Learn a Bible Study Skill: Phillipians 1:27-2:1-18

Today’s passage is a large section. My division this way is intentional. You will notice I have then subdivided the passage for the next three days study (Vs 27-30, 2:1-11, 12-18)), but even today the large section is entitled to a whole day of reflection. That is because I want to teach you a skill. Every time we come to a larger division, I will teach you one more skill that will help you get the most out of the Bible.

Instructions: Read the whole passage, getting a general impression of it all, without trying to understand every detail. Then respond to the following questions:

1. Read 1: 27: Paul says, “Whatever happens…” what is Paul expecting to happen? Refer back to the passage we looked at yesterday, 1:19-26.


2. Look at 2:1-4: What is the one thing that Paul desperately hopes the Philippians will do in these verses? What are the lesser expressions of this one thing?


3. Vs 12-18: In what ways are the Philippians to work out their salvation with fear and trembling?

Have you responded to the above three questions? Well done! Now, remember the acronym S.O.A.P. that we learnt in Church last Sunday? You are already engaged in the first letter, S—Scripture, and now have just conquered the second letter, O—Observation.

Observation is simply looking at what is there. Read or listen in just as you would listen to a reporter tell the details of an accident. Sometimes you have to refer back to earlier verses or chapters. Sometimes you need to know the wider context of the whole book. But it is simply dealing with facts and details as they are stated in the text. It is the first step to understanding the bible. It is really simple, but sometimes we overlook it in our haste to find out what God's word for us for the day.

In most books of the bible, observation is also a key to understanding the circumstances of the author, his audience even his message. You do not need to read extra biblical sources to understand such books. For example the first three gospel and Acts are self-telling stories. Every time you read a book of the Bible, remember it was first written to a live audience that lived in real time and space, just like Newspaper reporters write their articles for real people that live within the same world as reporters. We shall discuss more about this later.

If you would like to practice the "observation" skill further, take a look at a little interesting and curious incidence that happened in 2 Kings 2:23-25. Before I tell you anything about that passage read and observe carefully, then post your observations on this blog. We will engage in further discussion about it.

Over the next three days we will take a closer study of each of the subsections just as we have done in the previous days.