Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 2:1

Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 2:1 - 2:30

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Pulpit Commentary - Philippians 2:1 - 2:30

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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

2:1 - 2:30

EXPOSITION

Php_2:1

If there be therefore, any consolation in Christ. Mark the fervor of the apostle. Ὅρα πῶς λιπαρῶς πῶς σφοδρῶς πῶς μετὰ συμπαωείας πολλῆς (Chrysostom). He appeals to the Christian experience of the Philippians; if these experiences are real, as they are; facts verified in the believer's consciousness; not talk, not mere forms of speech,—then fulfill ye my joy. Consolation; perhaps "exhortation" is the more suitable rendering in this place: if the presence of Christ, if communion with Christ, hath power to stir the heart, to stimulate the emotions, to constrain the will. If any comfort of love; comfort springing out of love. Love is the subjective result of the presence of Christ as an objective reality, and with love comes comfort. If any fellowship of the Spirit. If the indwelling of the Holy Ghost be true, a felt reality in the Christian life. Not, as some understand, "If there be any fellowship of spirit among themselves." If any bowels and mercies. Bowels (see note on Php_1:8), the seat of the feelings of compassion; mercies, those feelings themselves. The pronoun "any,'' according to the reading of all the best manuscripts, is masculine singular; the word "bowels," being neuter plural εἴ τις σπλάγχνα If St. Paul really wrote thus, we must suppose that the warmth of his feelings suddenly led him to substitute σπλάγχνα for some other word originally in his thoughts. "Under any circumstances," says Bishop Lightfoot, "the reading εἴ τις is a valuable testimony to the scrupulous fidelity of the early transcribers, who copied the text as they found it, even when it contained readings so manifestly difficult."

Php_2:2

Fulfil ye my joy. St. Paul has already (Php_1:4) spoken of his joy derived from the life and conduct of the Philippian Christians; now he asks them to complete his joy by living in unity. There were disagreements among them (Php_4:2). That ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. The apostle's earnestness leads him to dwell on the idea of unify, clothing the one thought again and again in different words. Βαβαί says Chrysostom, ποσάκις τὸ αὐτὸ λέγει ἀπὸ διαθέσεως πολλῆς . "Having the same love:" loving and beloved; ὁμοίως καὶ φιλεῖν καὶ φιλεῖσθαι (Chrysostom). "Being of one accord σύμψυχοι ," Bishop Ellicott renders more literally, "With accordant souls minding the one thing."

Php_2:3

Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory. Not "strife," but "faction," as R.V. The word is the same as that rendered "contention" in Php_1:10, where see note. Party spirit is one of the greatest dangers in running the Christian race. Love is the characteristic Christian grace; party spirit and vain-glory too often lead professing Christians to break the law of love. But in lowiness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. In your lowliness; the article seems to have a possessive sense, the lowliness characteristic of Christians, which you as Christians possess. Ταπεινοφροσύνη an exclusively New Testament word: the grace was new, and the word was new. The adjective ταπεινός in classical Greek is used as a term of reproach—abject, mean. The life of Christ ("I am meek and lowly in heart") and the teaching of Christ ("Blessed are the poor in spirit") have raised lowliness to a new position, as one of the chief features in the true Christian character. Here St. Paul bids us, as a discipline of humility, to look at our own faults and at the good points in the character of others (comp. Rom_12:10).

Php_2:4

Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Translate, "looking," as R.V., not making one's own interest the one only object of life, but regarding also the interests, feelings, wishes, of others. Each man must in a measure look at his own things,—the καί implies that; but he must consider others if he is a Christian indeed.

Php_2:5

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; literally, according to the reading of the best manuscripts, mind this in you which was also (minded) in Christ Jesus. Many manuscripts take the words "every man" ( ἕκαστοι ) of Php_2:4 with Php_2:5 : "All of you mind this." The words, "in Christ Jesus," show that the corresponding words, "in you," cannot mean "among you," but in yourselves, in your heart. The apostle refers us to the supreme example of unselfishness and humility, the Lord Jesus Christ. He bids us mind (comp. Rom_8:5) the things which the Lord Jesus minded, to love what he loved, to hate what he hated; the thoughts, desires, motives, of the Christian should be the thoughts, desires, motives, which filled the sacred heart of Jesus Christ our Lord. We must strive to imitate him, to reproduce his image, not only in the outward, but even in the inner life. Especially here we are biddcn to follow his unselfishness and humility.

