Skip to content

Passage Research

Philippians 4 — Sermon Preparation

Below is a research summary for Philippians 4, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.

23
verses
357 / 156
Greek words / lemmas
30
classic sermon excerpts
6
preachers & commentators

Philippians 4 in the Greek

Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.

Greek Transliteration Strong's Count KJV renderings
φρονέω phronéō G5426 3 set the affection on, care, mind, regard
περισσεύω perisseúō G4052 3 abound, abundance abundant, be the better, enough and to spare
ἀσπάζομαι aspázomai G782 3 embrace, greet, salute, take leave
χαίρω chaírō G5463 3 farewell, be glad, God speed, greeting
ἐπιζητέω epizētéō G1934 2 desire, enquire, seek
οἶδα eídō G1492 3 be aware, behold, can, consider
ἀδελφός adelphós G80 3 brother

How preachers through history handled this text

30 public-domain excerpts on Philippians 4, from the church fathers to the Puritans.

Alexander MacLaren 9 Spurgeon 9 Matthew Henry 5 Calvin 4 Chrysostom 2 John Wesley 1

“The apostle ends with praises to God. We should look upon God, under all our weakness and fears, not as an enemy, but as a Father, disposed to pity us and help us. We must give glory to God as a Father. God's grace and favour, which reconciled souls enjoy, with the whole of the graces in us, which flow from it, are all purchased for us by Christ's merit, and applied by his pleading for us; and therefore are justly called the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise), on Philippians 4:20–30 (Public Domain)

Places in the text

Based on ancient-geography data

  • Macedonia — Phil 4:15
  • Thessalonica — Phil 4:16

Need the complete sermon prep report on this passage?

Greek exegesis, historical background, current scholarship, sermon outlines, illustrations — a complete PDF report on Philippians 4, delivered in 45 minutes.