Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. And I am confident in the Lord that I myself will come soon.
But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. For he longs for all of you and is distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, and almost died. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety. So then, welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him, because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to make up for the help you yourselves could not give me.
- Philippians 2:1-30
Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments
Philippians 2:1-4 ‘humility of mind’: “The apostle knew that to create unity and harmony you need first to have humility of mind. People do not quarrel when their ambitions have come to an end. When everyone is willing to be least; when everyone desires to place others higher than themselves-there is an end to contentious cliques. Factions and divisions pass away. Now, in order to create lowliness of mind, Paul, under the teaching of the Spirit of God, spoke about the lowliness of Christ. He would have us become low, and so he takes us to see our Master becoming low. He leads us to those steep stairs down which the Lord of glory took his lowly way and Paul bids us stop while he points us to the lowly Christ.”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Philippians 2:1 ‘consolation in Christ’: “Consolation can also be-translated ‘encouragement;’ and is from the Greek word that means ‘to come alongside and help, counsel, exhort’ (see … John 14:26; Rom. 12:1), which our beloved Lord does for His own. comfort of love. The Greek word translated ‘comfort’ portrays the Lord corning close and whispering words of gentle cheer or tender counsel in a believer’s ear. fellowship of the Spirit. Fellowship refers to the partnership of common eternal life provided by the indwelling Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16; 12:13; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 John 1:4-6). affection and mercy. God has extended His deep affection (see … 1:8) and compassion to every believer (cf. Rom. 12:1; 2 Cor. 1:3; Col. 3:12) and that reality should result in unity.”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Philippians 2:3-4 ‘Reach out and touch someone’: “Communication is easier now than it has ever been. Whenever we need to get in touch with somebody, we can call, e-mail, or text, regardless of where we are and where they are. Geography isn’t an issue; we can instantly send a message to some body halfway around the world. Some people even text each other while they are in the same house-just because they don’t want to get up and go to another room. Without much effort, we are almost always ‘connected’ if we want to be.
“But have you thought about what we may be losing when we depend more on electronic contact and less on face-to-face communication? Our deepest, most meaningful relationships develop in one-on-one time and extended conversation. When we’re with others, we understand them much better. We can read facial expressions, pick up on emotional responses, and communicate our own feelings very clearly. The result is more interaction, more depth, and more substance.
“I believe that if Jesus had all the communication tools of today at His disposal, He would still choose to spend His time face-to-face with His disciples. He would still heal people by touching them physically and be close enough to them that when He spoke to them they could hear the compassion in His voice. His presence in itself would be meaningful. God designed relationships to be developed and strengthened through personal, face-to-face interaction. That’s how we really bond with other people.”
- Tony Dungy, Uncommon Life – Daily Challenge (excerpt from devotion for 9 May)
Philippians 2:3 ‘selfish ambition’: “This Greek word, which is sometimes rendered ‘strife’ because it refers to factionalism, rivalry, and partisanship (see … Gal. 5:20), speaks of the pride that prompts people to push for their own way. conceit. Lit. ‘empty glory;’ and often translated ‘empty conceit:’ This word refers to the pursuit of personal glory, which is the motivation for selfish ambition. lowliness of mind. This translates a Greek word that Paul and other NT writers apparently coined. It was a term of derision, with the idea of being low, shabby, and humble (cf. 1 Cor. 15:9; 1 Tim. 1:15). esteem others better than himself. The basic definition of true humility (cf. Rom. 12:10; Gal. 5:13; Eph. 5:21; 1 Pet. 5:5).”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Philippians 2:5-9 ‘approach an issue with humility’: “Whether we’re talking about beds, positions, roles, or other things, we need to remember to approach every situation with humility, not with an attitude of entitlement that says, ‘I’m better than you, so …’ We don’t need to elevate ourselves; God will elevate us, if that is His ·will. And I can affirm that an attitude of humility always makes for a good night’s sleep.”
