Philippians For You

God's Word for You

by Steven J. Lawson, John F. MacArthur Jr. (Foreword)

The book of Philippians is about how to live with great joy and firm faith even when circumstances are hard. Written by Paul from his prison cell, it calls us to rejoice together as we shine gospel hope in a generation that does not know Christ. Dr Steven Lawson brings his trademark faithfulness, precision and passion to this wonderful letter.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, New Testament, Reference, Biblical Studies, Christian Non Fiction

235 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2017

About the author

Dr. Steven J. Lawson is the Senior Pastor of Christ Fellowship Baptist Church in Mobile, Alabama, having served as a pastor in Arkansas and Alabama for the past twenty-nine years. He is a graduate of Texas Tech University (B.B.A.), Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M.), and Reformed Theological Seminary (D. Min.)

Reviews

[David J. Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a technical commentary, delving into the most heated debate and explaining the most nuanced elements of Philippians. But it comes from someone who understand those issues, and who has approached with them with both academic integrity and a pastor's heart. Dr. Lawson is, above all else, a man that loves powerful expositional preaching. His writing channels that passion to others. The entries on the texts in question are exegetically faithful, homiletically-oriented, and extremely practical. It is not the only commentary one would want to have while going through the book, but for its kind, it is the best I have come across so far.

[Morgana Mendonça dos Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro que me levou a oração várias vezes.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

2021 Reading Challenge - A book about a book of the Bible

[Reagan Bon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great companion for an in-depth study of the book of Philippians! I benefited greatly from Lawson's commentary, and would definitely recommend it to others. It's doctrinally solid, comforting, convicting, and very readable. If he had commentaries like this one on other books of the Bible, I would definitely consider purchasing them for future studies.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent homiletical commentary. Lawson excels in his approachability to the text. He often gets bogged down on etymology, as is his manner. Overall, it helped me preach through Philippians, but I could have preached through it without this commentary as well.

[J Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lawson made some good points in this book, such as the misapplication of "I can do all things through him who strengthens me," and the destructive toll of bitterness.

However, overall, this was my least favorite of the "For You" series so far. Lawson is very wordy, restating his point several times in different words. At times, it felt like he was just trying to meet a word count. I also felt that some points he made very prominent were not truly the point the text was making.

I would not recommend this book, as I believe there are better studies of Philippians available.

[Kevin Burrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good application and well thought out. Strong Christ focus. The major themes get covered and repeated well. Downsides: Lawson often quotes other commentaries unnecessarily (saying obvious things that he could’ve just as easily said in his own words). The study questions are hit and miss. Homiletical but no illustration. And, like all the books in the series, the glossary is distracting (certain words are in bold in the text and defined in the back) and even a little patronizing at times: do we really need to get definitions of words like ‘alumni’, ‘edification’, ‘synonym’, or ‘prefix’?

[Phil Butcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

The "For you" series is fantastic. Sadly this is ok but not the best. Why? Unlike most of the others it lacks insightful application and illustrations. It is a lot drier! On the plus side every verse is explained, which is really helpful.

[Todd Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid, entry-level commentary intended for lay people. It's not the deepest read at all, but it is very good for a foundational introduction to the book. As I taught through it, I found quite a few good quotes to add into a lesson. That's not surprising coming from Lawson.

[Bill Pence · Rating 5 out of 5]

The God's Word For You is a series of expository guides from The Good Book Company which walk you through books of the Bible verse-by-verse. I have previously read and benefitted from Tim Keller’s books in this series. This summer, my wife and I decided to utilize Steven Lawson’s volume on Philippians for our study.
This volume uses the New American Standard Bible (NASB) translation. The author is a passionate and respected expositor of God’s Word and a Ligonier Teaching Fellow that I have heard preach many times.
Each volume of the God’s Word’s For You series takes you to the heart of the Bible and applies its truths to your heart. The books are Bible centered, Christ glorifying, relevantly applied and easily readable. The books can be used for reading, for feeding and for leading. You can read them simply as a book or use them to feed on God's word as a daily devotional, complete with reflection questions. You can also use them as you prepare to lead small-group Bible studies or teach in your church. The books are not commentaries. Verse references are marked in bold so that you can refer to them easily. Each chapter is divided into two shorter sections, with questions for reflection at the end of each. The books can be read individually or as part of a book club with others, such as my wife and I are doing. The books do not require that the reader has a high degree of biblical knowledge.
The author tells us that he used Philippians as the last series for the church where he had served as pastor. He gives us seven reasons why he did so, and why the book is important to our spiritual lives. He writes that Philippians is:
• An intensely personal book
• A joy producing book
• A gospel-focused book
• A doctrinally-rich book
• A prayer-inclining book
• A holiness-growing book
• An eternity-gazing book
The author tells us that as you study the book of Philippians, you should expect to experience a greater realization of the fullness of God in Jesus Christ for your lives. He writes that the we should expect to grow in a desire for holiness as we walk through the letter.
Philippians for You offers is an excellent resource for studying this wonderful book, using the God's Word For You series format and a respected teacher. Highly recommended.

