At the center of Philippians stands one of the greatest passages about Christ in all of Scripture. Paul is not writing a creed. He is trying to stop a quarrel. But to show the Philippians how to treat one another, he reaches back before creation, to the One who was equal with God and emptied Himself, down to a servant’s form and a criminal’s death, and then was lifted to the name before which every knee shall bow. That same mind, Paul says, is to be in you.
A study in Philippians 2 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 30 min read
Fulfil Ye My Joy
“If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
Philippians 2:1-4
The “if” in these verses does not express doubt. It means “since.” Since there is consolation in Christ, since there is comfort in His love and fellowship in His Spirit — then let it show in how you treat each other. Paul’s joy was already full of reasons to rejoice, but one thing would complete it: a church of one mind.
The Philippians were not divided over doctrine. The trouble seems to have been personal. Chapter 4 names two women, Euodias and Syntyche, who had worked beside Paul in the gospel and could not now agree (4:2). So the cure Paul offers is not an argument but an attitude: “lowliness of mind.” Each is to count the other as more important, and each is to look out for the other’s interests, not only his own.
Who, Being In The Form Of God
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Philippians 2:5-8
To answer a squabble in a small church, Paul points to the greatest act of humility the universe has ever seen. And every phrase counts.
“Being in the form of God.” The word “form” does not mean a mere outward appearance. It means the real nature of a thing as it shows itself. Christ did not become God; He already existed “in the form of God” before He came, sharing “the glory which I had with thee before the world was,” as He prayed on His last night (the study of John 17 explores that prayer). And the same word appears again in the next verse: He took “the form of a servant.” He was as truly God as He became truly a servant.
“Thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” Equality with God was His by right, not something seized. The Revised Version margin, which Ellen White often quoted here, brings out the other side of the thought: He “counted it not a thing to be grasped” — He did not cling to it. The contrast with another being in heaven is deliberate.
“Lucifer had said, ‘I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; … I will be like the Most High.’ Isaiah 14:13, 14. But Christ, ‘being in the form of God, counted it not a thing to be grasped to be on an equality with God, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.’ Philippians 2:6, 7, R. V., margin. This was a voluntary sacrifice. Jesus might have remained at the Father’s side. He might have retained the glory of heaven, and the homage of the angels. But He chose to give back the scepter into the Father’s hands, and to step down from the throne of the universe, that He might bring light to the benighted, and life to the perishing.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 22
Here is the whole great controversy in two sentences. Lucifer, a created being, grasped at a place that was not his. Christ, who was equal with God, let go of the glory that was His. One way of thinking has produced all the misery in the universe. The other is the way of heaven.
“Lucifer desired God’s power, but not His character. He sought for himself the highest place, and every being who is actuated by his spirit will do the same. Thus alienation, discord, and strife will be inevitable. … While Lucifer counted it a thing to be grasped to be equal with God, Christ, the Exalted One, ‘made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 436
That is exactly why Paul brings this up in a letter about getting along. “Strife” in verse 3 is Lucifer’s spirit; “lowliness of mind” is Christ’s. A church where each member reaches for the highest place is running on the principles of the wrong kingdom.
“Made himself of no reputation.” The Greek says simply, “He emptied Himself.” Paul explains the emptying with the next words: by taking the form of a servant and being made in the likeness of men. Christ did not stop being God. He laid aside the glory and the privileges of His position, and added to His divine nature a genuine human one, to live as a servant.
“He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Becoming human was already an infinite step down. But He kept going — to death, and then to the worst death the Roman world knew. Crucifixion was so shameful that Roman citizens were normally spared it, and Philippi was a colony proud of its Roman citizenship. The Son of God went lower than Rome would send its own citizens.
“In stooping to take upon Himself humanity, Christ revealed a character the opposite of the character of Satan. But He stepped still lower in the path of humiliation. ‘Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.’ Philippians 2:8. As the high priest laid aside his gorgeous pontifical robes, and officiated in the white linen dress of the common priest, so Christ took the form of a servant, and offered sacrifice, Himself the priest, Himself the victim.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 25
We saw that mind in action on the night before the cross, when the Lord of glory knelt with a towel and a basin, and told His disciples, “For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15; see the study of John 13).
“Of so much consequence did He regard it, that He Himself, One equal with God, acted as servant to His disciples. While they were contending for the highest place, He to whom every knee shall bow, He whom the angels of glory count it honor to serve, bowed down to wash the feet of those who called Him Lord. He washed the feet of His betrayer.”
Ellen G. White · The Desire of Ages, p. 649
That At The Name Of Jesus Every Knee Should Bow
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:9-11
The way down became the way up. Because He humbled Himself, God “highly exalted him.” And the words Paul uses for that exaltation come straight from one of the strongest statements of God’s uniqueness in the Old Testament:
“Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
Isaiah 45:22-23
In Isaiah it is the LORD, beside whom “there is none else,” to whom every knee bows. Paul applies those very words to Jesus. No Jew who knew his Bible could miss what that meant. The honor that belongs to God alone is given to Jesus — and it is “to the glory of God the Father,” not in competition with Him.
“Every knee” means every knee: in heaven, on earth, and among the dead. Not all will bow in love. But at the end of the great controversy, after the thousand years, even those who rejected Him will acknowledge that He was right.
“As if entranced, the wicked have looked upon the coronation of the Son of God. … They witness the outburst of wonder, rapture, and adoration from the saved; and as the wave of melody sweeps over the multitudes without the city, all with one voice exclaim, ‘Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints’ (Revelation 15:3); and, falling prostrate, they worship the Prince of life.”
