PHILIPPIANS is called the Joy Book for obvious reasons.
Joy is the theme of the book. The word joy or rejoice is recorded 19 times.
The book is an epistle because epistles were written to churches. Letters were written to people such as letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. The rest were epistles written to churches.
Paul was in prison when he wrote Philippians. The other three prison epistles are Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon.
Things to know to help you understand Philippians
Paul and Timothy first visited Philippi in Greece during Paul's second missionary journey.
The epistle was written to the church at Philippi, one of the earliest churches founded in Europe.
Paul wrote the book 10 years after his first visit to Philippi.
The people were very attached to Paul, just as he was very fond of them. Of all the churches, their contributions (which Paul gratefully acknowledged) are among the only ones he accepted.
Paul wrote four epistles while he was in prison: Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon.
Philippians is also known to have LEGS for the following reasons:
Chapter 1: Jesus is my Life. "For me to live is Christ . . ." (Philippians 1:21)
Chapter 2: Jesus is my Example. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:5)
Chapter 3: Jesus is my Goal. "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14)
Chapter 4: Jesus is my Strength: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13)
This is one of the few books written by Paul where he doesn’t have some kind of critique but only good things to say so it’s almost like a thank you letter.
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