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I. Philippians
А. The writer(s), the place, and the time
B. The subject
C. The background
D. The central thought
E. The general sketch
F. The sections
II. Colossians (A to F)
III. 1 Thessalonians (A to F)
IV. 2 Thessalonians (A to F)
V. 1 Timothy (A to F)
VI. 2 Timothy (A to F)
A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: This book was written by “Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and deacons” (1:1) from a prison in Rome (1:13; Acts 28:30), about A.D. 64. It may have been written after the book of Ephesians (see 1:25; 2:24).
B. The subject: the experience of Christ — taking Christ as our living, our pattern, our goal, our power, and our secret.
C. The background: [At the time the book of Philippians was written, the Judaizers were exercising their influence over the believers in Christ (3:2-4).] [According to 1:15-18, some were preaching Christ “because of envy and strife” and “out of rivalry.”] [Another aspect of the background of this book concerns a matter that is very positive, the participation of the Philippian believers with the apostle Paul in the furtherance of the gospel (1:5-7; 4:14-19).] [Even though the Philippian believers participated with Paul in the furtherance of the gospel, there was still at least some amount of dissension among them (1:27; 2:1-4; 4:2-3).] [The reason for this dissension lay in the fact that they were not one in soul. They had been regenerated in the spirit, but they had not yet been transformed in soul. They had no problem in the spirit, but there were at least some problems in the soul, particularly in the mind. Some among them had different concepts, and these different concepts were causing dissension.]
D. The central thought: [In 1:20 Paul says, “Christ shall be magnified in my body,” and in 1:21 he declares, “To me to live is Christ.” These two statements represent the basic concept of the whole book. In this book we are charged to magnify Christ and to live Him. To magnify Christ is not only to express Him; it is to express Christ by causing Him to be enlarged. We should magnify Christ by living Him in a practical way day by day. Our daily living should be a living that lives Christ.]
E. The general sketch: [In the four chapters of Philippians we see Christ as the One lived out and magnified, Christ as the pattern, Christ as the goal, and Christ as our inward strength. This book on the experience of Christ covers four major points: the expression, the pattern, the goal, and the strength. We all need to experience Christ in this fourfold way.]
F. The sections: 1) introduction (1:1-2), 2) to live and magnify Christ (1:3-30), 3) to take Christ as the pattern and hold Him forth (2:1-30), 4) to pursue and gain Christ (3:1-21), 5) having Christ as the secret of sufficiency (4:1-20), and 6) conclusion (4:21-23).
A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: This book was written by the apostle Paul and Timothy the brother (1:1) to the saints in Colosse (1:2). It was written from a Roman prison around A.D. 64, at about the same time as the book of Philemon (4:9-10; Philem. 10-12).
B. The subject: Christ — the all-inclusive One, having the first place in all things; the mystery and embodiment of God, the Head and portion of the church, the inheritance, life, portion, and hope of the saints, and the reality of all positive things.
C. The background: [The vital point concerning the background of the book of Colossians is that culture had been brought into the church life. The population of Colosse was a mixture of Gentiles and Jews. The Gentiles and the Jews had different cultures. For the most part, the Gentiles were under the influence of Greek culture with its philosophy. At that time, however, Greek philosophy was no longer pure. Rather it was a mingling of various philosophies. Furthermore, the Gentile culture was at least somewhat blended with Jewish religious concepts.
This mixture of cultures flooded the church at Colosse. The church should be a house filled with Christ and constituted with Him. Instead, the church there had been invaded by culture. To a large extent, Christ as the unique element in the church life was being replaced by various aspects of this mixed culture. The constituent of the church should be Christ and Christ alone, for the church is the Body of Christ. Therefore, the content of the church should be nothing other than Christ Himself. Nevertheless, the good elements of the culture, especially philosophy and religion, had invaded the church and saturated it.]
D. The central thought: [Paul’s purpose in the book of Colossians is to show that in the church nothing should be allowed to be a substitute for Christ. The church life must be constituted uniquely of Christ. He should be our only constituent and our very constitution. This is the reason that in this short Epistle a number of elevated expressions are used to describe Christ. For example, He is called the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, the firstborn from among the dead, and the body of all the shadows.]
E. The general sketch: In [Colossians Christ is revealed to the uttermost, much more than in Galatians. In Galatians Paul speaks of Christ being revealed in us, of Christ living in us, and of Christ being formed in us. But in Colossians he uses a number of special terms for Christ: the portion of the saints, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. In this short book, one aspect of Christ after another is unfolded. Therefore, Colossians reveals that Christ is profound and all-inclusive. The all-inclusive Christ transcends our understanding. Our need is to be infused, saturated, and permeated with Him until in our experience Christ is everything to us: our food, our drink, our feasts, our holy days, our Sabbath, our new moon, our everything. We must not allow anything to replace Christ or to be a substitute for Him. This is the central point of Colossians. Whereas Galatians reveals that Christ is versus religion and the law, Colossians reveals that Christ is versus everything because He Himself is the reality of every positive thing.]
F. The sections: 1) introduction (1:1-8), 2) Christ — the pre-eminent and all-inclusive One, the centrality and universality of God (1:9—3:11), 3) the living of the saints in union with Christ (3:12—4:6), and 4) conclusion (4:7-18).
A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: This book was written by Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians (1:1) around A.D. 54 while Paul was staying in Corinth during his second journey of ministry (1:1; 3:6; Acts 18:1, 5).
B. The subject: a holy life for the church life — serving the living God, having a sanctified human living, and awaiting the coming of the Lord.
C. The background: [The two Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians may be considered the earliest of Paul’s writings. Thessalonica was a city of the Roman Empire in the province of Macedonia, north of the province of Achaia. After the Macedonian call, which Paul received on his second journey of ministry, he and his co-worker Silvanus visited first Philippi and then Thessalonica (Acts 16:9-12; 17:1-4). The apostle stayed and worked there for only a short time, probably less than one month (Acts 17:2).]
[The books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians were not written to experienced Christians. They were written to young believers, to those who had been saved for less than a year. Most of them had been typical Gentiles. Therefore, in writing to them, Paul surely viewed them as young believers. These Epistles are very precious, for they render us particular help concerning the young Christian life and church life.]
D. The central thought: a holy life for the church life. [This holy life for the church life is constructed of faith, love, and hope. The way to carry out such a life is to be sanctified wholly. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Paul says, “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” If we would be sanctified wholly, we need to have our heart established blameless in holiness, and we need to preserve our vessel, our body, in sanctification and honor. Furthermore, all the parts of our being — our spirit, our soul, and our body — need to be preserved complete. This is to sanctify our entire being to have a holy life for the proper church life.] [In 2 Thessalonians Paul repeats much of what he has said in 1 Thessalonians. Like a father with a loving heart toward his children, Paul is repetitious. This is characteristic of parents, especially as they grow older. Again and again, they may say the same thing to their children. Therefore, 2 Thessalonians is a repetition and a further development of 1 Thessalonians. It is a repetition with warnings and corrections. In 2 Thessalonians 2 Paul warns the believers not to be misled. He also corrects them in order to bring them back to the right track. Nevertheless, the main subject — the holy life for the church life — is the same in both books. Furthermore, in both 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians we see the basic structure of the Christian life, a structure that includes faith, love, and hope.]
E. The general sketch: [In the two Epistles to the young church in Thessalonica, the genuine Christian life for the proper church life is revealed in a simple and brief way. It is a life of three dimensions in the light of the Lord’s coming back: faith as the beginning, the foundation; love as the process, the structure; and hope as the consummation, the topstone. Faith is toward God (1:8); love is toward the saints (3:12; 4:9-10); and hope is in the Lord’s coming (2:19). The first Epistle is for encouragement and comfort; the second is for correction and balance. The believers should live, walk, and work by faith and love in the hope of the Lord’s coming back; but we should not have the wrong concept that the Lord will come immediately, so that we need not do anything for the long run. These two Epistles may be considered the consummation of the Christian life for the church life. They conclude this section of the apostle Paul’s writings, which begins with the book of Romans.]
F. The sections: 1) introduction (1:1), 2) the content — a holy life for the church life (1:2—5:24), and 3) conclusion (5:25-28).
A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: This book was written by Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians (1:1) from Corinth around A.D. 54, as was 1 Thessalonians.
B. The subject: encouragement and correction concerning the holy life for the church life.
C. The background: See 1 Thessalonians.
D. The central thought: See 1 Thessalonians.
E. The general sketch: See 1 Thessalonians.
F. The sections: 1) introduction (1:1-2), 2) the content — encouragement and correction concerning the holy life for the church life (1:3—3:15), and 3) conclusion (3:16-18).
A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: This book was written by the apostle Paul to Timothy (1:1-2) around A.D. 65, after being released from his first imprisonment in Rome. He may have been in Macedonia when he wrote it (1:3).
B. The subject: God’s economy concerning the church.
C. The background: [At this point we need to see something concerning the grouping and the timing of Paul’s Epistles. Although Philemon is grouped with 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, it was actually written earlier, during Paul’s first imprisonment. Paul was imprisoned the first time because of the Jews, not because of persecution carried out by the Roman Empire. We know from Acts that Paul appealed to Caesar and this caused him to be sent to Rome, where he was imprisoned. During his first imprisonment, Paul wrote four books: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Thus, according to the time it was written, Philemon should be grouped with Colossians, Philippians, and Ephesians; however, in content it should be grouped, not with these Epistles, but with 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. Philemon was written not long before Paul’s release from prison. In the book of Philippians he expressed his expectation that soon he would be released and visit the churches. Not long afterward, Paul’s expectation was fulfilled. Having been released, he traveled to Ephesus, where Timothy was, and from Ephesus he went into Macedonia. From Macedonia Paul wrote the first Epistle to Timothy. Then from Macedonia he went to Nicopolis, where he wrote the Epistle to Titus. First Timothy and Titus, therefore, were written after Paul’s release from his first imprisonment. After approximately a year, Caesar Nero suddenly began to persecute Christians. At that time, Paul was accused of being the outstanding leader among the Christians. He was arrested and imprisoned again, this time due to Nero’s persecution. From prison, he wrote the Second Epistle to Timothy. In chapter four he indicates to his dear child Timothy that he was ready to depart, to be martyred, to be poured out as a drink offering.
During Paul’s first imprisonment, the churches were tested. This test showed that decline and degradation had set in. This decline was altogether due to differing teachings, teachings that were different from the ministry. This was the reason Paul charged Timothy to war a good warfare.]
D. The central thought: [First Timothy unveils to us God’s dispensation concerning the church. It is not easy to present such a brief yet all-inclusive summary of this book. Only when we dig into the depths of this Epistle do we realize that this is the subject. If we get into the depths of this book, we shall see that it can be summarized as a book which speaks of God’s dispensation, His New Testament economy, concerning the church.
In 1:4 Paul uses the marvelous term “God’s dispensation.” This dispensation is an economical administration. Hence, it refers to God’s economy. God’s economy is revealed in four expressions found in 1 Timothy 3: Great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifested in the flesh; the church is the house of the living God; the church is the pillar and base of the truth. God’s dispensation is related to the great mystery of godliness, to the manifestation of God in the flesh, and to the church as both the house of the living God and the pillar and base of the truth. When God’s dispensation is put together with these four matters, we see that 1 Timothy does in fact reveal God’s economy concerning the church.]
E. The general sketch: After the introduction, Paul reminded Timothy that he was left in Ephesus to charge others not to teach differently but to center on God’s dispensation which is in faith (1:3-17). He then charged Timothy to hold faith and a good conscience to keep the faith (1:18-20). Prayer is needed to carry out God’s desire for man’s salvation (2:1-7). Paul pointed out that the brothers and sisters in the church needed to have a normal life (2:8-15) and that the overseers and deacons are needed for the church’s administration (3:1-13). The proper church then functions as the house of the living God and as the pillar and base of the truth (3:14-16). But Paul predicted the decline of the church (4:1-5). Therefore, Timothy needed to be a good minister of Christ (4:6-16) and learn to deal with saints of different ages (5:1-16), with elders (5:17-25), and with slaves and money lovers (6:1-10) as a man of God (6:11-21a).
[In 1:4 we read of God’s dispensation, and in 6:11 Paul uses the expression “man of God.” Hence, this book begins with God’s dispensation and concludes with the charge to a man of God. God’s desire is to produce men of God by dispensing Himself into those who believe in Christ. A man of God is one who partakes of God’s life and nature (John 1:13; 2 Pet. 1:4) and thus becomes one with Him in His life and nature (1 Cor. 6:17) and thereby expresses Him. This corresponds to the mystery of godliness, which is God manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:16).]
F. The sections: 1) introduction (1:1-2), 2) God’s economy versus differing teachings (1:3-17), 3) the faith and conscience needed for the keeping of the faith (1:18-20), 4) prayer for man’s salvation (2:1-7), 5) the normal living in the church (2:8-15), 6) overseers and deacons for the church’s administration (3:1-13), 7) the function of the church — the house of the living God and the pillar and base of the truth (3:14-16), 8) the prediction of the decline of the church (4:1-5), 9) a good minister of Christ (4:6-16), 10) dealing with the saints of different ages (5:1-16), 11) dealing with the elders (5:17-25), 12) dealing with slaves and money-lovers (6:1-10), 13) a man of God (6:11-21a), and 14) conclusion (6:21b).
A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: The apostle Paul wrote this book to Timothy (1:1-2) around A.D. 67, during his second imprisonment in Rome, shortly before his martyrdom (4:6).
B. The subject: inoculation against the decline of the church.
C. The background: [This book was written at a time when the churches established through the apostle’s ministry in the Gentile world were in a trend of degradation, and the apostle himself was confined in a remote prison. Many had turned away from him and forsaken him (1:15; 4:16), including even some of his co-workers (4:10). It was a discouraging and disappointing scene, especially to his young fellow-worker and spiritual child, Timothy.] This was why Paul wrote this epistle to encourage, strengthen, and establish Timothy.
D. The central thought: [When Paul was writing this Epistle, he was fully aware that the churches were declining. However, because he was one who laid hold on the promise of eternal life, he was not discouraged or disappointed. He had something within him which never changed — the eternal, uncreated, incorruptible life of God. No matter how the environment may change, this eternal life remains the same. Because he himself was encouraged in the life of God and not disappointed by the situation, Paul wrote the Second Epistle to Timothy not only as an encouragement and strengthening to a younger co-worker, but also as an inoculation for the entire Body of Christ against the decline of the church.]
E. The general sketch: [The subject of 2 Timothy is inoculation against the decline of the church. After a word of introduction (1:1-2), Paul speaks of the divine provisions for the inoculation: a pure conscience, unfeigned faith, the divine gift, a strong spirit, eternal grace, incorruptible life, the healthy word, and the indwelling Spirit (1:3-14). Then he goes on to point out that the basic factor of the decline is the forsaking of the apostle and his ministry (1:15-18). In 2:1-15 Paul speaks of the inoculator, indicating that he must be a teacher, soldier, contender, husbandman, and workman. In the second half of chapter two he tells us of the spread of the decline, a spreading likened to that of gangrene (2:16-26). In chapter three Paul first speaks of the worsening of the decline, showing that it will become grievous times of deceiving (3:1-13), and then speaks of the antidote of the inoculation — the divine word (3:14-17). In chapter four there are three sections: the incentive to the inoculator — the coming reward (4:1-8); the issue of the decline — loving the present age and doing many evil things (4:9-18); and the conclusion (4:19-22). If we consider the outline of 2 Timothy, we shall see that it is not merely a pastoral book, a book for so-called pastors. On the contrary, it is a book written for inoculators, those who would inoculate others against the decline of the church.]
F. The sections: 1) introduction (1:1-2), 2) the divine provisions for the inoculation — a pure conscience, unfeigned faith, the divine gift, a strong spirit, eternal grace, incorruptible life, the healthy word, and the indwelling Spirit (1:3-14), 3) the basic factor of the decline — forsaking the apostle and his ministry (1:15-18), 4) the inoculator — a teacher, a soldier, a contender, a husbandman, and a workman (2:1-15), 5) the spreading of the decline — like that of gangrene (2:16-26), 6) the worsening of the decline — becoming grievous times of deceiving (3:1-13), 7) the antidote of the inoculation — the divine word (3:14-17), 8) the incentive to the inoculator — the coming reward (4:1-8), 9) the issue of the decline — loving the present age and doing many evils (4:9-18), and 10) conclusion (4:19-22).
