Philippianschapter 2
30 verses · Paul · AD 60 to 62 · Paul's letters
Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
Introduction
Paul, Paul's letters, Philippians Overview.
Paul wrote this chapter to a church he loved and that was in danger of pulling apart. He asks for unity, and then he gives his reason in a short passage about Christ that many readers take as an early hymn. That passage is among the most studied in the New Testament, because it speaks of who Christ was before He became a man. Listen for the pattern of going down and being raised up. Listen for the word mind, and notice where it points. Read the chapter as teaching about Christ that turns at once into instruction for ordinary church life.
Context
- Who
- A congregation with real unity to protect and a status-conscious Roman culture pressing on it.
- What
- Paul's appeal for unity and humility, grounded in the example of Christ who emptied Himself and was exalted, followed by his plans to send Timothy and Epaphroditus to the church.
- Where
- Written from custody, most often placed at Rome, to Philippi, a Roman colony in the province of Macedonia on the Roman road across northern Greece.
- When
- Most likely about AD 60 to 62 during Paul's custody at Rome, with others placing it at Ephesus in the middle 50s or at Caesarea about AD 57 to 59.
- Why
- To heal the rivalry and self-seeking that threatened the church by setting the mind of Christ before it as the pattern.
Historical context
The central passage has the rhythm and balance of an early Christian hymn, and many scholars think Paul is quoting something already sung in the churches rather than composing it here. Either way its shape is a descent and an ascent: equality with God not exploited, the form of a servant taken, obedience to death, even death on a cross, then the name above every name.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
That last detail carried a specific horror. Crucifixion was the slave's death, and a Roman colony full of veterans knew exactly how the state used it. Putting it in a hymn of praise was an act of defiance against the whole honour system of the city.
"Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" adapts a line from Isaiah about God himself, and in a colony where loyalty to the emperor was public and expected, applying it to Jesus was a political sentence as well as a theological one.
Epaphroditus had carried the Philippians' gift to Rome and nearly died doing it. Paul's word for how he risked his life is a gambling term, he staked it. Sending him home with an explicit instruction to honour such men protects him from any suspicion that he had come back early.
Significance
For the Philippians, the hymn was not abstract theology but the argument for the instruction before it: do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
Humility was not a virtue in Greek or Roman ethics; the word had connotations of grovelling. Presenting it as the mind of Christ, and then pointing to Timothy who genuinely cared for their welfare and to Epaphroditus who nearly died, gave them three worked examples in one chapter.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
He Emptied Himself: The Mind of Christ
Philippians 2:1-2
any encouragement in Christ: Four ifs name what the Philippians already hold, encouragement in Christ, comfort from His love, fellowship with the Spirit, affection and compassion. Each expects the answer yes. On that ground Paul asks them to make my joy complete by being like-minded.
Philippians 2:1
“If there be therefore any consolation in Christ - This, with what is said in the remainder of the verse, is designed as a motive for what he exhorts them to in Php 2:2 - that they would be of the same mind, and would thus fulfill his joy. To urge them to this, he appeals to the tender considerations which religion furnished - and begins by a reference to the consolation which there was in Christ. The meaning here may be this: “I am now persecuted and afflicted.”
make my joy complete: The four grounds of verse 1 lead to one request. Paul asks for the same mind, the same love and one spirit and purpose, and says that this would fill up his joy. Ignatius of Antioch used the phrase to call the Philadelphians to be joined with an undivided heart.
Philippians 2:2
“Flee, therefore, the wicked devices and snares of the spirit which now worketh in the children of this world, lest at any time being overcome, ye grow weak in your love. But be ye all joined together with an undivided heart and a willing mind, "being of one accord and of one judgment," [Philippians 2:2] being always of the same opinion about the same things, both when you are at ease and in danger, both in sorrow and in joy.”