- Tony Dungy, Uncommon Life – Daily Challenge (excerpt from devotion for 9 April)
Philippians 2:5 ‘disunity’: ”Paul deals with the problem of disunity that threatened the church at Philippi. Certain individuals were quarreling, causing divisions within the church, which is a constant problem in most churches. People get irritated and upset over the way other people do things. Perhaps they don’t like someone’s attitude or tone of voice. Then cliques and divisions develop, which are always destructive to the vitality of a church. Paul points out that Christ is our example in settling problems.“
- Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible
Philippians 2:5 ‘controlling thoughts’: “While our thoughts stir our feelings, and thus strongly influence our wills, it is yet true that the will can be and should be master of our thoughts. Every normal person can determine what he will think about. Of course the troubled or tempted man may find his thoughts somewhat difficult to control and even while he is concentrating upon a worthy object, wild and fugitive thoughts ·may play over his mind like heat lightning on a summer evening. These are likely to be more bothersome than harmful and in the long run do not make much difference one way or another.
“The best way to control our thoughts is to offer the mind to God in complete surrender. The Holy Spirit will accept it, and take control of it immediately. Then it will be relatively easy to think on spiritual things, especially if we train our thoughts by long periods of daily prayer. Long practice in the art of mental prayer·(that is, talking to God inwardly as we work or travel) will help to form the habit of holy thought.
“The best way of all is to ‘let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.’ For to have the mind of Christ is to have good and pure thoughts always.”
- A. W. Tozer, The Price of Neglect
Philippians 2:6-8 ‘Christ’s attitude about disunity’: ”He immediately proceeds to explain what the attitude of Jesus, the mind of Christ, is like.
“That was the humility of Jesus Christ. He emptied Himself of everything and became a servant for our sake. That, says Paul, is the mind of Jesus Christ. In your disagreements with one another maintain this same attitude toward each other: Do not hold on to your so called ‘rights.’ Instead, put others first.“
- Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible
Philippians 2:6-7 ‘That’s what love does’: “Would you do what Jesus did? He swapped a spotless castle for a grimy stable. He changed the worship of angels for the company of killers. He could hold the universe in his palm but gave it up to float in the womb of a maiden.
“If you were God, would you sleep on straw, nurse from a breast, and be clothed in a diaper? I wouldn’t, but Christ did.
“If you knew that only a few would care that you came, would you still come? If you knew that those you loved would laugh in your face, would you still care? … Christ did.
“He humbled himself. He went from commanding angels to sleeping in the straw. From holding stars to clutching Mary’s finger. The palm that held the universe took the nail of a soldier.
“Why? Because that’s what love does. It puts the beloved before itself. “
- Max Lucado, A Love Worth Giving
Philippians 2:7-8 ‘the cross cures’: “Paul wishes to unite the saints in Philippi in the holy bands of love. To do this, he takes them to the cross. In the cross there is a cure for every spiritual disease. There is food for every spiritual virtue in the Savior. We never go to him too often.”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Philippians 2:8-11 ‘Christ’s Exaltation’: “The Lord Jesus is both human and divine. As is sometimes said, He is ‘very Man, and very God’! He is not two persons but one-His two natures come together perfectly in His incarnate state. And though He is human, He was without sin. The apostle Paul touches on this great miracle in what is called his kenosis (emptying) passage (Philippians 2:5-8). Verse 7 tells us that Jesus ‘emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.’ The Lord Jesus did not surrender His immanent attributes in any way; He was continually and perfectly holy, just, merciful, truthful, and faithful. ‘The emptying was not a subtraction but an addition The ’emptying’ of Christ was taking on an additional nature, a human nature with its limitations. His deity was never surrendered’ (Enns, Moody Handbook of Theology, pp. 228-29).
“The Lord took on the ‘outward appearance’ (Greek, schematos) ‘as a man’ and humbled Himself ‘by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross’ (verse 8). The prophecy of the exaltation of the Messiah as stated in Daniel 7:13-28 was fulfilled: ‘Also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth’ (verses 9-10).”
- Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson, Exploring Bible Prophecy
Philippians 2:9-11 ‘settling conflict’: ”The conflict was settled when the combatants were challenged to take on the mind of Christ, the attitude of the One who never demanded His rights but who humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death on the cross. But don’t stop there. What was the result of Jesus’ self-effacing humility and sacrifice?
“When Jesus willingly surrendered His rights, God gave Him every right in the universe. Paul says to quarreling Christians: With Christ as your example, lay aside your rights and absorb your wrongs. Replace selfishness with humility, and trust God to vindicate you. That is the mind of Christ.“
- Ray C. Stedman, Adventuring Through the Bible
Philippians 2:9 ‘the cross is only momentary’: “The truth is that God has never planned that His children should live forever stretched upon a cross. Christ Himself endured His cross for only six hours. When the cross had done its work, life entered and took over. ‘Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name.’
“His joyful resurrection followed hard upon His joyless crucifixion. But the first had to come before the second. The life that halts short of the cross is but a fugitive and condemned thing, doomed at last to be lost beyond recovery. That life which goes to the cross and loses itself there to rise again with Christ is a divine and deathless treasure. Over it death hath no more dominion. Whoever refuses to bring his old life to the cross is but trying to cheat death, and no matter how hard we may struggle against it, he is nevertheless fated to lose his life at last. The man who takes his cross and follows Christ will soon find that his direction is away from the sepulcher. Death is behind him and a joyous and increasing life before. His days will be marked henceforth not by ecclesiastical gloom, the churchyard, the hollow tone, the black robe (which are all but the cerements of a dead church), but by ‘joy unspeakable and full of glory’ (1 Peter 1:8).
“Real faith must always mean more than passive acceptance. It dare mean nothing less than surrender of our doomed Adam-life to a merciful end upon the cross. That is, we won God’s just sentence against our evil flesh and admit His right to end its unlovely career. We reckon ourselves to have been crucified with Christ and to have risen again to newness of life. Where such faith is, God will always work in line with our reckoning. Then begins the divine conquest of our lives. This God accomplishes by an effective seizing upon, a sharp but love-impelled invasion of our natures. When He has overpowered our resistance He binds us with the cords of love and draws us to Himself. There, ‘faint with His loveliness’ we lie conquered and thank God again and again for the blessed conquest. There, with moral sanity restored, we lift up our eyes and bless the Most High God. Then we go forth in faith to apprehend that for which we were first apprehended of God.”
- A. W. Tozer, God’s Pursuit of Man
Philippians 2:10 ‘at the name of Jesus’: “Jesus was the name bestowed at His birth (Matt.1:21), not His new name. The name for Jesus given in the fullest sense after His exaltation was Lord.”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Philippians 2:12-13 ‘working out the old, developing the new’: “The Holy Spirit, in regeneration, descends into a man and creates in him a new nature. He does not destroy the old that remains still to be battled with, and to be overcome. Though the nature which the Spirit implants is perfect in its kind and in its degree, yet it is not perfect in its development. God, having first worked it in, it becomes the business of the Christian life to work out the secret inner principle till it permeates the entire system, till it overcomes the old nature, till it in fact utterly destroys inbred corruption, and reigns supreme in the man’s every part-as it shall do when the Lord takes us to dwell with himself forever. Understand then, it is not at all to the work of Christ, it is not at all with regard to the pardon of our sins, or the justification of our persons that Paul speaks, but only with regard to our inner spiritual life.”
