Philippians 2

Paul urges the Philippians to live in humble unity, and he holds up Christ as the great example: He gave up His glory, became a servant, died on a cross, and was raised to the highest honor. Paul then calls them to live out their salvation, shining in a dark world. He closes by commending two faithful co-workers, Timothy and Epaphroditus.

Philippians 2:1

Paul lists four things the Philippians already know in Christ: encouragement, the comfort of His love, shared life in the Spirit, and tender compassion. They are not doubtful. He is saying that since these are real, they should now show them to one another.

BSA: fellowship (“participation, communion”): Believers share in one Spirit together, so they are bound to each other.

Greek: κοινωνία (koinōnia, G2842) — “sharing, partnership.” It means having something in common, not just friendly company. Believers share one Spirit, so their unity is a fact before it is a task.

Philippians 2:2

Paul says his joy would be full if they were of one mind and one love, joined in spirit and purpose. He does not ask for sameness of personality. He asks for hearts pulling the same way toward Christ.

BSA: united (“harmonious, symphonic”): The picture is of many different instruments playing one piece together.

See also: John 17:21.

Philippians 2:3

Selfish ambition and empty pride wreck any community. The remedy is humility, which looks at others and sees what is valuable in them. This is not self-hatred. It is choosing to give honor away rather than grab it.

BSA: humility (“lowliness of mind, meekness”): Humility is a settled way of thinking, not just polite behavior. empty pride (“vainglory, a false sense of importance”): Such pride is hollow, claiming a glory that is not really there.

Philippians 2:4

Paul does not forbid caring for your own needs. He says do not stop there. A healthy church is one where each person also watches for what others need and quietly supplies it.

See also: 1 Corinthians 10:24.

Philippians 2:5

Paul now points to the pattern for everything he has asked: the mind of Christ Jesus. The example that follows is not only to admire. It describes the attitude believers are meant to carry in their own hearts and relationships.

BSA: mind (“attitude, way of thinking”): Paul speaks of a whole outlook on life, not just a passing thought.

Philippians 2:6

Christ was truly God, sharing the very nature of God. Yet He did not cling to His rights and privileges as something to hold onto at all costs. His greatness showed itself in giving, not grabbing.

BSA: grasped (“seized, plundered, a thing to be taken by force”): Christ already had equality with God, so He did not need to seize it; He was free to lay its privileges aside.

Greek: μορφῇ (morphē, G3444) — “form, true outward expression of inner nature.” This word describes a form that truly shows what something is. Christ’s form as God means He truly was God, not merely like Him.

See also: John 1:1; Colossians 1:15.

Philippians 2:7

The Son gave Himself up. He did not stop being God. He took the humble place of a servant and became a real human being. The One who is served by angels came among us as one who serves.

BSA: emptied (“made himself of no reputation, gave up divine privileges”): He set aside the display and rights of glory, choosing a path of lowliness. servant (“slave, bondservant”): He took the lowest rank, with no claim on anyone.

Greek: ἐκένωσεν (ekenōsen, G2758) — “emptied, poured out.” The word pictures a vessel being poured out. Paul does not say of what, but the sense is that Christ spent Himself freely for others.

See also: Mark 10:45.

Philippians 2:8

Having become man, Jesus went lower still. He chose obedience to the Father all the way to death, and not an easy death but the cross, the Roman punishment for slaves and criminals. No humility could go further.

BSA: humbled (“lowered Himself, became obedient”): His humbling was His own choice, not something forced on Him.

See also: Hebrews 12:2.

Philippians 2:9

Because He went so low, God raised Him to the highest place. The path of self-giving love ends in glory, not loss. God gave Jesus a name above every other name, a place of unmatched honor and authority.

BSA: exalted (“lifted up to the highest position of honor”): God answered the Son’s descent with the greatest possible lifting up.

Greek: ὑπερύψωσεν (hyperypsōsen, G5251) — “highly exalted, raised above all.” The word adds a prefix meaning over or beyond to the verb for lifting up. Christ is raised not just high but above everything.

See also: Acts 2:33.

Philippians 2:10

Every created being will one day bow before Jesus. Paul covers all realms: heaven, earth, and under the earth. Echoing an Old Testament promise made about the Lord, he says that Jesus is the one to whom all will bow.

BSA: bow (“bend in reverence”): Bowing the knee is an act of worship and surrender.

See also: Isaiah 45:23.

Philippians 2:11

Every tongue will openly declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. This was the earliest Christian confession, and in Paul’s day it meant refusing to give that title to Caesar. The final aim is the glory of the Father, not the glory of the Son apart from Him.

BSA: Lord (“Master, God”): The title carries full divine authority, the name used for God in the Old Testament Greek.

See also: Romans 10:9.

Philippians 2:12

Paul tells the Philippians to keep going in obedience, even though he cannot be with them. To work out salvation means to carry it into daily life, not to earn it. Their attitude is to be reverent awe, not nervous dread.

BSA: work out (“bring to fulfillment, produce”): Salvation is a gift already given, and it is to be brought to its full result in everyday living.

Greek: κατεργάζεσθε (katergazesthe, G2716) — “work out, carry through to completion.” This is a word for working something through to its finish, like working a field to harvest. It speaks of carrying out what is already given, not earning it.

Philippians 2:13

Here is the comfort behind the command. God Himself is at work within believers, shaping both their wanting and their doing. We act, but we are never left to act alone. All that He does in us serves His good pleasure.

BSA: works (“is active”): God is actively energizing us, not standing by while we try.

Greek: ἐνεργῶν (energōn, G1754) — “working powerfully, energizing.” Our word energy comes from this. God supplies the working power in us, in both desire and deed.

