Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Philippians
Chapter 2: Let This Mind Be in You
Philippians 2 holds up the greatest example of humility ever given: God Himself. Paul pleads for unity and lowliness of mind, 'let each esteem other better than themselves,' and then points to the pattern: 'Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.' He who was 'in the form of God' and 'equal with God' 'made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men,' humbling Himself 'unto death, even the death of the cross.' Therefore God 'highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.' From this height Paul calls believers to 'work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,' for 'it is God which worketh in you,' and to 'shine as lights in the world.' He closes with two living examples of the servant mind, Timothy and Epaphroditus. This chapter shows us the descent and exaltation of our God in flesh, and the mind we are to have.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Philippians chapter 2. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Paul sets before us the mind of Christ, the one God who humbled Himself to the death of the cross and was exalted above every name, and calls us to that same lowliness of mind. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Lowliness of Mind
Esteem others better than yourselves, in one accord.
The Form of a Servant
God in the form of God took the form of a servant.
Every Knee Shall Bow
At the name of Jesus every knee bows; Jesus is Lord.
Shine as Lights
Work out your salvation and shine in a dark world.
He Made Himself of No Reputation (Philippians 2:1-11)
The one who was in the form of God took the form of a servant, humbled Himself to death, and was exalted above every name.
That Every Tongue Should Confess That Jesus Christ Is Lord
"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. 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. 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."
Word Study
"made himself of no reputation," Greek kenoo (κενόω). The word means to empty, to make void or of no effect; here, in the middle voice, "he emptied himself." "Made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant." The question is what He emptied. He did not empty Himself of His deity, for He remained "in the form of God" and God was still "in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:19); Godhead cannot be laid aside. Rather, He emptied Himself by taking, by adding to Himself "the form of a servant" and being "made in the likeness of men." The One who was rich became poor (2 Corinthians 8:9); the One who was in the form of God veiled that glory in true humanity, laid aside the privileges and honors that were His by right, and stooped to the lowest place, "even the death of the cross." The emptying is not subtraction of what He was but assumption of what He was not: the eternal God took upon Himself genuine, humble, obedient manhood. This is the mind Paul commends: not grasping for our own rights and reputation, but emptying ourselves in humble service of others, as our God did for us.
Explanation
Paul grounds a plea for unity in the greatest example imaginable. Because there is "consolation in Christ" and "fellowship of the Spirit," believers should be "likeminded," doing nothing through strife but "in lowliness of mind" esteeming others better than themselves. Then he sets before them the mind of Christ, traced in a great descent and ascent: though "in the form of God," He "made himself of no reputation," took "the form of a servant," "humbled himself," and became "obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Wherefore God "highly exalted him" and gave Him the name at which "every knee should bow." The path to exaltation ran through humiliation — and that downward mind is the pattern for the church.
Gospel Focus
Paul has been pleading for unity, and now he grounds it in the deepest example imaginable. First the plea: "be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." Christian unity is not uniformity of opinion but a shared heart of love. The enemies of unity are named: "strife" and "vainglory," empty pride. The cure is "lowliness of mind": "let each esteem other better than themselves," and "look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." Then Paul lifts our eyes to the supreme pattern: "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." Here is the deity of Christ: He was "in the form of God," possessing the very nature of God, and being "equal with God" was no robbery, no grasping at what was not His, for it was His own by right. He IS God. And yet, "he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men." The one true God, who fills heaven and earth, stooped to be born a real man, a servant. This is not a second divine person sent by the first; this is the one God Himself, who "was manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16), taking upon Himself our humanity. "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." As a genuine man, the Son was obedient, and He humbled Himself all the way down to the most shameful death. The descent is total: from the form of God to the death of the cross. "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name." After the lowest descent, the highest exaltation. And what is that name above every name? It is revealed in what follows: "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." Paul is quoting the LORD's own oath in Isaiah 45:23, where Jehovah says, "unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." That worship, sworn by God to be given to Himself alone, is here given to Jesus, because Jesus IS that LORD, Jehovah manifest in flesh. The name above every name is the LORD Himself, now borne by the man Christ Jesus. So "every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." This confession does not glorify a second person over against the Father; it glorifies the Father, for the Lord Jesus is the Father revealed in the Son. To bow to Jesus is to bow to God; to confess Jesus as Lord is the glory of the one God. And the mind that took Him down that road of humility, and up to that exaltation, is the very mind we are called to have.
Work Out Your Own Salvation (Philippians 2:12-30)
Because God works in us, we work out our salvation, shine as lights, and follow the servant example of Timothy and Epaphroditus.
For It Is God Which Worketh in You
"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. 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. 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. 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. Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly. 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. 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."
Word Study
"worketh," Greek energeo (ἐνεργέω). The word means to be at work, to be effective, to energize or produce an effect; from it comes our word "energy." "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Paul has just said "work out your own salvation," and someone might hear that as salvation by human effort. But the very next word forbids it: the reason we can work it out is that God is the One at work within us, energeo, energizing both the willing and the doing. Notice how deep the work goes: God works "both to will and to do." He does not merely help us once we decide; He produces the very desire to obey and then the power to carry it out, all "of his good pleasure," according to His own gracious purpose. So the Christian life is not us working for God in our own strength, nor God working instead of us while we stay passive, but God working in us so that we truly work. His energy within becomes our obedience without. This is grace, not license: because God is working, we work all the harder, "with fear and trembling," in reverent seriousness, for the God of all glory is at work inside us.
