Swindoll Study Bible and Searching the Scriptures - Flipbook - Page 10
SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES
2. Interpret: Now that you have your observations about Philippians 4:4-9, it’s time to
interpret this passage.
Read Philippians in its entirety (it probably won’t take you more than fifteen or twenty
minutes).
Review Philippians 1:1-30 to get some of the context in which Paul wrote this letter.
In spite of Paul’s imprisonment, what did he command the young church in the city of
Philippi to do in Philippians 4:4-9? Why?
Don’t forget to consult resources! Read the Introduction to Philippians starting on
page 1485 of this Bible, and pull out your Bible dictionary. Try looking up Philippians,
Paul, prison, joy, or anything else you think might help you dig deeper into the meaning
of this passage. Write down some of what you learn that you think might be significant:
3. Correlate: It’s time to correlate Paul’s teaching with other key passages that will help
you understand what Paul means.
Carefully read Matthew 6:5-7, James 4:3, and Psalm 66:18, and observe what they say.
Use your concordance (or the NLT Dictionary/Concordance in this Bible beginning on
page 1777) and find other passages that may be relevant. Look carefully at our passage
in Philippians and identify key words you might want to try looking up. Don’t forget to
read the other verses in context! Write important findings below:
Verse:
Correlation:
Verse:
Correlation:
Verse:
Correlation:
Verse:
Correlation:
Verse:
Correlation:
Verse:
Correlation:
Verse:
Correlation:
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