Ignatius of Antioch · written before 108 · Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphianspatristic
Philippians 2:3-4
selfish ambition or empty pride: Selfish ambition, eritheia, is a faction's self-seeking, and empty pride, kenodoxia, is empty glory, the two causes of church division. The remedy is humility, tapeinophrosune, a word pagan ethics used as an insult and the gospel made a virtue. Verse 4 turns the eye outward, to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3
“Let nothing be done--The italicized words are not in the Greek. Perhaps the ellipsis had better be supplied from the Greek (Php 2:2), "Thinking nothing in the way of strife" (or rather, "factious intrigue," "self-seeking," see on Php 1:16).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Philippians 2:3
Or vainglory - Desire of praise, which is directly opposite to the love of God. But esteem each the others better than themselves - (For every one knows more evil of himself than he can of another:) Which is a glorious fruit of the Spirit, and an admirable help to your continuing "of one soul."
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Philippians 2:3
“If we do things in contradiction to our brethren, this is doing them through strife; if we do them through ostentation of ourselves, this is doing them through vain-glory: both are destructive of Christian love and kindle unchristian heats. Christ came to slay all enmities; therefore let there not be among Christians a spirit of opposition.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
the interests of others: The verse sets a second look beside the first. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the Greek forbids regard to one's own things alone, so care for others joins care for self.
Philippians 2:4
“Look not every man on his own things - Do nothing through self-interest in the things of God; nor arrogate to yourselves gifts, graces, and fruits, which belong to others; ye are all called to promote God’s glory and the salvation of men. Labor for this, and every one shall receive the honor that comes from God; and let each rejoice to see another, whom God may be pleased to use in a special way, acquiring much reputation by the successful application of his talents to the great work.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Philippians 2:4
“The oldest manuscripts read, "Not looking each of you (plural, Greek) on his own things (that is, not having regard solely to them), but each of you on the things of others" also.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Let this mind be in you: The mind commanded at verses 2 and 3 is now shown in its original, the mind which was also in Christ Jesus. Paul cites the Lord's own descent in verses 6 to 11 as the church's pattern of thought.
Philippians 2:5
“The oldest manuscripts read, "Have this mind in you," &c. He does not put forward himself (see on Php 2:4, and Php 1:24) as an example, but Christ, THE ONE pre-eminently who sought not His own, but "humbled Himself" (Php 2:8), first in taking on Him our nature, secondly, in humbling Himself further in that nature (Ro 15:3).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
existing in the form of God: Form, morphe, expresses what a thing is, so existing in the form of God states the Son's deity. The participle is present, a condition never laid down.
Philippians 2:6
“What clearer and more decisive proof could there be than this? He did not become better from assuming a lower state but rather, "being God, he took the form of a slave." … If [as the Arians think] it was for the sake of this exaltation that the Word came down and that this is written, what need would there be for him to humble himself completely in order to seek what he already had?”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Discourses Against the Arians 1.40patristic
3 more voices on this verse
Philippians 2:6
“Who being in the form of God,.... The Father; being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.”
Philippians 2:6
“Who being in the essential form - The incommunicable nature. Of God - From eternity, as he was afterward in the form of man; real God, as real man. Counted it no act of robbery - That is the precise meaning of the words, - no invasion of another's prerogative, but his own strict and unquestionable right.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Philippians 2:6
“Some understand being in the form of God -- en morphe Theou hyparchon, of his appearance in a divine majestic glory to the patriarchs, and the Jews, under the Old Testament, which was often called the glory, and the Shechinah. The word is used in such a sense by the LXX. and in the New Testament.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
taking the form of a servant: Emptied translates ekenosen, and the text says how, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. The emptying is by addition, while the deity of verse 6 stands. What He set aside is read as the visible glory or the independent use of divine rights.
Philippians 2:7
“Yea, he not only veiled, but, in some sense, renounced, the glory which he had before the world began. Taking - And by that very act emptying himself. The form of a servant - The form, the likeness, the fashion, though not exactly the same, are yet nearly related to each other.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Philippians 2:7
“What sort of emptying is this? To assume the flesh, even in the form of a slave, a likeness to ourselves while not being like us in his own nature but superior to the whole creation. Thus he humbled himself, descending by his economy into mortal bounds.”
Cyril of Alexandria · written before 444 · On the Unity of Christpatristic
The descent has steps, found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself, became obedient to death, even death on a cross. The cross was the slave's death, from which Roman citizens were exempt by law.
