Philippians Chapter Two | Bible Study Wednesday

Welcome back to Bible Study Wednesday. We are in the second chapter of the book of Philippians. If you did not start out with me for this study, just take a look at this post here. You can catch up and join us this week. If you are ready to begin, grab your Bible and a notebook. Let's take a moment to invite Holy Spirit to teach us what only He can teach and show us how to apply what we have learned to our lives.

We are starting in Philippians chapter two. There are 30 verses, just like in the first chapter. I am using my Women's Study Bible and will follow the breakdown they use.

Verses 1-11 BE OF ONE ACCORD AND ONE MIND

Paul begins this letter desiring for the church at Philippi to be united. I think if he were to write a letter to the body of believers of Jesus Christ today, especially the church in America as a whole, it would he would not write a different letter than we read in chapter two. He is telling them, as he would tell us today, that his joy is full when he knows they are thinking the same way, loving the same way, in agreement and unity of mind; not allowing anything to be done with arguing and striving but in humility. In chapter one he brought up humility and emphasized the need for each of us to be humble. We should be more concerned with helping meet the needs of those around us than to fulfill our own selfish desires. The unity of mind can only happen when we think like Christ. In verse five Paul writes, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Until we learn to think like Jesus we will not have unity in the body. He is our head and we must line up to His thought patterns and His behavior. We must pattern our way of life after the way He led His. Paul continues this portion of the letter to remind us what Jesus looked like. He was a servant. He was humble. He did not make Himself the main thing, but He continuously pointed everyone to God the Father. He knew Who He was and He knew Who He belonged to. And we see that Jesus also was obedient to the death, even willing to die on the cross for our sins. God has given Him the only name that men can be saved by, the name of Jesus Christ. Verses 11 and 12 say this: "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Understand that God set aside His glory, not His deity. He was still God in the flesh when He dwelt among men. He set aside His privilege and His ability to do whatever He wanted to do. He humbled Himself to become a human being and that was a new concept to many. It was the opposite of what we even see superheroes in cartoons and movies do. Usually the ordinary become extraordinary and do amazing things by becoming something larger than themselves. Instead we see God come down in the form of a man and live in this cruel world to suffer and bleed and die for you and me. It just is not something that any other story or myth or fairy tale would ever come up with. It is a real, true story, though. It actually happened that Jesus left the splendor of glory to come to earth and be a mortal to save all of humanity. Jesus humbled Himself. Why should we not do the same?

The very way that Jesus died, death by crucifixion, was not something a Roman citizen ever had to worry about. They were not ever subject to such a cruel sacrifice. His death carried with a curse according to Deuteronomy 21:23 in the Old Testament which reads, "he that is hanged is accursed of God." Jesus' blood was pure, sinless, perfect, and able to pay the debt of the sins of the entire world. Nothing but the blood of Jesus could ever do that.

Verses 12-18 SHINE AS LIGHTS IN THE WORLD

Verse 12 tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Note that it does not say work FOR your own salvation. There is nothing we can do to be saved aside from believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and confessing with our mouths. There is no good deeds, kind thoughts, nice gifts, large sum of money that will ever save us. Those things mean nothing when it comes to being saved. Jesus's blood was shed for the remission of sins and that alone is what can save us. Anything good we do is just to honor our Savior. It is not to save us. We read on and it says that it is God who works in us for His good pleasure. We are told what not to do, as children of God. Verse 14 tells us to do all things without complaining and fighting. We are not supposed to argue over doctrine, gifts of the Spirit, baptism, paying tithes, or anything! The world is watching, desperately seeking something to believe in, and we are fighting and carrying on for them to see and they are walking away, shaking their heads, thinking we are just like them! Friends, we need to show them who Jesus is! Not who we are in our sinful, carnal nature. Let's start bearing fruit of self-control, love, goodness, kindness. Let's show them how wonderful it is to be a child of the Most High God. We are supposed to shine our lights in this messed up, backwards-way-of-thinking world. We are supposed to be lights and beacons for Jesus to pierce the darkness and show the world there is a better way, the ONLY way and His name is Jesus. 

Verses 19-24 TIMOTHY'S FAITHFUL SERVICE

Paul tells them he is sending Timothy. He honors who Timothy is. He builds him up and points out his godly character. How do we speak of one another? Do we share our thoughts about others in the body of Christ as honorable and good? May we never tear one another down and tarnish the reputation of another. Paul had hoped to come see the church members but he was sending Timothy, recommending him to them. He said he had trained him like a father teaches a son. Paul loved the people of Philippi so much he wanted to make sure they had someone to watch out for them, look out for their best interest. He said there was no one else he could trust to care more about the things of Jesus than about themselves, so he was going to send them the very one he trained like his own child to go be the leader and helper to them that Paul desired to be.

