In our study of Philippians chapter two, we will look at the mind of Christ. In chapter one, we saw that, through Christ, we can sit back and enjoy the ride (not worry) about the future. Here, we will see that this is only possible when our minds are changed to be like His mind.
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Therefore, if you have any encouragement for me from your being in union with the Messiah, any comfort flowing from love, any fellowship with me in the Spirit, or any compassion and sympathy, then complete my joy by having a common purpose and a common love,
Paul was a logical man and, when he uses the word "if", he is not using it in a conditional sense. A better sense of what he is saying would be to use the word "since". He is saying that since we have the joy of knowing Christ as our Savior and even have the Spirit of God in us then our way of thinking should be the same as His. Paul is saying that their salvation brought him joy but this joy is not complete unless he knows that the people that he had brought to the Lord were growing in their faith.
by being one in heart and mind. Do nothing out of rivalry or vanity; but, in humility, regard each other as better than yourselves — look out for each other’s interests and not just for your own. Let your attitude toward one another be governed by your being in union with the Messiah Yeshua:
We are united with Christ when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, He gives us His mind, His love, and His purpose. Before Christ, we are selfish in that we do things for what we can get out of it or to make ourselves look good in other people's eyes. When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, that all changes.
Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God something to be possessed by force.
Now, Paul begins to describe the mind of Christ and it can be summed up in one word which is humility. Here, we see that Jesus did not hang on to His position in heaven and He was not worried about losing His place to another but instead willingly and with joy left the glory of heaven. I have heard and seen many stories of people who say they have died briefly and went to heaven but not once have I heard anyone say that they wanted to come back to the earth. We see Jesus' humility in the fact that He left to come to the earth on our behalf (He put our needs before His wants).
On the contrary, he emptied himself, in that he took the form of a slave by becoming like human beings are. And when he appeared as a human being,
This verse has been widely misinterpreted as meaning that Jesus emptied Himself of His deity and became just a man here on the earth. What the verse is talking about is the fact that He gave up His rights as God of the universe. This included the right to be worshiped and to be served. He was still the King of kings and yet came in the form of a working man (servant) which is what the majority of people were. He exchanged all of His rights for the physical limitations that come with a human body.
he humbled himself still more by becoming obedient even to death — death on a stake as a criminal!
Many of us are humbled by the actions of others (humiliation) but we see that Jesus humbled Himself even to the point of death. Not only was He willing to die in our place but He was willing to be humiliated on our behalf.
Therefore God raised him to the highest place and gave him the name above every name;
In the previous verses, we saw the mind of Christ which is humility as we saw His journey down from heaven to the earth. Here, we begin to see the mind of God the Father which is to exalt His Son. The word exalt comes from the Hebrew word rum (which is pronounced room) and its basic meaning is height. The Greek word is hupsoo and it means "to lift up on high". Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross and laying in a tomb. The Father lifted Him up and restored Him to the throne in heaven. His name is above every name as it is the only way for us to get right with God.
that in honor of the name given Yeshua, every knee will bow — in heaven, on earth and under the earth —
We see that everyone will bow to King Jesus as He rules all of creation. There are those that act like Satan is in control of the earth and there are those who think he will be in control of hell but that is not so. Jesus is in charge of everything both now and in the future. As the ruler, everyone will submit to His authority at some point. If we do so on this side of death, then, we will be with Him forever. If we do not do so before we die, then, we will submit to His authority on the Day of Judgment as we are sent to our final place in hell.
and every tongue will acknowledge[a] that Yeshua the Messiah is Adonai — to the glory of God the Father.
Not only will everyone bow but they will also acknowledge with their mouth that Jesus is Lord. Many have taken this and, in their ignorance of the complete Word of God, used it to proclaim the concept of universal salvation. We see, here, that everyone will confess that He is Lord but that is not the same as confessing that He is your Savior. The title of Lord was granted to Jesus by the Father and everyone will acknowledge that the Father has put Him in charge of all things. The title of Savior is a personal title that we give Him based on the fact that He died in our place and rose again. Everyone will call Him Lord but only those who choose to accept Him will call Him their Savior.
So, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey now when I am away from you: keep working out your deliverance with fear and trembling, for God is the one working among you both the willing and the working for what pleases him.
Paul urges the believers to continue to learn and to grow in their walk with Christ. When he tells us to work out our salvation, he is reminding us to listen to God and trust Him to use His word to guide us through the Spirit. We are saved by faith alone but our faith shines like a beacon of light which is God's purpose for our lives.
Do everything without kvetching or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure children of God, without defect in the midst of a twisted and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the sky, as you hold on to the Word of Life. If you do this, I will be able to boast, when the Day of the Messiah comes, that I did not run or toil for nothing.
What is our purpose on this earth? We see from this passage that we are to be a shining example of the power of Jesus Christ and to tell others about what Jesus has done for them. Can we be happy and rejoice in the days that we are in with all the ugliness in the world? Yes, we can if we look at all of the darkness as a tremendous opportunity to spread the Light which is Jesus Christ. The darker and more corrupt that this world becomes, the brighter His people shine. This is the same purpose for the 144,000 witnesses (see Revelation 7) during the Great Tribulation.
Indeed, even if my lifeblood is poured out as a drink offering over the sacrifice and service of your faith, I will still be glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise, you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
Under the Law, a drink offering was to accompany the lamb of the burnt offering (see Numbers 15:5). This offering was poured on a red hot offering and so was turned into steam and this steam rose up to God. This was a picture of Jesus sacrificing Himself, shedding His blood on our behalf, and rising from the dead to reign. Paul is telling the Philippians that, if he is in bondage for the good of them, then he is glad and thanks God for it. Paul lets us see that he was willing to give up his freedom for the good of others and so was demonstrating the mind of Christ. That is the very definition of love as we see in 1 John 3:16.
But I hope in the Lord Yeshua to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I too may be cheered by knowing how you are doing. I have no one who compares with him, who will care so sincerely for your welfare —
Just as we have seen Paul exhibit the mind of Christ while in chains for the gospel, we now see that Timothy is like minded with Paul. Paul had brought him to the Lord and trained him up in the knowledge of the things of Christ.
people all put their own interests ahead of the Messiah Yeshua’s. But you know his character, that like a child with his father he slaved with me to advance the Good News.
Timothy is contrasted with other "leaders" who were more concerned with their own things such as wealth, power, fame, etc. The mind of Christ does not think of such things but thinks of the needs of others. Paul reminds them and us that this was demonstrated in Timothy's work with him in spreading the gospel. Paul considered him to be his spiritual son as he had brought him to faith in Jesus and then trained him up just as a parent trains their children.
So I hope to send him just as soon as I see how things will go with me, and I am confident in the Lord that before long I myself will come too.
Paul was facing an uncertain outcome of his trial but, even so, he was thinking of the church in Philippi. He had confidence that God was in control and that he would get to see them again. That is a reminder to us that the "mind of Christ" does not change based on our circumstances.
Also I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, the emissary whom you sent to take care of my needs; since he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard he was ill. Indeed he was ill, close to death; but God had mercy on him — and not only on him, but also on me — otherwise I would have had sorrow piled on sorrow.
Now, we are introduced to a third example of someone that has the mind of Christ. Epaphroditus was the pastor of the church in Philippi and they had sent him to help Paul when they found out that he was imprisoned in Rome. We see that he is a true pastor in that he demonstrates his deep love for the Philippian church. He had been sick to the point of death and still was thinking of the people back there.
Therefore, I am all the more eager to send him, so that you may rejoice when you see him again; and I, for my part, may be less sad. So give him a joyful welcome in the Lord; honor such people. For he risked his life and nearly died working for the Messiah, in order to give me the help you were not in a position to give.
Paul tells them that he will be more at ease once he sends their pastor home. He was concerned because, at this time, false teaching was trying to penetrate all of the early churches. He then reminds them to honor this true pastor who went to serve in Rome in their place. This reminds us of the selfless service of Christ when He went to the cross on our behalf. The true "mind of Christ" is demonstrated in loving sacrifice for others.
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