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PHILIP
(Study on the Twelve Apostles)
(MBC - Wednesday PM, April 26, 2023
In what place the name of Philip mentioned in all the lists of the disciples of Jesus Christ.
Check the correct answer:
There was another man in the Bible who is also named Philip (Acts 6:5; Acts 8; Acts 21:8).
Acts 6:5 “And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:”
Acts 8:26-40 “And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.”
Acts 21:8 “And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.”
Additional information for this man Philip the evangelist:
Philip bore a Greek name. Philip the evangelist first mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 6:5) as one of "Seven Deacons" who were chosen to attend to certain temporal affairs of the church in Jerusalem in consequence of the murmurings of the Hellenists against the Hebrews.
After Stephen died in martyrdom, Philip the evangelist went to "the city of Samaria", where he preached evangelistic sermons with much success, and one of his converts was Simon Magus. Afterwards Philip the evangelist was told by an angel of the Lord to go to the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. There Philip meet, instructed and baptized the Ethiopian eunuch; next Philip the evangelist was "caught away" by the Spirit and "found at Azotus" (Ashdod); and then "passing through Philip preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea" (Acts 8). Here some years afterwards, according to Acts 21:8–9, where Philip is described as "the evangelist" (a term found again in the New Testament only in Ephesians 4:11; 2 Timothy 4:5), then Philip the evangelist entertained Paul the Apostle and his companion on their way to Jerusalem; at that time "Philip had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy"
The other Philip, the man whom we are studying is called Philip the _________________ (Matthew 10:2-3)
Matthew 10:2-3 “Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;”
While the other Philip that is recorded in Acts 8 is called Philip the ________________ (Acts 21:8).
Acts 21:8 “And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed, and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.”
These two men with the same name Philip both loved and faithfully served the Lord faithfully.
I – PHILIP FOUND THE SAVIOR
When we read John 1 of the gospel of John we learned of this man Philip the Apostle. Read John 1:44 and give the name of the hometown of Philip _____________
John 1:44 “Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.”
This hometown of Philip was located on the shore of the sea of Galilee and it was a small village and a place of opportunity for fishing industry.
According to John 1:44, who were other disciples come from this small village hometown? ______________________ .
Regarding when did Jesus called Philip, read John 1:43 and put the missing word.
John 1:43 “The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, __________ me.”
Do you agree that Philip did also what Jesus did? ____________________
As Jesus found Philip, did Philip also found Jesus? ____________________ (John 1:45)
John 1:45 "Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Philip testified he meets the Lord.
Based on John1:45, Philip was looking or seeking the prophesied promised Messiah, King of the Jews. Did Philip find Jesus of Nazareth whom he was seeking for? ________ . Complete the phrase on what did Philip said, “We have ________ him.”
Read the great assurance in I Chronicles 28:9 that anyone who seek God will find God. Complete the missing words.
I Chronicles 28:9 “If thou _____________ him, he will be _____________ of thee;”
Are you saved? If not, are you seeking for a Savior? Are you looking and seeking Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and to be your Lord and your God?
II – PHILIP FINDS SOMEONE
Based on the sequence in finding someone, it was first Jesus who found Philip (John 1:43), and Philip found Jesus (John 1:45). After Philip had found Jesus, he desires to find to someone (John 1:45). Normally as expected soon as a believer found the Savior Jesus Christ, the believer wanted to find someone whom he can share about the Savior he found.
Philip wanted to share to someone the great discovery he made. Philip had a desire to share the Savor he discovered to his friend Nathaniel. Do you wanted to share to your friends and love ones about the Savior or salvation you have found.
On the other hand, read John 1:41, and know that after Andrew found the Messiah, the Savior Jesus Christ, he immediately went and share what he found to whom? ______________ .
John 1:41 “He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.”
Philip did what Andrew did to his brother Simon Peter. Read John 1:45 and learn that after Philip found the Messiah, the Savior Jesus Christ, he immediately went and share it to whom? _________________ .
John 1:45 “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
After Andrew found Jesus, he told quickly his brother Peter that he met Jesus, and also after Philip found Jesus, he told quickly his friend Nathaniel that he met Jesus. How about you after you found your Savior Jesus Christ, to whom you want to share?
There are two valuable lessons we need to learn from what happened in the lives of Andrew and Philip.
1. The Importance of finding personally the Christ.
At this point of our study, it is so important to find Christ and meet Him in a personal way.
We know of some church goers and attendees who attended Sunday school every Sunday and daily read their bibles, and yet these people have never really found the Savior Jesus Christ and know not Jesus in a personal way. Listen, Jesus Christ wants to come into your life and make Jesus a very real person part of your life. Jesus Christ stands at the door of your knocking; He wants to come in your life (Revelation 3:20).
Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
If Jesus knocking at the door of your heart, what must you do? (Revelation 3:20)
How can you open the door of your heart? (Ephesians 3:17) ________________________
Ephesians 3:17 “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith:”
Have you already let Christ come into your life as your personal Savior? ______________________
Since Benjamin Franklin never discovered the telephone, that is why he could never share with anyone else about the discovery of telephone. It was about 100 years later that Alexander Graham Bell invented and discovered the telephone. What we want to say is that a person cannot share with others about something that he never found or discovered himself first. A person must first discover Christ for himself, and only then that person can begin to share Jesus Christ with others. How can a person share with others about the Savior and share how to get saved if himself do not yet discover Jesus Christ, the only Savior.
There was something happened to Andrew, before Andrew ever went to his brother Peter to share something; there was something happened to Philip before Philip ever went to his friend Nathaniel to share something.
How about you, has something happened to you? Have you discovered a wonderful person in your life? (Isaiah 9:6) _____
Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor; The mighty God, The everlasting Father; The Prince of Peace.”
Have you found Jesus as your wonderful Savior and your friend and your Lord? __________________
2. The Initiative after you found the real Christ
Look the example of Andrew and Philip after they had found the Savior:
1. Andrew told his brother Peter what he had found (John 1:41 “He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.”)
2. Philip told his friend Nathaniel what he had found (John 1:45 “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”)
There are many lost people in the world whether they are your friend or they are you love ones whom you know who have never yet met Christ as their personal Savior. Your friend and some members of your family have never discovered who Jesus really is and what Jesus has done for their sins. Have you told them what you have found? _____________
How can you help these people who have not found what you have already found? _______________ . Go out and seek others then share them what you have found!
Notice, what Philip said to Nathaniel in John 1:45 “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law and the prophets, did write”. It seems that Philip was a man who was familiar with the Scriptures. Philip knew what God had said in His Word.
Probably Philip may have been thinking about what Moses had written regarding the coming Messiah in Deuteronomy 18:15-19
Deuteronomy 18:15-19 “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; 16 According to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. 17 And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. 18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”
In verse 15 of that great passage mentioned about the Great Prophet who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philip the Apostle knows of several passages written by the prophets of the Old Testament who prophesied concerning of the coming Savior-King. See the following Old Testament passages:
Micah 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
Isaiah 40:3-5 “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”
Jeremiah 23:5-6 “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.”
The whole Old Testament scriptures looks ahead to the coming of the prophesied anointed One and Savior Jesus Christ. Philip the Apostle knew that the entire Old Testament centered on the coming Messiah and King, so he was convinced that he had personally found the Messiah whom the Bible talks about, none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the prophesied coming Messiah.
We have to be sure the Christ that the Bible teaches is the Messiah, the Christ whom we found or discover as our Savior. Lot of religious people assume that they discovered the Christ of the Bible and trust they are saved, but in reality, the Christ that they think they have discovered is not actually the Christ, the God of the Bible. Their salvation relies not only on what Christ hath done for our sins but depends on the good works, water baptism, church membership, church ordinances, ten commandments, etc. Some people confidently think that the Christ whom they discovered, they described as a “Jesus Christ Superstar” or a “Jesus Christ the revolutionist” or a “Jesus Christ in love triangle with Mary and Judas” based on a movie film. In fact, these deceived people have not really discovered the real Person of Jesus Christ because the Christ whom they are talking about does not resemble the Christ of the Bible. They said they know Christ, they believe Christ, but teaches the false Christ whom they said, Christ is a man, Christ is small God lesser than the Father, Christ the brother of Lucifer, Christ only a good man and good teacher. Be sure you have found the Christ of the Bible.
II – PHILIP'S FAITH IS TESTED
Read John 6:5 and specify the question asked of Jesus to Philip? ______________________________________
John 6:5 “When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”
Did Jesus already know what He is going to do with this large crowd? ____________ (John 6:6)
John 6:6 “And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.”
If Jesus already knew what He would feed these large crowd miraculously, why Jesus still need to asked Philip what to do? ____________________ (John 6:6)
John 6:6 “And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.”
The Lord tested the faith of Philip and want to see what Philip would react.
Since there were large crowd coming, did Philip assumed that the question of Jesus where to buy food is possible? _______ (John 6:7).
John 6:7 “Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.”
According to Philip’s statement would the two hundred pennies (200 denarii) was enough amount to buy bread so each person would take just a little portion of bread? __________ (John 6:7)
John 6:7 “Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.”
Denarius is a Roman silver coin. The two hundred denarii is a large sum of money that an average worker would receive equivalent for one day’s work.
Now, how many days does a person needed to work in order to earn two hundred denarii? __________ (John 6:7)
John 6:7 “Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.”
To understand the amount of money that Philip mentioned, regarding how much a father of a family earns for one day’s work, you have to multiply 200 to the daily salary of a working father. Therefore, two hundred denarii is a large amount of money.