Verses 25-20 EPAPHRODITUS'S SERVICE TO PAUL

Paul wraps up this second chapter with an update on Epaphroditus. The church heard he was sick and had been praying for him. Epaphroditus was very ill to the point of nearly dying. Paul tells them that God had mercy on Epaphroditus and on himself as well so that Paul would not have his brother's death to add to his sorrow. Paul tells them he is sending Epaphroditus to them and tells them to receive him with all gladness. He builds up his reputation and character, again setting the example of how we should treat our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Today's big takeaways are that we must be united as a body of believers. Christ is the head and we are His body. We are the working parts that go and tell others who He is. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, pray for our leaders, help the homeless, widows, and orphans. We are to give generously to the church so we can further the Kingdom of God. We are to have compassion and love. If we want to be moving in harmony with one another, we must be in the same mind. We will be in one mind and one accord when we think like Jesus, act like Jesus, love like Jesus, and give like Jesus. There is no other way. 

I hope this Bible study has been helpful to you. Please join me next time as we read the third chapter of this book. I enjoy breaking the Bread with you. I pray something I have said today has given you strength for your journey and light for your way! God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Transitions | Fuel For The Weekend

God told me to share my faith on Fridays and call it Fuel For The Weekend. I wanted to do it. I thought about it. I tried coming up with ideas on my own, but I just came up short, so I put the idea toward the back of my mind, but the Holy Spirit continued to nudge me in this direction. I am going for it and it's my desire that the posts I put up on Fridays will give you something to think about, ponder, consider, and reflect on throughout the weekend.

It's finally the weekend! This week has been a long one and battle after battle in the spiritual realm. This is the last weekend I will have off with my current employer. Starting Monday I will be on the final countdown of my 30 day notice. I begin a new job the following Monday and so I am in a bit of a transition period. It seems our country is in a pivotal moment as well. Many things are shifting and taking place in ways that are new and different and maybe even a little scary but we do not need to be afraid.

God spoke to me in my prayer time and quiet time of listening to His voice. He spoke to me in my spirit and I wrote down what He said. He told me that He was going to give me a job that I did not apply for. I had already experienced Him do that a few years ago and so I knew He would do what He said. I was not sure what I was going to do or where I would work but one day I got a call with a job opportunity, had the chance to interview that same day, and was hired on the spot! They were even willing to wait the 30 days it took for me to give my notice at work. I am looking forward to a new leg of this journey I am on and definitely in need of a change from my current work situation.

The election is the buzz around social circles everywhere. People are blasting one another with their opinions over who is the best candidate and who should be President. I am sad to hear so many people cut each other apart with their political debates, spewing hatred from their lips, appalled that anyone might have a different opinion than theirs. This division and strife does not come from Donald Trump or Joe Biden. These attacks are from satan and he desires to separate family and friends, neighbors and colleagues, and especially the church! We are the body of Christ: brothers and sisters and we must not allow the wiles of the devil to destroy what God has worked so hard to build.

I am praying for unity in the United States of America. We are not the Divided States of America. I am praying that families, churches, politicians, teachers, neighbors, friends, colleagues will come together with the common goal of sharing the message of hope, love, healing, and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ alone. I am praying that we can link arm in arm regardless of who we vote for and push past the pain we are causing each other. It's time to be known as God's children and we can only do that through love!

1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 

Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

John 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

1 Peter 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

Colossians 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind, one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Mark 9:50 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.

Luke 6:27-28, 31 (27) But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, (28) Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. (31) And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.

Friends, we are in the very end of time. For those who do not have their hearts ready, that may be a hard thing to hear. You may be fearful and reluctant to believe that time is ticking away. The Bible tells us we are like wildflowers here today and gone the next. None of us know when we will be called before God's throne to give an account of our life. None of us know when the trumpet will sound and God will call His people Home. We must not be afraid of that day. To the Christian who has prepared their heart it is a time of jubilee and celebration. Our King is coming and we get to go Home soon!

I am ready to leave this world of trouble and pain and suffering behind. I have many unsaved loved ones: family and friends. I do not want to see them be lost. I am praying for them and for those in my city of Mobile. I desire for God to set this city on fire for His glory and to further the Kingdom. My 13 year old son had been closely watching the election results and was getting concerned about the outcome. He said, "Mom, I think God wants me to tell you this. I think that the devil is just using this election to distract people from doing good things for God. We are all so busy checking our phones and watching for the results of the election that we don't have time to do things for God." Wow! I was so blown away! Yes, out of the mouth of babes! He is so right. God confirmed that in my prayer time but it is easy to see it when we walk in the Spirit and not after the flesh.

Please continue to pray for this nation, pray for President Trump and his family and VP Pence and his family. Pray for Biden and Harris and their families. Pray for the elected officials who have won and will soon serve this great country. Pray we turn our hearts back to God. Pray that we stop tearing each other down and start building one another back up. Pray for healing and unity and justice FOR ALL. We are created in the image of God and He sent Jesus to make us all free. We are free from the slavery of sin and bondage that held us bound and was sentencing us to eternal separation from God. We ALL have a chance to make it if we will strive to enter in to the gate. Straight and narrow is the way and few be there that find it. Make sure you are on that path. God has so many great things in store for His children. Do not grow weary. Do not give up and do not give in. God is is control and He is victorious. Through Jesus we are all more than conquerors and He always causes us to triumph!

God bless you! God bless America, and America, please bless God!

~Bridgett Owens