Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 2. The sovereign King's reign 47:5-9
  47:5-6 The writer viewed God as mounting His cosmic throne to rule over all the earth. Trumpets announced His ascent with a fanfare. The psalmist called all people to sing praises to God because He is the sovereign Lord.47:7-...
• 2. An invitation to all groups of people to honor Yahweh 96:7-10
  96:7-9 "Families"is literally "tribes."The Israelites invited all the Gentile groups to honor the true God. They invited them to bring offerings of worship to Him at the temple. Contrast this attitude toward the Gentiles with...
• The God of redemption 45:14-46:13
  This section develops the ideas that preceded by unfolding the characteristics of Yahweh that His people needed to appreciate in view of the shocking news that their new Moses would be Cyrus. It opens with an emphasis on God ...
• The Servant's calling 49:1-7
  "The first [biographical Servant] Song was a word from the Lord to the world about his Servant: Your plight is known, my Servant will deal with it' [42:1-4]; but the second [autobiographical] Song is the Servant's testimony h...
• The Servant satisfied 53:10-12
  This final stanza gives the explanation for the Servant's submissive suffering for sinners and so completes the song.53:10 The apparent miscarriage of justice just described (v. 9) would not be what it would appear to be. It ...
• 8. The consequences of Daniel's interpretation 2:46-49
  2:46-47 Clearly Daniel had done what everyone considered humanly impossible. He had told the king the dream that Nebuchadnezzar alone knew, and had perhaps even forgotten, and he had given an interpretation of the dream that ...
• 2. Prayer for deliverance 7:14-17
  7:14 Micah prayed that the Lord would again take an active role as the shepherd of His people Israel. Shepherding with His rod (Heb. shebet) implies kingly leadership. This is a request for the promised descendant of David to...
• The worship of the sovereign King 14:16-21
  14:16 The remaining former enemies of Israel who would not die would bow to the sovereignty of Yahweh (cf. 8:20-23; Isa. 2:2-4; 45:21-24; 60:4-14; Ezek. 40-48; Phil. 2:10). They would be expected to make annual pilgrimages to...
• 1. Jesus' admonition of the multitudes and His disciples 23:1-12 (cf. Mark 12:38-39; Luke 20:45-46)
  23:1 As we have seen, there were three groups of people present in the temple courtyard. These were the disciples of Jesus, His critics, namely the various groups of Israel's leaders, and the crowds of ordinary Israelites. Je...
• 3. Jesus' lamentation over Jerusalem 23:37-39 (cf. Luke 13:34-35)
  This lamentation should help us realize that the judgment Jesus just announced in such strong language was not something that delighted Him. It broke His heart. This is also clear from His personalizing the people in Jerusale...
• 4. The King's final instructions to His disciples 28:16-20 (cf. Mark 16:15-18; 1 Cor. 15:6)
  Whereas the chief priests used bribe money to commission the soldiers to spread lies, the resurrected Jesus used the promise of His power and presence to commission His disciples to spread the gospel.1091This is the final add...
• Message14
  Matthew presents Jesus in the purple and gold of royalty. Mark portrays Him in the brown and green of a servant who has come to do His Father's will.The message of the book is similar to Matthew's message. A concise statement...
• 1. Jesus' preparation in Gethsemane 22:39-46 (cf. Matt. 26:30, 36-46; Mark 14:26, 32-42; John 18:1)
  Luke organized his narrative so Jesus' praying in the garden follows immediately His instructions to the disciples about their preparing for the crisis to come. The present pericope shows Jesus' proper approach to it and the ...
• 3. The Son's equality with the Father 5:19-29
  The preceding controversy resulted in Jesus clarifying His relationship to His Father further. Jesus proceeded to reply to His enemies' charge that He was not equal with God the Father. This is the most thoroughgoing statemen...
• The response of the Jews 7:1-9
  "John 7 has three time divisions: before the feast (vv. 1-10), in the midst of the feast (vv. 11-36), and on the last day of the feast (vv. 37-52). The responses during each of those periods can be characterized by three word...