Php_2:6

Who, being in the form of God. The word rendered "being" ( ὑπάρχων ) means, as R.V. in margin, being originally. It looks back to the time before the Incarnation, when the Word, the Λόγος ἄσαρκος , was with God (comp. Joh_8:58; Joh_17:5, Joh_17:24). What does the word μορφή form, mean here? It occurs twice in this passage—Php_2:6, "form of God;" and Php_2:7, "form of a servant;" it is contrasted with σχῆμα fashion, in Php_2:8. In the Aristotelian philosophy (vide ' De Anima,' 2.1, 2) μορφή . is used almost in the sense of εἶδος , or τὸ τί ἦν εἶναι as that which makes a thing to be what it is, the sum of its essential attributes: it is the form, as the expression of those essential attributes, the permanent, constant form; not the fleeting, outward σχῆμα , or fashion. St. Paul seems to make a somewhat similar distinction between the two words. Thus in Rom_8:29; Gal_4:19; 2Co_2:1-17 :18; Php_2:10, μορφή (or its derivatives) is used of the deep inner change of heart, the change which is described in Holy Scripture as a new creation; while σχῆμα is used of the changeful fashion of the world and agreement with it (1Co_7:31; Rom_12:2). Then, when St. Paul tells us that Christ Jesus, being first in the form of God, took the form of a servant, the meaning must be that he possessed originally the essential attributes of Deity, and assumed in addition the essential attributes of humanity. He was perfect God; he became perfect (comp. Col_1:15; Heb_1:3; 2Co_4:4). For a fuller discussion of the meanings of μορφή and σχῆμα , see Bishop Lightfoot's detached note, and Archbishop Trench, 'Synonyms of the New Testament,' sect. 70. Thought it not robbery to be equal with God; R.V. "counted it not a prize [margin, 'a thing to be grasped'] to be on an equality with God." These two renderings represent two conflicting interpretations of this difficult passage. Do the words mean that Christ asserted his cssential Godhead ("thought it not robbery to be equal with God," as A.V.), or that he did not cling to the glory of the Divine majesty ("counted it not a prize," as R.V.)? Both statements are true in fact. The grammatical form of the word ἁρπαγμός , which properly implies an action or process, favors the first view, which seems to be adopted by most of the ancient versions and by most of the Latin Fathers. On the other hand, the form of the word does not exclude the passive interpretation; many words of the same termination have a passive meaning, and ἁρπαγμός itself is used in the sense of ἅρπαγμα by Eusebius, Cyril of Alexandria, and a writer in the 'Catena Possini' on Mar_10:42 (the three passages are quoted by Bishop Lightfoot, in loco). The Greek Fathers (as Chrysostom Ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ υἱὸς οὐκ ἐφοβήθη καταβῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀξιώματος , etc.) generally adopt this interpretation. And the context seems to require it. The aorist ἡγήσατο points to an act, the act of abnegation; not to a state, the continued assertion. The conjunction "but" ( ἀλλὰ ) implies that the two sentences are opposed to one another. He did not grasp, but, on the contrary, he emptied him-sell The first interpretation involves the tacit insertion of "nevertheless;" he asserted his equality, but nevertheless, etc. And the whole stress is laid on the Lord's humility and unselfishness. It is true that this second interpretation does not so distinctly assert the divinity of our Lord, already sufficiently asserted in the first clause, "being in the form of God." But it implies it. Not to grasp at equality with God would not be an instance of humility, but merely the absence of mad impiety, in one who was not himself Divine. On the whole, then, we prefer the second interpretation. Though he was kern the beginning in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as a thing to be grasped, a prize to be tenaciously retained. Not so good is the view of Meyer and others: "Jesus Christ, when he found himself in the heavenly mode of existence of Divine glory, did not permit himself the thought of using his equality with God for the purpose of seizing possessions and honor for himself on earth." The R.V. rendering of the last words of the clause," to be on an equality," is nearer to the Greek and better than the A.V., "to be equal with God." Christ was equal with God (Joh_5:18; Joh_10:30). He did not cling to the outward manifestation of that equality. The adverbial form ἴσα implies the state or mode of equality rather than the equality itself.

Php_2:7

But made himself of no reputation; rather, as R.V., but emptied himself; not, he indeed, of the Godhead, which could not be, but of its manifestation, its glory. This he did once for all, as the aorist implies, at the Incarnation. The word "emptied' involves a previous fullness, "a precedent plenitude" (Pearson on the Creed, Php_2:25). The Divine majesty of which he emptied himself was his own, his own rightful prerogative; and his humiliation was his own voluntary act—he emptied himself. "He used his equality with God as an opportunity, not for self-exaltation, but for sell abasement" (Alford). "Manebat plenus, Joh_1:14, et tureen perinde se gessit ac si esset" (Bengel). And took upon him the form of a servant; rather, as R.V., taking the form. The two clauses refer to the same act of self-humiliation regarded from its two sides. He emptied himself of his glory, taking at the same time the form ( μορφήν as in Joh_1:6, the essential attributes) of a servant, literally, of a slave. Observe, he was originally ( ὑπάρχων ) in the form of God; he took ( λαβών ) the form of a slave. The Godhead was his by right, the manhood by his own voluntary act: both are equally real; he is perfect died and perfect Man. Isaiah prophesied of Christ (Isa_49:1-26 and Isa_52:1-15.; comp. Act_2:13, in the Greek or R.V.) as the Servant of Jehovah; he came to do the Father's will, submitting his own will in all things: "Not as I will, but as thou wilt". And was made in the likeness of men; translate, becoming, or, as R.V., being made (aorist participle). This clause is another description of the one act of the Incarnation he was God, he became man. Form ( μορφή ) asserts the reality of our Lord's human nature. Likeness ( ὁμοίωμα ) refers only to external appearance: this word, of course, does not imply that our Lord was not truly man, but, as Chrysostom says ('Hom.,' 8.247), he was more. than man; "We are soul and body, but he is God and soul and body." The likeness of men; because Christ is the Representative of humanity: he took upon him, not a human person, but human nature. He is one person in two natures. As Bishop Lightfoot says, "Christ, as the second Adam, represents, not the individual man, bat the human race."

