The New Daily Study Bible
The Letters to the
Published by
SAINT ANDREW PRESS
121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN
© The William Barclay Estate, 1975, 2003
First edition published in 1959 as The Daily Study Bible: The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians Revised edition published in 1975 This third edition fully revised and updated by Saint Andrew Press and published as The New Daily Study Bible: The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians in 2003
The Scripture quotations contained herein are from The New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
ISBN 0 7152 0790 3
eISBN 978 0 8615 3647 4
The right of William Barclay to be identified as author of this work has been asserted according to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
Cover design by McColl Productions Ltd, by courtesy of Saint Andrew Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent.
Typeset by Waverley Typesetters, Galashiels
Printed in Great Britain by Creative Print & Design, Wales
TO
J. K. AND H. C. M.
WHOSE SYMPATHY AND KINDNESS
WE WILL NOT FORGET
CONTENTS
Series Foreword (by Ronnie Barclay)
General Introduction (by William Barclay, 1975)
General Foreword (by John Drane)
Editor’s Preface (by Linda Foster)
A General Introduction to the Letters of Paul
PHILIPPIANS
Introduction to the Letter to the Philippians
A Friend to his Friends (1:1–2)
The Christian Distinction (1:1–2) (contd)
The All-inclusive Greeting (1:1–2) (contd)
The Marks of the Christian Life
2. Christian Sacrifice (1:3–11) (contd)
3. Christian Partnership (1:3–11) (contd)
4. Christian Progress and the Christian Goal (1:3–11) (contd)
The Chains Destroy the Barriers (1:12–14)
The All-important Proclamation (1:15–18)
Citizens of the Kingdom (1:27–30)
The Causes of Disunity (2:1–4)
The Cure for Disunity (2:1–4) (contd)
True Godhead and True Humanity (2:5–11)
Humiliation and Exaltation (2:5–11) (contd)
Co-operation in Salvation (2:12–18)
The Signs of Salvation (2:12–18) (contd)
Pictures from Everyday Life (2:12–18) (contd)
The Faithful Companion (2:19–24)
The Courtesy of Paul (2:25–30)
The Indestructible Joy (3:1)
The Evil Teachers (3:2–3)
The Only True Circumcision (3:2–3) (contd)
Paul’s Privileges (3:4–7)
Paul’s Achievements (3:4–7) (contd)
The Worthlessness of the Law and the Value of Christ (3:8–9)
What it Means to Know Christ (3:10–11)
Pressing on (3:12–6)
Dwellers on Earth but Citizens of Heaven (3:17–21)
Great Things in the Lord (4:1)
Healing the Rifts (4:2–3)
The Marks of the Christian Life (4:4–5)
The Peace of Believing Prayer (4:6–7)
True States of Mind (4:8–9)
The True Teaching and the True God (4:8–9) (contd)
The Secret of True Contentment (4:10–13)