Philippians 2:21
in Philippians 2For all the others look after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ.
KJV
For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.
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This verse in Philippians 2
Commentary
13 notes on this verseFor all seek their own,.... Meaning not every individual, but the greatest part; and not merely such as were manifestly false teachers, but such as were with the apostle, as ministers of the word; and we may suppose him to be stripped, by one means or another, of the more valuable preachers of the Gospel, and to be in much such a case as he describes himself to be, in 2Ti 4:
This site's exposition
to send Timotheus shortly
on Philippians 2:19-24
Timothy's commendation is a portrait of the mind of verse 5 in a living man: no man likeminded, one who will naturally care for their state while all seek their own. As a son with the father he hath served with me puts the proof in shared labor, the Philippians having watched it since Acts 16. Paul's I trust in the Lord, twice in these verses, holds his travel hopes with an open hand under the hearing's uncertainty.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ," their own comfort, their own safety. This too he writes to Timothy. But why doth he lament such things as these? To teach us his hearers not to fall in like sort, to teach his hearers not to seek for remission from toil; for he who seeks remission from toil, seeks not the things that are Christ's, but his own. We ought to be prepared against every toil, against every distress.
A commentator
CyprianTreatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews · Written before 258.
proposed
That he who has attained to trust, having put off the former man, ought to regard only celestial and spiritual things, and to give no heed to the world which he has already renounced. In Isaiah: "Seek ye the Lord; and when ye have found Him, call upon Him. But when He hath come near unto you, let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him be turned unto the Lord, and he shall obtain mercy, because He will plentifully pardon your sins."
To the charge being given to Timothy as one "who is faithfully anxious on your behalf" he adds this explanation: The others "seek after their own interests"; that is, they are anxious to protect and keep what is theirs and in this are not Christians. …
The Medieval Church2 voices
The reason why I have no one of the same mind is because all look after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ, i.e., they do not seek things pertaining to the salvation of their neighbor and the glory of God, but pertaining to …
That is, they seek their own rest and safety, since no one would freely wish to undertake such a journey. He says this both in praise of Timothy and at the same time teaching his listeners not to seek rest; for whoever seeks it does …
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
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.
He presses them largely to like-mindedness and lowly-mindedness, in conformity to the example of the Lord Jesus, the great pattern of humility and love. The great gospel precept passed upon us; that is, to love one another. This is the law of Christ's kingdom, the lesson of his school, the livery of his family.
We must not understand it so: he means the generality; all, that is, either the most, or all in comparison of Timothy. Note, Seeking our own interest to the neglect of Jesus Christ is a very great sin, and very common among Christians and ministers.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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).
For all seek their own - This must relate to the persons who preached Christ even of envy and strife, Php 1:15; these must be very careless whether souls were saved or not by such preaching; and even those who preached the Gospel out of good will might not be fit for such an embassy as this, which required many sacrifices, and consequently much love and zeal to be able to make them.
The words behind it
10 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| οἱ | hoi | Those | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πάντες | pantes | all | G3956 → | 1235 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| τὰ | ta | the [things] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ἑαυτῶν | he'auton | their own | G1438 → | 322 times |
| ζητοῦσιν, | zetousin | are seeking, | G2212 → | |
| οὐ | ou | not | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| τὰ | ta | the [things] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἰησοῦ | iesou | Jesus | G2424 → | 908 times |
| Χριστοῦ· | christou | of Christ; | G5547 → | 523 times |
οἱThose
hoiG3588 →19766 times
πάντεςall
pantesG3956 →1235 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
τὰthe [things]
taG3588 →19766 times
ἑαυτῶνtheir own
he'autonG1438 →322 times
ζητοῦσιν,are seeking,
zetousinG2212 →
οὐnot
ouG3756 →1664 times
τὰthe [things]
taG3588 →19766 times
ἸησοῦJesus
iesouG2424 →908 times
Χριστοῦ·of Christ;
christouG5547 →523 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Philippians 2:4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:24
No one should seek his own good, but the good of others.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 15:1
We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
- James 2:8
If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
- 1 Corinthians 10:24
Through
Matthew 16:24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
it leads to
- Matthew 10:38
and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.
- Luke 14:27
And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.
- 1 Peter 4:1–2
Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.
- Luke 9:23–27
Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
- Mark 10:21
Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then…
- Matthew 10:38
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Philippians
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyprian, Treatise XII Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews; Gaius Marius Victorinus, EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.21; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on Philippians 9; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Philippians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Philippians.