Philippians
2
New
American Standard Bible (NASB)
Be
Like Christ
2
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation
of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any [a]affection and
compassion, 2 make my joy complete [b]by being of the same mind, maintaining
the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing [c]from
[d]selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another
as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own
personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude
[e]in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in
the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be [f]grasped, 7
but [g]emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in
the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself
by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death [h]on a cross. 9 For
this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is
above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those
who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue
will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and
trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for
His good pleasure.
14
Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will [i]prove
yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the
midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you [j]appear as
[k]lights in the world, 16 holding [l]fast the word of life, so that in the day
of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in
vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the
sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.
18 You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.
Timothy
and Epaphroditus
19
But I hope [m]in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also
may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else of
kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they
all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 22 But you know
of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel
like a child serving his father. 23 Therefore I hope to send him immediately,
as soon as I see how things go with me; 24 and I trust in the Lord that I
myself also will be coming shortly. 25 But I thought it necessary to send to
you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also
your [n]messenger and minister to my need; 26 because he was longing [o]for you
all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. 27 For indeed he
was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only
but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I
have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may
rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. 29 Receive him then in the Lord
with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard; 30 because he came close to
death [p]for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete [q]what was
deficient in your service to me.
Matthew Henry's Commentary
Verses 12-13
I. He exhorts them to diligence and
seriousness in the Christian course: Work out your own salvation.
It is the salvation of our souls (1 Pet. 1:9),
and our eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9),
and contains deliverance from all the evils sin had brought upon us and exposed
us to, and the possession of all good and whatsoever is necessary to our
complete and final happiness. Observe, It concerns us above all things to
secure the welfare of our souls: whatever becomes of other things, let us take
care of our best interests. It is our own salvation, the salvation of our own
souls. It is not for us to judge other people; we have enough to do to look to
ourselves; and, though we must promote the common salvation (Jude 1:3)
as much as we can, yet we must upon no account neglect our own. We are required
to work out our salvation, katergazesthe. The
word signifies working thoroughly at a thing, and taking true
pains. Observe, We must be diligent in the use of all the means which
conduce to our salvation. We must not only work at our salvation, by doing
something now and then about it; but we must work out our salvation, by doing
all that is to be done, and persevering therein to the end. Salvation is the
great thing we should mind, and set our hearts upon; and we cannot attain
salvation without the utmost care and diligence. He adds, With fear and
trembling, that is, with great care and circumspection: “Trembling for fear
lest you miscarry and come short. Be careful to do every thing in religion in
the best manner, and fear lest under all your advantages you should so much as seem
to come short,” Heb. 4:1.
Fear is a great guard and preservative from evil.
II. He urges this from the
consideration of their readiness always to obey the gospel: “As you have
always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, Phil. 2:12.
You have been always willing to comply with every discovery of the will of God;
and that in my absence as well as presence. You make it to appear that regard
to Christ, and care of your souls, sway more with you than any mode of showing
respect whatsoever.” They were not merely awed by the apostle’s presence, but
did it even much more in his absence. “And becauseit is God who
worketh in you, do you work out your salvation. Work, for he worketh.” It
should encourage us to do our utmost, because our labour shall not be
in vain. God is ready to concur with his grace, and assist our faithful
endeavours. Observe, Though we must use our utmost endeavours in working out
our salvation, yet still we must go forth, and go on, in a dependence upon the
grace of God. His grace works in us in a way suitable to our natures, and in
concurrence with our endeavours; and the operations of God’s grace in us are so
far from excusing, that they are intended to quicken and engage our endeavours.
“And work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for he
worketh in you.” All our working depends upon his working in us. “Do not
trifle with God by neglects and delays, lest you provoke him to withdraw his
help, and all your endeavours prove in vain. Work with fear, for he
works of his good pleasure.”—To will and to do: he gives the whole
ability. It is the grace of God which inclines the will to that which is good:
and then enables us to perform it, and to act according to our principles. Thou
hast wrought all our works in us, Isa. 26:12. Of
his good pleasure. As there is no strength in us, so there is no merit in
us. As we cannot act without God’s grace, so we cannot claim it, nor pretend to
deserve it. God’s good will to us is the cause of his good work in us; and he
is under no engagements to his creatures, but those of his gracious promise.
The Bible Panorama
Philippians 2
V 1–4: LOVING LOWLINESS Selfishness and
strife is to be rejected as, through the fellowship of the Spirit, God’s love
in Christ makes Christians humble, like-minded, and causes them to care for
others.
V 5–11: LIFTED LORD This likeminded
humility to be sought was exemplified by Jesus in His incarnation and death for
us. Although He was God by nature, He humbled Himself, through becoming a man
and a bondservant, to the very lowest point of death on the cross. This
resulted in His exaltation to the very highest place in heaven. Humility
produces elevation, by God’s grace.
V 12–18: LIVING LIGHTS God’s working in
the lives of the Christians produces a reverent outworking of His salvation,
irrespective of whether the apostle Paul is with them or not. The Philippian
Christians are urged to live in such a way that their blamelessness and shining
example will be obvious to all, in contrast with the wicked world around. They
will proclaim God’s word so that Paul, who is imprisoned and facing death, knows
that his labour has not been in vain.
V 19–30: LOYAL LABOURERS Paul now
commends Timothy for his son-like service in the gospel. He esteems
Epaphroditus highly for his courage, sacrifice and selfless love for Christ and
for Christians, including for Paul himself. Epaphroditus was near to death as a
result of his sacrificial service for the Lord. It is good to see how God’s
grace is lived out in the lives of those who are ‘sold out’ for Christ.
The Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005
Day One Publications.
