign of circumcision was meaningless if it was not matched by a change of heart. What do you learn about this in the following Scriptures?Deuteronomy 10:12,13,16

1 Samuel 16:7

Jeremiah 4:1,2,4

5. a. What is the outward sign or illustration of “putting off… the sinful nature” for Christians? (Colossians 2:12a)

b. How does the believer receive new life? (Colossians 2:12b)

6. Personal: What are you depending upon for your salvation? Do you give yourself credit for following human traditions or for believing particular human teachings? Or do you rely only upon faith in Jesus Christ? How do the verses you studied today change your understanding of your salvation?


Fifth Day: Review Colossians 2, concentrating on verses 13-17.

1. a. What was the spiritual state of every believer before becoming a Christian? (Colossians 2:13a)

b. What did God do to change this state of affairs? (Colossians 2:13b-14)

2. Challenge: The “written code” was the Mosaic Law, to which the Jew had agreed. How did this code bind even the Gentiles according to the following Scriptures?Romans 1:18-20

Romans 2:14-15

3. What did God do in addition to canceling out the accusations of the law against the Christian? (Colossians 2:15)

4. Challenge: How did Jesus speak of His disarming and triumphing over Satan and his cohorts in the following Scriptures?Matthew 12:24-29

Luke 10:17-18

5. Why are believers free of having to follow legalistic religious observances? (Colossians 2:16-17)

6. Personal: Have you ever stopped to realize how much God has done for you, and how completely helpless you are without Him? When we were “dead” in our sins, we could do absolutely nothing to change the situation. Yet God loves us so much that He made us “alive with Christ.” Why not write a prayer of thanks to Him here?


1. How did Paul warn against following those who believed that God was so far above man that He could only be worshiped in the form of angels He had created? (Colossians 2:18)

2. Those who taught this heresy had a defective view of Christ, saying that He was less than deity. What did their heretical beliefs about Christ indicate about their membership in the body of Christ? What is Christ’s true position and relationship to the church? (Colossians 2:19)

3. Why are believers not to subject themselves to religious prohibitions that God has not instituted?


(Colossians 2:20-21)

4. Why do these religious regulations sometimes seem right from a human viewpoint? Why are such practices actually worthless? (Colossians 2:22-23)

5. Personal: Throughout the ages, people have tried to add religious rules to the Christian faith. Can you think of religious expectations for being a “good Christian” that you have imposed on yourself or others have imposed on you? God saves us based only on His work through Jesus Christ, not based upon anything we do ourselves. “Good works” are fruit that proceed naturally from His work within us through His Holy Spirit, not something that we must somehow produce on our own to earn God’s love (see Galatians 5:22-25). Why not pray and ask God to help you stop trying to produce your own good works, and to let Him work in you as He wishes?

6. Review the verse in this lesson that you memorized this week. Write the verse and its address and keep it along with others you have learned in an accessible place so you can easily review your verses and grow in your spiritual treasure chest.



Introduction to Colossians 2

The great Bible teacher Henrietta Mears summarized the great message of Colossians chapters 2-3. She wrote, “We have to do a great deal more than just believe truths about Christ. We must receive Christ if we are to have life…All the life we have as Christians is the life ‘in Him’!“Walking [living] in Him..............Colossians 2:6Rooted in Him.............................Colossians 2:7Built up in Him............................Colossians 2:7Brought to perfection [given fullness] in HimColossians 2:10Dead with Him..........................Colossians 2:20Risen with Him............................Colossians 3:1Hidden with Him.........................Colossians 3:3

“This is the life—real and satisfying, eternal life. We find in [these] chapters that Christ is all-sufficient, [for in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form]”33 (Colossians 2:9). Jesus Christ is both Perfect God and Perfect Man.

Colossians 2:1-2a—United in Love

Paul wrote, “I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally” (Colossians 2:1). The word he used for struggle could also be translated conflict, opposition or fight. He was pushing back against those who opposed God’s truth.

He not only struggled by writing letters of instruction to the believers, but also by engaging in fervent prayer for them. As he wrote at the end of chapter 1, Paul was “struggling with all [God’s] energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Colossians 1:29)—and how better to lay hold of God’s energy than through prayer?

The purpose of Paul’s struggle was that the Christians should be “encouraged in heart and united in love” (Colossians 2:2). The one mark that should distinguish the church is love for God and love for fellow Christians.

The Lord Jesus Himself commanded and gave the reason for such love: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35). This is the identifying badge of the Christian. The early church flashed its badge of love and had a tremendous impact upon their generation.

How can we demonstrate this kind of love and real concern for one another? We must realize that we can’t produce such love by self-effort. Rather, love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit within us (see Galatians 5:22), and it comes only from God (see 1 John 4:7-8). The Lord Jesus Christ prayed that God’s love would

331. Henrietta C. Mears. What the Bible Is All About (Ventura: Regal, 1997) 507-508. Scripture quotations in brackets changed from KJV to NIV.


be injected into every believer: “I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them” (John 17:26, italics added). The more consistently we yield our lives to Jesus Christ, the more love—the fruit of the Holy Spirit—will begin to glow and flow throughout our personalities.

Jesus prayed, “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me” (John 17:23, italics added). One of the most important ways that we witness to an unbelieving world is through what they see played out daily in our lives. An old hymn says it well:

We are the only BiblesThe careless world will read,We are the sinner’s gospel,we are the scoffer’s creed;We are the Lord’s last messageGiven in deed and word,What if the type is crooked?What if the print is blurred?34

What does your life say to your unbelieving friends, neighbors and associates? Is your life characterized by love, or do others sometimes see petty jealousy, pride, or self-centeredness? Pray that God will work in you by His Holy Spirit, transforming you to become what He wants you to be.

