Philippians — Chapter 2

Authorship & Background

Deep Dive

Setting: Paul writes from prison, most likely in Rome around AD 60–62 under the house arrest of Acts 28:30, though some scholars argue for an earlier imprisonment in Ephesus or Caesarea. Philippi was a Roman colony in Macedonia (northern Greece), proud of its Roman citizenship and loyal to the emperor. Paul planted the church there about ten years earlier (Acts 16): Lydia, a slave girl set free from a spirit, and a jailer who woke to an earthquake. The church has just sent Epaphroditus with a gift (4:18). In chapter 1 Paul urged them to stand "in one spirit, with one mind" under pressure from outside (1:27–30). Chapter 2 turns to the danger inside: rivalry and complaining. Two women in the church were at odds (4:2), and Paul answers with the most famous picture of Christ's humility in the Bible.

Christ's Example of Humility (vv1–11)

• "So if there is any encouragement in Christ" (v1). Four "if" clauses, but they are not doubtful. They mean "since there is." Encouragement in Christ, comfort from love, participation in the Spirit, affection and sympathy: the Philippians have all of this already. Paul reasons from what they have received to how they should treat one another.
• "Participation in the Spirit" (v1). The word is koinōnia, fellowship or shared life. The same word appears in 1:5, their "partnership in the gospel." It can mean the fellowship the Spirit creates among believers, or their shared share in the Spirit. Either way, people who share one Spirit should not live as rivals.
• "Complete my joy" (v2). Paul's joy is already real (1:4, 18), but their unity would fill it up. He piles up phrases: same mind, same love, full accord, one mind. "Full accord" is literally "same-souled" (sympsychoi). The verb "be of the same mind" (phroneō) is a favorite of this letter. It is about a settled way of thinking, not just agreeing on opinions, and it returns in v5.
• "Selfish ambition or conceit" (v3). "Selfish ambition" (eritheia) is the word Paul used in 1:17 for preachers who proclaimed Christ out of rivalry to hurt him. "Conceit" is literally "empty glory" (kenodoxia), glory with nothing inside it. Paul is about to describe someone who emptied himself and received real glory.
• "In humility count others more significant than yourselves" (v3). In Greek culture "lowliness" (tapeinophrosynē) was the attitude of a slave, not a virtue. The gospel made it one. This is not pretending others are more talented. It is choosing to treat their needs as weightier than one's own.
• "Not only to his own interests" (v4). The "only" matters. Paul does not forbid caring for oneself. He forbids caring only for oneself. Timothy will be the living example (vv20–21).
• "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus" (v5). A compressed sentence, read two ways. Most English translations take it as "think the way Christ Jesus thought," so Christ is the example. The ESV reads it as "think the way that fits people who are in Christ Jesus," so Christ is the sphere they live in. Both are true, and the hymn that follows works either way. Christ is the pattern, and union with him is the power to follow it.
• A hymn? (vv6–11). The lines have a poetic rhythm, and many scholars think this was an early Christian hymn. Paul may have quoted it or written it himself. If so, within about thirty years of the cross, Christians were singing about Jesus' existence before his birth and his equality with God. The shape is a V: down from God's form to a slave's death, then up to universal lordship.
• "Though he was in the form of God" (v6). "Form" is morphē. The lexicon gives "form, shape," and in philosophical usage "the essential form," as distinct from schēma, the outward and changeable shape. Paul is not saying Christ only looked like God. He shared the very nature of God. "Was" (hyparchōn) is a present participle, "existing," and implies he never stopped being God (John 1:1; 17:5; Col 1:15).
• "Did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped" (v6). The rare noun harpagmos (used only here in the New Testament) comes from harpazō, "to seize." The lexicon notes two senses. Older translations took it actively: "thought it not robbery to be equal with God" (KJV), meaning he was not stealing anything by being equal with God. Most modern translators take it as "a thing to be seized" or "a prize to be clutched." Then Christ already had equality with God and did not cling to it or use it for his own advantage. The lexicon says the word itself leans toward the first sense, while the logic of the passage leans toward the second. Either way, the contrast with Adam is often noted: Adam, made in God's image, reached to be "like God" (Gen 3:5), while Christ, who was equal with God, let go.
