Philippians 3: what are you proud about?

Paul used to be proud about his lineage, education, and specially, his devotion in following the Torah.
The citizens of Philippi had advantages such as being considered Romans to the point of not paying taxes. A good Roman would declare that "Caesar is Lord!"
A Christian is proud of not what he does, but of what he received: justification by faith, made holy by faith.
A Christian is citizen of Heaven, and a Christian declares that "Jesus is Lord!".
A Christian is one who is the process of being transformed to the image do Jesus, to the point of resurrect from the dead:

10-11 I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.

Philippians 2: Power - corruption vs holiness

 Philippians 2: Power - corruption vs holiness

Lord Acton wrote in 1887: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". When man has power, he tends to use in his own favour - man is evil and do everything to keep in power; however, the Lord has power, and He uses in a very different way. Paul wrote about Jesus:

5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 therefore emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. 9 For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus is our great model. He decided to be abandon the power, to become weak (as a human) and serve us, sinners, instead of doing what every man does - use the power in his own benefit. We, Christians, should use the gifts of the Lord to serve others instead of serving ourselves. Imagine a world full of Christians: a very good place to live in.

Philippians 1: Prison

Paul was in jailed in Rome. Timothy was with him, in his house. Paul was missionary that loved the churches that he planted. Perhaps, I would ask to myself: "What would the Philippians would think of him? Would they be ashamed of Paul? Would they understand that the Lord was in control of everything?"; but Paul was much more focused on preaching the gospel, even in prison:

12 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, 13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the praetorian guard and to everyone else, 14 and that most of the brothers and sisters, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. 15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill; 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

Paul was also focused on the Philippians. 

9-11 So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.

Paul wanted to see Jesus more and more in the Philippians, he prayed for them to grow in love.

Romans 16: Greetings to the Jews and gentiles

Paul sends greetings to Jews (Herodion, Andronicus and Junias) and many gentiles as for instance Phoebe, from the church at Cenchrea - a port in Corinth. Probably, Paul was writing the letter from Corinth and sent it to the Romans by Phoebe; thus Phoebe had to be welcomed in a house in Rome. Paul asked the church to treat her well.
There were others with Paul, including Jews such as Jason and Sosipater.


17-18 One final word of counsel, friends. Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ. They’re only in this for what they can get out of it, and aren’t above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents.

The purpose of the disciples of Jesus is to live for the Master, but there were people using pious sweet talk to be accepted as Christians while in fact they were there to take advantage of the church. Paul said to avoid them. It is difficult to imagine such council being given today in a pulpit.

25-26 All of our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the final detail.

Paul knew all the Old Testament, but now, through Jesus the Old Testament was fulfilled, opening the blessings of the Lord to all nations.

Romans 15: Jesus came to Israel, blessing the gentiles.

In Romans 15, the Apostle Paul delivers a powerful climax to his letter, demonstrating that the profound theology he spent chapters building must ultimately bear fruit in mutual love, cultural reconciliation, and practical generosity.

The chapter opens with a direct appeal to the liberated and strong in faith—primarily the Gentile believers—urging them to actively support their over-scrupulous Jewish brothers. Paul writes that the strong must not live to please themselves; instead, they are called to "bear" or literally carry the heavy burdens and weaknesses of the fragile in faith. This is not a call for mere, passive tolerance, but for an active, self-giving love. The ultimate blueprint for this humility is Jesus Christ Himself, who did not seek His own comfort but emptied Himself to serve others.

To ground this unity, Paul turns to the historical and theological roots of the Gospel in verses 8 and 9. He reminds the Gentile believers that Jesus came as a servant to the Jewish people (the "circumcision"). This was not an afterthought; Christ came to Israel to demonstrate the absolute truth and fidelity of God, actively fulfilling and confirming the covenant promises made to the ancient patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Crucially, Paul explains that it is precisely because of this faithfulness to Israel that the floodgates of grace were opened to the rest of the world. The Gentiles do not receive a separate, independent blessing; rather, they are blessed as a direct result of God keeping His promise to the Jews. By witnessing God’s unwavering loyalty to His covenant people, the Gentiles are brought in to "glorify God for His mercy," joining their voices with Israel as one single, united choir.

Finally, Paul shows that this spiritual unity must take on a tangible, physical form. At the time of writing, he is on his way to Jerusalem to deliver a financial relief offering collected from the Gentile churches in Macedonia and Achaia. This was not a casual act of charity, but a deeply symbolic gesture of honor and debt. Paul reasons that since the Gentiles had shared in the spiritual blessings of the Jewish people, it was only fitting that they minister to them in their physical and material need. This collection served as a beautiful, concrete proof of the Gentiles' love for Israel, weaving together the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor, into one inseparable family under the lordship of Christ.

Romans 14: Jews and gentiles in the church of Rome

Christian Jews in Rome avoided certain foods and considered certain days as sacred (Shabbath). Gentile gentiles thought differently: foods and days are not important, faith in Jesus is important. Jews saw the gentiles as free from scruples while gentiles saw Jews as over-scrupulous.
The church must have the same thought in what is essential (Jesus is the Messiah, Son of God); each member is free on what is not essential (food and days), however one must love each other. It means that a gentile should not eat certain foods in the presence of his Jewish brother. 

Romans 13: The believer and the government

The Messiah was crucified by Rome, the government. The Lord was in control, even when the Messiah was crucified. The believer must be a good citizen and pay his taxes because the Lord is in control even of the kingdoms of this earth. The believer is called to love, to serve his family and his people. If the believer loves his neighbor , he will not have sex with his wife, he will not rob, etc. He will obey the commandments because he loves.