Philippians

Chapter 1

We’ve already seen in the 1st chapter, the opening verses speak of being made “pure and blameless (eilikrineis 2occ., 2Pet 3:1 “sincere” kai aproskopoi 3occ. Act 24:16, 1Cor10:32)” on “the day of Christ” (v.10), a term repeated more than once. Further, Paul speaks of the “harvest (fruit) of righteousness that comes through Christ (pepleromenoi karpov dikaiosynes ton dia tou Iesou Christou)”. If we are really attempting serious theology, the fruit of righteousness does not come through anyone but God.

Paul the Servant of Christ: The Letter to the Philippians begins with Paul “servant” (Gr. doulos) of Jesus. We must must not instinctively take this as simply analogous to serving an earthly master when Christ no longer walks the Earth physically. Rather this is a unique usage in relation to Christ, for one does not see the Jews use “servant of Moses” in the Old Testament either. But Paul is not using the term in a general sense, rather he as a statement of his new identity, which is what makes it significant. In fact, one of the OT terms for worship is simply “aved” (עָבַד Strong’s 5647, eg.Ps.100:2), from the same root word for “serve” or “servant” “eved”. We discuss other worship terms in the section on worship.

In the second section, Paul is again speaking of Christ as the reference point for faith and religion. His imprisonment “for Christ” (1:13) has made the brethren “confident in the Lord” (v.14), and with the stated goal that “Christ is proclaimed” (vv.1:15,16,17.18) “in every way” (1:18), with help to be expected from the “Spirit of Christ” (1:19), so that “Christ will be exalted now as always in my body”, “whether by life or death” (1:19), “living is Christ and dying is gain (gainful so that he can thereby be with Christ)”(1:21), “my desire is to be with Christ” (v.23), “(my) boasting is (abundantly) in Christ” (v.26), “live your life in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ” (v.27) “for (God) has granted you the privilege of believing in Christ (and) of suffering for him” (v.29).

Chapter 2

There is evidence and the widely held view among Biblical scholars that the “Carmen Christi”, the Christological hymn of Philippians 2 is relating a hymn that is known to the Church rather than composed. For example, when the hymn is back-translated into Hebrew is falls perfectly into poetic metre. Given that St. Paul’s writings are among the earliest Church writings, if the Carmen Christi predates even them, it is a sign of just how early the deity of Jesus is accepted in the Church. Phil 2:6: “who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited…”

Chapter 3

Worship of God and boasting in Christ is spken of in the same breath: “we…worship in the Spirit of God (or God in the Spirit) and boast in Christ…” (3:3). Indeed we see that this “boasting” in Christ is in exclusion to the love or desire for all else as Paul exults that “everything”, “all things”, “all gains” (vv.7,8) are “loss” (v.7,8), “rubbish” (v.8) “because of Christ” (v.7), “because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”, “for his sake I have suffered the loss of all things” (v.8,10), “that I may gain Christ”, “and be found in him” (v.9). Paul does not aspire to a “righteousness of my own that comes from the law”, rather “the righteousness of God based on faith” “that comes through faith in Christ” (v.9). We are “taken hold of” by Christ (v.12); God’s heavenly call is in Christ (v.14). The “enemies of the Cross” have for their “god…their belly” (v.19) Lord Jesus is our Savior from Heaven (v.20), transforming our bodies, humiliated in this world to be conformed to his own glorious body (v.21).

Paul once again speaks here, as he did in Romans 6 of how our own resurrection and death is related to becoming like Christ and one with Christ in his own suffering and death: “I want to know..the power of his resurrection”, “sharing of his sufferings”, “become like him in his death”, “if somehow I may attain the resurrection” (v.10).