• "But emptied himself" (v7). The verb is kenoō, "to empty." Paul uses it elsewhere for making something void (1 Cor 1:17; 9:15). From it comes the term kenosis. What did Christ empty himself of? Paul answers with the next participles: by taking the form of a servant and by being born in human likeness. He emptied himself by adding, not subtracting. Historic Christian teaching holds that he laid aside the privileges and visible glory of deity (John 17:5) and lived in dependence on the Father, without ceasing to be God. Some nineteenth-century "kenotic" theories said he gave up divine attributes such as knowing all things. The creeds and most evangelical scholars reject that, though they disagree on exactly how his divine and human knowledge relate (Mark 13:32).
• "The form of a servant" (v7). The same word morphē again. As truly as he was God, he was truly a slave (doulos), the lowest status in Philippi's social order. Many hear Isaiah's Servant here (Isa 52:13–53:12), who "poured out his soul to death" and was then "high and lifted up."
• "In the likeness of men… in human form" (vv7–8). "Likeness" and "form" (schēma, outward bearing) do not mean he only seemed human. Paul uses "likeness" because Christ was fully human and yet more than only human (Rom 8:3).
• "Obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (v8). Two steps down: death, and then the worst death. Crucifixion was for slaves, rebels and the worst criminals. Roman citizens were normally exempt, which Philippi's citizens would have known well. Cicero said the very word "cross" should be kept far from a Roman's thoughts. For Jews it meant being under God's curse (Deut 21:23; Gal 3:13). "Even death on a cross" may be Paul's own addition to the hymn, landing on the cross with full weight.
• "Therefore God has highly exalted him" (v9). The turn of the V. "Highly exalted" (hyperypsoō) is a "super-" word, exalted beyond all. Jesus said, "whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14:11). Here that is true of Jesus himself. The point for the Philippians: humility is not the end of the story.
• "The name that is above every name" (v9). In context, the name is "Lord" (v11). In the Greek Old Testament, kyrios, "Lord," stands in for God's personal name, Yahweh. Jesus is given the title that belongs to God alone.
• "Every knee should bow… every tongue confess" (vv10–11). This is a direct echo of Isaiah 45:23, where Yahweh says, "To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance." Isaiah's chapter insists there is no other God (45:21–22). Paul takes that text, the strongest statement of one-God faith, and applies it to Jesus, without any sense of competing with "the glory of God the Father." This is one of the clearest places in the New Testament where Jesus is placed within the identity of the one God.
• "In heaven and on earth and under the earth" (v10). Angels, the living, and the dead (or, some think, demonic powers). Everyone will one day acknowledge Jesus' lordship. This does not teach that everyone will be saved. Some will bow in worship and some in defeat (compare Col 2:15). Christians have read this differently, but the main traditions agree that confession at the end is not the same as saving faith now.
• "Jesus Christ is Lord" (v11). This is the earliest Christian confession (Rom 10:9; 1 Cor 12:3). In a Roman colony where people would hail Caesar as lord, saying it was costly. Polycarp, a bishop in Smyrna, was later put to death for refusing to say "Caesar is Lord."
• Commentators: Henry draws out the purpose: "Christ came to humble us, and therefore let there not be among us a spirit of pride." He calls the cross "the lowest step of his humiliation" and the exaltation "the reward of his humiliation." Guzik argues firmly that Christ's self-emptying added humanity rather than subtracting deity. He also paints how far Jesus could have avoided descending, such as arriving as a grown man or in glory, and chose not to. That runs slightly against the Tyndale notes, which speak of Jesus giving up his divine privileges. The two are compatible, since Guzik also says Christ set aside privileges, not nature. JFB keeps the older "no robbery" reading of v6 and defines God's "form" as his self-revealing characteristics. On "under the earth" it says these are "the dead; among whom He was numbered once." Guzik and JFB both draw on the morphē versus schēma distinction, and the lexicon supports it.