Colossians 2:2b-7—True Knowledge

Why is it important that believers be united in love? Without this love for one another, we are not ready for further spiritual development. Paul went on to say that he wanted the Colossians to be united in love “so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2b-3).

Paul took words such as understanding, wisdom and knowledge, words which were integral to the gnostic beliefs of the false teachers in Colosse, and turned them into effective instruments of Christian truth. The false teachers taught that angels were mediating beings between man and God, and that there was redemption through the superior knowledge that people could attain through initiation into gnosticism. Paul made it plain in this letter that the gnostic teaching was not truth. Only through Jesus Christ can believers have the “full riches of complete understanding” and “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

We see Paul’s personal concern for the church at Colosse and Laodicea as he longed for them to be established and kept firm in their faith. He did not want the shrewd philosophers and legalists of their day to deceive these Christians. The best way to be protected from the snares of the world and its philosophy is an understanding of the perfection of Jesus Christ, for “Christ is all, and is in all” (Colossians 3:11). Paul wanted these Christians to be rooted and grounded in the Word of God so they would not be swept away by false teaching. He wanted them to understand that Christ is the only way to the Father (see John 14:6), and that Christ is the only mediator between God and man (see 1 Timothy 2:5). “Since you have received, don’t be deceived!” was the essence of Paul’s counsel here.

Paul’s desire was that these Christians should continue to live “in” Christ Jesus, just as they had begun 342. Annie Johnson Flint, From the hymn, “The World’s Bible,” 1919.


in faith. “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7).

Being a Christian means a great deal more than just believing truths about Jesus Christ. Being rooted in Christ means that we draw our nourishment from Him. A plant cannot grow unless it is in touch with the life-giving soil. We are “built up” through the work of the Holy Spirit building on the foundation laid by Jesus Christ.

Al Dark, manager of the Cleveland Indians baseball team from 1968-1971, related an episode in his life that illustrates the principle of living in and being rooted and built up in Christ:

Many times during my [early] baseball managing years at Cleveland I got down on my knees and prayed, asking for guidance, but I never got into the Word of God or did what God said. Now it’s a nat-ural thing for me to sit and read the Bible. The difference, I think, is this: a dedicated Christian who is depending on the Lord has to go to the Bible to find out what the Lord wants him to do so he can do it.

One day in Baltimore before a game, my wife and I were in the hotel room, studying about Christ on the cross. We read how He was spat upon and mocked, and how He suffered. That night I went to the ballpark and about the eighth or ninth inning, after taking one of my pitchers out of the game, I was stepping out of the dugout when an angry fan threw beer in my face. Well, in the years before this I would have been over the dugout to get him; but because we had been studying the Bible, how Christ was spat upon for me, I simply wiped away the beer from my face. I didn’t even look up. The Word of God is what keeps me on an even keel. It brings me right back to my knees.

Al Dark’s life demonstrated growth through being rooted and built up in Christ, as he studied the Bible and spent time in prayer. Are you willing to take the time for these things so your life will also show growth in Christ?

Finally, Paul says, when we are living in Christ, rooted and built up in Him, it will naturally follow that we will be “overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:7). Are you thankful? Do you praise God in word and deed for all that He has done for you?

Colossians 2:8-12—Deceptive Philosophy

Paul warned, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Colossians 2:8). The false teachers’ “philosophy” encouraged the Colossians to consider Christ’s work on the cross as rather unimportant. They taught that Jesus Christ Himself was not sufficient, not unique, and that believers needed to combine faith in Christ with other things.

The Colossian Christians were in danger of being deceived by a mixture of Gnosticism and Judaism. The Gnostics added the necessity of secret knowledge and the worship of angels to faith in Christ. The Judaizers wanted to impose on all believers Jewish regulations concerning such physical and external practices as circumcision, eating and drinking, and observance of religious festivals.

Gnostic teaching was directly refuted by Paul’s declaration, “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the Head over every power and authority” (Colossians 2:9-10). Since Christ is both fully God and fully man—with a body of flesh—it is impossible to designate the material world and our fleshly bodies as intrinsically evil things that must be escaped from by means of secret knowledge. Through Christ we are “given fullness”—made complete—and nothing else is needed. And since Christ is “the Head over every power and authority” there is no need Philippians & Colossians Lesson 7

for the worship of angels as intermediaries to God.

Paul went on to refute the teachings of the Judaizers in Colossians 2:11-12, “In [Christ] you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.”

In the Old Testament God had commanded that all Jewish males be physically circumcised as an outward sign of their covenant relationship with Him. Now the Judaizers wished to impose physical circumcision on Gentile Christians. They said that faith in Christ was not enough. But Paul said that physical circumcision had been a sign pointing toward the work of Christ, and now that Christ had come the physical sign was no longer necessary. Even in the Old Testament, God had made it clear that the outward sign of circumcision was meaningless if it was not matched by a change of heart (see Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4). Paul taught that when a person believes in Jesus Christ’s work on the cross for salvation, they are circumcised inwardly. Baptism, rather than circumcision, is the outward illustration that a person is relying on Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life.

Colossians 2:13-17—Freedom From the Law

Before we become a believer in Christ, Paul says, we are dead in our sins. What does that say about our power to do anything about our sin? It means we can’t save ourselves—dead people can’t do anything! But God, in His gracious love, “made [us] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins” (Colossians 2:13). And how did He do this? He “cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14).

The “written code” was the Mosaic Law, to which the Jews had agreed to be bound. In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote that even though the Gentiles did not have the Law of Moses, they also were bound by the Law of God that He made plain to them throughout creation (see Romans 1:18-20). In fact, “The requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness” (Romans 2:15). So every person, Jew or Gentile, is accused by the righteous demand of God’s Law. God cancelled out the demands of the Law by sending His perfect Son, Jesus Christ—who was not condemned under the Law because He had no sin in Him—to die in our places.

