Philippians

2:5-11

3. Exhortations, 1:27-2:18

ii] Humility based on the example of Christ

We continue with Paul's exhortations to the Philippian church, 1:27-2:18, which followed on from his reflection on his own personal sufferings, 1:12-26. In 2:5-11 Paul encourages the Philippians follow the example of Christ's self-humiliation. An attitude of humility is best shaped by the example of Christ. It is the humility of servant-hood which will reinforce unity within the fellowship and thus produce steadfastness in the face of external pressure.

It is often argued that v6-11 are not originally from Paul's hand, but that he quotes a poem or hymn. It's rather foolish to assume that Paul is incapable of composing high prose / hymn / poetry. Numerous arrangements of the verses are proposed. Lohmeyer's arrangement of the passage in six three line stanzas (Heidelberg 1928) is as good as any and is accepted by many commentators, cf. Silva. See O'Brien for the development of views on the literary form. O'Brien follows Hooker who argues that the hymn "falls into two parts, v6-8 and v9-11, with the two finite verbs in each section describing Jesus' self-humbling, on the one hand, and the Father's action of exalting him, on the other." The notes below follow the arrangement of verses proposed by Reumann.

Driving home the exhortations toward mutual consideration within the Christian fellowship, v1-4, Paul encourages his readers to fully adopt this attitude, an attitude evident in the perfect self-giving of Christ. So, take on the mind of Christ / think Christianly. "Adopt towards one another, in your mutual relations, the same attitude that was found in Christ Jesus", O'Brien.

gar "-" - for. Expressing cause/reason, a Western text variant, discounted.

en unmin "your" - [you must think this] in you. The personal pronoun is reflective, so "in yourselves (the Christian community at Philippi)", and the dative probably expresses association, "with", so "among yourselves", and not as Lightfoot, "in your hearts."

[to fronhma (a atoV)] "attitude" - the way of thinking, attitude, thoughtful planning. An ellipsis is assumed here by most translations, so Moule etc., "you must think this way of thinking among you."

froneite (fronew) pres. imp. "should be" - you must think. This imperative verb is durative, so "you must continue to think [this way of thinking among yourselves]." "Think" in the sense of setting one's mind / attitude in a certain direction, so "orient", Barth; "your frame of mind aught to be ...", Cassirer.

touto pro. "the same as" - this. This pronoun can refer backward, or forward; here it does both. In verses 1-4 Paul calls for self-giving within the Christian fellowship, and so here he asks his readers to adopt this attitude / way of thinking among themselves. Yet, this attitude / way of thinking is also evident in the life of Jesus Christ, the divine man who is the supreme example of humble self-giving; "have this frame of mind in you, [a frame of mind which is also evident in Christ Jesus]", Zerwick.

o} kai "that of" - which also. Referring back to touto, "this", so "this way of thinking."

"was [also in Christ Jesus]", AV. There is no verb in the second clause so the verb to-be is assumed in most translations, although unnecessary in the Gk.; "which [is] also", present tense????

en "[Christ Jesus]" - in [Christ of Jesus]. Local. Our thinking should be like Christ's - the thinking which is en uJmin "in you" should be kai "also" = "the same as" o} "which = this way of thinking" en "in (which exists in)" Cristw/ Ihsou, "Christ Jesus."

Using high prose, Paul proclaims Christ, v6-11. "The Christ-hymn presents Jesus as the ultimate model for Christian behavior and action, the supreme example of the humble, self-sacrificing, self-giving service that Paul has just been urging the Philippians to practice in their relations one toward another, v1-4", O'Brien. The Hymn: i] The divine origins of Christ who played the role of a slave, v6-7b.

o}V pro. "who" - Possibly "the one who."

uJparcwn (uJparcw) pres. part. "[who] being [in very nature God]" - existing. The participle is adverbial, possibly temporal, "while being", or concessive, "though being", Moffatt. "Existing" in the sense of to be, subsist, continue eternally, although the idea of eternal existence derives from the context. The word in common use concerns prior existence rather than eternal existence; "he always had the nature of God", TEV.

morfh/ (h) "[in] very nature [God]" - form, appearance [of God]. Possibly "likeness", in the sense of outward display, but more likely "nature / form / essence", in the sense of expressing an inner reality, the essential attributes of something; "he was divine by nature", Moffatt.

ouc .... hJghsato (hgeomai) aor. "did not consider" - did not regard, consider, deem, have an opinion. Jesus was not of the opinion that ..... "he did not regard his equality to God a thing to be clutched to himself", Barclay.