Lights in the World (vv12–18)

• "Therefore, my beloved" (v12). This "therefore" reaches back to the hymn. Christ obeyed (v8), so his people obey. "Not only as in my presence but much more in my absence" means their faith is meant to stand without Paul propping it up.
• "Work out your own salvation" (v12). Not "work for" salvation. It means bring it to completion and live it out fully. "Your own" is plural in Greek ("you all"), and the setting is a church divided by rivalry. Paul is speaking first about their life together. But it applies to each believer too.
• "With fear and trembling" (v12). Not terror of being rejected, but reverent seriousness before a holy God. Paul uses the phrase for his own arrival in Corinth (1 Cor 2:3) and for how servants should obey (Eph 6:5).
• "For it is God who works in you" (v13). "Works" (energeō, from which "energy" comes) appears twice: God works in them both "to will and to work." The desire and the doing both come from him. This is why they can work, not a reason to sit still. Augustinian and Reformed readers stress that God's grace comes first and does not fail. Wesleyan and Arminian readers stress that grace enables a human response. Both affirm the two halves of the verse: real human effort, and God at work underneath it. Paul does not resolve the tension. He uses it.
• "Without grumbling or disputing" (v14). "Grumbling" (gongysmos) is the word the Greek Old Testament uses for Israel's murmuring in the wilderness (Exod 16; Num 14). Paul draws on that story repeatedly here. Complaining is not small. It is how a people redeemed from slavery doubted the God who redeemed them (1 Cor 10:10).
• "Blameless and innocent… without blemish" (v15). "Innocent" (akeraios) means "unmixed, pure," like undiluted wine or unalloyed metal. Jesus uses it for being "innocent as doves" (Matt 10:16). "Without blemish" (amōmos) is sacrifice language, for an animal fit for the altar.
• "A crooked and twisted generation" (v15). This is a near quotation of Moses' song (Deut 32:5), where Israel itself was the crooked generation. Now the church is called to be what Israel was meant to be in the middle of a crooked world.
• "You shine as lights in the world" (v15). "Lights" (phōstēres) means "luminaries." The Greek Old Testament uses it for the sun and moon (Gen 1:14–16) and for the wise who "shine like the brightness of the sky" (Dan 12:3). Paul states it as a fact, "you shine," not "try to shine." Compare Jesus: "You are the light of the world" (Matt 5:14).
• "Holding fast to the word of life" (v16). The verb (epechō) can mean "holding fast" or "holding out," as one holds out a lamp. Both fit. The church keeps a firm grip on the gospel and offers it to others.
• "That I did not run in vain" (v16). Paul's athletic image again (3:14; 1 Cor 9:24). His reward at "the day of Christ" is the people he served (4:1).
• "Poured out as a drink offering" (v17). In Israel's worship, wine was poured out on or beside the main sacrifice (Num 15:1–10; 28:7). The Philippians' faith and service are the main sacrifice. Paul's life, possibly through execution, is the drink offering poured on top. He uses the same image near the end of his life: "I am already being poured out" (2 Tim 4:6). The startling note is joy: "I am glad and rejoice with you all."
• "You also should be glad and rejoice with me" (v18). Joy is the keynote of this letter, with the word group appearing about sixteen times, all written from a prison cell.
• Commentators: Henry puts v13 in four words: "Work, for he worketh." He adds, "All our working depends upon his working in us." On v14: "God's commands were given to be obeyed, not to be disputed." On v15: "When God raises up a good man in any place, he sets up a light in that place." JFB reads "fear and trembling" as "not slavish fear, but trembling anxiety not to fall short of the goal." It renders v17 "I am made a libation" and takes the lights as "luminaries," like sun and moon. Guzik quotes the saying that Paul exhorts like an Arminian and prays like a Calvinist. He also suggests "innocent" can mean "hornless," like sheep that cannot gore, but the lexicon derives akeraios from "mixing," so the meaning is "unmixed, pure," and the "hornless" idea should not be pressed.

Timothy and Epaphroditus (vv19–30)