Christ also conquered and disarmed Satan and his demons—“the powers and authorities” (Colossians 2:15)—and made a public spectacle of them in His triumph. In Ephesians 6:12 Paul warns us, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” As long as we are here on earth, these powers will try to entice us away from relying on Christ alone for our salvation, but we do not need to fear them. The apostle John assures us, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them [every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus], because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Because the demands of the Law have been cancelled—nailed to the cross—Paul said believers do not have to follow legalistic religious observances. “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17). The ceremonial laws of the Old Testament were given to symbolically depict the coming of Christ. Now that He has come and fulfilled them, they no longer bind us.

There are those today who would impose their own customs upon other Christians and rob them of knowing their completeness by faith in Jesus Christ. The story is told of an elderly woman who spoke with Philippians & Colossians Lesson 7

feeling about her love for Christ but lacked an assurance of her salvation. She had a serious heart ailment and was afraid of death. She spent much time in Bible reading and prayer, and had given large sums of money to her church. She confided all these things to a Christian friend, saying hopefully, “I did these things for my salvation.” The friend gently reminded her that only when she trusted completely in Christ rather than relying in any way upon her own acts of obedience to God could she have the peace of knowing that God would accept her as she was, forgive her sins and give her the gift of eternal life. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Are you resting completely in Jesus Christ? He is the only basis for your assurance and peace.

Colossians 2:18-23—Freedom From Rules

Now Paul warns against “anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels” (Colossians 2:18). He may have been referring those who professed humility in view of the absolute power of God, who was believed to be so far above man that He could only be worshiped in the form of angels He had created.35 These false teachers claimed to be humble, but were actually “puffed up” with their speculations and idle notions. They had “lost connection with the Head” (Colossians 2:19)—namely, Jesus Christ. By placing angels between man and God, the false teachers denied that truth that believers—the Body of Christ—are connected directly to the Head of the Body—Jesus Christ. No intermediary is necessary. In Ephesians 4:15-16 Paul taught, “We will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

Paul posed a very interesting question with its own answer in Colossians 2:20-23. “Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: ‘Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!’? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”

Paul pointed out that the world had its own ideas about righteousness and goodness. Man says, “I want to do it my way.” But when we are joined to Jesus Christ by faith we are given God’s righteousness. Following the world’s rules for righteousness won’t do anything to save us. In fact, these ascetic rules are unable to control the sinful desires that they claim to be regulating. The Christian is to take the position that he is dead to the Law (see Galatians 2:19) and therefore is delivered from legalistic “dos” and “don’ts.”

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). His teaching and truth set us free to live according to His plan for us, without worrying that we have to “measure up” by following religious rules. God saves us based only on His work through Jesus Christ, not based upon anything we do ourselves. “Good works” are fruit that proceed naturally from His work within us through His Holy Spirit, not something that we must somehow produce on our own to earn God’s love (see Galatians 5:22-25). Are you resting in the freedom of your salvation through Jesus Christ? Who will you share this good news with this week?

353. Kenneth Barker, editor. The NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985).




First Day: Read the Commentary on Colossians 2.

1. What meaningful or new thought did you find in the Commentary on Colossians 2 or from your teacher’s lecture? What personal application did you choose to apply to your life?



1. What is the believer’s position in Christ according to Colossians 3:1a, 3?

2. Challenge: How do the following verses help you understand this?Romans 8:10-11

Galatians 2:20

3. Since this is our position in Christ, what are we to do as a result? (Colossians 3:1b-2)

4. What does it mean to do this, according to the following Scriptures?Psalm 119:36-37

2 Corinthians 4:18

1 John 2:15-17

5. Personal: What is your heart and mind set on? How do you view your life, make decisions, and set goals? Notice that the psalmist asked God to turn his heart toward God’s ways. Our minds and hearts naturally gravitate toward the world that strives to keep our attention. Do you need to ask God to center


your heart and mind on Him?

6. What does Colossians 3:4 say we look forward to if we are in Christ?

Third Day: Review Colossians 3, concentrating on verses 5-9a.

1. Although the believer’s life is now with Christ, we still live in tension with the pull of our earthly nature. What are we to renounce since we are a part of Christ’s body? (Colossians 3:5)

2. a. Notice that Paul’s list moves from listing outward deeds to inner motives. How does James 4:1-4 express the problem of the influence of our earthly natures?

b. It is impossible to renounce our earthly nature by human effort. How does James 4:6-7 say we will be able to do this?

3. What will the continuance of evil practices in disobedience to God eventually bring about? (Colossians 3:6)

4. a. God is unyieldingly opposed to sin. He will make sure that it is punished, whether sooner or later. How does Ephesians 2:1-3 express this?

b. What escape route from His certain wrath did God provide? (Ephesians 2:4-5)

5. In Colossians 3:5 Paul’s first list of sins to be renounced were characterized by sensuality. What sins, characterized by uncharitableness, are on his next list in verses 8-9a?

6. Personal: Do you see yourself reflected in either of Paul’s lists? Perhaps you have avoided sexual immorality, but you have a problem with greed. Or perhaps you would never let filthy language cross your lips, but you have a problem with gossip, which is a form of slander. Ask God to show you your faults and then help you rid yourself of them, by the power of His Holy Spirit working within you. All it takes is your willingness and submission to Him.

Fourth Day: Review Colossians 3, concentrating on verses 9b-15.

1. a. Although Paul has listed specific sins of thought and action that we are to put off, what does he make clear must take place in order for these changes be possible? (Colossians 3:9b-10)

b. How does 2 Corinthians 5:17 express the same event?