- Charles H. Spurgeon, from sermon notes
Philippians 2:12 ‘obeyed’: “Their faithful response to the divine commands Paul had taught them (cf. Rom. 1:5; 15:18; 2 Cor. 10:5, 6). work out your own salvation. The Greek verb rendered ‘work out’ means ‘to continually work to bring something to fulfillment or completion:’ It cannot refer to salvation by works (cf. Rom. 3:21-24; Eph. 2:8, 9), but it does refer to the believer’s responsibility for active pursuit of obedience in the process of sanctification (see notes on 3:13, 14; Rom. 6:19; cf. 1 Cor. 9:24-27; 15:58; 2 Cor. 7:1; Gal. 6:7-9; Eph. 4:1; Col. 3:1-17; Heb. 6:10, 11; 12:1, 2; 2 Pet. 1:5-11). fear and trembling. The attitude with which Christians are to pursue their sanctification. It involves a healthy fear of offending God and a righteous awe and respect for Him (cf. Prov. 1:7; 9:10; Is. 66:1, 2).”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Philippians 2:14-15 ‘No Room for Complainers’: “The apostle Paul is right. We’d definitely stand out if we didn’t complain about everything like everyone else does, whether it be rising gas prices or a mistake in our take-out order. We’d certainly be ‘bright lights.’ It’s hard to hide or blend in or be part of a group of complainers when you don’t think the same way. Who knows? If we stay focused on the positive, perhaps our energy and enthusiasm will change those around us. Perhaps we can remind them of some of the benefits they are overlooking-like being employed in a hurting job market, working in a comfortable environment, and getting a regular paycheck.”
- Tony Dungy, Uncommon Life – Daily Challenge (excerpt from devotion for 10 September)
Philippians 2:15 ‘our ‘norm’ is Christ’: “The wisdom of the cross is repudiation of the world’s ‘norm.’ Christ, not society, becomes the pattern of the Christian life. The believer seeks adjustment, not to the world, but to the will of God, and just to the degree that he is integrated into the heart of Christ is he out of adjustment with fallen human society. The Christian sees the world as a sinking ship from which he escapes not by integration but by abandonment.
“A new moral power will flow back into the Church when we stop preaching social adjustment and begin to preach social repudiation and cross carrying. Modern Christians hope to save the world by being like it, but it will never work. The Church’s power over the world springs out of her unlikeness to it, never from her integration into it.”
- A. W. Tozer, The Price of Neglect
Philippians 2:17 ‘Suffering brings us together’: “Suffering pushes us out of our homes. It puts us in touch with our neighbors. As my brother, Orville, stated after losing so much when Hurricane Andrew swept across southern Florida, ‘It blew down all our fences and we finally got to meet all our neighbors!’ Hardship forces us to grab hands with one another and pull up closer together. Suffering never ruined a nation! Hardship doesn’t fracture families. Affluence does!”
- Charles R. Swindoll, Bedside Blessings
Philippians 2:17 ‘being poured out’: “From the Greek that means ‘to be offered as a libation or drink offering.’ Some connect this with Paul’s future martyrdom, but the verb is in the present tense, which means he is referring to his sacrificial ministry among the Philippians. drink offering. This refers to the topping off of an ancient animal sacrifice. The offerer poured wine either in front of or on top of the burning animal and the wine would be vaporized. That steam symbolized the rising of the offering to the deity for whom the sacrifice was made (cf. Ex. 29:38-41; 2 Kin. 16:13; Jer. 7:18; Hos. 9:4). Paul viewed his entire life as a drink offering, and here it was poured on the Philippians’ sacrificial service. service of your faith. Service comes from a word that refers to sacred, priestly service (cf. Rom. 12:1; 1 Cor. 9:13) and was so used in the LXX. Paul sees the Philippians as priests who were offering their lives sacrificially and faithfully in serv ice to God (cf. 1 Pet. 2:9).”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
Philippians 2:27 ‘sick almost unto death’: “Perhaps by the time he arrived in Rome, Epaphroditus had become seriously ill, but now was recovered enough to go back home to labor with the church, which needed him more than Paul did.”