einai (eimi) pres. inf. "[equality with God]" - to be [equal to God]. The infinitive forms an object clause / dependent statement of perception expressing what Jesus did not consider, namely, that his divinity was something to be grasped.

aJrpagmon (oV) "something to be grasped" - something to be plundered, taken as spoil, a prize to be won / grasped. The word is uncommon and therefore its exact meaning is unsure. Possibly, as of plunder to be won and held onto at all cost. Yet, it is likely that the sense is "grasped"; "the attitude one will take towards something which one already has and holds and will continue to have and hold", Wright, so Moule; "exploited", NRSV. "Though he existed in the form of God, yet he did not look upon equality with God as a prize which must not slip from his grasp, rather he emptied himself, taking upon him the form of a slave", Lightfoot.

This clause, expressing Christ's divesting himself and taking the likeness of a slave, is understood in a number of ways: i] He gave up the form of God; ii] he placed himself under demonic powers; iii] he played the part of the Servant of the Lord; iv] he became the righteous sufferer; v] he took the form of a slave; vi] he became a slave to God and is the Lordly Example, cf. O'Brien. O'Brien, Hurtado, Bruce, ... opt for the last option. Christ empties himself by setting aside his divine rights, without setting aside his divinity, in taking to himself the divine vocation of becoming the incarnate servant of the Lord for the salvation of all who believe. As such he stands as the perfect model for those who would similarly serve the Lord.

alla "but" - Strong adversative; "on the contrary, he ....."

ekenwsen (kenow) aor. "made [himself] nothing" - he made empty, of no effect. Usually understood in the sense of divested; "he stripped [himself] of every advantage", Phillips.

eJauton reflective pro. "himself" - Jesus divested himself of divine prerogative, although not of his divinity, in taking the form of a servant. The emphasis on "himself" indicates it was his doing to voluntarily so act; "in his own free will", TEV.

labwn (lambanw) aor. part. "taking [the very nature]" - taking [form, likeness]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "he made empty"; "and took upon himself the form of a servant", AV, "and really and truly became a servant", Barclay. Moffatt opts for an instrumental sense "by taking the nature of a servant." "Assuming the form of a slave", REB.

doulou (oV) gen. "of a servant" - slave. The genitive is adjectival, limiting "likeness / form / appearance". Jesus takes the form of a slave (metaphorically). "He stripped himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature", Phillips.

ii] The life of Christ in his humanity; his birth, suffering, obedience and death, v7c-8. "Born in humanity's likeness, and in appearance perceived as a human being, he experienced humiliation for himself, becoming obedient to the point of death - yes, death on a cross", Reumann.

genomenoV (ginomai) aor. part. "being made" - having become = come into existence, born. This participle, along with "having been found", is adverbial, modal, expressing the manner by which the action of the main verb "he humbled" (v8) is accomplished, v8; "having become ... and having been found ..... he humbled himself" = "Born in human guise and appearing in human form, he humbly stooped in his obedience even to die", Moffatt. Of course, if a new sentence and new paragraph does not begin here then it is possible that this participle modifies the verb "he made empty / he made [himself] nothing", v6.

en "in" - in [likeness of men]. Probably adverbial, expressing the manner of his birth, born "with" humanity's likeness. "He was born like other human beings", O'Brien.

anqrwpwn (oV) gen. "human" - of men / human beings. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, limiting "likeness"; "human likeness."

oJmoiwmati (a atoV) "likeness" - likeness, image, copy. Used in the sense of identical to the original, thus referring to Christ's "essential identity with the human race", O'Brien.

euJreqeiV (euJriskw) aor. pas. part. "being found" - having been found. See above.

schmati (a atoV) dat. "in appearance" - outward form, appearance, shape. Dative of respect / reference, "with respect to his appearance." Jesus is the divine man, but appears as the humbled man, cf. Isa.53:2,3. "He became like one of us", CEV.

wJV "-" - as, like [a man / human]. Expressing relationship, "as", so "being found to be a human being."

anqrwpoV "a man" - a man. "a human being", TNIV.

etapeinwsen (tapeinow) aor. "humbled" - make low, humble, humiliate. Main verb, expressing Christ's abasement. It has been noted that this verb stands in a chiastic relation with "he emptied himself." "He lowered his own dignity", Knox.

genomenoV (ginomai) aor. part. "and became [obedient]" - having become. Possibly attendant circumstance, as NIV, or forming a modal adverbial participial clause expressing the manner by which Christ humbled himself, or even instrumental, expressing the means by which Christ humbled himself.