• The explanation of foot-washing 13:12-20
  13:12 Jesus now returned to His role as the disciples' teacher, which His change of clothing and physical position indicated. He began to explain the significance of what He had done, though full comprehension would come to t...
• 1. Jesus' requests for Himself 17:1-5
  17:1 "These things Jesus spoke"(NASB, Gr. tauta elalesen Iesous) clearly connects what follows with what Jesus had just been saying (cf. 14:25; 16:1, 4, 25, 33). Lifting up the eyes to heaven indicated prayer, as did Jesus' w...
• The request for glorification 17:24-26
  17:24 Here Jesus' request clearly included the Eleven with all the elect. He wanted them all to observe (Gr. theorosin) the glory that the Father would restore to the Son following His ascension (v. 5; cf. 1 John 3:2). This a...
• Paul's address to the Ephesian elders 20:17-35
  "Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders is the nearest approximation to the Pauline letters in Acts. Its general content recalls how in his letters Paul encouraged, warned, and exhorted his converts. Moreover, its the...
• 1. The folly of judging one another 14:1-12
  The apostle dealt first with the importance of not judging one another. This was a particular temptation to those Christians who believed that they should refrain from some practices that they believed were displeasing to God...
• Taking pride in the wrong things 4:6-13
  "With rhetoric full of sarcasm and irony he [Paul] goes for the jugular. His own apostleship, which he portrays in bold relief, contrasting his own shame' with their perceived high station,' is alone consonant with a theology...
• The positive reality 15:20-28
  Paul turned next to show that the resurrection of Christ makes the resurrection of believers both necessary and inevitable. The consequences of this fact are as glorious as the effects of His not being raised are dismal. Thos...
• B. The supreme motive for giving 8:8-15
  Paul cited the example of Jesus Christ's gift of Himself for needy humanity to motivate his readers further to finish their work of assembling the collection.8:8 Paul wanted his readers to understand that he did not want them...
• Supplication 1:17-23
  1:17 Paul returned to his concept of God as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ (v. 3; cf. Matt. 6:9). He combined with this fact the idea that all glory belongs to the Father (vv. 6, 12, 14; cf. Acts 7:2; 1 Cor. 2:8).Paul as...
• C. Doxology 3:20-21
  "The doxology is plainly the climax of the first half of Ephesians; it may be regarded as the climax of the whole letter, which rises to a spiritual peak at this point and then concentrates on practical outworkings."96The bas...
• The duty of husbands 5:25-33
  5:25 In the Greco-Roman world in which Paul lived, people recognized that wives had responsibilities to their husbands but not vice versa.137Paul summarized the wife's duty as submission and the husband's duty as love. The wo...
• Message8
  The Philippian Christians were special favorites of the apostle Paul. Their response to the gospel and their subsequent progress in the faith were exemplary. However the connections between Paul and Philippi that the New Test...
• Outline
  I. Salutation 1:1-2II. Prologue 1:3-26A. Thanksgiving 1:3-8B. Prayer 1:9-11C. Progress report 1:12-261. Paul's present imprisonment 1:12-182. Paul's anticipated deliverance 1:19-26III. Partnership in the gospel 1:27-4:9A. A w...
• A. Thanksgiving 1:3-8
  The apostle proceeded to express his sincere gratitude to God for his friends in Philippi. He did this to assure them of God's continuing working for them and his satisfaction with their partnership in the work of the gospel....
• A. A worthy walk 1:27-30
  The first sub-section (1:27-30) begins with a topic sentence that expresses Paul's desire for the Philippians. Then he proceeded to explain and to illustrate what constitutes a worthy walk (2:1-4:9)."With this section we come...
• The example of Christ 2:5-11
  This paragraph is the most important one in the epistle and the most difficult to interpret."By anyone's reckoning, 2:6-11 constitutes the single most significant block of material in Philippians."582:5 Paul introduced an ill...
• The responsibility of the believer 2:12-16
  "The detailed attention just given to the Christ-hymn must not obscure the fact that vv 12-18 are part of a larger parenetic section--1:27-2:18. Exhortation is resumed again through the frequent use of the imperative mood, or...
