Philippians 2:1-18

The Expositor's Bible Commentary states that in this chapter Paul is turning his attention to problems within the Philippian church. It says that although it starts the phrases in verse 1 with the word "if," the condition is assumed to be true. The characteristics that Paul names—encouragement in Christ, consolation of love, fellowship of the spirit, affection and compassion—should all be characteristics of the life of someone who has new life in Christ.

What exactly do these characteristics mean? The Expositor's Bible Commentary says that believers are in vital union with Christ, but this also places certain obligations on them. We are commanded to do certain things and commanded to abstain from other things. It says that the church’s love for God and each other ought to prevent them from any disunity, which seems to be a primary concern of Paul in this passage. The commentary says that the reference to consolation of love is referring to maintaining unity in the body, rather than just comfort.

The Expositor's Bible Commentary says that there should be a sense of fellowship that is produced by the Holy Spirit. Again, this is more than just a sense of comfort or getting along. It is a unity of purpose and a mutual support. All of this should be characterized by affection and compassion, following Jesus' command to love one another.

This is clearly also Paul's desire for the church, as he tells them to make his joy complete by doing these things. He tells them to be of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit and intent on one purpose. Though the body of Christ has many parts, those various parts can still be used for a single purpose. This has long been a major concern for the church, since this was Jesus' concern for the church the night before he was crucified (John 17:11). Clearly there is much the church could accomplish when it is unified, but there is also much risk when we are not unified.

In verse 3, Paul addresses the motives for doing the things that we do. He says to do nothing out of selfishness or empty conceit. This goes against the mentality of "looking out for number one." He says, instead, to regard others as more important than ourselves. The Philippians are to look to their own needs rather than to their own. We all clearly have responsibilities that we must bear and we certainly need to carry out our responsibilities. Paul is simply exhorting us to look out for the needs of others, as well. If everyone looked out for each others' needs, then everyone's needs would be met.

Paul says exactly the same thing in verse 4. He said not to merely look out for our own interests, but also the interests of others. Note that he did not say look out for the interests of others at the expense of our own, but we should be seeing the best interest of others and well as our own best interest. Galatians 6:2 reflects this same sentiment, saying that we should bear one another's burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. This is a primary way we fulfill Jesus' command to love one another. It also fulfills the Old Testament commands to love God with all our heart, soul and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5) and love our neighbors as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18).

In verse 5, Paul adds another reason for believers to look out for the interests of others. Besides fulfilling Old Testament commands, this would emulate the attitude that Jesus had. He was meeting the physical and spiritual needs of others in the midst of an extremely busy ministry. His ultimate gift was to die for us on the cross and then to rise from the dead to give us eternal life. Paul encourages us to look out for the needs of others in the same way.

Verse 6 says that Jesus existed in the form of God. The phrase "in the form of God" does not mean that Jesus was less than fully God, as some have mistakenly claimed. John 1:1 refers to Jesus as "the Word" (and John 1:2 says, "He was with God in the beginning"), so "the Word" is clearly referring to a person. The last phrase of John 1:1 is "The Word was God." The rest of John 1 goes on to discuss that a forerunner named John was sent before him and that this one that is referred to as "the Word" was the creator of the world. Jesus is the only one who could fit that description.

The Expositor's Bible Commentary says that the most likely meaning of the fact that Jesus "did not regard equality with God as a thing to be grasped" is that he didn't need to grasp equality with God because he already possessed it. But it also says that he chose not to cling to it. He became human. It does need to be clarified that he did retain his divinity during his time on earth. This is a very important theological point, because the question of whether Jesus could have been an acceptable sacrifice for our sin hinges on the question of whether Jesus was both fully God and fully human.

Verse 7 goes on to say that "he emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men." The Greek word here for "bond-servant" is the word doulos, which actually means "slave." Again, the fact that the verse says he was "made in the likeness of men" doesn't mean that he was less than fully human. He was both fully God and fully human. He was completely obedient to God's commands and God's will, even to the point of death. The phrase "even to death on a cross" shows the extent to which he was willing to obey the Father's will. In ancient Middle Eastern culture, being crucified was considered to be such a humiliating death that crucifixion wasn't even mentioned in polite conversation. Yet this is something that Jesus did willingly.

But verse 9 says that God highly exalted him. He was not exalted solely for the reason of enduring that humiliating death on the cross, but because he gave his life to reconcile God and humanity. In fact, Paul says that God gave him the name that is above every name, which would be the highest position in all of the heavenly realm. As a result, every knee will bow, whether they are in heaven, on earth, or under the earth. That means every single person who has ever lived will bow before Jesus and will confess him as Lord. The Expositor's Bible Commentary says that this includes angels and departed saints in heaven, people still living on earth, the demonic legions, and lost humanity in hell.  No doubt some will do this out of love and adoration, while others would seem to do this out of fear, knowing the eternity that awaits them.

In verse 12, Paul urges the Philippians to persevere in their obedience, regardless of whether he is present with them or absent. Paul commends the fact that they have always obeyed and were apparently doing so even when he was away from them. It would seem that the Philippian believers were growing in their faith despite Paul's absence.

It may be important to clarify the phrase "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." Paul is not, by any means, advocating salvation by works. Ephesians 2:8,9 makes that unmistakably clear, and there is no contradiction here. Richard Foster writes in his book, "Celebration of Discipline," that "salvation as the Bible speaks of it refers to far more than who comes to faith in Christ or who gets to heaven. The Bible views salvation as both an event and a process. John Wesley spoke of the necessity of Christians coming more into the forgiving grace of God." Salvation is an event in that we are saved eternally from the punishment for sin. It is also a process of being saved from sin in our day-to-day walk with Christ. God gives us the power to choose to obey rather than to sin. This is part of becoming more like Christ.

Verse 14 says that we should do all things without grumbling or disputing. The purpose of this is to prove ourselves blameless and innocent. God already sees us that way because of Jesus' substitutionary death for us, and verses 14 and 15 instruct us to live out our holiness before others. This is the practical proof of the difference our faith in Christ makes in our lives now, not just in heaven. In this way, we show we are above reproach in the midst of a world that has a natural inclination to disobey God rather than obey him.

This is done by holding "fast to the word of life." This shows that the work of pastors, evangelists and other Christian workers is not in vain. Paul says that even if he were poured out as a drink offering, a common phrase meaning "to be martyred," he considers it to be worth the cost because of how much he cares for the Philippian church. He rejoices in the spiritual growth that he heard was taking place in the Philippian church.

This is reason for the Philippian church to rejoice, as well. Paul closes verse 18 by asking for their encouragement by sharing their joy with him.

[JT]