2. In this “new life” which Christ gives to Christians by the power of the Holy Spirit, one’s nationality, race and education is unimportant (Colossians 3:11). What is important according to Colossians 3:11?

3. a. How does Paul describe all believers in Colossians 3:12a?

b. Since this is what we are, what qualities should characterize our lives? (Colossians 3:12b)

4. What will these character qualities lead us to do when someone offends us? (Colossians 3:13)

5. What is the underlying quality that makes all the other virtues possible? (Colossians 3:14)

6. Personal: Do you desire to clothe yourself with these qualities? Do you feel like you fail as often as you succeed in some areas? In what area do you see the most need for improvement? Remember, again, that these are not qualities that you generate by gritting your teeth and working hard at it. Rather, they are the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit working within you. (What a relief!) Why not pray about this now?


1. What is to govern our attitudes as we deal with the inevitable conflicts and problems of daily life? (Colossians 3:15)

2. Note that if the peace of Christ rules us, we are able to be thankful despite our circumstances. What do the following verses say about this?Philippians 4:6

1 Thessalonians 5:18

3. What will help us focus on the Lord and submit to the work of His Spirit within us? (Colossians 3:16)

4. Challenge: What do the following passages say about the importance of receiving God’s Word into our lives and keeping our focus upon it?Deuteronomy 11:18-19

Psalm 119:10-11

2 Timothy 3:16-17


Hebrews 4:12

5. What is to be our motive in everything we do and say? (Colossians 3:17)

6. Personal: How will it change your daily attitudes and actions if everything you do and say is done in the name of Jesus? What could have been different yesterday or this past week, month or year?

Sixth Day: Review Colossians 3, concentrating on verses 18-25; and read 4:1.

1. How are husbands and wives to relate to each other? (Colossians 3:18-19)

2. How are parents and children to relate to each other? (Colossians 3:20-21)

3. Challenge: In our culture, which emphasizes individual freedom, we aren’t always comfortable with the hierarchy God has ordained for our relationships. But we must realize that the reciprocal duties of family relationships all stem from our relationship to our Savior. We are not to wait for the other person to obey God’s principles before we ourselves act as God requires. How are we to follow Jesus’ example according to the following Scriptures?1 Peter 2:21; 3:1,7

Ephesians 5:21-23,25,28; 6:1-4

4. In Colossians 3:22—4:1 Paul deals with the obligations of masters and slaves. In our society we can apply these principles to employers and employees. How are they to relate?

5. Personal: Think of your own relationships in light of these godly principles. Whether you are single or married, employed or not, you are in relationship with the people around you. What is God showing you about your attitudes toward those with whom you are in relationship? Why not pray now and ask Him to help you follow Christ’s example toward every person you relate to?

6. Which verse did you choose to memorize for encouragement this week? Write it down with the reference.



Colossians 3:1-3—Focus on Christ

Paul continues to develop the theme of what it means to be “in Christ.” As believers we have “died” with Christ (Colossians 3:3) and have “been raised with Christ” (Colossians 3:1). We are not only identified with Christ’s death, but also are in union with Christ in His resurrection. In Christ’s death we died to sin, and in His resurrection we rose to walk in a new life.

Since we have been raised with Christ, our focus has changed. We find that our new life in Christ makes us less interested in the things that the world offers—“earthly things”—and more interested in things of the Lord—“things above” (Colossians 3:2). Our old self has died, so we begin to evaluate things not as they appear to men but as they appear to God.

Another way to express this is that we live in the world, but we are citizens of a heavenly country. Philippians 3:20 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven.” And the writer of Hebrews—speaking of Old Testament people of faith who looked forward to the coming of the Savior—says, “All these people…admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:13-16). As citizens of heaven, our mindset and heart’s desires will reflect God’s values rather than the world’s.

In the same manner, the Lord Jesus tells us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). If we shift our investments to heaven, we will soon have so much laid up there that our hearts cannot be settled in any other place!

A letter in the newspaper began, “Dear Thief, We have so much stuff in the garage that we could not tell what it was you took.” The owner of the garage spotted a man stealing something heavy from her garage, but she could not make out a report to the police because she did not know what was stolen! “Until we finally miss what it was you took, we can’t report it missing,” she wrote. “If we can’t report it stolen, we can’t claim our loss and deduct it from our income taxes. Well, would you, just as a token of your appreciation, send us an itemized list of what you stole and its approximate value so we can turn it in to our tax man?” What a commentary on human nature! Many people have so many things that they cannot keep an inventory of what they have. They love to hang on to things for the sense of security it brings. How much better to lay up our treasure in heaven, “where thieves do not break in and steal.”

Colossians 3:4—Christ, Our Life

The truth Paul shares in this verse can only be grasped and understood by the person who has accepted Jesus Christ and been born of His Spirit. We read in Corinthians 2:14, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

The amazing truth is this—Because we died with Christ and are raised with Him, He “is [our] life” (Colossians 3:4, italics added). Jesus illustrated this in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches.” If our connection to Him is severed, we will wither and die. We have no life in and of ourselves. In Philippians 1:21 Paul wrote, “For to me, to live is Christ.” In Galatians 2:20 the Holy Spirit led him to write, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” To the Christian, Jesus Christ is more important than physical life. He is life This study may not be duplicated. For individual use of the purchaser only.Copyright 2008, Joy of Living Bible Studies, Inc., Ventura, CA.800-999-2703 • 805-650-0838 • fax 805-650-6730 • e-mail: [email protected] • web site: www.joyofliving.org

itself!Because Christ is our life, and our “life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3), we need to

set our minds on heavenly things. How do we do this? We can talk to the Lord about everything we do. Share with Him our daily lives, not just at set times of the day, but moment by moment. We can begin by daily reading and studying God’s Word and applying it to our life. As we do this, our hearts and minds will turn more and more to God and the things of His kingdom, and the world’s wealth and ambition will be shown to be of no lasting value. There is an old hymn that says:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,In the light of His glory and grace.36