Philippians 2:8
“And being found in fashion as a man - Και σχηματι εὑρεθεις ὡς ανθρωπος. This clause should be joined to the preceding, and thus translated: Being made in the likeness of man, and was found in fashion as a man. He humbled himself - Laid himself as low as possible: 1. In emptying himself - laying aside the effulgence of his glory. 2. In being incarnate - taking upon him the human form. 3. In becoming a servant - assuming the lowest innocent character, that of being the servant of all.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Philippians 2:9-11
exalted Him to the highest place: God exalted Him, huperupsosen, and gave Him the name above all names. Every knee and every tongue come from Isaiah 45:23, where the LORD swears that every knee will bow before Him. The hymn gives that oath to Jesus, so the confession Jesus Christ is Lord carries the divine name.
Philippians 2:9
“God exalted Christ as man to equality with God [BENGEL]. highly exalted--Greek, "super-eminently exalted" (Eph 4:10). given him--Greek, "bestowed on Him." a name--along with the corresponding reality, glory and majesty. which--Translate, namely, "that which is above every name." The name "JESUS" (Php 2:10), which is even now in glory His name of honor (Ac 9:5).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Philippians 2:9
“That "God has highly exalted him" does not imply that the essential nature of the Word at long last became exalted. For God the Son is and always was equal to God the Father. The exaltation is of the humanity.… The text says "he humbled himself" with reference to the assumption of the flesh. So too it says "he exalted him" with reference to the flesh. It was the human race that needed this, because of the humiliation of its flesh and because of its consequent death.”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Discourses Against the Arians 1.41patristic
Philippians 2:9
“Wherefore - As a reward of this humiliation and these sufferings. The idea is, that there was an appropriate reward for it, and that that was bestowed upon him by his exaltation as Mediator to the right hand of God; compare the notes at Heb 2:9. God also hath highly exalted him - As Mediator. Though he was thus humbled, and appeared in the form of a servant, he is now raised up to the throne of glory, and to universal dominion. This exaltation is spoken of the Redeemer as he was, sustaining a divine and a human nature.”
every knee should bow: The words come from Isaiah 45:23, where the LORD swears every knee will bow to Him. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown conclude that to worship in the name of Jesus is to worship Jesus Himself.
Philippians 2:10
“He signifies, therefore, by the phrase, the dread appearing of the Judge at the end of the ages, when He is seen no more in the form of a servant, but seated in glory upon the throne of His kingdom, and worshipped by all the angels that are around Him.”
Gregory of Nyssa · written before 395 · Against Eunomius, Book 4patristic
Cross references
Philippians 2:10
- QuotingIsaiah 45:23“By Myself I have sworn; truth has gone out from My mouth, a word that will not be revoked: Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance.”
'Every knee shall bow... every tongue confess' (the exalted Name)
every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord: Barnes sets the confession beside Romans 10:9 and reads Lord as owner, ruler and sovereign. The whole scene ends to the glory of God the Father. Athanasius reads that glory as the human race created and then made new when it was lost.
Philippians 2:11
“And that every tongue should confess - Everyone should acknowledge him. On the duty and importance of confessing Christ, see the notes at Rom 10:9-10. That Jesus Christ is Lord - The word “Lord,” here, is used in its primitive and proper sense, as denoting owner, ruler, sovereign; compare the notes at Rom 14:9. The meaning is, that all should acknowledge him as the universal sovereign. To the glory of God the Father - Such a universal confession would honor God; see the notes at Joh 5:23, where this sentiment is explained.”
1 more voice on this verse
Philippians 2:11
“The glory of the Father is that the human race not only was created but was re-created when lost. It was given life once again when dead, so as to become a renewed temple of God. For the powers in heaven also, the angels and the archangels, worship him and now worship the Lord "in the name of Jesus." This joy and exaltation belongs to human beings, because the Son of God, having himself become a human being, is now worshiped.”
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · agreeing to assume our bodily condition 'even to death.'AGAINST THE ARIANS 1.42patristic
Work It Out: God Works It In
Philippians 2:12-13
work out your salvation with fear: The command to work out your salvation with fear and trembling uses katergazesthe, work out to completion. Verse 13 gives its ground, it is God who works in you to will and to act. The two verses join the believer's working to God's working in them.