Php_2:8

And being found in fashion as a man. He humbled himself in the Incarnation; but this was not all. The apostle has hitherto spoken of our Lord's Godhead which he had from the beginning, and of his assumption of our human nature. He now speaks of him as he appeared in the sight of men. The aorist participle, "being found ( εὑρεθείς )," refers to the time of his earthly life when he appeared as a man among men. Fashion ( σχῆμα ), as opposed to form ( μορφή ), implies the outward and transitory. In outward appearance he was as a man; he was more, for he was God. He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death; translate, as R.V., obedient. The participle implies that the supreme act of self-humiliation consisted in the Lord's voluntary submission to death. the obedience of his perfect life extended even unto death. "He taketh away [literally, 'beareth,' αἴρει ] the sin of the world;" "The wages of sin is death;" therefore he suffered death for the sin which, himself sinless, he vouchsafed to bear. Here we may remark in passing that this connection of death with sin must have made death all the more awful to our sinless Lord. Even the death of the cross. No ordinary death, but of all forms of death the most torturing, the most full of shame—a death reserved by the Romans for slaves, a death accursed in the eyes of the Jews (Deu_21:23).

Php_2:9

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him. The exaltation is the reward of the humiliation: "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Better, as R.V., highly exalted. The aorist ( ὑπερύψωσεν ) refers to the historical facts of the Resurrection and Ascension. And given him a Name which is above every name; read and translate, as R.V., and gave unto him the Name. The two aorist verbs, "highly exalted" and "freely gave" ( ἐχαρίσατο ), refer to the time of our Lord's resurrection and ascension. He voluntarily assumed a subordinate position; God the Father exalted him. We must read, with the best manuscripts, the Name. This seems to mean, not the name Jesus, which was given him at his circumcision, in accordance with the angel's message; but the name Lord or Jehovah (comp. Php_2:11), which was indeed his before his incarnation, but was given (comp. Mat_28:18, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth") to Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son, God and Man in one Person. Or more probably, perhaps, the word "Name" is used here, as so often in the Hebrew Scriptures, for the majesty, glory, dignity, of the Godhead. Compare the oft-repeated words of the psahnist, "Praise the Name of the Lord." So Gesenius, in his Hebrew lexicon on the word M#$' he explains the Name of the Lord as (b) Jehovah as being called on and praised by men; and (c) the Deity as being present with mortals (comp. Eph_1:21; Heb_1:4).

Php_2:10

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow; translate, in the name, not at (comp. Isa_45:23, quoted in Rom_14:10, Rom_14:11). The words may mean, either that all prayer must be offered to God in the name of Jesus, through his mediation; or that all creation must offer prayer to him. Both alternatives are true, and perhaps both are covered by the words; but the second seems to be principally intended (comp. Psa_63:4, "I will lift up my hands in thy Name." Comp. also (in the Greek) Psa_43:1-5 :9; Psa_104:3; 1Ki_8:44; also the common Septuagint phrase, Ἐπικαλεῖσθαι ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου ). Observe, the words are, not "the name Jesus," but "the name of Jesus;" the name, that is, which God freely gave to him (1Ki_8:9), It is the name which is above every name, that is, the majesty, the glory of Jesus, which is to be the object of Christian worship. The end of the whole passage being the exaltation of Jesus, it seems more natural to understand this verse of worship paid to Jesus than of worship offered through him to God the Father. Observe also that the words (Isa_45:23) on which this passage is formed are the words of Jehovah: "Unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." They could not be used without impiety of any but God. Of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. Perhaps the angels, the living, and the dead; or, more probably (comp. Rev_5:13 and Eph_1:21, Eph_1:22), all creation, animate and inanimate, is represented as uniting in the universal adoration.

Php_2:11

And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Every tongue; all creatures endowed with the gift of speech. The word rendered "confess" is commonly associated with the idea of thanksgiving, as in Mat_11:25, and generally in the Septuagint. Every tongue shall confess with thankful adoration that he who took upon him the form of a slave, is Lord of all. To the glory of God the Father. The glory of God the Father, from whom, as the original Source, the whole scheme of salvation proceeds, is the supreme and ultimate object of the Savior's incarnation.

Php_2:12

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. St. Paul passes to exhortation grounded on the Lord's perfect example. "Ye obeyed" ( ὑπηκούσατε ) answers to the γενόμενος ὑπήκοος of Php_2:8, and τὴν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν corresponds with the Savior's exaltation described in Php_2:9-11. He encourages them by acknowledging their past obedience; he urges them to work, not for the sake of approving themselves to their earthly teacher, but to think of their unseen Lord, and to realize his presence all the more in St. Paul's absence. Work out your own salvation. Complete it; God has begun the work; carry it out unto the end. Comp. the same word in Eph_6:13, "having done all." Christ's work of atonement is finished: work from the cross: carry out the great work of sanctification by the help of the Holy Spirit. Your own: it is each man's own work; no human friend, no pastor, not even an apostle, can work it for him. With fear and trembling. "Servi esse debetis exemplo Christi" (Bengel). Have an eager, trembling anxiety to obey God in all things, considering the tremendous sacrifice of Christ, the unspeakable depth and tenderness of his love, the immense importance of a present salvation from sin, the momentous preciousness of a future salvation from death.

