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Studied by 70 peopleLion and the Lamb: Chapter 14
- Paul established several local congregations in major urban centers on at least three missionary journeys
- Most likely Philippians was written prior to the other letters
- In Phlm 22, Paul expected to be released from prison soon, while in Phil 1:21-25 he inferred what the future held based on spiritual principles, but he had no idea as to the timing of his release
- Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon were all related to the return of Onesimus and were most likely written roughly at the same time and under similar circumstances.
- The precise sequence is unknown
- Ephesians
- Colossians
- Prison Epistles’ contribution to the canon of scripture
- The centrality of the gospel of Christ and partnership in the gospel
- Christ’s self-humiliation
- The supremacy of Christ, the cosmic reconciling work of Christ, and spiritual warfare
- The subjection of all things to Christ’s lordship and the present implications of Christ’s victory for believers
- The unity of the church as the body of Christ consisting of Jews and Gentiles
- Christian joy and thanksgiving
- The Christian transformation of socioeconomic structures such as slavery
- Social relationships
- The occasion of Philippians: Thanksgiving for the Philippians’ partnership in the gospel and warnings against disunity and false teaching as hindrances to the spread of the gospel
- Purpose of Philippians: To promote gospel-centered unity for the sake of advancing the gospel
- The theme of Philippians: Partnership in the gospel and walking worthy of the gospel
- Acceptance of Pauline authorship
- The letter opens by identifying Paul as the author
- The early church accepted Paul as the author without dissent
- The letter is intensely personal, suggesting that the author was well known to the church of Philippi
- Paul’s Imprisonment
- Rome
- Caesera
- Ephesus
- The traditional view imagines Paul imprisoned in Rome
- The mention of the Praetorium and Caesers household
- The loose restrictions implied by his activity during his imprisonment
- References to a seemingly well-established church
- The “life or death” nature of the imprisonment
- Problems with the Roman hypothesis
- Distance between Philippi and Rome (1,200 miles)
- The letter to the Romans implies a trip to Spain, while the letter to the Philippians implies a trip to Philippi
- The straightforwardness of the destination raises no contest
- Paul addresses both pastoral problems and personal concerns
- Disunity
- Warning against false teachers
- Update regarding his circumstances and the advancement of the gospel
- Commendation of Timothy
- Announcement of Paul’s desire to visit the church
- Report on Epaphroditus and his illness
- The Philippians’ partnership in the gospel should be understood in an active, not passive, sense
- Identification
- Letter of friendship
- Family letters
- unified and coherent composition from start to finish
- Outline
- Introduction: greetings to the Philippians
- Body: The Philippians’ partnership with Paul in the Gospel
- Theme: Gospel Partnership
- Opening: Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Philippians
- centers on the Philippians’ participation and partnership in the gospel
- Body Proper: Exhortation to Unity for the Sake of the Gospel
- Four Biographical Vignettes (serve as examples because of demonstrated humility)
- The lives of Paul
- Jesus
- Timothy
- Epaphroditus
- Call to Emulation
- False teachers
- Disunity among the Philippians
- Closing: Thanksgiving for the Philippians’ Present and Previous Gifts
- Paul rejoices for the Philippians’ present and past financial support
- Rejoicing in the representation of the gift, not the gift itself
- Conclusion: Final Greetings
- Theological Themes
- Christian Unity
- Paul’s concern was for the unity of believers so that the gospel proclamation would not be hindered
- Internal disunity continues to be a major tool of Satan hindering effective Christian ministry
- Joy in Christ in the Context of Christian Suffering
- “joy” word family was used 16 times
- The purpose of Ephesians is to declare and promote cosmic reconciliation and unity in Christ
- The theme of Ephesians is the summing up of all things in Christ
- Ephesians is a magisterial summary of Paul’s teaching
- Ephesians’ significant contributions to the canon
- Paul presented the theme of subjecting things to Christ’s lordship most clearly and articulately
- Only Colossians can compare with Ephesians’ emphasis on the staggering aspects of Christ’s victory that believers already enjoy Christ
- Ephesians contains perhaps the most developed discussion of and vision for the church
- Ephesians also contains the most developed discussion of spiritual warfare in the NT
- Foundation of Paul’s authorship
- The claim of the letter
- the testimony of the early church
- The fact that some important manuscripts do not include “at Ephesus” (1:1) poses problems for identifying a destination
- Main themes in Ephesians
- Unity in the church
- A distinctive Christian ethic
- Vigilance in Spiritual warfare
- Outline
- Opening (1:1-2)
- Author
- Recipient
- Greeting
- Body: Seated with Christ, Walking with Christ, Standing for Christ (1:3-6:20)
- Shared Spiritual Blessings in Union with Christ and Unity in Christ (1:3-3:21)
- Unpacked spiritual Blessing
- Prayed for Readers
- 3 sections portray the unity that God has created through the gospel in 3 different angles