• The example of Epaphroditus 2:25-30
  Another messenger would arrive in Philippi before either Paul or Timothy. Epaphroditus would carry this epistle to its destination. Paul wrote this pericope to prepare for a proper reception of its courier and to draw attenti...
• Paul's charge to adopt his attitude 3:15-17
  3:15 In conclusion, Paul urged those who were mature among his readers to recognize that what he had said was true. He also promised that God would enlighten those who think differently about minor matters if their attitude w...
• C. Specific duties 4:2-9
  This last section (4:2-9) of the body of the epistle (1:27-4:9) deals with the same two subjects as the preceding two sections, unity and steadfastness, but in more detail. Paul gave his readers specific instructions about wh...
• 1. Restoring unity 4:2-3
  4:2 Euodia ("Success") and Syntyche ("Lucky") were evidently two women in the Philippian congregation.145"For the Pauline letters, this is a remarkable moment indeed, since Paul does here what he seldom does elsewhere in conf...
• 2. Maintaining tranquillity 4:4-9
  Paul gave his readers five other brief positive exhortations all of which are vitally important for individual and corporate Christian living. They all result in the maintenance of peace in the body so the saints can work tog...
• IV. Epilogue 4:10-20
  The apostle began this epistle by sharing some personal information about his situation in Rome (1:12-26). He now returned from his concerns for the Philippians (1:27-4:9) to his own circumstances (4:10-20). Notice the somewh...
• A. The recent gift 4:10-14
  First, Paul thanked his brethren for their recent gift that Epaphroditus had delivered to him (vv. 10-14).4:10 The "But"(Gr. de) that opens this section in the NASB is a bit misleading. It does not imply a contrast with what ...
• Bibliography
  Alford, Henry. The Greek Testament. 4 vols. Cambridge: Deighton, Bell, and Co., 1884.Barclay, William. The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians.Daily Study Bible series, 2nd ed. and reprint ed. Edinburgh: ...
• 2. In relation to all creation 1:15b-17
  "First-born"(Gr. prototokos) may denote either priority in time or supremacy in rank (cf. v. 18; Exod. 4:22; Ps. 89:27; Rom. 8:29; Heb. 1:6; Rev. 1:15). It may also denote both of these qualities. Both seem to be in view here...
• B. The primary responsibilities of the men and the women in church meetings 2:8-15
  "In this paragraph Paul continues his instructions on prayers' begun in verse 1. But now the concern is for proper demeanor on the part of the pray-ers.' But whythese concerns, and why in this way? And why the inordinate amou...
• B. The Superiority of God's Son 1:5-14
  The writer proceeded to explain the exaltation of Jesus Christ to help his readers appreciate the fact that He fulfilled Old Testament prophecy concerning the Son of David. He did this so they would appreciate Him properly an...
• A. Our Mission in the World 2:11-12
  Peter explained what Christian conduct should be negatively (v. 11) and positively (v. 12). Then he expounded more specifically what it should be positively in 2:13-4:11.2:11 "Beloved, I [or we] urge you"frequently marks off ...
• 3. Promise 3:9-11a, 12
  Jesus Christ gave no rebuke to this church, as was true of the church in Smyrna. He gave the Christians five promises instead.1. Their Jewish antagonists would eventually have to acknowledge that the Christians were the true ...
• The opener of the scroll 5:2-5
  5:2 The identity of the strong angel is probably unknowable. His loud voice indicated his authority and the importance of what he said. One with sufficient authority was necessary to open (Gr. anoixai) the scroll and by break...
• The worship of the Lamb 5:6-14
  5:6 As with our dreams, John's vision contained some unusual features. John saw the Messiah as a Lamb.229The Lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ at His first advent, meek and submissive to a sacrificial death as our substitute (...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• The Ascent Of Jesus
  Wherefore also God highly exalted Him and gave unto Him the name which is above every name; 10. That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth; 11. And th...
• III. The Christian Sharing In Christ S Glory.
  The same precise distinction between fashion' and .form.' which we have had occasion to notice in Phil. 2., recurs here. The fashion' of the body of our humiliation is external and transient; the' form' of the body of His glo...