philippians-1:20-21-esv

The Apostle Paul said, "For me to live is Christ" (Phil. 1:21). For anyone to live a life which is Christ, he must have the mind of Christ. The first great principle which we meet in the life and character of the apostle Paul is self-displacement. Without this no one can live the Christ-life. Others... Read More

These mortal bodies of ours are but mere shells and the life is not in the shell. It is a temporary confine that enshrouds an ever-growing, ever-maturing life force and acts as a transient guardian of the life inside. The shell is synthetic in comparison to the eternal life it clothes. Every true Ch... Read More

When Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he was being held in a Roman prison, his feet chained to a soldier on either side. The conditions were horrible and Paul suffered great indignities, with no time alone and no freedoms. Think about it. Here was a man who had been very active, traveling t... Read More

As Paul faced his court trial in Rome, he was held under horrible conditions (see Philippians 1:13-14). He was guarded around the clock by soldiers of the Praetorian guard, his feet chained to a soldier on either side. These men were crude, hardened, cursing frequently. They’d seen it all, and to th... Read More

Paul said it: “To die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). That kind of talk is absolutely foreign to our modern spiritual vocabularies. We have become such life worshippers, that we have very little desire to depart to be with the Lord. Paul said, “I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, a... Read More

Can do (2480) (ischuo from ischus = might) means to be strong in body or in resources. Ischuo can speak of physical power (Mk 2:17, 5:4, 9:12). It can speak of having the required personal resources to accomplish some objective as here in Php 4:13 or conversely with the negative speaks of that which... Read More

Nullified (2673) (katargeo from kata = intensifies meaning + argeo = to be idle or inactive from argos = ineffective, idle, inactive from a = without + érgon = work) literally means to reduce to inactivity. The idea is to make the power or force of something ineffective and so to render powerless, r... Read More

Earnest expectation (603) (apokaradokia from apo = from + kara = the head + dokeo = look, watch) is only used twice in the NT but is a picturesque Greek word which literally means to watch with one's head erect or outstretched and so to direct attention, with intense expectation and earnest watching... Read More

Approved (1384) (dokimos from dokime = test, proof, trial = idea is that when you put metal through a fiery testing and it comes out on the other side enduring it "proven", "authentic" or "genuine" Click discussion of related word dokimazo and the antonym = adokimos) describes one who has stood the ... Read More

To be absent (1553) (ekdemeo from ek = from or out of + demos = originally a “divided portion,” the division of a people or territory, the people as inhabitants of a land or city) literally means to be away from people. Ekdemeo originally described movement from a geographic location and was used ... Read More