I am starting a series on Philippines for The Harvest Student Gathering. This series will run the rest of the summer. The purpose of this blog (and the next few throughout the summer) is two fold. One is so that parents of students can follow along with the teaching and have conversations with their students about what they are learning. Second is so that students who are away doing things for summer vacation can have an opportunity to keep up on whats being taught at The Gathering on Wednesday nights. So please enjoy and use for both growth as a family and personal growth in your relationship with Jesus Christ, understanding more fully the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The book of Philippians was written by Paul while he was in prison. It was written to the church of... Yes you guessed it Philippi. It was the first church Paul planted in Europe, and was one of the healthiest churches Paul planted. In the letter (as it actually was written as a letter) Paul uses imagery that the people of Philippi would understand well, displaced citizenship. Philippi belong to Rome after 42 B.C. when they won the Battle of Philippi. After the battle the Roman empire forced some Roman soldiers and some people living Rome to move to Philippi and populate it. Because the people were forced to leave, Rome gave them citizenship of Rome, giving them privileges that most people either had to work very hard for or pay a lot of money for. This made the people of Philippi citizens of one empire living in a different place. Paul uses this when he talks about the Christians in Philippi. In Philippians 3:20-21 Paul uses this exact idea of the church being citizens of heaven even though we live here on earth. Paul says in verse 19 that the end of the "enemies of the cross" is destruction. He says "their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things." Thats when Paul reminds the Christians of Philippi that their citizenship is of heaven and that they are waiting for Jesus to come and transform their lowly earthly bodies into glorious heavenly bodies.
This idea of living with the mind set of being a heavenly colony here on earth is a must if we are truly going to "let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. (Phil. 1:27)" Just think about it, if your life was more focus on heaven, and the hope that it brings (through the gospel of Jesus Christ), we would be less worried about and drawn to the pleasures of this world. The pain that comes from this world would hold less over us. We would be completely different people, moving in one direction, toward Jesus and eternity in heaven.
This is the lens that we will be looking through as we read, study, and teach the book of Philippians. Paul is showing the church of Philippi (and us) how to live as Citizens of a Heavenly Colony. Paul is writing to a healthy church and still reminding them of them importance of knowing where they are from and where they are going... And telling them to live in that understanding!
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. -Philippians 1:2 ESV
Jesse
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