Ellen G. White · The Great Controversy, p. 668
“His accusations against the mercy and justice of God are now silenced. The reproach which he has endeavored to cast upon Jehovah rests wholly upon himself. And now Satan bows down and confesses the justice of his sentence.”
Ellen G. White · The Great Controversy, p. 670
The one who said “I will be like the Most High” ends on his knees before the One who emptied Himself. The controversy that began with grasping ends with the confession that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Work Out Your Own Salvation
“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:12-13
Paul does not say “work for your own salvation.” Salvation is God’s gift, received by faith, as Paul has argued at length in Romans, Galatians and Ephesians. He says “work out” — carry it through, bring it to completion in daily life, the way the mind of Christ is to be worked out in how the Philippians treat each other. And verse 13 tells where the power comes from. God is at work in you, not only helping you do what is right, but giving you the very desire to do it.
“The work of gaining salvation is one of copartnership, a joint operation. There is to be co-operation between God and the repentant sinner. … Man is to make earnest efforts to overcome that which hinders him from attaining to perfection. But he is wholly dependent upon God for success. Human effort of itself is not sufficient. Without the aid of divine power it avails nothing. God works and man works.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 482
What if our own wills are the problem? That is exactly where verse 13 meets us. God works in us “to will,” not only “to do.”
“You are not able, of yourself, to bring your purposes and desires and inclinations into submission to the will of God; but if you are ‘willing to be made willing,’ God will accomplish the work for you, even ‘casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.’ 2 Corinthians 10:5. Then you will ‘work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.’”
Ellen G. White · Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, p. 142
And the “fear and trembling”? It is not the fear that God will let us down.
“God does not bid you fear that He will fail to fulfill His promises, that His patience will weary, or His compassion be found wanting. Fear lest your will shall not be held in subjection to Christ’s will, lest your hereditary and cultivated traits of character shall control your life. … Fear lest self shall interpose between your soul and the great Master Worker.”
Ellen G. White · Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 161
Shine As Lights In The World
“Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.”
Philippians 2:14-16
“Murmurings” recalls Israel in the wilderness, complaining against Moses and against God. And “a crooked and perverse nation” is borrowed from the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:5), where it described Israel itself. Now God’s people are to be the opposite: blameless children in the middle of a crooked world, shining like stars against a dark sky.
That picture will have its fullest meaning in the last days, when the darkness is deepest.
“Among earth’s inhabitants, scattered in every land, there are those who have not bowed the knee to Baal. Like the stars of heaven, which appear only at night, these faithful ones will shine forth when darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people. … And in the hour of deepest apostasy, when Satan’s supreme effort is made to cause ‘all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,’ to receive, under penalty of death, the sign of allegiance to a false rest day, these faithful ones, ‘blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke,’ will ‘shine as lights in the world.’ Revelation 13:16; Philippians 2:15. The darker the night, the more brilliantly will they shine.”
Ellen G. White · Prophets and Kings, p. 188
“Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.”
Philippians 2:17-18
“Offered” is the language of the drink offering, the wine poured out on top of a sacrifice at the altar. Paul sees the Philippians’ faith and service as the sacrifice, and his own possible death as the drink offering poured over it — the finishing touch, not the main thing. He used the same word years later, at the very end: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand” (2 Timothy 4:6). Even facing that, his word is “joy.”
Timotheus And Epaphroditus
“But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.”
Philippians 2:19-22
The chapter now turns to travel plans, but it is not a change of subject. Paul has just described the mind of Christ; now he shows two men who have it. Timothy “will naturally care for your state” — he looks “on the things of others” (verse 4). In a world where “all seek their own,” he is the living exception.
“Since his conversion, Timothy had shared Paul’s labors and sufferings, and the friendship between the two had grown stronger, deeper, and more sacred, until all that a son could be to a loved and honored father, Timothy was to the aged, toilworn apostle.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 498
“Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.”
Philippians 2:25-27
Epaphroditus was the Philippians’ own man, sent to Rome with their gift and to care for Paul. He fell so sick that he nearly died — and what troubled him most was not his illness but the Philippians’ worry about him. Notice, too, that Paul the apostle, who had healed the sick in other places, could not simply heal his friend. He prayed, and “God had mercy on him.”
“While in Rome, Epaphroditus was sick, ‘nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him,’ Paul wrote, ‘and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.’ Hearing of the sickness of Epaphroditus, the believers at Philippi were filled with anxiety regarding him, and he decided to return to them.”
Ellen G. White · The Acts of the Apostles, p. 479
“I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation: Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.”
Philippians 2:28-30
“Not regarding his life” — the word means to gamble, to stake everything. Epaphroditus risked his life “for the work of Christ.” Paul asks the church to honor men like this. There is a quiet echo of verse 7 here: Christ “made himself of no reputation,” and now Paul asks the Philippians to “hold such in reputation.” The ones who empty themselves for others are the ones God’s people should honor.
So the chapter that began with a quarrel ends with three portraits of the same mind: Christ, who emptied Himself to the death of the cross; Timothy, who cared for others and not for his own things; and Epaphroditus, who staked his life to serve. The mind of Christ is not only something to admire. It is something to put on, in a church, in a family, in a friendship, one humble choice at a time. The next chapter will show what it cost Paul himself, when he counted everything he had once prized as loss for Christ.