Php_2:13

For it is God which worketh in you. "Prmsens vobis," says Bengel, "etiam absente me." Worketh ( ἐνεργῶν ); not the same word as "work out" ( κατεργάζεσθε ) in Php_2:12; acts powerfully, with energy. In you; not lnerely among you, but in the heart of each individual believer. Both to will and to do; translate, with R.V., to work; the same word as before, ἐνεργεῖν . "Nos ergo volumus, sed Deus in nobis operatur et velle: nos ergo operamur, sed Deus in nobis operatur ct operari". The grace of God is alleged as a motive for earnest Christian work. The doctrines of grace and free-will are not contradictory: they may seem so to our limited understanding; but in truth they complete and snpplement one another. St. Paul does not attempt to solve the problem in theory; he bids us solve it in the life of faith. Of his good pleasure ( εὐδοκίας ). As the glory of God is the ultimate end (Php_2:11), so the good will of God is the first cause of our salwttiou: "God will have all men to be saved" (1Ti_2:4.).

Php_2:14

Do all things without murmurings and disputings. Obedience must be willing and cheerful. The word rendered "murmurings" ( γογγυσμός ) is that constantly used in the Septuagint of the murmurings of the Israelites during their wanderings. Διαλογισμοί may mean, as here rendered, "dis-putings,'' or more probably, in accordance with the New Testament use of the word, questionings, doubtings. Submission to God's will must be inward as well as outward.

Php_2:15

That ye may be blameless and harmless; read, with the best manuscripts, that ye may become; an exhortation to continued progress. "Harmless;" rather, pure, simple; literally, unmixed. The sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation; rather, children, without the article. "The slave may murmur," says Chrysostom, "but what son will murmur, who, while working for his father, works also for himself?" Substitute "blameless" for "without rebuke," and "generation" for "nation." There is a close resemblance bore, especially in the Greek, and an evident reference to Deu_32:5. The Philippians are exhorted to exhibit in their lives a contrast to the behaviour of the rebellious Israelites. Among whom ye shine as lights in the world; not "shine," but, as R.V., are seen or appear. Lights; literally, luminaries. The word is used in Gen_1:14, Gen_1:16 of the sun and moon. Comp. Ecclesiasticus 43:7 and Wis. 13:2, "where φεστῆρες ὀυρανοῦ is exactly equivalent to φωστῆρες ἐν κοσμῷ here, the κοσμός of this place being the material world, the firmament; not the ethical world, which has been already expressed by the crooked and perverse nation" (Trench, 'Synonyms of the New Testament').

Php_2:16

Holding forth the word of life. Holding out to others. Meyer translates "possessing," and others, as Bengel, "holding fast. This clause should be taken with the first clause of Php_2:15, "That ye may be blameless," etc., he the words, "among whom," etc.. he being parenthetical. That I may rejoice in the day of Christ; literally, for matter of boasting to me against the day of Christ. He boasts or glories in their salvation. "The day of Christ," says Bishop Lightfoot, "is a phrase peculiar to this Epistle, more commonly it is ' the day of the Lord.'" That I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain; translate, did not. The verbs me aorist. He looks back upon his finished course (comp. Gal_2:2).

Php_2:17

Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith. He again compares the advantages of life and death, as in Php_1:20-25. In the last verse he was speaking of the possibility of looking back from the day of Christ upon a life of prolonged labor. Here he supposes the other alternative. The form of the sentence, the particles used ( λειτουργία ), and the indicative verb, all imply that the apostle looked forward to a martyr's death as the probable end of his life of warfare: Yea. he if I am even offered, as seems likely, and as I expect. Offered; the word means "poured out" as a libation or drink offering. St. Paul regards his blood shed in martyrdom as a libation poured forth in willing sacrifice. See 2Ti_4:6, Ἐγὼ γὰρ ἤδη σπένδομαι , "I am already being poured forth: the libation is commencing, the time of my departure is at hand." Compare also the similar words of Ignatius, 'Rom.' 2, and the words of the dying Seneca (Tacitus, 'Annals,' 15.64). Some think that the apostle, writing, as he does, to converted heathen, draws his metaphor from heathen sacrifices: in those sacrifices the libation was a much more important element than the drink offering in the Mosaic rites; and it was poured upon the sacrifice, whereas the drink offering seems to have been poured around the altar, not upon it. On the other hand, the preposition ἐπὶ is constantly used of the Jewish drink offering, and does not necessarily mean upon, but only "in addition to," or "at;" the drink offering being an accompaniment to the sacrifice. Service ( λειτουργία ). This important word denotes in classical Greek

(1) certain costly public offices at Athens, discharged by the richer citizens in rotation;

(2) any service or function in the Greek Scriptures it is used of priestly ministrations (Heb_8:6; Heb_9:21; comp. also Rom_15:16).

In ecclesiastical Greek it stands for the order of the Holy Communion, the ancient liturgies; it is sometimes used loosely for any set form of public prayer. The analogy of Rom_12:1, Where St. Paul exhorts Christians to present their bodies a living sacrifice, suggests that here the Philippians are regarded as priests, offering the sacrifice of their faith, their hearts, themselves, in the ministrations of the spiritual priesthood; St. Paul's blood being represented as the accompanying drink offering. Others, comparing Rom_15:16, where also sacrificial words are used, regard St. Paul himself as the ministering priest, and understand the metaphor of a priest slain at the altar, his blood being shed while he is offering the sacrifice of their faith. I joy, and rejoice with you all. Meyer, Bengel, and others prefer "congratulate" as the rendering of συγχαίρω "I rejoice with you."