Philippians 2:12
"Salvation" is "worked in" (Php 2:13; Eph 1:11) believers by the Spirit, who enables them through faith to be justified once for all; but it needs, as a progressive work, to be "worked out" by obedience, through the help of the same Spirit, unto perfection (2Pe 1:5-8).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Philippians 2:12
“It is our own salvation, the salvation of our own souls. It is not for us to judge other people; we have enough to do to look to ourselves; and, though we must promote the common salvation ( Jude 3 ) as much as we can, yet we must upon no account neglect our own. We are required to work out our salvation, katergazesthe.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Philippians 2:12
“I HAVE frequently heard these words addressed to an indiscriminate audience and it has always struck me that they have thereby been twisted from their right meaning. These words, as they stand in the New Testament, contain no exhortation to all men, but are directed to the people of God. They are not intended as an exhortation to the unconverted. They are, as we find them in the Epistle, beyond all question addressed to those who are already saved through a living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
it is God who works in you: This verse gives the reason for the command in verse 12. Barnes notes that many take God's working as a reason to do nothing, while Paul gives it as the reason to act.
Philippians 2:13
“Some say, "If willing is from God and working is from God, then whether we will evil or do evil, that is from God, and in that case we have not free will." … To this one must reply that the apostle's words do not mean that willing evil is from God or that willing good is from God, and likewise with our working well or ill. Rather it is willing in general and performance in general.”
Origen of Alexandria · written before 253 · On First Principles 3.1.19patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Philippians 2:13
“For it is God that worketh in you - This is given as a reason for making an effort to be saved, or for working out our salvation. It is often thought to be the very reverse, and people often feel that if God works “in us to will and to do,” there can be no need of our making an effort, and that there would be no use in it.”
Philippians 2:14-16
without complaining or arguing: Complaining translates the Greek Old Testament's word for Israel murmuring in the wilderness. The echo sharpens in verse 15, where a crooked and perverse generation turns Deuteronomy 32:5 around. There Israel was the crooked generation, and here God's children shine as lights in the world within one.
Philippians 2:14
“Do all things without murmurings and disputings - In a quiet, peaceful, inoffensive manner. Let there be no brawls, strifes, or contentions. The object of the apostle here is, probably, to illustrate the sentiment which he had expressed in Php 2:3-5, where he had inculcated the general duties of humbleness of mind, and of esteeming others better than themselves, in order that that spirit might be fully manifested, he now enjoins the duty of doing everything in a quiet and gentle manner, and of avoiding any species of strife; see the notes at Eph 4:31-32.”
4 more voices on this verse
Philippians 2:14
“This greatly adorns our profession, and shows we serve a good Master, whose service is freedom and whose work is its own reward. By peaceableness and love one to another. "Do all things without disputing, wrangling, and debating one another; because the light of truth and the life of religion are often lost in the heats and mists of disputation." 3.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Philippians 2:14
That we must never murmur, but bless God concerning all things that happen. In Job: "Say some word against the Lord, and die. But he, looking upon her, said, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women. If we have received good things from the Lord's hand, why shall we not endure evil things? In all these things which happened unto him, Job sinned not with his lips in the sight of the Lord."
Cyprian · written before 258 · Treatise XII. Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews.patristic
Philippians 2:14
“We shall be very far from the truth if we suppose that Christian precepts have suffered any degeneration of meaning. If we imagine that the precepts of the Gospel were more stern in Apostolic times than in these later ages, we labor under a very gross and dangerous delusion. Fresh from the abominations of heathenism the early converts would naturally be placed under the mildest rules, rather than the more severe.”
Philippians 2:14
“Do all things without murmurings - Γογγυσμων, και διαλογισμων· Without grumblings and altercations. Be patient in, and contented with, your work; and see that ye fall not out by the way.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
shine as lights in the world: Believers in a crooked generation are set to shine. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the word for lights is the Septuagint's word for the sun and moon in Genesis 1:14 to 16.
Philippians 2:15
“That ye may be blameless - That you may give no occasion for others to accuse you of having done wrong. And harmless - Margin, “sincere.” The Greek word (ἀκέραιος akeraios) means properly that which is unmixed; and then pure, sincere. The idea here is, that they should be artless, simple, without guile. Then they would injure no one. The word occurs only in Mat 10:16; Php 2:15, where it is rendered “harmless,” and Rom 16:19, where it is rendered “sincere”; see the Mat 10:16 note, and Rom 16:19 note.”