See also: Ephesians 2:10.

Philippians 2:14

Paul gets very practical. Doing things without grumbling or quarrelling is one of the plainest signs of a changed heart. It also echoes Israel’s complaining in the wilderness, which the Philippians were not to repeat.

BSA: complaining (“murmurings, protests, or complaints”): The word suggests low, grumbling talk behind the scenes.

See also: Exodus 16:8.

Philippians 2:15

A church without grumbling and strife stands out in a twisted society. Their lives show them to be children of God. Like stars in a dark sky, they are most noticeable where the surrounding darkness is deepest.

BSA: lights (“luminaries, bright stars”): They are like heavenly bodies that give light by their steady presence.

Greek: φωστῆρες (phōstēres, G5458) — “lights, luminaries, heavenly lights.” This word is used of the sun, moon and stars. Believers are pictured as lights set in the sky of a dark world.

See also: Matthew 5:14-16.

Philippians 2:16

They shine by holding out the word of life to others. If they stand firm, Paul will be able to rejoice on the day of Christ that his labor was not wasted. His joy is bound up with their faithfulness.

BSA: hold forth (“offer, proclaim”): The message is to be offered to others, not kept to themselves.

Greek: ἐπέχοντες (epechontes, G1907) — “holding out, holding fast.” The word can mean either offering something to others or holding firmly to it. Both fit: they grip the word tightly and also hold it out to the world.

Philippians 2:17

Paul speaks of his possible death as a drink offering, wine poured out beside a sacrifice. Their faith is the sacrifice, and his life, if needed, is only poured over it. Even then he is full of joy.

BSA: poured out (“giving myself completely”): Paul is willing to spend his whole life for their faith.

Greek: σπένδομαι (spendomai, G4689) — “I am poured out as a drink offering.” This is the language of the altar, where wine was poured out. Paul sees his suffering as worship.

See also: 2 Timothy 4:6.

Philippians 2:18

Paul invites them to share his joy and not to grieve over his troubles. Joy runs both ways. He rejoices with them, and he asks them to rejoice with him, even in suffering.

BSA: rejoice (“celebrate, be happy”): Paul calls them to joy that is shared, not private.

Philippians 2:19

Paul hopes to send Timothy soon, and he roots even this plan in the Lord Jesus. His hope is not a firm promise. Hearing news of the Philippians would lift his own spirit while he is in prison.

BSA: hope (“trust, have confidence”): Paul’s planning rests on trust in the Lord, not on his own control.

Philippians 2:20-21

Timothy shares Paul’s own heart and truly cares about the Philippians’ welfare. Paul sadly notes that others around him were more concerned with their own interests than with Christ’s. Real care for others is rare and valuable.

BSA: genuinely (“sincerely, naturally”): Timothy’s care comes from the heart rather than from duty.

Greek: ἰσόψυχον (isopsychon, G2473) — “of equal soul, like-minded.” Paul says no one else is so alike in soul to him. Timothy shares Paul’s very feelings and outlook.

Philippians 2:22

The Philippians had seen Timothy’s character for themselves. He served with Paul like a son working beside his father for the sake of the gospel. His worth was proved by years of faithful service.

BSA: served (“been a slave, worked diligently”): Timothy served willingly, even as a slave serves, for the gospel.

See also: Acts 16:1-3.

Philippians 2:23-24

Paul plans to send Timothy as soon as he knows how his own case will turn out. He also trusts, in the Lord, that he will come himself before long. All his plans are held with an open hand.

BSA: trust (“have faith, am confident”): His confidence is in the Lord, not in the court’s decision.

Philippians 2:25

Epaphroditus had brought the church’s gift to Paul. Paul describes him with warm titles: brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier. He was the Philippians’ own messenger and the one who tended Paul’s needs, and now Paul sends him home.

BSA: fellow soldier (“companion in struggle, teammate in the spiritual battle”): Serving Christ is hard, shared effort, like men in the same army.

Greek: λειτουργὸν (leitourgon, G3011) — “minister, public servant.” The word often described service done for the public good, and in the Bible, holy service. Paul sees Epaphroditus’ care for him as a kind of sacred work.

See also: Philippians 4:18.

Philippians 2:26-27

Epaphroditus nearly died, and what troubled him most was that the Philippians had heard of it and were worried. Paul sees his recovery as God’s mercy, to Epaphroditus and also to Paul himself, who was spared a deeper grief.

BSA: mercy (“pity, compassion”): Recovery was a gift of God’s compassion, not just good fortune. distressed (“troubled, in anguish”): Epaphroditus was deeply upset, more for the church’s worry than his own pain.

Philippians 2:28

Paul sends Epaphroditus back with extra urgency. Seeing him alive and well would bring the church joy, and it would lighten Paul’s own worry. Christian love shares both sorrow and gladness.

BSA: rejoice (“be glad, experience joy”): The reunion would give the Philippians fresh gladness.

Philippians 2:29-30

Paul asks them to welcome Epaphroditus gladly, in the Lord, and to honor people like him. He came close to dying for Christ’s work. He risked his life to supply the service that distance kept the Philippians from giving Paul themselves.

BSA: honor (“hold in high esteem, value highly”): Faithful servants deserve real, open respect from the church. risking (“hazarding, not regarding”): He gambled his life for the sake of others and held it cheaply.

Greek: παραβολευσάμενος (paraboleusamenos, G3851) — “risking, gambling with his life.” This is a gambler’s word, meaning to stake everything on a throw. Epaphroditus put his life on the table for the work of Christ.