Paul goes on to say, “When Christ…appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). Christ is sitting at the right hand of the Father in glory now (see Colossians 3:1; Mark 16:19). When Christ comes again the Christian will be with Him, not merely in body, but in a personally fulfilled glory! Paul elsewhere wrote about this glory, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed” (Romans 8:18-19). Christ, through His Holy Spirit within us, is beginning to transform us to be like Himself, but when He returns this process will be completed. “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Colossians 3:5-9—Take Off the Old Self

Paul urges us to “put to death” and “[take] off” the old, earthly nature (Colossians 3:5,9). After we receive our new life by faith in Christ Jesus, we must “take off” the deeds and habits of our former life without Christ. Henrietta Mears wrote, “It should not be necessary to tell Christians that they should put off things that are more like the devil than the Savior!… Can you imagine how ridiculous you would look if, when you went to buy a new suit, you refused to take off the one you had on, but rather insisted that the new one should be tried on without ‘putting off’ the old one! This is what many Christians do. They try to put the garment of a new life on over their old nature. It just doesn’t fit! We must lay aside our old self first, then ‘put on’ the new man.”37

Many great religions of the world teach self-denial—that a person must give up practices and possessions in order to pursue spiritual growth. But self-denial is not the focus of Christianity. Mears taught, “Christianity is not a series of giving-ups; it is a new life… As we come to know Christ better we find that some things no longer appeal to us. Christ adds so much to our lives that there is no room for the old things. The first thing we know we have lost interest in the old and are busy with the new life in Christ.”38

So Paul, led by the Holy Spirit, tells us to destroy the old nature and to “take off” all its vices. If we are honest, we will admit that this is humanly impossible. These actions of the mind and body can only be put to death by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul confirms this in several passages: “Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of your sinful nature” (Galatians 5:16-17); and, “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13); and finally, “I can do all things

361. Helen H. Lemmel, 1922372. Henrietta C. Mears. What the Bible Is All About (Ventura: Regal, 1997) 510.383. Ibid.


through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).According to Colossians 3:6, God’s wrath is coming because of sin. Ephesians 5:5-7 puts it this way,

“For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.”

Colossians 3:10-17—Put On The New Self

After we have put off the attitudes and actions that spring from our old sin nature, Paul urges us to “put on the new self” (Colossians 3:10). Among God’s children, earthly divisions such as “Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free” (Colossians 3:11) no longer matter. Only Jesus Christ matters.

Paul again uses the illustration of putting on clothing. “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:12-13). As God’s chosen people, we have a responsibility to put on the new self, and in doing so we will be putting on the above attributes. These are not attributes we can work to obtain, but are a natural part of our new nature. As situations arise in our lives, we have the choice of living according to God’s Spirit within us (see Galatians 5:25) or living according to our old nature. If we give in to our old nature and fail to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, forgiving or loving, we can ask God to forgive us (see 1 John 1:9) and help us walk according to His Spirit.

Colossians 3:15 continues, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” In John 14:27 Jesus promised that He would give us His peace. In Philippians 4:6-7 we are admonished to pray about everything, and then God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds. Over and over Paul tells us the same thing—when we are literally born again by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are given a new nature, a new self. That new self is truly God’s child and can live in a joyous, peaceful, loving relationship with God. As a result of that new nature, that new relationship with God, our lives will be filled with the fruit of His Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23). It is God’s command and our choice. And how can we not be thankful for all that God has done for us? He has made a way for our sin to be forgiven so that we may escape His wrath. He has brought us into a relationship with Himself, provided all that we need to live in this present world, and promised such a glorious future for us that 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”

Paul earlier said our new self “is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:10). He now suggests how to grow in the knowledge of God—“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16). By immersing ourselves in God’s Word, worship and fellowship with other believers, our new selves are strengthened. It’s not always easy to set aside time for these activities—in fact Satan will work very hard to convince us that we are too busy or too tired to participate—but they will produce abundant fruit in our lives.

Finally, Paul says that whatever we do, “whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). If you could remember that every word you say and every action you take is said or done in the name of Jesus Christ, wouldn’t that change everything?


Colossians 3:18-25—Personal Relationships

Paul’s letter now focuses on personal relationships. All of God’s principles need to be worked out in a practical way in our everyday relationships. God wants believers to progress in their spiritual growth, and this portion of Colossians gives practical instructions for such progress by the power of the Holy Spirit within each Christian.

Paul emphasized the mutuality of rights and responsibilities within interpersonal relationships. He instructed married couples, “Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them” (Colossians 3:18-19). In our culture, which emphasizes individual freedom, we aren’t always comfortable with the hierarchy God has ordained for our relationships. But we must realize that the reciprocal duties of family relationships all stem from our relationship to our Savior.

In other Scripture passages we find additional teaching that makes it clear that the way we relate to each other should be in imitation of Christ and out of reverence for Him. Peter wrote, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps…Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands…Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives” (1 Peter 2:21; 3:1,7, italics added). And in Ephesians Paul wrote, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior…Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:21-25, italics added).

Paul next addressed the relationship between parents and children, “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord” (Colossians 3:20). God holds parents responsible for the discipline of their children. But there is also the danger of overcorrecting a child. Paul adds, “Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged” (Colossians 3:21). John Newton was quoted as saying, “I know that my father loved me—but he did not seem to wish me to see it.” Martin Luther’s father was so stern with him that Luther all his days found it difficult to pray, “Our Father.” The word father in his mind stood for nothing but severity. A parent’s job is not only to discipline but to love and encourage. Luther himself said, “Spare the rod and spoil the child. It is true. But beside the rod, keep an apple to give him when he does well.”