3 more voices on this verse
Philippians 2:15
“Abraham and Lot must not strive, because the Canaanite and Perizzite dwelt in the land, Gen. xiii. Among whom you shine as lights in the world. Christ is the light of the world, and good Christians are lights in the world.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Philippians 2:15
“He says not "you are" but "so that you may be," deferring it to the future and not asserting it as a present fact, to show that here there is toil and struggle and there the rewards of toil and virtue.”
Jerome · written before 420 · Against the Pelagians 3.13patristic
Philippians 2:15
"Show yourselves" (compare Mt 5:14-16; Eph 5:8-13). as lights in the world--The Greek expresses "as luminaries in the world," as the sun and moon, "the lights," or "great lights," in the material world or in the firmament. The Septuagint uses the very same Greek word in the passage, Ge 1:14, 16; compare Note,, see on Re 21:11.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
hold forth the word of life: The church holds out the word of life. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that Christ is the Light of the world, and believers bear His light as a lamp bears a flame.
Philippians 2:16
“Christ is "the Light of the world" (Joh 8:12); believers are only "light-bearers" reflecting His light. that I may rejoice in--literally, "with a view to (your being) a subject of rejoicing to me against the day of Christ" (Php 4:1; 1Th 2:19). that I have not run in vain--that it was not in vain that I labored for your spiritual good.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Philippians 2:16
“Holding forth the word of life - An allusion, some think, to those towers which were built at the entrance of harbours, on which fires were kept during the night to direct ships into the port. Genuine Christians, by their holy lives and conversation, are the means of directing others, not only how to escape those dangers to which they are exposed on the tempestuous ocean of human life, but also of leading them into the haven of eternal safety and rest.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Philippians 2:17-18
poured out like a drink offering: The phrase poured out like a drink offering translates spendomai, the libation poured over a burning sacrifice. The Philippians' faith is the sacrifice and service, and Paul's possible execution the libation on it.
Philippians 2:17
“But writing in bonds to the Thessalonians, he certainly affirmed that they were blessed, since to them it had been given not only to believe on Christ, but also to suffer for His sake. "Having," says he, "the same conflier which ye both saw in me, and now hear to be in me." "For though I are offered upon the sacrifice, I joy and rejoice with you all; in like manner do ye also joy and rejoice with me.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Scorpiacepatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Philippians 2:17
“Upon the sacrifice of your faith - The Philippians, as the other converted heathens, were a sacrifice to God through St. Paul's ministry, Rom. xv, 16. And as in sacrificing, wine was poured at the foot of the altar, so he was willing that his blood should be poured out. The expression well agrees with that kind of martyrdom by which he was afterwards offered up to God.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Philippians 2:17
“Yea, and if I be offered - Margin, “poured forth.” The mention of his labors in their behalf, in the previous verse, seems to have suggested to him the sufferings which he was likely yet to endure on their account. He had labored for their salvation. He had exposed himself to peril that they and others might have the gospel. On their account he had suffered much; he had been made a prisoner at Rome; and there was a possibility, if not a probability, that his life might be a forfeit for his labors in their behalf.”
glad and rejoice with me: Paul asks the church to answer his joy with their own. If his life is poured out for their faith, they are to rejoice with him over it. Marius Victorinus reads the two verses as one exchange of joy between a prisoner ready to die and the church he serves.
Timothy: No One Else Cares Like He Does
Philippians 2:19-24
to send Timothy to you soon: Timothy is the mind of verse 5 in a living man, one who will genuinely care for your needs. The Philippians had seen the proof since Acts 16: as a child with his father he has served with me.
Philippians 2:19
“But I trust in the Lord Jesus - His hope was that the Lord Jesus would so order affairs as to permit this - an expression that no man could use who did not regard the Lord Jesus as on the throne, and as more that human.”
1 more voice on this verse
Philippians 2:19
But I trust--Yet my death is by no means certain; yea, "I hope (Greek) in the Lord (that is, by the Lord's help)" unto you--literally, "for you," that is, to your satisfaction, not merely motion, to you. I also--that not only you "may be of good courage" (so Greek) on hearing of me (Php 2:23), but "I also, when I know your state."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
genuinely care for your needs: Timothy shares Paul's heart. Clarke notes the rare word behind like him, which means of the same soul. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read genuinely as sincere concern, where grace had so changed the man that to be natural was to be spiritual.
