Dr Paul Allen

  God may indeed be wholly other, supreme, sovereign, set apart from everything else, transcendent, unique. But it is clear from this letter that Paul does not therefore understand God as one who simply created the universe, including humankind and the world, and then proceeded to absent himself from this creation, allowing it to run along on its own, governed solely by the laws he established for it.  Rather, Paul understands God as present within this world, actively sustaining it, interestedly governing its affairs, very much involved in it, and, more importantly, as one who is intimately and kindly involved in the affairs of the people in this world.  He sees God as interested in the immediate and ultimate well-being of these special objects of his creative love and concern, drawing near them, intervening in their histories, giving them things to be thankful for, allowing them to experience pain and problems, setting the highest standards of expectations for them, and actively part

“I am able to do all things by the one who strengthens me.” Paul’s bold declaration in Philippians 4:13 is one of the most commonly quoted passages in the New Testament. We find the verse on everything—from clothing to tattoos, and even eye makeup is worn by professional athletes. A friend of mine recently quoted this verse to support her belief that God would help her achieve an exercise-related goal. The assumption is that Paul’s statement promises that we can accomplish any task in our lives because Christ will strengthen us. We invoke this verse to comfort ourselves and others in difficult circumstances. While the Bible affirms God’s ability to do anything he pleases (e.g., Matt 19:26 ; Mark 9:23 ; compare Job 42:2 ; Jer 32:17 ), this is not Paul’s point in Philippians 4:13 . The context of Philippians 4:13 If we look at the surrounding context of this passage, we find that Paul’s primary concern is the Philippian church’s financial support of his ministry. Philippians 4:13

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians  1:18 –21) In 1873, a man received a message from his wife, who had sailed with their four daughters to Europe, where he had planned to meet them soon. The note read, “Saved alone . . . .” She and the girls had been in a terrible collision at sea and their ship had gone down. All four daughters died. It was just the latest awful news in three horrifying years for the family. They had lost their son in 1870, then a massive fire ruined them financially the next year, all before the horrors of the accident at sea. The man was Horatio Spafford, and as he crossed the sea to meet his grieving wife,

Our Lord Jesus Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Author: Cripplegate. “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.” – Philippians 3:20–21 – Paul has been exhorting the Philippians to follow his example (Phil 3:17) in pressing on in the race of pursuing sanctification (Phil 3:12–14). In these verses, he gives two reasons, or motivations, that the believer in Jesus should be pressing on with all our might in our fight for holiness. Our Present Position The word “our” in that opening phrase is thrown all the way to the very front of the sentence in the original in order to show an emphatic contrast. Sensuality, shamelessness, and worldliness characterize the enemies of the cross (Phil 3:18–19). But as for us, Paul says, our citizenship is in heaven. A