If you would like more information that might help you in your study of Philippians and/or Colossians, just click on the topic:

How did the Christian church get started in Europe? The first group of Christians met is the city of Jerusalem, but it wasn’t long before the influence of Christianity spread. But starting a Christian church in a pagan culture isn’t easy. Here’s a description of how it happened.

Searching the Scripture for the Incarnation. Jesus was not merely a human.  And He was not God disguised with a human mask. He was God and human at the same time. It’s not an easy concept to comprehend, and it is worth additional study.

Joyfulness means more than being happy. Since “joy” is a major theme in Paul’s writings, it might be wise to get a better understanding of the term.

Beware of religious tolerance. All religions are not basically the same.  To act like they are is to deny the distinctives of Christianity.

No competition between Christians. Was there jealous between those early Christian missionaries?  Not on Paul’s part.  Notice the kind of attitude that he had in this regard.

Christian virtues. Do you ever wonder how a Christian should act? Paul provides us with a great list of Christian attributes.

How Did the Christian Church Get Started in Europe?

The story of the formation of the church in Philippi is told in Acts 16. That is the best place to read about it, but here is a brief overview:

Starting a Church from Scratch. 

Paul and his band of itinerant missionaries wandered into the town as complete strangers.  They looked for a place of prayer on the first Sabbath day, but found only women there.  (Perhaps Philippi was following Rome’s model of hostility toward the Jews and the men were afraid to worship openly.)  The missionaries stuck up a conversation with these religious-minded women.  At this inauspicious gathering, Paul met a businesswoman by the name of Lydia. She was an immigrant merchant of purple fabric.  (It was a perfect business fit for her.  Her hometown of Thyatira was the center of the purple-garment industry, and garments of this “royal” color were in high demand in the Roman colony of Philippi.) While raised in pagan beliefs, Lydia had adopted the Jewish faith. But her conversations with Paul enabled her to see that Jesus was the Messiah who had been promised by the Jewish prophets.  Before long, Lydia’s entire household had accepted Christ and Paul had the start of the first Christian church in Europe . . . that met in Lydia’s home.

Certain Publicity is Not Good Publicity.

As with any fledgling church, you might think that Paul could use some good publicity. As it turns out, he got some when a demon-possessed girl came across the missionaries’ path and yelled:

• “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved (Acts 16:17).”

The statement was certainly correct, but no self-respecting missionary wants an endorsement from someone who is demon-possessed.  To make matters worse, this was a slave girl who was owned by men who rented out her fortune-telling services. (It was a 1st century A.D. version of the psychic hotline.)

Unfortunately, this confrontation wasn’t a one-time event. After days of similar disruptions, Paul commanded the demon to leave the girl, and it did. Of course, the result was that her masters saw an abrupt end to their cash flow. In retaliation, they publicly accused Paul and Silas of being Jewish troublemakers who were trying to disrupt the Roman customs in Philippi.  Mob mentality prevailed, and city officials ordered that Paul and Silas be pummeled with wooded clubs and thrown into jail.

Prison Evangelism.

After their beating, Paul and Silas were thrown into prison. The jailer was given specific instructions to be wary of their attempts to escape, so he put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in stocks.  Paul and Silas were cut off from the members of their start-up church, but they weren’t cut off from God.  They conducted their own worship service in the dungeon, singing hymns and praise songs to God.

About midnight on the day of their incarceration, there was an earthquake that rocked the foundation of the prison.  This must have been a God-directed miracle, because He added the dramatic flair of using the earthquake to open the door of every cell and bust the chains off every prisoner.  Assuming that all of the prisoners were escaping, the jailer drew his sword to commit suicide.  (Apparently he preferred death to the disgrace and punishment for allowing a prison break.) But Paul shouted for him to stop because all of the prisoners remained in their cells. 

We doubt that Paul and Silas were good singers, but we are certain that their worship had a spiritual influence on the other prisoners and the jailer. First of all, the prisoners didn’t escape although they had the opportunity to do so.  Secondly, the jailer approach Paul and asked: “What must I do to be saved?”  Before dawn, the jailer and all in his household had come to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The next day, when the order was issued for Paul and Silas to be released from prison, they refused to go.  Paul and Silas had been disgraced and discredited in a public setting (and more importantly, the work of Christ in that city had been disparaged).  So, Paul and Silas wanted a public apology. The city officials of Philippi were shocked to realize that these missionaries were Roman citizens. As such, it was against the law for them to have been scourged or to have been imprisoned without a trial. The officials scrambled to make a public apology, and then requested that Paul and Silas leave the city (in hopes that this entire episode would soon be forgotten). Paul and Silas complied with the request to leave, but not before they met with the Christians in the Philippian church and bid farewell to these new friends and converts.

