For those of you who didn’t join our study on Philippians 2, this is our last study post, and then we’ll be back on our regular twice-a-week posting schedule! Thanks for your patience!
I love doing our 30-Days studies together (even if it means literally falling asleep over the computer several nights this past month!). It’s exciting to see how much is right there in the text when we start digging below the surface! It helps me focus so much more when I slow down to look for repeated words, lists, and questions, and to study original words and related verses!
Our next study will be in March! That sounds like such a long time from now, but I remember thinking the same thing when we finished our July study, and November came quickly!
I think we will probably study some portion of 1 John in March, so if you want to get a head start, you might want to read the whole book at least once or twice a month until we start our study.
We could have spent so much more time in Philippians! It was hard to decide what to focus on (which is why some lessons got a little too long to get done in the 5 to 10 minutes I had promised).
I’d like to offer some other ideas for those interested in continuing your study of Philippians. You’ve learned how to use a number of study tools over this past month. Take that knowledge and put it to work on your own! Blueletterbible.com also has a great “help” section that shows how to use their study tools. (It has to be good, if I can make sense out it! 🙂 )
Here are just a few of the ways you could continue your study of Philippians!
Additional ideas for Philippians 2:
- Study other verses related to Philippians 2:5-11 by using the “Cross-Ref” tool to access Treasury of Scripture Knowledge in Blueletterbible.com. Use this tool for each verse, and note your observations and insights. What else does Scripture say about Christ’s humiliation and exaltation? What can you learn from these observations?
- Study verses 15-16 to find out why we should do all things without grumbling and disputing. What will be the result? Study words like blameless, harmless, rebuke, crooked, perverse, holding forth, and vain. What will be the result of the Philippians “holding fast to the Word of life”? Use the “Cross-Ref” tool to look at other verses related to these two verses.
- Study verse 17. Read it in different translations. Use commentaries to help you understand what Paul means when he refers to being “poured out as a drink offering”.
- Study verse 18. What is the likewise referring to in this verse? How can you rejoice in the same way Paul describes?
- Go through the entire chapter and mark all the so thats. How is this phrase being used? List every verse that contains this phrase, and organize what you find.
Additional ideas for the book of Philippians:
- Review your lessons from this study of Philippians 2, and repeat the same steps for each of the other chapters in Philippians, looking for the same words and phrases. (You won’t be able to use every lesson for every chapter, but many will apply.)
- Mark every reference to Jesus (including pronouns referring to him), note these in your notebook, and organize what you find. What can you continue to learn from His example?
- Mark every appearance of the words I know and I am sure. Then note what Paul says he knows and is sure of. Why is he sure?
- Mark the word gospel throughout the entire book and organize what you find.
- Mark the word love in the entire book. What do you learn about love?
- Study the topic of suffering as it is covered in the book of Philippians. How can you apply this to your life?
- Study Paul’s potential reasons for confidence in the flesh in 3:3-11, and his attitude toward those “accomplishments”. Notice how many times he mentions Jesus as he turns from his own righteousness to that of Jesus. Think about ways that you might be putting confidence in your own flesh, and learn from Paul’s example. What things do you need to count “as loss” in order to truly follow Jesus? How do verses 10-11 relate to 2:5-11?
- Study Philippians 3:12-14. Study the word apprehended. Read the verses in other translations. Study words like press, mark, prize, and calling. How do these verses related to 2:12-13? What things do you need to forget about the past?
- Study Philippians 3:20. What does it mean when it says our conversation or citizenship is in heaven? How should this affect our lives?
- Carefully study Philippians 4:4-7. Study words. Use a commentary to help you understand what the phrase, the Lord is at hand, means in the middle of these verses. What attitudes and actions are contrasted with being “careful” or anxious?
- Study Philippians 4:8. Use the lexicon and commentaries to better understand what we are supposed to think on, and commit to actually using this verse as a guide for what you put into your mind and what you choose to think about.
- Study Philippians 4:10-13, using the lexicon to study words. Read commentaries on verse 13 and memorize the verse.
Related topics:
- Use a concordance and/or Nave’s Topical Bible to study the topic of humility. What is it?
- Read the gospels, noting the different events in Jesus’s life that display His humility and servanthood, as describe by Paul in Philippians 2:5-11.
- Study the life of Paul, reading the book of Acts, as well as his epistles, if possible. Note the events in his life, his choices, his responses to hardship and trials, his interactions with others, etc. What can you learn from his life?
- Study the life of Timothy. Use a concordance to look up all mentions of him in the Bible. Be sure to look up Timotheus as well as Timothy. Note all the details of his life. What can you learn from him?
- Study the different names of Jesus and what they mean. How does each apply to His mission on earth and to your life?
Recommended books:
- To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain, Matt Chandler
- Philippians: An Expositional Commentary, James Montgomery Boice
If you haven’t completed our other 30-Days studies, those are also available to help you continue studying! Check the archives at Doorposts of Your House for studies on Colossians 3, Psalm 37, and 1 Corinthians 13 — one chapter for each month until we start our next study together.
Colossians 3 and Psalm 37 are also available for purchase in print and digital book form from Doorposts.
$100 Giveaway!
Don’t forget to enter our giveaway! See Saturday’s post for details! Your comments could win you a $100 gift certificate for Doorposts!
1 Trackback