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If therefore there is any exhortation in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion,
Verse 1. If there be, therefore, any consolation. If you have any desire to comfort me in Christ, or for Christ’s sake. Witham.
make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind;
doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;
Verse 3. Esteem others better than themselves. Saint Thomas (22. q. 162. a. 3.) puts the question, how an innocent man can with truth think himself worse than the most wicked of men? He answers, that a man who has received very extraordinary gifts from God, cannot think these gifts less than what any other has received; but he may reflect that he has nothing, and is nothing of himself. And a man truly humble considers only his own sins and failings, and is persuaded that any other person would have made better use of the same graces; which agrees with what follows, (verse 4) not considering the things that are his own. Witham.
each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
Verse 4. The things that are his. Self-love and self-interest are the two great sources of divisions. The Christian religion teaches a contrary doctrine. Calmet.
Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,
Verse 6. Who being in the form [1] of God, (that is truly, properly, and essentially God from eternity, as the ancient Fathers here observed against the Arians) taking the form of a servant, (that is taking upon him our human nature) became truly a man, and as man the servant of God, but remaining always God as before, thought it not robbery, no injury to his eternal Father, to be equal, to be esteemed, and to declare himself equal to God, to be one thing with him: as on divers occasions he taught the people, as we have observed in the notes on Saint John’s gospel, and so forth Witham.
but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
Verse 7. But debased himself: divested himself of all the marks of greatness, for the love of mankind. The Greek text signifies, he made himself void; [2] on which account Dr. Wells, instead of made himself of no reputation, as in the Prot. translation, has changed it into emptied himself; not but that the true Son of God must always remain truly God, as well as by his incarnation truly man, but that in him as man appeared no marks of his divine power and greatness.—Made to the likeness [3] of men, not only as to an exterior likeness and appearance, but at the same time truly man by uniting his divine person to the nature of man.—In shape [4] (or habit) found as a man: not clothed exteriorly only, as a man is clothed with a garment or coat, but found both as to shape and nature a man; and, as Saint John Chrysostom says, with the appearance of a sinful man, if we consider him persecuted by the Jews, and nailed to an infamous cross. Witham.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name,
Verse 9. God … hath given him a name, and so forth The name or word Jesus represents the dignity of him who is signified by the name, and who is exalted even as man, above all creatures in heaven, earth, and hell; all which creatures either piously reverence him, or are made subject to him against their will, that every tongue may confess our Lord Jesus to be now, and to have been always, in the glory of his Father, equal to him in substance and in all perfections. Witham.
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
Verse 10. If we shew respect when the name of our sovereign is mentioned, may we not express our respect also at the name of Jesus; and if to his name, why not to his cross as well as to the throne of the king?
and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Verse 12. With fear and trembling. That is, be equally upon your guard against presumption and despair. Saint Paul is anxious to inspire a just confidence in Jesus Christ, but he is not less solicitous to root out all self-confidence arising from our supposed merits or excellence.
For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Verse 13. It is God who worketh in you both to will and to accomplish. We can neither have a will, nor begin, nor fulfil any thing of ourselves, in order to a reward in heaven. Witham.—Our free-will is not taken away, or we should not be commanded to work; but it is added, with fear and trembling, says Saint Augustine, that we might not be proud of our good works. De grat. et de lib. ab. c. ix.
Do all things without complaining and arguing,
that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,
holding up the word of life, that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain.
Verse 16. To my glory, and so forth That is, I beseech you to continue in faith, and comply with the word and doctrine of the gospel, that I may have glory, and rejoice together with you in the day of Christ, when he shall come to judgment.
Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
Verse 17. And if I be made a victim upon the sacrifice [5] and service of your faith, I rejoice, and so forth The sense of these obscure words seems to be: that I shall rejoice, and you also may rejoice and congratulate with me, if after having first offered up your faith and obedience to the gospel, as an acceptable sacrifice to God, I myself (or my blood, by martyrdom) be also added, and poured out as a second sacrifice upon the other. It is to be understood with an allusion to those sacrifices of the old law called libations, consisting of liquid things, as wine, oil, blood, which were poured out, or at least sprinkled, upon other victims and things sacrificed: so that he compares the shedding of his blood to these libations, and their submission to the faith of Christ to the sacrifice before offered to God. Witham.
In the same way, you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing.
Verse 19. To send Timothy. It appears that Saint Paul could not send Timothy to Philippi till some time after his deliverance from prison, about the year 63 of Jesus Christ. Tillemont.—In the succeeding verse, we see the high esteem in which Timothy was held by this apostle.
For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care about you.
For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ.
Verse 21. All seek the things that are their own; that is many do so. Witham.
But you know that he has proved himself. As a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News.
Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me.
But I trust in the Lord that I myself also will come shortly.
Verse 24. That I also. This did not take place till full two years were expired, in the year 64: (Tillem.) and others are of opinion, that he was in Macedon when he wrote his first epistle to Timothy. Theo. Atha. Tille.
But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need,
Verse 25. Epaphroditus … your apostle, and the minister to my wants. Epaphroditus had also laboured after Saint Paul, and is thought to have been the bishop of the Philippians; thus he might be called their apostle; though, as others conjecture, the word apostle may be here applied to him as one sent by the Philippians to Saint Paul with contributions to supply his wants. Witham.
since he longed for you all, and was very troubled because you had heard that he was sick.
Verse 26. And was sad. Nothing is a stronger proof of the union that existed between the ancient Christians, than this description of Saint Paul: Paul is in prison, and Epaphroditus is dismissed from the extremity of Macedon to come and attend him; Epaphroditus falls sick, and the whole Church at Philippi is in mourning. Calmet.
For indeed he was sick nearly to death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow on sorrow.
I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that when you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.
Verse 28. And I may be without sorrow; without the great concern and trouble that I am now in for you. Witham.
Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such people in honor,
because for the work of Christ he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.
Verse 30. Delivering up his life to persecutions, and to this danger that he was in by a sickness which was mortal, had not God restored him his health. He came with your charities, to supply that which was wanting on your part, or which I stood in need of; and I am persuaded you desired to do it sooner, if you had met with an opportunity. Witham.