Searching the Scripture for the Incarnation

Philippians gets into a deep subject when it addresses the issue of the incarnation (which Christ became man).  This is a difficult subject to understand.  Fortunately, chapter 2 of Philippians isn’t the only passage that deals with the incarnation. For further information, check out:

John 1:1-14

Romans 1:2-5

2 Corinthians 8:9

1 Timothy 3:16

Hebrews 2:14

1 John 1:1-3

Joyfulness Means More Than Being Happy

Joyfulness isn’t the only character trait that is important. In Philippians 4:4-7, Paul also encourages the Philippians to exhibit gentleness toward others. Perhaps this thought occurred to him because he was thinking about Euodian and Synthyche.  More likely, however, he was thinking of an external quality that is proof of joy.

As personality traits go, joy is an inner quality that is not often seen; it is difficult to quantify as an external emotion; it doesn’t mean you will be constantly smiling because you can be joyful without being happy; Joy is the tranquility, confidence and hope that you feel by being in a relationship with Christ and knowing He is in control.  Adversity may wipe the smile off your face, but it shouldn’t take the joy out of your heart.

Gentleness is a trait that reflects your relationship to others (as opposed to your circumstances).  If you have joy in your life, you’re not likely to be at odds with other people.  There will be a tranquility in your life that dispels animosity. Because you know that God is ultimately in control, there is no need for you to get agitated with others. You can treat them with Christian love.

Beware of Religious Tolerance

Colossians is relevant to believers in the 21st century because we are faced with

heresies being promoted under the guise of religious tolerance and religious pluralism.  Here is a quote from Bible scholar William Hendriksen, taken from the introduction of his New Testament Commentary on Colossians, that expresses the dangers of which Christians must be on guard:

• There are others, however, who seem to have surrendered – if they ever had it! – the idea of the finality of the Christian religion and of the all-sufficiency of Christ.  Their purpose seems to be to establish a world-church, that is, not only to merge the Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Russian Orthodox groups, but even to wed Christianity and the non-Christian religions. They seem to feel that Christ, to be sure, has something, in fact, has much to offer, but not everything.  Rama, Vishnu, Zoroaster, Buddha, Confucius, Moses, and Mohammed have made their contributions too.  It has been reported that Gandhi accepted all great religions as his. The extremists in the present ecumenical movement seem to be imitating Gandhi.   Now this virtual denial of the all-sufficiency of Christ was the very heresy – though presented in a different form – which Paul faced when he wrote Colossians.

No Competition Between Christians

Notice the credit that Paul gives to Epaphras in Colossians 1:7-8. Paul wasn’t jealous in

the least bit that Epaphras had started the church in Colosse. Paul didn’t try to snag some of the credit by stating the Epaphras became a Christian under Paul’s teaching at the city of Ephesus. Paul was never worried about getting credit for what he did or being overlooked or underappreciated.  Isn’t that the kind of Christian you would like to be in ministry with? Shouldn’t that be the attitude that you have when you are ministering with others?

In Colossians 3:12-15, Paul identifies the following qualities that we, as Christians, should “put on.”

• Tenderhearted mercy: External conduct, however good it may appear to an observer, is empty if there is not compassion behind it. If fact, compassion is the motivation that prompts acts of kindness.
• Kindness: This is more than doing something good.  A good thing can be done with a cold or an indifferent spirit.  Kindness connotes that we are more concerned with the welfare of others than our own.
• Humility: Many scholars believe this was a virtue that was introduced by Christianity. Previously, ancient cultures had no word for humility that didn’t involve some sort servitude or groveling.  But Christian humility isn’t like that.  It implies a spirit of service to each other without regard to position or rank.  God loves us all equally, and none of us is more deserving than another in His eyes.  And how can any of us be arrogant when Christ is supreme?
• Gentleness: Christians don’t need to be whimps.  But holiness demands self-control.  Gentleness is the rare combination of strength and thoughtfulness.
• Patience: We must never become frustrated or exasperated by the people with whom and to whom we minister.
• Forgiveness: No one can offend us as much as our sins have offended god. Because we have been forgive such great offenses by God, we should be will to show forgiveness to others. 
• Love: Lest there be any doubt, Paul says this is the most important “piece of clothing you must wear.” Just as Christ loves binds us to him, love is what binds Christians together in fellowship.
• Peacefulness: God’s peace should act as an umpire in our hearts. It should be what rules over conflicts in our emotions.
• Thankfulness: Gratefulness and appreciate are the natural responses to the realization of who Christ is and what He has done for us.