- John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)
My Thoughts
We should be united with Christ. The true church is united, but even then we argue over things that are unnecessary. Does infant baptism even count? I was baptized when I was not quite five months old, and once baptized by the Holy Spirit, water baptism is a mere symbol. It is an important symbol, but not necessary for salvation. Yet, we are divided over when and how. Should we sprinkle, patterned after the purification and consecration of the priests in Mosaic Law? Or should we immerse? Some denominations are in between with pouring. All of this is works, thus cannot be part of salvation, only a symbol thereof.
But when we do things, if we are looking out for the needs of others rather than our own selfish ambitions, would we not be able to find common ground? In this secular world, the battle lines have been drawn. Let’s not fall prey to those lines. We will not condone their sin, but only God can condemn.
We should pattern ourselves after Jesus. He was born of lowly state. He was obedient to his parents. He served. He gave of Himself with healing, feeding, and preaching. His entire life was in service to others without using the secular world of His day as a guide. He had more disdain for the hypocrisy of the religious leaders than for the unknowing sinfulness of the common man. He pulled people up rather than putting people down. And He warned those who were haughty.
All should one day call Jesus Lord. “Lord” is an important title that few understand. As people use curse words as if they have no meaning, people use Lord as a cast off word, but Lord means that Jesus has earned the title, endowed with the qualities of supreme ruler over us. There is nothing trivial about the word Lord in this context. In calling Jesus Lord, we surrender all to Him. Note: Those curse words have meaning and should not be part of our vocabulary.
And in modeling ourselves after Jesus, did Jesus complain or grumble? I cannot see where He did. He asked how long will He have to put up with those of little faith. He was exhorting them to strengthen their faith. He was letting them know they still had far to go. But grumble and complain does not sound like the Jesus in the gospels.
Yet, we complain. I have written often about one bad boss or another. I had so many. But those who lived their lives to serve others? Those very few bosses were bosses who I look back on and cannot find any fault in them.
But we love to complain. I live in the greater Pittsburgh area (Pennsylvania, USA). If it is hot, they will grumble that it should be cooler. If it is cold, they will complain “Oh, when will summer ever return?” But then in the Fall and Spring, they complain about the weather, knowing that within the next fifteen minutes or so, it might rain, snow, sleet, hail, or the sun will be shining. A common expression in those times is not to complain, just wait fifteen minutes. It might be worse, but it will probably be different.
Then Paul speaks of himself as a drink offering, being poured out. We often help out. We often work for the benefit of the poor and needy. Okay, maybe some of us less than others or not at all, but for those who do, do you pour yourself out in the process of helping those in need? The food bank director at our church, for the entire area, sometimes comes into Sunday school totally spent. There are those who work without thought of keeping something left in the tank. They know God provides the energy to keep going. They have stronger faith than those who only pour a little.
Paul ends this chapter by telling the Philippians that Timothy and Epaphroditus are coming along with this letter. He praises Timothy as a great servant for the Lord, as if he were Paul’s own son. And then, he mentions that Epaphroditus had been ill, almost dying, and the people of Philippi were concerned for his health as they should have been, but rather than just mere words, Paul was sending Epaphroditus to them so that they would be filled with Joy. One of their own had almost lost his life in service to God, but he was back among them.
That is a touching story about Epaphroditus but it should teach us that human contact is important. Sending a message is nice. Sending money is helpful. But being there is important.
Some Serendipitous Reflections
Philippians 2:1-11 Imitating Christ’s Humility 1. How would things change if verses 3-8 marked your family life? Church life? Work life?
“2. How does humility (using your strength for the good of others) differ from being a doormat?
Philippians 2:12-18 Shing as Stars 1. As a star, is your fellowship a ‘twinkle, twinkle’? A nova? Burned out? Why? How can you help it burn brightly?
Philippians 2:19-30 Timothy and Epaphroditus 1. If these two came to your church to solve problems, how would you deploy them?
“2. Who are the models of humility and service you can look up to today, as Paul looks to Timothy and Epaphroditus? How do they challenge you to grow?”
- Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups
Philippians 2 is divided into three sets of question(s) as shown.
Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.
If you like these Thursday morning Bible studies, but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Thursday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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