[Brandon Atwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

My notes while reading:

- the way he writes makes everything seem very simply black and white and life isn’t like that. It feels like he’s only teaching the surface level of the text.

- I’m really tired of authors relating Jesus’s teaching to battle and war. Jesus never used war as an allegory to his teachings. It always seems like we’re conflating the Gospel with our own interests when we do this.

- There are theological principles I disagree with. Not saying they’re wrong and I’m right, but that does detract from the overall experience. There are still plenty of good takeaways that I’ve enjoyed reading and reinforcing.

- I was hoping that this would be a verse by verse breakdown of Philippians that dives into context, original Greek, Old Testament parallels, etc. but the author just uses each set of verses to postulate his theology. It’s not inherently wrong, it’s just not what I was wanting from this book and it gets boring reading the same Christian talking points throughout each chapter. This book took me forever to finish because it was so hard to want to pick up.

- A decent amount of legalism written about and how we should follow “what is moral”.

- This book is part of a series and the series is written by a number of different authors, Tim Keller being one of them. I’m curious if I would like that more. Might try

[Sarah Herbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

My church small group read through this book together. The books in this series are a great way to read through a book of the Bible with context and commentary written right in as you go through the scripture. There were some places in this particular book where the author held a very stark black-and-white viewpoint that I didn't necessarily agree with, but it allowed for some open dialogue within our group.

[Mitch Bedzyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple, accessible, verse-by-verse commentary of Philippians by a brilliant expositor. Lawson aims at providing pastors and teachers with a guide for helping their congregations and small groups understand and apply Scripture.
Our church has benefited greatly from this book and others in the “God’s Word For You” series. Highly recommended.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this commentary as a companion to my memorisation of the book of Philippians. This is very easy to understand and really highlights the wonderful themes Paul brings out within the letter. The For You series has been fantastic and this one is no exception. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to study Philippians.

[José · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first, but not the last!

My first read in the “For You” series and it won’t be the last one. I’ll come back to Philippians and my guess is I’ll be visiting these commentaries for years to come.

[Kieran Grubb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, contextual, deep study of Philippians. No complaints regarding the content.

However, this guy tends to bulk out every paragraph with about three sentences that say the same thing in different ways...

The book could have been half the size.

Still good though.

[Kerr Howell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource to deepen your understanding of the Philippi believers and what God is telling us today. I used this as a foundation to my youth groups 10 month study of Philippians. Great for individual study or group study.

[Andy Wehrhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't help to to feel like there was more meat on the bone when it came to the book of Philippians compared to other books in the series. The author leans heavily on word translations, which while helpful, made it feel like there could be more exposition and application.

[Mike Rue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall good material. However it is really hard to focus on the truths of this writing in light of the author's moral failings. I can't throw the baby out with the bathwater, but much of the book feels hypocritical at this point.

[Mundy Carroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have enjoyed this series tremendously.

[Lizette Vega · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light commentary on the book of Philippians. My only critcism for the book is that in the different sections the information appears repititious. Otherwise, it is a good read.

[Arlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tendency towards redundancy but some good reminders.

[Travis Agnew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lawson's commentary on Philippians is warm, pastoral teaching on this beloved epistle. He strikes the perfect balance of giving you insight but also application.

[Timothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Read most of it. A helpful exposition on Philippians.

[Beverley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good commentary to read as I prepare Bible studies for my church women's group.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful resource for studying alongside Philippians! Verse by verse commentary. Highly recommend. Content: Biblical, clean

[Joel Lomman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can smell colour now.

[Matt Drane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly basic (by design), but there are still several good and helpful nuggets throughout

[Wassenario · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philippians is just such a great book. Definitely good wisdom for my life.

[Hannah Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful resource about the book of Philippians! I love the reflection questions in each chapter and the thorough breakdown of this wonderful, challenging book on joy!