• Why this section matters. This is not a change of subject. Paul has just shown Christ, who looked to others' interests. Now he points to two men who did the same, plus himself in v17. The hymn becomes flesh in ordinary friends.
• "I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy" (v19). Even his travel plans are held "in the Lord." Timothy was with Paul when the church at Philippi was founded (Acts 16:1–12). The church knew him well.
• "I have no one like him" (v20). Literally "no one like-souled" (isopsychos), a near relative of the "same-souled" word in v2. Timothy shares Paul's heart. "Genuinely concerned" uses the same root as "do not be anxious" in 4:6. Timothy carries the right kind of care.
• "They all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ" (v21). A sad line. Paul does not say who "they all" are. It probably means the people around him in Rome who could have gone but would not. It echoes v4 exactly: looking to one's own interests. Timothy is the exception, and the hymn is the reason.
• "As a son with a father" (v22). Paul had no children. Timothy was his son in the faith (1 Tim 1:2), and the relationship shaped Timothy's whole life. "Proven worth" (dokimē) is the word for metal that has been tested.
• "As soon as I see how it will go with me" (v23). Paul is waiting for a verdict. He expects release (v24; 1:25), and the pastoral letters suggest he was released for a time before a second, final imprisonment.
• Epaphroditus (v25). His name comes from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, which was common for people born into pagan families. Only Philippians mentions him (also 4:18). He is not the same person as Epaphras of Colossae, though the names are related. Paul stacks five titles: "brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier," and then "your messenger" (literally apostolos, one sent, though not an apostle like the Twelve) and "minister to my need" (leitourgos, a word used for priestly service). Carrying a gift to a prisoner counts as worship.
• "Distressed because you heard that he was ill" (v26). He is not worried about himself. He is worried that they are worried. "Distressed" (adēmoneō) is the word used of Jesus in Gethsemane (Mark 14:33).
• "Ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him" (v27). Paul, who healed many in Acts, did not simply heal his friend on demand. He calls the recovery mercy, not a right. "Sorrow upon sorrow": Paul feels grief openly, with no pretense that faith removes it.
• "Receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men" (v29). Paul may be heading off any criticism that Epaphroditus came home early or failed in his errand. He sends him back as a hero, not a failure.
• "Risking his life" (v30). The verb (paraboleuomai) means to expose oneself to danger, a gambling word. Later Christians who nursed plague victims were nicknamed the parabolani, "the reckless ones," from this root. "To complete what was lacking in your service" is not a complaint about the church. The church could not be present, so Epaphroditus was their love in person.
• Commentators: Henry on v21: "Seeking our own interest to the neglect of Jesus Christ is a very great sin, and very common among Christians and ministers." On Epaphroditus: "Sickness is a calamity common to men, to good men and ministers." JFB calls Timothy "Paul's second self." Its comment on v21 is honest: "Most help only when Christ's gain is compatible with their own." JFB notes that many of the oldest manuscripts read "hazarding" his life in v30, the reading the ESV follows, and its comments skip v28. Guzik summarizes Epaphroditus's titles as a relationship, a job and a battle. He follows Lightfoot in suggesting the illness came from overwork on the road rather than from persecution, which is a reasonable guess but not stated in the text. Guzik and Henry agree that no miracle is mentioned, only mercy.

Pointing to Christ

Paul's call for unity is not built on technique but on a person. The one who was in the form of God took the form of a slave. He went down to a cross, and God lifted him to the name above every name. Everything else in the chapter is that same shape repeated small: a church learning not to grumble, Paul poured out as an offering, Timothy caring for others, Epaphroditus risking his life to bring a gift. The way up in God's kingdom is the way down, because that is the way Jesus went, and "every knee should bow" to him.

Commentary

• Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik provides extensive analysis of the Christ Hymn, the kenosis (self-emptying), the exaltation, and the "work out" passage.
• Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
• Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Articles

• GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Philippians -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

• Esteeming Others Above Yourself (v.3) — Paul calls believers to genuinely consider others more important than themselves, against every natural instinct. Who in your life do you need to esteem above yourself today, and what would that look like in practice?
• The Mind of Christ (v.5) — Believers are called to share the same mindset Christ had, one of voluntary descent rather than self-promotion. Where are you clinging to privilege or status that you could release for the sake of someone else?
• Emptied of Reputation (v.7) — Christ gave up His reputation entirely, taking on the nature of a servant. In a world obsessed with image, what would it cost you to care less about how you're seen and more about how you serve?
• Working Out What God Works In (v.12) — Paul calls believers to actively work out their salvation, not to earn it but to live it out with seriousness. Where is your spiritual life stagnant, and what would intentional effort look like there?
• God at Work in You (v.13) — Paul balances the command to work with the reminder that God is the one working in believers to will and to act. How does knowing God is doing the deeper work change the pressure you put on yourself?
• Shining as Lights (v.15) — Believers are called to shine like lights in a crooked and dark generation. In your workplace, neighborhood, and relationships, are you actually shining, or quietly blending into the darkness around you?