- Heavenly angle
- Described Conversion as a change from spiritual death to spiritual lfie
- Cross-Centered angle
- Portrayed the gospel-centered unity of the church
- Paul’s apostolic ministry angle
- Highlighted his own role in this unity as the minister to the Gentiles
- Ended with a concluding prayer and doxology
- Walk with Christ and Stand for Christ (4:1-6:20)
- Unity (What Christians are called to do, How they are to do it, Why)
- Diversity in Unity
- Stability
- Growth
- Unity and Maturity guard the body from false teaching
- Holiness
- Also from the false living
- Christians must not walk in the dark like Gentiles
- \
- \
- Love
- Light
- Christians must not walk in the dark like Gentiles
- Walk as children of light
- Remain separated from dark deeds and expose them
- Walk in light
- Wisdom
- And wisdom
- Be filled by the Spirit
- Wholehearted praise
- Thanksgiving
- Submission
- Wives submit to husbands
- Children obey parents
- Slaves obey masters
- Husbands love your wives
- Fathers do not provoke children into anger
- Masters should not treat slaves unfairly
- Call for believers to stand in Spiritual Warfare by
- Putting on God’s armor
- Introductory admonition for believers to be strong in the Lord
- Reinforce the introductory admonition/specifications of armor
- Truth
- Righteousness
- Peace
- The Gospel
- The word of God
- Salvation
- Faith
- Prayer
- Access God’s power in prayer
- Closing (6:21-24)
- Theological Themes
- The Lordship of Christ
- the central theme of the letter
- Soteriology
- Ecclesiology
- Ethics
- Spiritual Warfare
- The Church
- The trinitarian work of salvation has massive implications for the church
- Christ has broken down the dividing wall through the cross and created the church as one new man
- The purpose of Colossians is to Combat false teaching with the supremacy and sufficiency of Christ
- The theme of Colossians is that Chris ti’s complete in every way and thus believers are complete in Christ
- Perhaps the most Christ-centered letter in the NT
- Pauline Authorship
- Letter’s own claim to authenticity
- Unbroken tradition throughout church history
- Close connections between Colossians and Philemon
- Questions surrounding the practice and acceptance of pseudonymity
- Colossian heresy
- Essene Judaism and Gnosticism
- Hellenism
- Paganism
- Judaism
- 3 main points to the Colossians
- Fullness dwells in the preeminent Christ
- Believers are complete in Christ
- They should seek to know more of Christ in his fullness by speaking the things above where he dwells, not on the earth
- Outline
- Introduction (1:1-8)
- Opening (1:1-2)
- Author
- Recipients
- Grace Salutation
- Thanksgiving (1:3-8)
- Faith
- Love
- Hope
- Body: The Supremacy and All-Sufficiency of Christ (1:9-4:6)
- The Centrality of Christ and the Colossian Heresy (1:9-2:23)
- Supremacy of Christ
- Christ as head over creation
- Christ as head over the church
- Believers’ New Life in Christ (3:1-4:6)
- Closing (4:7-18)
- Commendation of Tychicus and Onesimus (4:7-9)
- Greetings from Paul’s Coworkers (4:10-14)
- Final Instructions (4:15-17)
- In regards to the church at Laodicea
- Believers’ New Life in Christ (4:18)
- Theological Themes
- Supremacy of Christ
- Jesus’ supremacy over Creation
- Why he has supremacy over Creation
- Jesus as the purpose of Creation
- Lordship over God’s new Creation
- Jesus as the head of the Church
- Proper Christian Conduct
- Christ’s sufficient work and believers’ spiritual union with him means that they can keep pursuing the things above where Christ dwells
- The believer is a new creature and acts accordingly
- Christ’s lordship has staggering implications for his lordship over every aspect of the believer’s life, which is especially emphasized in the household code
- The theme of Philemon is Love and reconciliation in the body of Christ
- Shortest Pauline letter
- Relationship between Philemon and Colossians
- Colossians refers to Onesimus
- Both letters have Timothy as the cosender
- Both letters refer to Epaphras and Archippus
- Both letters include Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke among Paul’s companions
- Biographical details of Philemon
- Cherished coworker
- Model of love and faith toward Jesus
- Philemon’s love and faith had also overflowed to all the believers whom he had often refreshed
- Paul played a part in Philemon’s conversion
- Probably wealthy
- Provenance of Philemon
- Rome
- Ephesus
- Caesarea
- Ephesian imprisonment
- Most likely Onesimus would flee to Ephesus as the nearest metropolis, not the distant city of Rome
- Paul’s request to Philemon for a room in the near future fits more readily with the shorter distance between Ephesus and Colossae
- Roman imprisonment
- The proximity of Ephesus to Colossae cuts both ways
- Paul’s request for lodging does not preclude Roman imprisonment because he could still make the trip in about five weeks.
- Outline
- Opening (1-7)
- Salutation (1-3)
- senders
- recipients
- grace salutation
- Thanksgiving and Prayer (4-7)
- Body: Three Appeals for Onesimus (8-20)
- Initial Appeal: He is Useful for Both You and Me (8-11)
- Second Appeal: Accept Him as a Brother in Christ (12-16)
- Third Appeal: Refresh MY Heart by Sending Onesimus Back (17-20)
- Closing (21-25)
- Theological Themes
- Mutual Love and Brotherhood in the Body of Christ
- A Christian Approach to Slavery and Other Social Issues
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