Philippians Book II

The "Heavenly Citizens" series serves as a tool to help the Christian understand not only what the Bible teaches us, but also how to study the Bible. Explaining what the Bible teaches is like giving someone a fish to eat. Teaching him how to study the Bible is like teaching someone how to fish so he can feed himself. Both approaches are essential to developing spiritual maturity. "Philippians" is the sixteenth volume in the "Heavenly Citizens" series. The Apostle Paul begins this letter with a greeting from God the Father and God's Son Jesus. It is written to the Church of Philippi, located inland off the northern coast of the Aegean Sea in Macedonia (northern Greece). Philippi served as a sort of watchtower on the major overland route between Europe and Asia. Folks who served in the Roman Legions were rewarded with a retirement plan: after faithfully serving Rome for a lengthy tour of duty in the military, they were given property in various locations of the Roman Empire. They were also made Roman citizens. Philippi was a military outpost, where some of these retired Roman legionnaires lived out their golden years as citizens of Rome with landed property to their name. Unlike the churches in Galatia and the Church of Corinth, the Church of Philippi was not steeped in heresy. It was a strong and thriving church at the time of this letter, supporting the Apostle Paul on his missions trips as he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ and planted churches all over the Roman Empire. Truth be told, the Church of Philippi is best depicted as a "good church" by God's standards. But spiritual dangers inside and outside threatened this vibrant church notwithstanding. This is a long story, so we invite you to come inside and read all about it. Microwave Bible might be quick, but it never can nourish a growing boy into a spiritual man of God. So for a thorough understanding of these issues, we again invite you to come inside and join the Bible class with us. We plan to delve into each and every detail and get to the bottom of it. After all, we do want our church today to be spiritually vibrant and fecund, don't we? What better way to accomplish this, than to enjoy a thorough study of the Apostle Paul's Letter to the Philippians. The approach for "Philippians," and for every volume in the "Heavenly Citizens" series, is to teach the student the meaning of Scripture. We also teach him or her how to study the Bible on his/her own. We do this in two ways: we provide a few rules by which to govern our Bible study, and we demonstrate by example how to study the Bible. Experience is an outstanding teacher. In our books we practice the rules for Bible study. By walking through the Bible with us, the reader experiences firsthand what our method of study is like. We believe the student will come out of our studies with both an understanding of the Bible and the ability to truthfully understand the Bible on his/her own. The path lies before you. Walk through the gate and join the journey with us! And may the blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ be yours in abundance.