Philippians 2 explained: Putting Others First, Like Jesus

A plea for unity (vv. 1-4)

Appealing to the comfort and love they have found through Christ, Paul asks the church to be united in purpose and affection. He warns against rivalry and showing off, and asks each person to care about other people's interests, not only their own.

Christ goes low (vv. 5-8)

In lines many scholars think come from an early Christian hymn, Jesus shares God's very nature but does not use equality with God for his own gain (translations word this line differently), and instead lowers himself to live as a human servant. He goes as low as death on a cross, the shameful Roman execution used mostly for slaves and rebels.

God lifts him high (vv. 9-11)

Because of this, God gives Jesus the highest honor, so that every being in heaven, on earth and under the earth (most likely meaning the dead) will bow and call him Lord. Paul is echoing Isaiah 45:23, where every knee bows to God alone, and Christians read this as placing Jesus alongside God.

Working it out (vv. 12-13)

With Paul away, they are to keep working out their salvation with deep seriousness, because God is at work in them, giving both the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Christians balance these two lines differently: many Protestants stress that salvation is a gift already given and here being lived out, while Catholic and Orthodox Christians speak more of a lifelong cooperation with God's undeserved help.

Shining as lights (vv. 14-18)

If they stop grumbling and quarreling, they will shine like lights in the night sky amid a twisted and corrupt age, language that echoes the song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32. Paul pictures his own possible execution as wine poured over a sacrifice, with their faith as the offering, and says that even then he would be glad.

Two trusted helpers (vv. 19-30)

Paul, still a prisoner and unsure how his case will end, hopes to send Timothy, who has served with him like a son with his father, and to come himself later. First he sends home Epaphroditus, who brought the church's gifts and nearly died of an illness, and asks them to welcome and honor him.

Key verse: Philippians 2:5

Where Christians differ

Christians differ over what Jesus gave up in verse 7, where some translations say he 'made himself nothing' and others that he 'emptied himself': most Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant teaching says he took on a humble servant's life while remaining fully God, some modern Protestant thinkers say he set aside the use of certain divine powers during his earthly life, and a minority of scholars read the poem as contrasting Jesus with Adam rather than describing a life before his birth.

Something to think about

When has someone giving up an advantage for the sake of others changed the way you saw them?