Colossians 3:22—4:1 — Work Relationships

Now Paul deals with the relationship of slaves and masters, but these verses can apply to modern employees and employers as well. As Christian employees, no matter what wages we earn and what conditions we work in, we are to give our best in everything we do. The real reward for doing the best you can on the job is our heavenly Father’s approval.

And a Christian employer should never forget that he or she has a heavenly Employer, the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore should follow Christ’s right and fair practices in his own relationships with his employees. A believer should pay fair wages, expect a fair amount of work, set fair working hours, offer a fair health plan, fair working conditions, and fair rest periods as well as fair vacations!

In the business world there are many attitudes and practices that are contrary to God’s principles. We hear of the person who is close to retirement age being fired just a few years before he is to receive his pension. Or an older, higher-salaried employee who has served the company faithfully for many years is laid off in favor of a younger worker making a lower salary. Such practices are wrong not only in the sight of man, but in the sight of God. This reminds us of the verse in the Sermon on the Mount, which says, “Do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12). An employer should always ask, “If I were an employee, how would I want to be treated?” James 4:17 adds, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”

The Christian employee and employer both work for the glory of God, so that both may have the things Philippians & Colossians Lesson 8

they need for life and living. The employer must remember that he is answerable to God just as his employees also are. Every Christian employer should realize that his business actually belongs to God, and God has only put him in charge of it!

We need to live by God’s principles, found in His Word, if we are to find real happiness and fulfillment in this life. There is a story told of the lady who crossed the ocean by ship with a ticket her son had bought for her. She prepared a very large lunch to eat on the journey. Toward the end of the trip the milk was sour, the bread dry, the butter rancid, and the fruit completely decayed. To top it all off, just before landing she found out that her ticket had included all first class meals at the captain’s table! Due to ignorance she had starved herself. Many Christians are like this—hungry, unhappy, and defeated. They struggle along when they might be eating from the best of the king’s table. People are often ignorant of the rich supply in God’s treasure house, the Bible. Why not take time to read God’s menu and enjoy His bounty?




First Day: Read the Commentary on Colossians 3:1—4:1.

1. What meaningful or new thought did you find in the Commentary on Colossians 3:1—4:1 or from your teacher’s lecture? What personal application did you choose to apply to your life?



1. What does Paul urge believers to do in Colossians 4:2?

2. a. If we are devoted to prayer, we will spend time praying regularly. What does Psalm 5:3 say about prayer?

b. Personal: Psalm 5:3 suggests that prayer is a good way to begin the day. What other times of the day and night have you found are good times for you to spend in prayer? If you do not have a regular time to withdraw with the Lord in prayer each day, ask Him to help you find and set aside time to do this.

3. Challenge: What do you learn in the following verses about spiritual watchfulness or alertness?1 Peter 5:8

Ephesians 6:11-18

4. a. Colossians 4:2 also suggests that we be thankful as we pray. How do the following verses challenge us to be thankful to God?Psalm 100:4,5

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18Philippians & Colossians Lesson 8

b. What challenge are we given regarding our prayer life in Romans 12:12?

c. Personal: How do these verses help you in your present circumstances? How do you think being consistently thankful to God might bring peace and patience into your life?

5. What does Paul ask the Christians to pray for in Colossians 4:3-4?

6. Personal: Believers are called to pray faithfully for those who are in ministry—pastors, missionaries, Bible study leaders, Sunday School teachers, etc. Do you have a prayer list on which you can include people you know of who are in ministry? Regular prayer is the most valuable and powerful way in which you can support their ministries.


1. How are we to act when we are among non-Christians? (Colossians 4:5)

2. As believers, we want to clearly display Christ’s character and love to unbelievers, in everything we do and say. How do the following Scriptures say we can show His love and character, and where does the wisdom to live this way come from?Romans 12:14-18


James 3:13,17

3. What should characterize the believer’s conversation, particularly with unbelievers? (Colossians 4:6)

4. How do the following verses help you to know how to speak?1 Chronicles 16:23-24

Ephesians 4:29

1 Peter 3:15-16

5. How do the following verses say Christians are able to act wisely and speak with grace to unbelievers?


Luke 21:14-15

John 14:26

Ephesians 6:19

6. Personal: Do your actions and conversations with non-Christians display God’s wisdom and grace? Do you “know how to answer everyone”? Why not pray now and ask God for His help?

Fourth Day: Review Colossians 4, concentrating on verses 7-9.

1. Paul now mentions many believers that were with him in Rome. How does he describe Tychicus in Colossians 4:7?

2. Why did Paul send Tychicus to Colosse? (Colossians 4:8)

3. Challenge: What do you learn about Tychicus from the following passages?Acts 20:1,4

Ephesians 6:21-22

Titus 3:12

4. Who was to go along with Tychicus to Colosse? (Colossians 4:9)

5. Challenge: Read Philemon 1:10-18, in which Paul writes to a Christian named Philemon. What do you learn about Onesimus?

6. Personal: The apostle Paul was a great man of faith who led many people to the Lord, and through his writings we are all blessed today. But without the presence and help of many companions in the Lord, Paul’s ministry would have been much more difficult and perhaps less effective. Do you sometimes feel that you are of little importance to God’s work in comparison to those who are well-known or have extensive ministries? Remember that God values you for exactly who you are and calls you to serve Him without care for human recognition or reward. Ask Him to continue to guide you in His paths, and take joy in serving Him where He has placed you.



