The book of Philippians was written by apostle Paul while he was in prison, possibly in Rome (Acts 28:30), Caesarea (Acts 24:7) or Ephesus (Acts 19:1). There is no consensus as to the exact period the letter was written because it is difficult to ascertain the place of imprisonment. The Philippians are culturally joyful people who gave willingly to the ministry. Topographically, the city was located in northeastern Greece (Macedonia), where Paul wrote in a tense political environment (Nikki, 2018). The book of Ephesians was also authored by Apostle Paul during his imprisonment in Rome between 60 and 62 AD (James, 2017). Ephesus is Western Asia, where the culture is characterized by commerce and multi-ethnicity. Politically, Christianity was considered misleading. Topographically, the town was arid or semi-arid, full of dust and camels used as the primary mode of transportation.
The two books that I selected for this discussion post are Philippians and Ephesians. Philippians is my favorite among Paul’s epistles to different churches because it gives a glimpse of the personality of Paul. The theme addressed is the cost of partnership in ministry. There are also other themes such as endurance, contentment, Christianity and unity. The issues discussed include prayers, humility, salvation, not trusting the flesh and giving. The letter is often an encouragement to me, when I am experiencing life challenges.
I love the book of Ephesians too because it provides in-depth doctrines on the eternal will of God which is to save humanity, renew them and unite them as the body of Christ. The book offers guidance on spiritual blessings, reconciliation of the gentiles, maturity in the Christian walk, Christian households and spiritual warfare (Owens, 2020). The letter has enabled me to understand my purpose, how to relate in family, church, and waging war against the dark world.
References
James, K. (2017). The King James version of the Bible [KJV] (illustrated). Full Moon Publications.
Nikki, N. (2018). The context of the letter to the Philippians. In Opponents and Identity in Philippians (pp. 65-89). Brill.
Owens, M. (2020). Ephesians: An introduction and commentary. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 63(3), 646-649.