The Peace of God v1: [that is how you should stand firm in the Lord!]. A tip that Paul is ending this epistle. All the things he wrote earlier are how christian should live in order to stand firm in the Lord. v2: [..Euodia…Syntyche to agree with each other..]. These two sisters in Christ were … Read more
No confidence in the flesh (v1-6) Men by nature are arrogant and proud of what we accomplished in the flesh. Men also have the tendency to put our confidence, or to depend on our earthly experience, social status, power and money. Paul had many reasons to put his confidence in the flesh, but praise God … Read more
United In Christ (1-5) Paul’s joy is complete (v2) when he sees the Church of Christ is united in Christ (v1). What is the meaning of united in Christ? It is when all believers think like Christ, with the love of Christ, are one in spirit, have their purpose in Christ, and have the attitude … Read more
The church in Philippi Paul responded to the vision of Philippi and went to Philippi on his second missionary trip (Act 16:10). Paul preached the gospel to Lydia and her family and the Philippian jailer and his family. They responded to the gospel (Acts 16:33) and was baptized, that was the beginning of the church … Read more
Authors Paul and Timothy Recipients All the saints, overseers and deacons. These are the members of a local church. Thanksgiving and Prayers (v1-11) v3: how often do we remember other believers in our prayers? v3: Do you thank God in your prayers? Or do you just know how to ask God for things? v4: There … Read more
Warning to the Rich (v1-6) v1: Notice James used “you rich people” instead of “dear brothers” as in the rest of the epistle. His stern tone has continued from chapter 4 to chapter 5. v2: All of our earthly material treasures will one day corrode and vanished. v3: James especially rebuke rich people that didn’t … Read more
Three Enemies that Prevent Us to be matured in Christ (v1-12) v5: This is a very difficult verse to understand, because it is not obvious whether James was referring to the “Holy Spirit” or our own “spirit”, and not obvious whether he was referring “envies” as in good envies, or bad envies. My take is … Read more
How to Use Our Mouth We can find out a lot about a believer’s maturity by just listening to his words. Words are powerful tools given by God to His children to teach the word of God, to praise Him, to encourage and edify others like spring with fresh water, and to product fruits. v1: … Read more
Favoritism Forbidden v1: If we shown favoritism to people base on social status, outward appearance, wealth or anything else, we are not worthy to be believer of the glorious Lord (v1), because that is no glory in favoritism. v2-4: do you look down to people based on their outward appearance? v5: Notice how James call … Read more
Author and Recipients (v1) There are many James in the NT, most of them were on the upper room praying after the ascession of the Lord Jesus (Acts 1:13). The author is the brother of Jesus. The recipients are Christians Jews that were scattered among the nations, those who live outside of Jerusalem. Trials and Temptations … Read more