The answer of Philip to the question of Jesus where to buy bread to fed the large crowd is evidence that Philip had little faith in Jesus. Instead of answering that the amount of bread they have is not sufficient for feeding, Philip should tell the Lord the right answer, by humbly saying that by themselves they cannot do something to feed the large crowd, but the Lord Jesus is able to provide the meal and can easily do miracle to feed these large crowd of people. Philip must humbly and truthfully say that they can do nothing, but Jesus can do everything as He pleases for with God nothing is impossible. That should be the answer of Philip, that is the right answer that was based from what God has done, that must be the answer which is centered on God’s wisdom. Honor and power. Since Philip knows and had witnessed how Jesus proved He can provide wine at a wedding in Cana, Galillee (John 2), Philip knows and witnessed how Jesus proved He can heal the sick and diseased (John 6:2). Therefore, Philip should answer the Lord that Jesus are able to feed the vast large crowd and should trust the Lord who can do what is best for those large crowd of people. When it comes to supplying that which is needed, God is able to provide more than we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”). Jesus is testing the faith of Philip and He wanted Philip to learn a lesson that nothing was too hard for the Lord (Barren Old age Sarah would bear a son, Genesis 18:14 “Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”; Jeremiah prays, Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:”) and nothing is impossible with God (A virgin and have no intimacy with any man would bear a son, Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”).
IV – PHILIP FOUND OUT A LESSON TO LEARN
Philip the Apostle is mentioned both in John 12:20-22 and John 14:6-9.
John 12:20-22 “And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: 21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. 22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.”
John 14:6-9 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?”
In John 14:6-7, Jesus had been talking about coming to the Father and Knowing the Father, and Jesus is teaching Philip a very valuable doctrinal lesson.
John 14:6-7 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”
Jesus and Thomas had some exchanging conversation in John 14:5-7 “Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” And when Philip heard the answer of Jesus to Thomas, Philip said to Jesus in John 14:8 “Lord, ___________ _______ the ___________, and it sufficeth us.”
Notice the word in verse 8, “sufficeth us” it means it’s enough; it is all we need. Philip’s desire is good because he wanted to know and see the Father. However, Philip failed to understand another a very important doctrinal truth that he should learn. When anyone who really comes to know Jesus Christ, then who is that someone need to know? ____________.
John 14:7 “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” Philip should learn that anyone who really comes to know Jesus Christ, then there is no more else need to know.
Anyone who has seen Christ has already seen ___________________ (John 14:9).
John 14:9 “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?”
Philip do not understand and not learn that he had already been shown the father. Jesus said that whosoever seen Him had seen the Father, which means the Jesus Christ is the One who reveals and makes known God the Father.
Perhaps Philip wanted he could see with his eyes some amazing acts of God. Philip should know and need to understand and learn another lesson that he had all the revelation that he needed to know because all the revelation is found in Jesus Christ, but Philip failed to understand that so he was still looking for additional revelation.
There are false beliefs by false religious groups of today who are looking for additional revelation. These false religious groups like of modern charismatics movement, Pentecostal groups as assembly of God, and others want God to reveal Himself and according to them God make known to them in a special and spectacular way. These false teachers of false religious groups looking for a special vision or special dream, or they want to receive some messages from God in some special way and they testified that like they feel something cold touching their body which they believe it is the moving of the Spirit of God, or heard unusual voice that is why they prophesied about the future or they speak in tongues which according to them a language of God, etc.
In contrary to some people who are looking for additional revelation, like Philip they need to understand that what they already have is enough. The whole Scriptures are complete in 66 inspired books. What people need to know the Bible has the entire complete answers to man questions and things that need to understand. God has revealed Himself fully in the Bible, that is why the Bible is all that they need. As we go to the Bible, we will know Jesus Christ. As we get to know Jesus Christ, we will know God the Father (John 14:7 “If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”). So, we therefore conclude, that there is no need of new additional revelation, that is what the cults and some false religious groups build and based their doctrines. We need to focus to the written revelation already given to us in the Bible.
When Jesus said in verse 7 “if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also” and Jesus said in verse 9 “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” does not support the oneness doctrinal belief about God which means the Father manifested in the flesh and become Jesus Christ, and when Jesus ascended, he descended and become the Holy Spirit. They do not believe on the doctrine of Trinity, that teaches one God in three persons. Rather, it simply means when we know Jesus, we will know the Father. If we want to know who God is we need to know Jesus Christ.
V – PHILIP FINAL SPENT LIFE
We have already mentioned all the texts regarding Phillip the Apostle. Now, let us talk about later life of Philip.
Philip probably spent most of his time in Phrygia as he preached the gospel of salvation in Asia Minor according to the historical tradition. Eusebius who is an historian in early century called Philip “the great light of Asia.” Like as we previously mentioned in our study, when Philip found and discovered the prophesied Messiah, he brought Nathanael his friend to the Savior Jesus Christ. Before the life of Philip was over, we are very sure that he had brought many more souls to the saving knowledge of the Savior Jesus Christ.
The Bible does not tell us, so we do not know much about the death of Philip. We are quite certain that Philip died as a Christian martyr. Philip is like the messenger that God addressed at the church of Smyrna who was “faithful unto _____________ “(Revelation 2:10).
Revelation 2:10 “be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
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