Explanation
Paul holds together two truths that only seem opposite: "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is God which worketh in you." We work because God works — divine power is the ground of human effort, not its rival. Believers are to "shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life" in a "crooked and perverse" generation. Then Paul offers two living examples of the servant-mind of chapter's opening: Timothy, who genuinely cares for others' state, and Epaphroditus, who "for the work of Christ was nigh unto death, not regarding his life." The self-emptying of Christ is meant to reappear in ordinary believers.
Gospel Focus
Having shown us the humbled and exalted Lord, Paul now draws out how we live in the light of Him. "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." This is not earning salvation by works; it is working out, into daily life and conduct, the salvation God has worked in. And the ground of it is immediate: "for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." The same God who humbled Himself for us is now at work within us, giving both the desire and the power to obey. So we labor, not in our own strength, but in His. The fruit of this inner working shows outwardly: "do all things without murmurings and disputings," so that believers are "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." In a dark and twisted generation, the people in whom God works shine like stars, "holding forth the word of life." Paul is so invested in their faith that he would gladly be "offered upon the sacrifice and service" of it, poured out like a drink-offering, and still "joy, and rejoice." Then he holds up two living examples of the servant mind he described in Christ. First Timothy, who unlike those who "seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's," genuinely cares for their state, and "as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel." Then Epaphroditus, their own messenger, "my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier," who had come near death for the work of Christ, "not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service." Both men embody the mind of Christ: not grasping for their own, but pouring themselves out for others. Paul asks the church to "receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation." So the great hymn of Christ's humility is not left in the heavens; it comes down into ordinary obedience, joyful sacrifice, and faithful servants who spend themselves for the gospel, all because the God who emptied Himself is at work in them.
Chapter 2 in Review
Philippians 2 moves from a plea for unity to the highest example of humility, and back down to daily obedience. Paul asks the church to be "of one accord, of one mind," and "in lowliness of mind" to "esteem other better than themselves." Then he points to the pattern: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus," who, "being in the form of God" and "equal with God," "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant," humbling Himself "unto death, even the death of the cross." Therefore God "highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." From that height Paul calls believers to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling," for "it is God which worketh in you," and to "shine as lights in the world," closing with the servant examples of Timothy and Epaphroditus.
For the Apostolic reader this chapter is a treasure of both doctrine and devotion. Its heart is the mystery of God manifest in flesh: the one who was "in the form of God" and "equal with God" is the same one who "took upon him the form of a servant" and died on a cross. This is not a second divine person sent by a first, but the one true God who humbled Himself in genuine humanity. And His exaltation gives Him "a name which is above every name," so that "every knee should bow" and "every tongue... confess that Jesus Christ is Lord", the very worship Jehovah swore to Himself in Isaiah 45, now given to Jesus, "to the glory of God the Father," for the Lord Jesus is that God revealed. The same God who stooped so low now works within us "both to will and to do," so that our obedience is His grace at work. So let this mind be in us: the mind that empties itself in humble service, that shines as light in a dark world, and that pours itself out for others, because our God did exactly that for us.
- Unity comes through "lowliness of mind," esteeming others better than ourselves (2:2-4).
- Christ, "being in the form of God," "took upon him the form of a servant" and humbled Himself to the cross (2:6-8).
- God has given Jesus "a name which is above every name," so "every knee should bow" (2:9-10).
- "Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (2:11).
- We "work out" our salvation because "it is God which worketh in" us (2:12-13).
- Believers "shine as lights in the world," holding forth the word of life (2:15-16).
Questions for Reflection
- Do you have the mind of Christ, esteeming others better than yourself and serving without grasping?
- What does it mean to you that your God humbled Himself to the death of the cross?
- Do you confess Jesus as Lord, knowing His name is the name above every name?
- Are you working out your salvation in the confidence that God is working in you?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. Unity and lowliness of mind: Philippians 2:1-4; Romans 12:10; Ephesians 4:1-3. The humility of Christ, God manifest in flesh: Philippians 2:5-8; 1 Timothy 3:16; 2 Corinthians 8:9; John 1:14. The exaltation and the name above every name: Philippians 2:9-11; Isaiah 45:22-23; Acts 4:12; Colossians 2:9. Working out salvation because God works in us: Philippians 2:12-13; John 15:5; Hebrews 13:20-21. Shining as lights; Timothy and Epaphroditus: Philippians 2:14-30; Matthew 5:14-16; 2 Timothy 3:10. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Unity, lowliness of mind, and the mind of Christ: Philippians 2:1-5; Romans 12:10.
- The form of God to the form of a servant; God manifest in flesh: Philippians 2:6-8; 1 Timothy 3:16; 2 Corinthians 8:9.
- The name above every name; every knee bows: Philippians 2:9-11; Isaiah 45:22-23; Acts 4:12.
- Work out your salvation; God works in you: Philippians 2:12-13; John 15:5.