1. a. Paul begins the last section of his letter by sending greetings from three of his ministry companions in Rome who were Jewish. What were the names of these three men? (Colossians 4:10-11)

b. What do you learn about Aristarchus in Acts 19:29; 20:4; and 27:2? (Acts 19-20 tells of Paul’s third missionary journey, and Acts 27 describes Paul’s journey as a prisoner to Rome.)

2. a. Paul next sends greetings from Mark, who is the author of the Gospel of Mark. Read Acts 12:12; 13:5,13; 15:37-40. Briefly describe who John Mark was and his ministry background with Paul.

b. How does Mark’s presence with Paul in Rome and Paul’s comment in Colossians 4:10b show that any misunderstanding between himself and Mark has been resolved?

3. Who was the third Jewish believer who had been a comfort to Paul in Rome? (Colossians 4:11)

4. a. Paul now lists several Gentile believers who were ministering to him in Rome. What do you learn about Epaphras in Colossians 4:12-13?

b. Personal: Notice that Paul’s definition of Epaphras’ hard work for the believers in Colosse was that, “He is always wrestling in prayer for you.” Do you pray for other believers as Epaphras did? Do you have a prayer list to help you remember to earnestly pray for those God places on your heart?

5. Who were the other two Gentile believers that ministered to Paul in Rome and sent greetings to the church at Colosse? (Colossians 4:14)

6. a. Luke was the author of both the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. What do you learn about what Demas later did in 2 Timothy 4:9-10a?

b. Personal: Every believer has the potential to either stand firm as a faithful servant of God, or to be drawn away from our service by love of the world. This is why Paul urged all believers to devote themselves to prayer in Colossians 4:2. If you have resolved to devote yourself to prayer, have set aside a regular time to spend with the Lord, and perhaps have even begun a prayer list, why not pray now and ask God to prepare your heart and bless your time with Him.


1. To whom did Paul send greetings in Colossians 4:15?


2. Although it is common to view the early church as entirely led by men, the Book of Acts and Paul’s letters often mention the ministry and leadership of female believers. What does Paul say in Galatians 3:28 that explains this?

3. How does Colossians 4:16 demonstrate the beginning of the process that led to the gathering together of the books of the New Testament as a body of authoritative Scripture?

4. What public charge did Paul make to one of the believers in Colosse? (Colossians 4:17)

5. How did Paul guarantee the genuineness of the letter in Colossians 4:18?

6. Review the verse in this lesson that you memorized this week. Write the verse and its address and keep it along with others you have learned in an accessible place so you can easily review your verses and grow in your spiritual treasure chest.



Colossians 4:2-4—Prayer

As he neared the end of his letter, Paul wrote to encourage all Christians to participate in the great privilege of prayer. “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Colossians 4:2). Sometimes when we pray it seems that our prayers go no higher than the ceiling of the room where we are praying. At such a time the remedy is not to stop praying but to go on praying! A person who prays will discover that spiritual dryness will not last! Through prayer we get to know our risen Lord Jesus in a close and developing friendship. We will long to see face to face the one whom we have come to know heart-to-heart (see 1 Corinthians 13:12).

Frances Gardner Hunter gives an illustration of symbolically taking our requests to God and believing that He will answer the prayer when He knows that it is the right time:1. Put your hand symbolically out toward God.2. Straighten out your arm and reach out as far as you possibly can. This will make sure that your hand is

as far from yourself as you can physically make it.3. Turn your palm so that it is right side up.4. Now, in your hand, with the palm turned up, give God the prayer request on your heart. What are you

going to do with your hand? You have a choice of two things. You can either clench your hand and return your prayer burden to your own heart, or you can very simply follow the next step.

5. Simply turn your hand upside down so that nothing can possibly stay in your hand. Make sure that your fist isn’t clenched to hold something, but stretch your fingers as far apart as possible.

6. Drop your arm to your side.39

This is a reminder that, as you pray, you shouldn’t take anything back that you have given to God! Many times we go to God and then clutch our prayer burdens and carry them right back into our own heart. We need to, by faith, trust Him to answer our prayer, whenever and however He knows best. Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” (John 15:7). And the apostle John assured us, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (1 John 5:14).

One of the most important things in prayer is to take time to listen to God’s answers. Ask God to reveal them to you. Many times the answer will come through another person or through reading His Word. The Scripture is a personal letter written to you. As you read God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will point out what God wants to reveal to you about His plan to answer your prayer.

Why doesn’t God always answer our prayers the way we ask for them to be answered? God knows what is best for us, and whatever He has planned is far better than we could plan. So if you get an answer from God which is not quite what you expected, remember that God knows the needs of your life better than you do, and that is why He is answering in the way He is. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Be WatchfulPaul instructs us to be “watchful” as we pray (Colossians 4:2). What does Paul mean by “watchful”? In

both the gospels and Paul’s writings we are told to be on the alert for the return of the Lord. Knowing that

391. Frances Gardner Hunter. Hotliine to Heaven (NJ: Hunter Publishing, 1978)


our Lord Jesus could come for us at any moment, whether by death or His return for His church (see 1 Thessalonians 5), should change the way we live our lives.

We are also urged to be on the alert—that is, watchful—because our “enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8b). In the holy war that Christians are called to wage against the powers of evil, prayer is our supreme power and strategy. Second Corinthians 10:4 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” And in Ephesians 6, after giving a long list of spiritual armor, Paul tells believers to pray.

There are so many ways the enemy can set a trap for us to fall into sin, or cause us to become so busy that our relationship with the Lord deteriorates. We need to be constantly watchful and careful to maintain our relationship with the Lord, through prayer, reading and studying His Word, and confessing our sin and weaknesses. We also need to maintain a relationship with other believers. The author of Hebrews warns us not to give up meeting together (Hebrews 10:25). As we maintain fellowship with other believers we can encourage one another in our walk with the Lord. It also gives us opportunity to pray for others.