Philippians 2:20
“For I have no man like-minded - None of all my fellow helpers in the Gospel have the same zeal and affectionate concern for your prosperity in every respect as he has. He is ισοψυχος· of the same soul; a man after my own heart.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Philippians 2:20
“Compare De 13:6, "Thy friend which is as thine own soul" (Ps 55:14). Paul's second self. naturally--Greek, "genuinely"; "with sincere solicitude." A case wherein the Spirit of God so changed man's nature, that to be natural was with him to be spiritual: the great point to be aimed at.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
look after their own interests: The verse is a comparison with Timothy. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that chapter 1 shows genuine believers with Paul, though none so ready as Timothy to give up ease and gain. Wesley asks how many workers in any age could pass such a test.
Philippians 2:21
“In that golden age of the church, could St. Paul throughly approve of one only, among all the labourers that were with him? chap. i, 14, 17. And how many do we think can now approve themselves to God? Not the things of Jesus Christ - They who seek these alone, will sadly experience this.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Philippians 2:21
“This is spoken, by comparison with Timothy; for Php 1:16, 17 implies that some of those with Paul at Rome were genuine Christians, though not so self-sacrificing as Timothy. Few come to the help of the Lord's cause, where ease, fame, and gain have to be sacrificed. Most help only when Christ's gain is compatible with their own (Jud 5:17, 23).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Philippians 2:21
“For all seek their own - That is, all who are with me. Who Paul had with him at this time is not fully known, but he doubtless means that this remark should apply to the mass of Christians and Christian ministers then in Rome. Perhaps he had proposed to some of them to go and visit the church at Philippi, and they had declined it because of the distance and the dangers of the way.”
proven worth: The Philippians had seen Timothy's worth for themselves. Gill notes that he was with Paul when their church was founded in Acts 16, at the conversion of Lydia and the jailer. Clarke marks that Paul says Timothy served with him, as a son beside a father, sharing the work.
Philippians 2:22
“Ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me - The Philippians had full proof of the affectionate attachment of Timothy to Paul, for he had labored with him there, as we learn from Act 16:1-3; Act 17:14; and we find from what is said here that Timothy was not a servant to the apostle, but that he had served with him. They both labored together in the word and doctrine; for apostles and Christian bishops, in those times, labored as hard as their deacons.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
as soon as I see what happens with me: Timothy's visit waits on the verdict in Paul's case. Barnes notes the uncertainty whether he would be condemned or released, and records the common view that he was released at the first trial. Theodoret observes that Paul makes his plans depend on the providence of God.
Philippians 2:23
“So soon as I shall see how it will go with me - Paul was a prisoner at Rome, and there was not a little uncertainty whether he would be condemned or acquitted. He was, it is commonly supposed, in fact released on the first trial; 2Ti 4:16. He now felt that he would soon be able to send Timothy to them at any rate.”
1 more voice on this verse
Philippians 2:23
“Even here he does not expressly announce that he will come but makes this depend on the providence of God. And clearly he has not yet wholly escaped his former peril.”
Theodoret of Cyrus · written before 458 · Epistle to the Philippians 2.23-24patristic
I myself will come soon: Paul holds a hope of release without claiming certainty. Gill notes that he could not know how things would go, yet kept a settled persuasion that he would be freed. Thomas Aquinas reads the trust as light given in darkness, since there is always some darkness in the saints.
Philippians 2:24
“Consequently, I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself shall come also. But he was not freed from his prison: "Yea, thou dost light my lamp: the Lord my God lightens my darkness" (Ps. 18:28). For there is always some darkness in the saints.”
Thomas Aquinas · written before 1274 · Commentary on Philippianspatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Philippians 2:24
“But I trust in the Lord,.... The Syriac version reads, "in my Lord": that I also myself shall come shortly: this he adds, partly to let them see, that he still retained a secret hope and persuasion in his own mind of a deliverance, though he could not be certain of it, how things would go with him; and partly, that he might not be thought to put them off with sending Timothy to them; for notwithstanding that, his intention still was, should he be released, to pay them a visit himself.”