Php_2:18

For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me; or, as R.V., in the manner. Their joy is to be like his, to mingle with his joy. The second clause may be rendered, as in Php_2:17, "and congratulate me."

Php_2:13

But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you; read and translate, with R.V., I hope in the Lord Jesus. He had urged them, in Php_2:12, not to depend too much on human teachers; but "much more in nay absence work out your own salvation;" still he will give them what help he can—he will send Timotheus. In the Lord Jesus (comp. Php_1:8, Php_1:14; Php_3:1-21 :24). Bishop Lightfoot has a beautiful note here: "The Christian is a part of Christ, a member of his body. His every thought and word and deed proceed from Christ, as the center of volition. Thus he loves in the Lord, he hopes in the Lord, he boasts in the Lord, he labors in the Lord. He has one guiding principle in acting and forbearing to act, 'only in the Lord' (1Co_7:39)."That I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. Timothy is both to assist the Philippians by his presence and counsel, and to comfort St. Paul by bringing back tidings of their Christian life.

Php_2:20

For I have no man like-minded; literally, of equal soul (comp. Deu_13:6, "Thy friend, which is as thine own soul"). "Timotheus,' says Bengel, "is a second Paul: where he is, there you should think that I myself am present." Others, not so well, explain the words, "I have no one like Timothy." The expression must, of course, be limited to those present at the moment, and available for the mission: it cannot in-elude St. Luke. Who will naturally care for your state ( ὅστις ); such as will care. Naturally; with a true, genuine affection. Timothy's love for St. Paul as his spiritual father will inspire him with genuine love for those who were so dear to St. Paul. Care is a strong word, μεριμνήσει , will be anxious (comp. Mat_6:31).

Php_2:21

For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's. All of them, he says ( οἱ πάντες ); Timothy is the one exception. He calls those about him brethren in Php_4:21; but, it seems, they were like St. Paul, not willing to spend and to be spent for the salvation of souls. It was a great sacrifice in one who so yearned for Christian sympathy to submit to the absence of the one true loving friend. St. Paul's spiritual isolation increases our wonder and admiration for the strain of holy joy which runs through this Epistle.

Php_2:22

But ye know the proof of him. Ye recognize from your former experience (Act_16:1-40.) his approved character. That, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel; translate, with R.V., that, as a child serveth a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the gospel. Served ἐδούλευσεν ); as a slave. He was both a son and servant to St. Paul, and also a fellow-worker with St. Paul, both being slaves of God.

Php_2:23

Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. Presently; rather, forthwith, as R.V. Dr. Farrar translates, "As soon as I get a glimpse." The oldest manuscripts here read ἀφίδω (remarkable for the aspirate) instead of ἀπίδω .

Php_2:24

But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly. Notice the variations of tone respecting his prospects of release. "I know" (Php_1:25), "I hope" (Phm_1:22, in the Greek), "I trust" here. The apostle was subject, like all of us, to changing currents of thought, to the ebb and flow of spirits; but his trust was always in the Lord. "Behold," says Chrysostom, "how he makes all things depend upon God." His hope, in all probability, was fulfilled (see Tit_2:12).

Php_2:25

Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus; translate, but I count it necessary. Ἡγησάμην here and in Php_2:28 are epistolary aorists; they point, that is, to the time of reading the letter, not to that of writing it; and are therefore to be rendered by the English present. Epaphroditus is mentioned only in this Epistle. Epaphras is the contracted form, but the name is a common one, and there is no evidence of his identity with the Epaphras of Colossians and Philemon. He seems to have been the bearer of this Epistle. St. Paul felt that to come himself, or even to send Timothy, might possibly not be in his power; he thought it necessary, a matter of duty, to send Epaphroditus at once. My brother, and companion in labor, and fellow-soldier. Mark how the epithets rise one above another; they imply fellowship in religion, in work, in endurance. But your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. "Your" refers to both clauses; "your messenger, and (your) minister to my need." Epaphroditus had brought to St. Paul the contributions of the Philippians (Php_4:18). Some think that the word rendered "messenger" ( ἀπόστολος , literally "apostle") means that Epaphroditus was the apostle, that is, the bishop of the Philippian Church. It may be so (comp. Php_4:3, and note); but there is no proof of the establishment of any diocesan bishops, except St. James at Jerusalem, at so early a period. The word ἀπόστολος . both here and in 2Co_8:23 ( ἀπόσψολος ἐκκλησιῶν ), is probably used in its first meaning in the sense of messenger, or delegate. The Greek word for minister, λειτουργός , seems to imply, like λειτουργία in Verse 30, that St. Paul regarded the alms of the Philippians as an offering to God, ministered by Epaphroditus. (But see Rom_13:6, also 2Ki_4:43; 2Ki_6:15, etc. in the Greek.)

Php_2:26

For he longed after you all. The verb is strengthened by the preposition: "was eagerly longing." Perhaps it should be rendered. he "is longing;" like "I count it necessary," in Php_2:25. And was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. "Full of heaviness" ( ἀδημονῶν ) is the word used of our blessed Lord in his agony (Mat_26:37). Some derive it from ἄδημος , he away from home; others, more probably, from ἄδην , in the sense of loathing, weariness, satiety. The word implies heart-sickness, restless; unsatisfied weariness, produced by some overwhelming distress.