Be ThankfulAs we pray we are also to be “thankful” (Colossians 4:2), not only for the answers to our prayers, but

also for the privilege of praying. What an honor to be able to enter into a relationship with the Living God, the Creator of the universe, and to be permitted to bring our requests to Him, not to some created being. We can also be thankful for all that God has done for us—for providing a way for our salvation through the death of His Son, for His daily love and care for us, for the provision for all our needs and most of our wants, for working everything for our good, for the glorious future ahead, and much, much more. In all situations our hearts should be forever thankful.

When and How to PraySome people feel that prayer has to be done only at certain times, but we can pray at any time and

any place! We can pray while walking about our house, driving a car, or even while having a conversation with someone, asking God to give direction in the conversation. We are really to pray for everything, asking wisdom at all times! When someone gives you a prayer request, stop right where you are and pray, asking God for leading and guidance in the situation and committing whatever the problem is to Him.

It is also a good idea to set aside a special time each day to be alone with the Lord in prayer. It does take an act of the will to spend time each day in prayer. Everything in our lives will keep pulling us the other way. It may be a struggle all the way through your first prayer times, but remember that you will be blessed as you continue in daily prayer.

Some people find it helpful to keep a prayer notebook or journal. If you choose to do this, include a request section where you list family, church, missionaries, neighbors’ and friends’ needs. Note the date when you begin asking God for these things, and then write down the date of the answer or partial answer to prayer. You can record your praise and worship to God for answers to prayer, and for His love and forgiveness. It’s a good idea to make a new notebook each year, but be sure to save the old one in memory of what God has done for you!

After urging believers to pray in general, Paul makes a specific request—“And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should” (Colossians 4:3-4). He needed God’s help to share the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ both boldly and plainly even while he was in jail.

Paul might have asked that they pray for his release from prison, or a for little rest and peace at the last, but he only asked that they pray that he be given strength and opportunity to do the work to which God had called him. We need to pray this way both for ourselves and for others—that we might complete the task that has been assigned to us to do in this world. Paul’s prayer was for power—not for release!


Colossians 4:5-6—Present Christ to the World

Now Paul moves on to speak about the outward life of a Christian, “Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity” (Colossians 4:5).

Henrietta Mears wrote, “[In the earlier chapters of Colossians] we found that we must build within, cultivating the virtues of the new life in Christ. But there is something more. We want our new life to be seen and felt among others…This is the way we present Christ to the world. Remember, ‘Christian’ means ‘little Christs’…Christ is living in us. His life is told today in living Epistles [letters] that are known and read by all people.” The living letters God sends to the world are the lives of believers.

Each Christian must be guided by God’s wisdom and show forth His grace as we interact with non-believers. All Christians are missionaries or ambassadors for Jesus Christ, as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”

Of course, we can’t be an ambassador for something that is not ours—that we have never received for ourselves. If you have never been reconciled to God through Christ, won’t you allow God to do this for you, by trusting in Jesus Christ as your Savior? Second Corinthians 6:2 says, “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (italics added).

Paul continues in Colossians 4:6, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Someone has calculated that each person utters some thirty thousand words each day! If these words were put into print they would amount to a very large book. These books would, in a lifetime, fill a college library. Yes, you are an author whether you realize it or not! Everything you say and do reflects your inner thoughts and motives. What a responsibility we have. How thankful every believer can be that the penalty of misspoken words, evil thoughts, and unconsecrated deeds can be covered by the blood of Christ (see 1 John 1:8-9).

You are writing each day a letter to men,Take care that the writing is true,

It’s the only Gospel that some men will read,The Gospel according to you!

-AnonymousThere is an old saying that says, “What is in the well of your heart is bound to come up in the bucket of

your speech!”

Colossians 4:7-18—Final Greetings

In Colossians 4:7-14 Paul spoke of his coworkers who had ministered and been fellow servants in the Lord with him in all circumstances, some of whom he sent to the Colossian church to tell about his circumstances and to encourage the Colossian believers’ hearts. He named each man—Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Mark (the writer of the Gospel), Justus, Epaphras, Luke (the writer of the Gospel), and Demas.

After giving a brief description and commendation of each of these men, Paul sent greetings to the church at Laodicea and to the house church of Nympha. He requested that his letter be read to the Laodiceans. Laodicea was about twelve miles from Colosse. He also requested that his letter to the Laodiceans be read to the Colossian church. Nothing is known about this letter to Laodicea except that it was lost. Paul may have written many other letters, which we do not have today.


Paul added a special message to the end of the letter: “Tell Archippus: ‘See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord’” (Colossians 4:17). After dictating the letter to the Colossians, Paul confirmed its genuineness, as was his custom, by signing it personally with his own hand.

What Does Colossians Teach Me?

Paul’s letter to the Colossians proclaims the supreme lordship of Jesus Christ. He draws a faithful portrait of Christ in all His glory and dignity. The place that Christ holds in any religious teaching determines whether it is true or false. Some taught in Paul’s day, as some teach today, that Jesus was just a man and Christ was the divine Spirit, which came at Jesus’ baptism and left Him at the cross. This meant that Christ did not die but simply that Jesus died. You can see that this is the root of error of many false teachings today.

It is good for us, in studying the letter to the Colossians, to examine our own beliefs and see that we always put the Head, Christ Jesus, in His rightful place in our thinking. Jesus Christ is eternally God as well as completely human. When He was born, the angel announced, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). And after He died and rose again, Scripture tells us that He reigns over all: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11). Is Jesus Christ your Savior and Lord?

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