Philippians 2:5-11 is a bible passage that has been interpreted a number of times and long cherished. The orthodox Christian confession of Christ is mainly based on this passage. Contemporary worshippers and devoted Christians alike have found reason to believe that this passage has an evocative and memorable power. Not so many bible passages have attracted the controversy and interpretation as much as this passage has over the years. A close look at the verses raises significant questions on the meaning of the words used and how they affirm the nature and work of Christ. Most people also look for a deeper understanding of how the verses fit within the arguments of Philippians and the likelihood that the poetry used within the passage may actually be a reflection of some ancient Christian hymn (Keddie 552). This paper seeks an exegesis of Philippians 2:5-11 through a detailed analysis of the passage.
In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul is addressing believers with the hope that they will emulate the humility that Jesus Christ exhibited which culminated with His death on the cross. Paul is addressing a situation in which people have to learn and appreciate the value of humility and unity. He hopes to motivate these people by helping them to understand the high regard and humility that Jesus expressed and how they should emulate Him and live by his example. In this context, Paul is the author and the audience that he addresses is a congregation of believers. Paul is talking about the events that marked the last days of Christ here on earth. He talks of how He humbled Himself and how through His death, He was exalted by God. The occasion that Paul is addressing in this context is the incarnation of Christ. Christ who existed in the form of God emptied Himself by accepting to be treated like a slave. Christ shared in the nature of human beings and obeyed the will of God to the point of death (Cleugh 239).
The cultural factors that impinge on the interpretation of the text were the division even though it was not apparent in the congregation. This is brought out by the fact that Paul saw the need of addressing this issue when he wrote to them. He hoped to reach out even to those who had a different opinion about Christ. Paul’s congregation was a rare one since these divisions were not apparent. The issues that he addressed included the lack of mutual humility, going after self-gratification which was all in vain, strife, lack of love and their lack of concern for mutual welfare. He also addressed the need of people comparing their lives with that of Christ. These issues that he addressed were the same issues that characterized the cultural issues (Justnes 145).
The purpose of Paul’s letter is to address the conflict that existed among various people at the time on issues such as lack of love, the quest for self-gratification, and not appreciating the value of humility. Paul hopes to make people to have an attitude like that of Christ who lived among the people and accepted to be mistreated and even killed even though he was God’s equal. Paul wants the congregation to accept the value of humility by living as power the example that Christ showed by living among people and being treated as a slave even though his deserved the status of a king. He did not take advantage of His status and instead remained obedient to the point of death. Thus, the main message of Paul’s letter is humility and the need for unity among all people (Keddie 553).
Paul talks about several issues in this letter. In verse 5 and 6, he addresses the need of people having the attitude of Christ Jesus who did not consider Himself as God’s equal even though He was in very nature God. In verse 7, Paul talks of how God made himself nothing by taking the human likeness and the nature of a servant. However, he did not stop being God even amidst the humiliation and the nature of God was still in Him since he was considered to be sinless. In verse 8, Paul talks of how Christ remained obedient and humble even to the point of death on the cross. God truly died in the person of Christ. Paul goes on to address how Christ was exalted by God and given a name that is above all names in verse 9. In verse 10 and 11, Paul goes on to talks on how every knee will bow and all tongues confess at the mention of the name of Jesus. He goes ahead to say that the name of God the Father will be glorified when every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. This message relates well with the purpose of Paul in this letter which is to help the people to understand the role that Jesus played when he took the human form and lived among the people. His role is to make them understand and appreciate that Jesus Christ is lord. The role of Paul is to bring people back to Christ by helping them to change their ways and to live a life of humility just like Christ (Justnes 147).
In his later arguments, Paul talks of how baptism unifies people with the experience that Jesus had when He died and resurrected. In this context, sin is equated to the death of a person since he associates sin with death. The resurrection that people experience after this death comes through baptism when all this sins are washed away. This passage thus fits in with these arguments since people get to understand that they do not need to die like Jesus died. Instead, they can choose to confess their sins and get baptized for them to have an experience with Christ. This passage affirms that Jesus Christ is God. Paul talks of how Jesus emptied Himself by putting aside all of his divine riches and accepting to be treated like a slave. This is the basis of the incarnation of Christ. Most of the ancient people believed that Jesus still had his divine attributes even though he accepted the role of a slave. He could not have been fully God if he did not have these powers. However, Paul changed people’s perceptions on this issue when he talks of Jesus emptying Himself and thus representing God in another form. The passage also affirms that God’s main role here on earth was to save mankind through His death on the cross. Christ had to be the ultimate sacrifice by dying on the cross so that the sins of mankind can be forgiven (Cleugh 238). He helped people to understand the importance of humility in fostering unity.