Php_2:27

For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. St. Paul recognizes the thankfulness of Epaphroditus for the recovery of his health: he shares that thankfulness himself. Mark his human sympathies; he had a "desire to depart," but he rejoices in the recovery of his friend. St. Paul does not seem to have healed Epaphroditus. The power of working miracles, like that of foreseeing the future (comp. Php_1:25, and note), was not, it seems, continuous; both were exercised only in accordance with the revealed will of God and on occasions of especial moment.

Php_2:28

I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful; rather, I send him (epistolary aorist, as Php_2:25), I send him with the letter. Perhaps "again" is better taken with the following clause; "that when ye see him, ye may again rejoice." Note St. Paul's ready sympathy with the Philippians: their restored joy will involve a diminution of his sorrow. Mark also the implied admission that sorrows must still remain, though spiritual joy brightens and relieves them. "Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (2Co_6:10).

Php_2:29

Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation: In the Lord (see note on Php_2:19; comp. Rom_16:2). With joy on every account. Notice the constant repetition of the word "joy," characteristic of this Epistle.

Php_2:30

Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death. The readings vary between "Christ" and "the Lord." One ancient manuscript reads simply, "for the work's sake." The work in this case consisted in ministering to the wants of St. Paul. Translate the following words, with R.V., he came nigh unto death. Not regarding his life; rather, as R.V., hazarding his life, which translation represents the best-supported reading, παραβολευσάμενος : the verb literally means "to lay down a stake, to gamble." Hence the word Parabolani, the name given to certain brotherhoods in the ancient Church who undertook the hazardous work of tending the sick and burying the dead in times of pestilence. The A.V. represents the reading παραβουλευσάμενος consulting amiss. To supply your lack of service toward me; rather, as R.V., that which was lacking in your service. The Philippians are not blamed. Epaphroditus did that which their absence prevented them from doing. His illness was caused by over-exertion in attending to the apostle's wants, or, it may be, by the hardships of the journey. Υμῶν must be taken closely with ὑστέρημα , the lack of your presence. St. Paul, with exquisite delicacy, represents the absence of the Philippians as something lacking to his complete satisfaction, something which he missed, and which Epaphroditus supplied.

HOMILETICS

Php_2:1-4

Exhortation to unity.

I. St. PAUL'S ERNEST DESIRE FOR THE UNITY OF THE. PHILIPPIAN CHURCH.

1. He desires that unity because he loves them. His happiness is bound up with their spiritual welfare. "Fulfil ye my joy," he says; he had learned to look upon the things of others; his deepest joy depended, not on his own personal comforts, but on the spiritual progress of those whom he loved. The remembrance of the Philippians (Php_1:3, Php_1:4), the thought of their Christian love, brought joy to his heart. He asks them now to fulfill his joy, to increase, to complete it; and that not by gifts (gifts they had sent again and again), but by living together in holy love, by keeping "the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

2. He desires that unity because Christ desires it. He longed for the Philippians "in the bowels of Jesus Christ." His life was Christ, "Christ liveth in me," he said; therefore he loved with the love of Christ, and Christ prayed for the unity of the Church. That unity (the Lord Jesus said) should be the mark and badge of his disciples (Joh_13:35); it should be the means of leading the world to believe in his mission, in his gospel (Joh_17:21, Joh_17:23).

3. He shows the earnestness of his desire by dwelling on the thought of unity. He repeats his exhortation again and again. "Mind the same things," he says; have the same motives, the same desires, the same circle of thoughts. Have the same love; set your love on the stone Lord Jesus Christ; regard for his sake with a common love all who are called by his Name. Let your souls be knit together in a similarity of affections, wishes, feelings. Let the central thought, the aim of your lives, be one; the one thing needful, the excellency of the knowledge of Christ.

II. THE MOTIVES WHICH SHOULD URGE CHRISTIANS TO FOLLOW AFTER UNITY. These are to be found in the inner experiences of the Christian life.

1. The indwelling presence of Christ. That presence stimulates, quickens, encourages. It is the life of the Christian soul; and that life is diffused through all the members of the out body, through all the branches of the one Vine. Their spiritual life is one; unity aids its development; discord checks its growth.

2. The felt comfort of Christian love. Love is the bond of unity; the mutual love of Christians binds together the Christian Church. the truest joy springs out of love. Love comforts, blesses with a holy joy, the heart that entertains its sacred influences. The experience of the blessedness of Christian love should draw Christians nearer to one another in ever closer union.

3. The gift of the Spirit. The one Holy Spirit of God, in whose gifts and graces all in varying degrees participate (1Co_12:4-12), knits together all the members of Christ into one communion and fellowship. The presence of that one Spirit in each individual Christian constitutes the inner unity of the Church. That inner unity should find its natural expression in outward agreement.

4. The tender feelings of the Christian heart. The life of Christ in the soul, the presence of the blessed Spirit, lead the disciple to imitate his Lord, to learn of him tenderness and compassion. St. Paul asks the Philippians to show their love, their compassion for him by living in unity. If these spiritual truths are real facts to you, he says, verified in your own experience, fulfill ye my joy; be one in spirit and in heart.

III. UNITY IMPLIES HUMILITY. It is pride, self-conceit, that leads to strife and debate; avoid party spirit, avoid vain-glory.