Epaphroditus, Sick Nearly to Death
Philippians 2:25-27
Epaphroditus, my brother: Five titles honor the returning courier, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my needs. The last two translate apostolos and leitourgos, the church's envoy performing a priestly service with their gift. He was sick indeed, and God had mercy on him.
Philippians 2:25
“Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus,.... In the mean while, before either he or Timothy could come to them. This man was sent by the Philippians to the apostle with a present, and had been detained at Rome for some time, partly through business, and partly through sickness; but now the apostle thought it proper, he being recovered, to send him to them, who was one of their ministers. One of this name lived at Rome about this time, and was one of Nero's freemen (o), but not the same person here intended.”
1 more voice on this verse
Philippians 2:25
“Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus - Epaphroditus is nowhere else mentioned but in this Epistle; see Php 4:18. All that is known of him, therefore, is what is mentioned here. He was from Philippi, and was a member of the church there. He had been employed by the Philippians to carry relief to Paul when he was in Rome Php 4:18, and while in Rome he was taken dangerously sick.”
he has been longing for all of you: Epaphroditus longed for his church and was troubled for its sake. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the word for distressed means worn out with heavy grief. His worry was that the news of his illness had grieved them, and Ambrosiaster reads the sadness as shared on both sides.
Philippians 2:26
“Translate as Greek, "Inasmuch as he was longing after you all." full of heaviness--The Greek expresses the being worn out and overpowered with heavy grief. because that ye had heard that he had been sick--rather, "that he was sick." He felt how exceedingly saddened you would be in hearing it; and he now is hastening to relieve your minds of the anxiety.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
God had mercy on him: The illness was real and grave. Gill stresses that it brought him near to death. Matthew Henry reads the recovery as a mercy to Paul as well, since even that church could ill spare a good minister.
Philippians 2:27
“For indeed he was sick nigh unto death,.... It was not a mere rumour, or a false alarm, but was real matter of fact; and it was not a light disorder, a slight indisposition, but a very dangerous illness; though the sickness was not unto death, yet near it.”
1 more voice on this verse
Philippians 2:27
“The apostle owns it is a great mercy to himself, as well as to Epaphroditus and others. Though the church was blessed at that time with extraordinary gifts, they could even then ill spare a good minister.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Philippians 2:28-30
the more eager to send him: Paul sends the recovered man home so their rejoicing can replace their anxiety, and they are to honor men like him. The ground is that he nearly died for the work of Christ, and risking translates a gambler's word for staking one's life.
Philippians 2:28
“The more carefully - Σπουδαιοτερως· With the more haste or despatch; because, having suffered so much on account of his apprehended death, they could not be too soon comforted by seeing him alive and restored.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Welcome him in the Lord with great joy: Paul asks the church to receive its messenger with honor. Barnes reads the welcome as receiving a friend restored by God as a fresh gift. Theophylact notes that the command serves the Philippians themselves, since the one who does good gains more than the one who receives it.
Philippians 2:29
“Receive him therefore in the Lord - As the servant of the Lord, or as now restored to you by the Lord, and therefore to be regarded as a fresh gift from God. Our friends restored to us after a long absence, we should receive as the gift of God, and as a proof of his mercy. And hold such in reputation - Margin, honor such. This is a high commendation of Epaphroditus, and, at the same time, it enjoins an important duty in regard to the proper treatment of those who sustain such a character.”
risking his life: Epaphroditus came close to death doing the work of Christ. Clarke notes that the oldest manuscripts read a word meaning to hazard one's life, and that his labor for Paul outran his strength. He did in person the service the church could not give from so far away.