The key interpretive difficulty of this passage is the concept of Christ emptying himself which is the basis of the incarnation. This has roused so many debates since some people argue that He could not have been God if He relinquished all of his divine powers. That is, if he emptied all of his divine powers, then He was totally human and could not have represented God. Also, in verse 5 to 7, Paul talks of Christ not being equal to God even though He was in the form of God. Thus, he confirms that Jesus was equal to god since he was in his form. Relinquishing these powers and living among men does not stop him from being God. The main point of this passage is humility and unity. In verse 5-8, Paul talks of how people should emulate the humility of Christ by having the attitude like that of Jesus Christ. Verse 7 also exemplifies this when Paul talks of how Christ emptied Himself by taking the human form and living like a bond servant (Justnes 152). He had the divine powers but he laid them aside and fulfilled His ultimate role by dying on the cross.
The church can live out the message of this passage in various ways. First, the church must encourage the congregation to always be humble in everything they do since humility is a great pathway that can lead to peace. Most of the time, peace and stability in a church are always threatened by people who seek to be glorified and to be better than other people. When everyone learns to be humble, then the unnecessary wrangles will be avoided and peace will prevail. The church can also use this message to preach on the importance of baptism and forgiveness. They can help people to understand that they can experience Christ and a constant renewal through baptism since it gives them the chance to have an experience with God. The church can also use this passage to pass the message of hope. Just like Jesus was glorified after His death, people should accept challenges knowing that something better will always be at the end of their struggles. They will come out better and will appreciate the lessons that they would have learnt along the way (Cleugh 238).
This passage challenges the current attitudes and practices in the church in various ways. There are several religions and all of them have different beliefs. Some of them believe in other gods while others do not acknowledge any superior power. However, according to this passage, everyone has the freedom of worship while on earth. These practices are contrary to the teaching that Jesus is lord and that every tongue will confess of his greatness. Also, when Christ came on earth, he lived among the people and took the role of a slave. This is not the case in today’s churches where preachers of the word mostly live like kings and rarely interact freely with the congregation (Cleugh 239). This concept of humility is also not seen in the life of the Christians who still insist on proving their worth based on what they have. The churches that people go to these days are built and furnished by expensive materials. This is a great contradiction to the message of humility and to the life that Christ lived while on earth. The message of obedience is also challenged by the fact that people rarely live as per the scriptures. The churches of today are filled with people who only remember to live a Godly life on church days but act differently on other days of the week. Outside church, the real character comes out (Jackson 75).
Generally, the passage of Philippians 2:5-11 has been debated by various people due to the strong messages that it passes regarding the concept of the reincarnation. The main message that Paul is trying to pass across in this passage is that of humility which is exemplified in the life of Christ. Paul wants people to emulate this since it is a great pathway to peace and unity. The concept of Jesus emptying Himself has roused several debates especially by those who believe that Christ could not have been God if he relinquished all His powers. Thus, if He took up the human form, then He was human. However, Paul uses this passage to help people understand that Jesus Christ is Lord. He explains the reason why He remained humble and what is there to be learnt from the life of Christ on earth which basically is humility. The church can use this message to encourage their congregation to emulate the life of Christ. However, the attitudes that the churches exhibit today are contrary to these teachings especially when people insist on measuring their worth based on what they have rather than always being humble.
Works Cited
Cleugh, H. "20Th March: Palm Sunday: Isaiah 50.4-9A; Philippians 2.5-11; Luke 22.14-23.56". The Expository Times 127.5 (2016): 237-239. Web.
Jackson, V. T. "Confessions of a Shopaholic: Philippians 2:1-11". Review & Expositor 107.1 (2010): 75-79. Web.
Justnes, Årstein. "Un-Pauline Paul? Philippians 2.6-11 in Context". Symbolae Osloenses 86.1 (2012): 145-159. Web.
Keddie, D. A. "28Th September: Proper 21: Philippians 2:1--13". The Expository Times 119.11 (2008): 552-554. Web.