mecri + gen. "to [death]" - up to, unto. "He walked the path of obedience all the way to death", TEV.

de "even" - but, and. Here obviously intensive, emphasizing the extent of Jesus' humiliation; "yes, even ...."

staurou (oV) "death [on a cross]" - of a death [of a cross]. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, "a cross death" = as NIV. Not only did Jesus take on the likeness of a human person, even a slave, even a slave faced with death, but he "even" took upon himself the degradation of public execution as a common criminal.

iii] The exalted Christ, lord over all to the glory of God, v9-11.

dio kai "therefore" - therefore, that is why. dio kai = dio. Here climactic, ie. ascensive. As a consequence of Christ's humiliation, although possibly "this is why", Goodspeed.

uJperuywsen (uJperuyow) aor. "exalted" - highly exalted. The force of the prefix is to stress the "exalted", so "highly exalted."

ecarisato (carizomai) aor. "gave" - graciously gave, gave freely, showed favour. "Bestowed on him", NEB / REB.

autw/ dat. pro. "him" - to him. Dative of direct object / interest.

to onoma "the name" - The "name" represents the person, their identity. Some suggest that the bestowed name is Jesus / Jesus Christ, but this seems unlikely; See Moule's flip flop on this in 1st. and 2nd. ed. of IB. Probably the title "Lord" is that which is bestowed, a title which serves as an allusion to the divine name, God's person, with its associated divine dignity. Jesus' self-humiliation is countered by the divine bestowal of God's own name, Lord / Yahweh, and with it the purgative of universal authority.

uJper + acc. "that is above [every name]" - above, over and above, beyond, more than [every name]. The name Yahweh is a name which is greater than any other name. "Gave him the name which is above all other names", NJB.

iJna + subj. "that" - so that [..... should bow ...... should confess ...]. This construction expresses either purpose, "in order that", or consequence, "with the result that." In the NT there is often a blurring of these actions and so hypothetical result, "so that", often seems the best choice.

en "at" - in. Here probably expressing association, "with"; "with the mention of the name", even with a temporal twist, "when the name is mentioned."

tw/ onamati (onoma) "the name [of Jesus]" - in the name. Possibly that every knee should bow at the mention of Jesus, but more likely, at the glory and dignity associated with the name that Jesus bears, namely Yahweh / Lord. Lightfoot argues that "the personal name of Jesus cannot be meant", but the issue has been long debated.

pan gonu kamyh/ (kamptw) "every knee should bow" - all knees should bow/bend. The whole creation should bow before Jesus; "should kneel in reverence and submission", Barclay.

epouraniwn gen. adj. "in heaven" - of heaven. This genitive, as with "of earth" and "of under the earth", is adjectival, possessive; "every knee of those / that belongs to those living in heaven / the heavenly community (adj. as a substantive) ......"

katacqoniwn adj. "under the earth" - Probably a reference to Hades / Sheol, the residence of the dead. The point is, Christ's reign is universal.

exomologhshtai (exomologew) aor. subj. "should confess" - should consent fully, agree to completely, openly and plainly. Lightfoot argues that since the word is used primarily in its secondary sense of "offer praise", "thanksgiving" in the LXX, it is most likely that Paul is following the lead of the LXX. Therefore, the meaning here would be "proclaim with thanksgiving."

oJti "that" - that . Introducing a dependent statement expressing what every tongue should confess.

"is [Lord]" - The verb to-be is usually supplied so instead of kurioV IhsouV CristoV, "Lord Jesus Christ", it is usually translated as "Jesus Christ is Lord." In the Gk., "Lord", which would serve as the predicate noun with the verb to-be, is placed first in the emphatic position, giving the sense "[the] Lord/Yahweh is Jesus Christ", so Reumann - high theology indeed. The reverse order makes the same point, although the suggested order is more startling.

eiV "to [the glory of God the Father]" - to, into [glory of God Father]. This preposition here possibly expresses purpose, "for", but probably more likely result here, "so that." "The Lordship of Christ is therefore within the ambit of the divine glory and far from masking it actually reveals it", Hawthorne. "All that Jesus did in his self-emptying, self-humbling, and obedient death on the cross led to the glory of God the Father because the self-giving of Jesus expresses the very nature of God....... All that God did in exalting Jesus and giving him the name Lord to be worshipped by all creation led to the glory of God the Father because the Lordship of Jesus Christ expresses the very nature of God", Hansen.

Philippians Introduction.

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