1. Party spirit ( ἐριθεία ) is one of the works of the flesh. (Gal_5:20.) Party spirit arrays men in factions against one another; they think more of their party than of Christ, more of party triumphs than of the progress of the gospel. This evil tendency soon found a place in the Church. Christians began early to say, "I am of Paul, and I of Cephas." "Is Christ divided?" St. Paul asks in indignant sorrow; there is one body in Christ.

2. Humility is essential for preservation of unity. Vain-glory must be wholly excluded from the motives and thoughts of the true Christian. Human ambitions are empty and vain; the one true ambition is to please God. We are ambitious ( φιλοτιμούμεθα ), says St. Paul (2Co_5:9), to be well-pleasing unto him. It is vain-glory that distracts the Church and rends the body of Christ. So far as it intrudes itself into the motives, it destroys the truth and inner beauty of the religious life. Humility is a Christian grace, a product of Christianity. The example of Christ has shed a halo round a word which to the heathen spoke of meanness and cowardice. Holy Scripture has taken it and filled it with a new and blessed meaning; it suggests to the Christian the deepest piety, the inmost reality of personal religion. Humility lies at the very basis of the Christian character. "Blessed are the poor in spirit," is the first of the beatitudes. There is no true holiness that is not grounded on humility; for "God giveth grace to the humble." Therefore "let each esteem other better than themselves." The highest saints feel and own themselves to be the chief of sinners. The nearer they draw to the Sun of righteousness, the more clearly they see their own guilt and unworthiness. "He that abaseth himself shall be exalted." Hence the value of St. Paul's rule to esteem others better than ourselves. We are templed to magnify our own virtues and the faults of others. True wisdom reverses this. We are to consider others, not for self-exaltation, but for self-abasement. We are to look on our own faults to correct them, on the good points in others to imitate them.

3. True humility implies unselfishness. The Christian must not put himself first; he must not regard his own wishes, his own interest, as the one thing to be thought of. He must consider the feelings of others, their desires, their wants. Only true humility will enable him to do this. But it is a hard lesson; there is need of more than words; there is need of a strength not our own; there is need of the stimulating influence of a great example.

Lessons.

1. Learn to search your heart for the realities of Christian experience; you will find them there, if you are indeed living in fellowship with Christ.

2. Pray for grace to feel real joy in the religious progress of others.

3. Endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4. Be on your guard against party spirit and vain-glory. Strive to be first in humility and self-abasement; it is the secret of Christian joy and Christian growth.

Php_2:5-11

The example of type Lord Jesus.

I. THE IMITATION OF the Lord JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONE RULE OF CHRISTIAN PRACTICE.

1. In the outward life. He pleased not himself; he sought not the high places of the world; he did not choose a life of ease, comfort, pleasure. He lived for others; he went abrupt doing good; He cared for the temporal needs of the sick and poor. He cared for the souls of all.

2. In the inner life of thought and feeling. The Christian must mind the things which the Lord Jesus minded; his thoughts, wishes, motives should be the thoughts, wishes, motives which filled the sacred heart of Jesus Christ our Lord. Holy Scripture bids us purify ourselves even as he is pure. The standard is very high, above us, out of our reach. But it is the end to which the high calling of the Christian points; it should be the object of all the longings of our hearts, to know Christ, to love Christ, to be made like unto Christ—like him in the outward life of obedience, like him in the inner live of holy thought.

II. THE EXAMPLE DRAWN OUT IN ITS DETAILS. Christ looked not upon his own things—his Divine glory, his equality with God the Father. He looked ripen the things of others—our helplessness, our danger, our need of a Savior.

1. What he was. He was God; the Word was God in the beginning, "God only begotten" (the reading of the most ancient manuscripts in Joh_1:18), begotten of his Father before the world was. When God only was, and there was none but God; before the ages were, the Word was God. "Before Abraham was, I am," the Savior said, in Joh_8:58, where he vindicates his right to the incommunicable Name, Jehovah. He was God, then, by nature, by inalienable right, one with the Father, being "the Brightness of his glory, and the express Image of his person; "possessed of all the fullness of the Godhead; all the splendor the glory, the omnipotence, all the essential attributes, of Deity. Thus he was in the form of God, on an equality with God. But he did not count this inconceivable glory a thing to be grasped, to be clung to. He looked on the things of others, blessed be his holy Name!

2. What he became. He emptied himself of that effulgence which flesh could not behold and live. He took the form of a servant, the likeness of humanity. In outward fashion he became as one of us, though he ceased not to be God. this whole humiliation, from the Incarnation to the cross, was his own voluntary act: "I lay down my life of myself." That stupendous act of self-sacrifice wholly transcends the reach of human thought. The difference between the greatest king and the meanest slave is absolutely nothing compared with the abyss that separates humanity from Deity. That abyss beyond measure is the measure of the love of Christ which passeth knowledge.

3. Still he looked not on he his own things; he chose the lowest place upon earth. He despised not the carpenter's shop at Nazareth; he shed a new dignity on honest labor by his own example; he gave a new glory to humility which had no glory hitherto; he was content to obey: "Not my will, but thine, be done." He humbled himself and became obedient. His obedience extended through every detail of his most holy life; he sought not his own glory; it culminated in his death: it could reach no further; he became obedient unto death. And that death was the death of the cross—the cruel, lingering, shameful death reserved for slaves and the worst of criminals. Life has many strange contrasts—wealth and abject poverty, joy and utter misery. There never was contrast like this—omnipotence and seeming helplessness, the glory-throne on high and the awful cross, He loved us so very dearly. That astonishing love is set before us as our example.

III. HIS EXALTATION CONSEQUENT UPON HIS HUMILIATION.

1. Christ humbled himself, wherefore God highly exalted him. Wherefore; it is a great word, it expresses a law of God's kingdom. Exaltation follows on self-abasement, glory on humility. It was so with Christ our Lord. God exalted him, the incarnate Son, Jesus, perfect God, but also (blessed be his holy Name!) perfect Man, high above all heavens. He became obedient unto death; wherefore God gave unto him the name which is above every name. Unto Jesus, God and Man, all power is given in heaven and in earth, all the unutterable glory, all the majesty of the Godhead.

2. Therefore all prevailing prayer is made in his Name. "If ye shall ask anything in my Name, I will do it." All prayer is offered through his mediation. We plead before the throne of grace his perfect obedience, his precious death, his atoning blood, the blood that cleanseth from all sin. "Through Jesus Christ our Lord" is the prevailing close of every Christian prayer.

3. He himself is the object of Christian worship. All creation in heaven and earth and under the earth bows the knee to him in adoration. All tongues must confess with thanksgiving that he is Lord. Worship of offered to him redounds to the glory of God the Father, for it is God who exalted him.

IV. THE DISCIPLE IS AS HIS MASTER, THE SERVANT AS HIS LORD. The life of Christ, in a sense, repeats itself in each one of his elect. They share his humiliation, his cross; they shall share his glory, his throne (Rev_2:21).

1. I am crucified with Christ. We must imitate him in his humiliation, emptying ourselves of pride and self-indulgence. We must deny ourselves, mortifying the old man, crucifying the flesh with the affections and lusts, dying through the power of the most holy cross to the world and to the flesh.

2. So shall we rise with him—now, unto newness of life; hereafter, to behold him in his glory, to sit with him in his throne. "He that shall humble himself shall be exalted." Self-abasement must come first, then the glory; first the cross, then the crown.

LESSONS.

1. Learn never to let a day pass without meditation on the great Example. Contemplate with wondering thankfulness the great mystery of the Incarnation. Strive with all the energy of your spirit to fix your thoughts in awe, in penitence, in adoring love, upon the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Intense meditation on that tremendous sacrifice is the greatest help towards a holy life.

2. Pray for grace to imitate him in his humility, in his unselfish love.

Php_2:12, Php_2:13

What should be the result of Christ's example?

I. OBEDIENCE.

1. Christ became obedient even unto death. The Philippians have hitherto been obedient; they were obedient when the apostle called them to faith and repentance; let them be obedient now.

2. That obedience is due to God who sooth the heart. We must not depend too much on human teachers, whether present or absent; we must look to the unseen Savior who is ever present, and work out, each one for himself, our own salvation.

II. EARNEST EFFORT TO SAVE OUR SOULS.

1. Because our salvation was the end of Christ's humiliation. He came into the world to save sinners. The greatness of his self-sacrifice shows the momentous importance of the object for which he humbled himself. The cross of Christ throws a bright light on the tremendous alternative—life or death, salvation or damnation.

2. Because of salvation is lost, all is lost. The word σωτηρία means simply safety—safety from anything that may harm us, from danger, sickness, death. In Holy Scripture it means the safety of the soul,

(1) from sin, which is the sickness of the soul;

(2) from death the death of the soul, which is eternal death.

It is a precious word, for it points to unspeakable blessedness; an awful word, for it suggests a fearful alternative. It reminds us of that condemnation, that horror of eternal despair, which must be the portion of the lost. That great danger threatens us; we need to be saved from it, and therefore from sin.

3. Because our salvation must be wrought out by ourselves: no other man can do it for us. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior; he is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. "By grace ye are saved,… he and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Our salvation is the work of God. But there are two sides to the same great truth. It is his work, and yet it is ours. Both views of the one truth are presented to us in Holy Scripture. Both are true; they meet somewhere above our heads. Now we know in part; our standpoint is not high enough to command a connected view of all God's dealings with men. But we can see far enough to guide us on our way to heaven; we know enough for the needs of the Christian life. We know that Christ is our only Savior; he came into the world to save sinners; he died for all. But Holy Scripture bids us to carry out the work of salvation in our own souls, to complete it, working from the cross, in the faith of Christ. There is need of persevering energy. Others may guide, comfort, exhort; but each man must work out his own salvation for himself in the depths of his spirit,—it cannot be done by deputy. We must work, for God bids us; we must work, for we have an irresistible consciousness of power to choose the good and to avoid the evil. But we must trust wholly in Christ. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. It is he that saves us, not we ourselves.

III. A TREMBLING ANXIETY TO PLEASE GOD.

1. If we are in earliest, there must sometimes be fear and trembling in our religious life. The work is so very momentous; it is no matter for indifference or lukewarmness. We must pass the time of our sojourning here in fear, for we were "redeemed … with the precious blood of Christ." The greatness of the ransom shows the greatness of the danger. We must pray for grace to serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear; for true religion involves a deep, awful reverence for the majesty of God. Reve