Glossary of Terms
Key Terms
Conceit
Excessive pride in oneself.
Rejoice
To feel or display great joy or delight.
Gospel
The good news, or the message of Jesus Christ. The gospel was the center of Paul’s preaching and rule by which he conducted himself to the glory of God.
Righteousness
God and all that comes from Him is righteous. Righteousness is native to God, but not to man. God credits righteousness to those who exercise faith in Him and surrender themselves to His will.
Grace
Undeserved acceptance and love received from another; the free and unmerited favor of God.
Sacrifice
An act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy, such as an expression of devotion, thanksgiving, or the need for forgiveness.
Hope
Trustful expectation; the anticipation of a favorable outcome under God’s guidance.
Salvation
The Biblical idea of salvation involves three notions: 1) The rescue from danger, harm, or death; 2) The renewing of one’s spirit; and 3) The restoration of a right relationship with God.
Humility
The personal quality of being free from arrogance and pride, and having an accurate estimate of one’s worth.
The Spirit
In Hebrew, the word “spirit” is ruach, and in Greek it is pneuma. Both can mean breath or wind, such as the breath of God that gave life to the first human. When capitalized, Spirit refers to the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit, who is a person in the trinity of God. The Spirit is a gracious, personal presence who lives in one who has confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Key People
Paul
The apostle Paul was an outstanding missionary, theologian, church planter, and writer of the early church. His writings make up nearly one fourth of the entire New Testament. Among those is the letter to the Philippians.
Epaphroditus
A friend and fellow worker of Paul from the church in Philippi. Epaphroditus traveled to Rome to care for Paul and bring him an offering from the Philippians during Paul’s imprisonment.
Euodia
One of the women mentioned in Philippians 4:2 who Paul urges to agree with another woman named Syntyche. Paul says of these women that they “labored side by side” with him in spreading the gospel.
Syntyche
A woman mentioned in Philippians 4:2 who Paul urges to agree with another woman, named Euodia. Paul says of these women that they “labored side by side” with him in spreading the gospel.
Key Places
Macedonia
Now a part of Greece, in Paul’s day, Macedonia was a Roman province that consisted of four large districts. The cities of Philippi and Thessalonica were within the province of Macedonia.
Philippi
Now a part of Greece, in Paul’s day, Macedonia was a Roman province that consisted of four large districts. The cities of Philippi and Thessalonica were within the province of Macedonia.
Thessalonica
The capital city of the province of Macedonia at the time that Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians. Thessalonica became one of the four capitals of the Roman Empire and the church that Paul helped to start there faced severe persecution.