Philippians 2:30
“For the work of Christ - Preaching the Gospel, and ministering to the distressed. He was nigh unto death - Having labored far beyond his strength. Not regarding his life - Instead of παραβουλευσαμενος τῃ ψυχῃ, not regarding his life, παραβολευσαμενος, risking his life, is the reading of ABDEFG, and is received by Griesbach into the text. His frequent and intense preaching, and labouring to supply the apostle’s wants, appear to have brought him nigh to the gates of death.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
How this psalm is built
The form: An appeal for one mind at 2:1 to 4, grounded in a passage on Christ's humbling and exaltation at 2:5 to 11 that many read as an early hymn, applied to the church at 2:12 to 18 and shown in two lives at 2:19 to 30, as guide classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The descent and the ascent | Verses 6 to 8 go down in steps, from the form of God to the form of a servant to death on a cross. Verse 9 turns on its first word, therefore, and verses 9 to 11 go up to the name above every name, the bowing knee and the confessing tongue. The number of strophes has never been agreed, and the shape of descent and ascent is what the proposals hold in common.the site's Philippians guide, src/components/book/dossier-content/philippians.ts, the figure of the hymn's descent and ascent, citing Ernst Lohmeyer, Kyrios Jesus, 1928, and Ralph P. Martin, Carmen Christi, 1967. | Philippians 2:6, Philippians 2:7, Philippians 2:8, Philippians 2:9, Philippians 2:10, Philippians 2:11 |
| Two men who show the mind of Christ | After the passage on Christ, Paul describes two men. Timothy will care for the church where others look after their own interests, the words of verse 4 turned into a portrait, and Epaphroditus risked his life for the work of Christ. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that at verse 5 Paul offers Christ as the example, the one who sought not His own, and the two portraits follow from Him.Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871, on Philippians 2:5. | Philippians 2:4, Philippians 2:20, Philippians 2:21, Philippians 2:30 |
The structure
8 more paragraphs on the patterns
The chapter has four parts. Verses 1 to 4 ask for one mind, built on four grounds the church already holds. Verses 5 to 11 set out the mind of Christ, who went down to the cross and was raised to the highest place. Verses 12 to 18 apply that to the church, with the command to work out salvation and the call to shine in a crooked generation. Verses 19 to 30 turn to travel plans and describe Timothy and Epaphroditus.
Where the Old Testament stands behind it
Verses 10 and 11 take the words of Isaiah 45:23, where the LORD swears that every knee will bow to Him and every tongue confess. Verses 14 and 15 recall Israel in the wilderness, whose grumbling Numbers records and whom Deuteronomy 32:5 calls a crooked and perverse generation. The drink offering of verse 17 is the wine poured out with a sacrifice in the law of Numbers 28:7.
The debate
Three readings of the self-emptying of verse 7 stand in the commentary. The reading that follows the Chalcedonian definition of AD 451, which John Calvin puts in his commentary as a veiling of glory, holds that Christ laid aside the use and display of divine rights while remaining fully God. Peter T. O'Brien and Gordon D. Fee read the taking of the form of a servant as the content of the emptying, so the humbling was an addition. A third reading, held in the site's own stream alongside the full deity of Christ, speaks of the manner of His earthly ministry, lived in dependence on the Spirit and the Father.
The command of verse 12 is read three ways as well. Some read the plural verbs against verses 1 to 4 and take the salvation as the health of the church's common life. The Reformed and evangelical reading takes verse 13 as making the whole effort the fruit of grace. The Wesleyan and Arminian tradition reads the fear and trembling at full weight, as an outcome the believer is responsible to pursue.
Where to go deeper
The passage has its own page at /featured/the-mind-of-christ.
Keep studying
Studies23
- The Pauline Epistles
- The Deity of Christ
- Grumbling, the Opposite of Thanks
- Augustine's Three Answers
- He Humbled Himself
- The Hebrew and Greek Words for Humility
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People and groups2
Words12
Trails1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Ernst Lohmeyer, Kyrios Jesus, 1928, as surveyed in Ralph P. Martin, Carmen Christi, 1967; Gordon D. Fee, Paul's Letter to the Philippians, New International Commentary on the New Testament, 1995 and the site's Philippians guide, src/components/book/dossier-content/philippians.ts, the question whether 2:6 to 11 is a hymn Paul quoted.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Ambrosiaster, EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.27.1; Athanasius of Alexandria, agreeing to assume our bodily condition 'even to death.'AGAINST THE ARIANS 1.42; Gaius Marius Victorinus, EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.17-18; Gregory of Nyssa, Against Eunomius, Book 4; Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians; J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistle to the Philippians; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against the Pelagians 3.13; John Calvin, Commentary on Philippians; John Chrysostom, Homilies on Philippians; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 3.1.19; Theodoret of Cyrus, EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.23-24; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Philippians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians.