Week 41: Prison Letters

Opening

Read Philippians 2:5-11 aloud together. Allow a moment of silence before beginning discussion.

Review Questions

1. Ephesians 5 – Walk in Love and Light: Paul commands believers to “be filled with the Spirit” (5:18) rather than drunk with wine. What is the significance of this contrast, given the religious practices of Ephesus and the wider Greco-Roman world? How does Spirit-filling reshape worship, relationships, and daily conduct according to verses 19-21?

2. Ephesians 5 – Marriage as Mystery: Paul calls the one-flesh union of husband and wife a “profound mystery” that refers to Christ and the church (5:32). How does this theological grounding transform the household code from a set of social conventions into a gospel witness? What does it mean for a husband’s love to mirror Christ’s self-sacrifice?

3. Ephesians 6 – The Armor of God: Paul identifies the believer’s battle as “not against flesh and blood” but against cosmic spiritual powers (6:12). Each piece of armor is drawn from Old Testament passages where God himself wears the armor (Isaiah 11:5; 59:17). What does it mean that we are being clothed in God’s own character? Which piece of armor resonates most with your current circumstances?

4. Philippians 1 – Joy in Chains: Paul declares that his imprisonment has “really served to advance the gospel” (1:12). How does Paul’s perspective challenge the assumption that suffering and effectiveness are opposites? What does it reveal about God’s ability to use our limitations?

5. Philippians 2 – The Christ Hymn: The hymn traces Christ’s descent from “the form of God” through incarnation and crucifixion, then his exaltation to the “name above every name.” How does Paul’s application of Isaiah 45:23 (where Yahweh receives universal worship) to Jesus shape our understanding of who Jesus is? What are the implications for monotheism?

Going Deeper

1. Household Codes in Context: Paul’s instructions to wives, husbands, children, parents, slaves, and masters in Ephesians 5-6 have been both cherished and contested throughout church history. How does reading them in their original Greco-Roman context – where the patria potestas gave fathers absolute power and slaves had no legal standing – change the way we hear Paul’s words? In what ways was Paul subverting the social order rather than merely reinforcing it?

2. Kenosis and Daily Life: The Christ Hymn (Philippians 2:5-11) is introduced with the practical command to “have this mind among yourselves.” How does the pattern of self-emptying and divine exaltation apply to conflicts within the church? Can you think of a specific situation where adopting the “mind of Christ” would require you to release a legitimate claim or privilege for the sake of another?

3. “To Live Is Christ, to Die Is Gain”: Paul’s statement in Philippians 1:21 is one of the most quoted verses in the New Testament. How does this confession differ from both the Stoic acceptance of death and the modern tendency to avoid the subject entirely? What does it reveal about the depth of Paul’s union with Christ?

4. Rubbish Compared to Christ: In Philippians 3, Paul counts his impeccable Jewish credentials as “rubbish” (skybala) compared to knowing Christ. He does not deny the reality of his achievements – he acknowledges them fully before discarding them. How does this model challenge both those who rely on religious performance and those who feel they have nothing to offer God?

5. Citizenship in Heaven: In a Roman colony like Philippi, citizenship was the supreme mark of social identity. Paul declares that believers’ true politeuma (“citizenship/commonwealth”) is in heaven (3:20). How should heavenly citizenship shape our relationship to national identity, political loyalty, and cultural belonging in our own context?

Application

• This week’s challenge: Memorize either Philippians 2:5-8 (the Christ Hymn) or Philippians 3:13-14 (pressing on toward the goal). Let the passage shape your inner dialogue throughout the week – when you face a choice between self-assertion and humble service, or when you are tempted to look backward rather than forward.

• Relational step: Identify one relationship where the pattern of Ephesians 5:21 (“submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ”) is being tested. This week, choose a specific act of deference, service, or sacrificial love that embodies the mind of Christ described in Philippians 2.

• Reflective practice: Spend time this week with the Armor of God passage (Ephesians 6:10-18). Each morning, deliberately “put on” one piece of the armor through prayer. On Monday, pray for truth. On Tuesday, pray for righteousness. On Wednesday, pray for the readiness of the gospel. On Thursday, pray for faith. On Friday, pray for the assurance of salvation. Over the weekend, practice wielding the sword of the Spirit by memorizing a passage that addresses a specific area of temptation or struggle in your life.

Memory Verse

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” – Philippians 2:5-8

Alternate: “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14

Prayer Focus

Pray for one another in the areas where this week’s readings have spoken most directly: marriages and family relationships that need the pattern of Christ’s self-giving love; spiritual battles that require the full armor of God; circumstances of suffering or limitation where joy seems impossible; areas of life where past credentials or past failures are preventing a forward-leaning faith. Close by reading Philippians 2:9-11 together as a declaration of worship: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”