Read The Jewish Annotated New Testament Online
Authors: Amy-Jill Levine
CONTENT
Paul affirms his capacity to persevere in joyful proclamation of the gospel even when confronting opposition, suffering, and possible death (1.12,18,30). He then draws an analogy between this ability and what the Philippians themselves must achieve vis-à-vis their own opponents and trials. Humility and unity are vital in this regard. Accordingly, the Philippians should strive to match the mind-set of Christ who showed that the way to achieve God’s exaltation is not by preoccupation with status—grasping at a higher place—but by becoming humbly obedient and looking to the interests of others.
Warranting special attention are descriptions of Paul’s opponents (1.15–17) and those of the Philippians (1.28; 3.2–4,18–19); the moving Christ hymn (2.6–11); the litany of Paul’s autobiographical details (3.5–6); and Paul’s reasons (stated or not) for delaying Timothy’s visit to Philippi (2.19,25).
MATTERS BEARING ON A JEWISH READING
One may consider whether Jewish themes underlie the Christ hymn (2.6–11). Another topic concerns the vehemence of Paul’s opposition to adult male circumcision for Gentile Christians. Finally, readers may wonder how they should view Paul’s devaluation of his superlative Jewish credentials (3.7–8).
Michael Cook
1
Paul and Timothy, servants
*
of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops
*
and deacons:
*
2
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3
I thank my God every time I remember you,
4
constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you,
5
because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now.
6
I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.
7
It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart,
*
for all of you share in God’s grace
*
with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
8
For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.
9
And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight
10
to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless,
11
having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
12
I want you to know, beloved,
*
that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel,
13
so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard
*
and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ;
14
and most of the brothers and sisters,
*
having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the word
*
with greater boldness and without fear.
15
Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.
16
These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel;
17
the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment.
18
What does it matter? Just this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether out of false motives or true; and in that I rejoice.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,
19
for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance.
20
It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death.
21
For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.
22
If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer.
23
I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better;
24
but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.
25
Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith,
26
so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus when I come to you again.
27
Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel,
28
and are in no way intimidated by your opponents. For them this is evidence of their destruction, but of your salvation. And this is God’s doing.
29
For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well—
30
since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
2
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy,
2
make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
3
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.
4
Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
5
Let the same mind be in you that was
*
in Christ Jesus,
6
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of
death—
even death on a cross.
9
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
10
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the
earth,
11
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
12
Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
13
for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
CHRIST HYMN (2.6–11)
This early Christological hymn portrays the preexistent Christ as graciously laying aside his extraordinary position of equality with God, emptying himself by incarnation—taking on the form of a servant. For this humility, God exalted Christ by giving him the divine name, taking “name” not in the modern sense of a generally arbitrary label but in the biblical sense of that which truly expresses character, power, and status (e.g., Ps 8.2 [Heb 8.1]; 20.2 [Heb 20.1]). This hymn Paul interweaves with his exhortation to humility, thereby challenging the Philippians: If the one in the “form of God” could humbly abdicate the dignity of his original status so as to suffer in order to show love for humankind, can the Philippians refrain from following his conduct?
The hymn may draw on several Jewish sources:
» The contrasts here conjured up between the
first
Adam (Gen 2.15–3.24) and imagery concerning a
last
Adam (1 Cor 15.20–22,45–49; Rom 5.12–21): while the Adam of Genesis was created in the image of God but, by ambitiously trying to go
higher
, went lower through his sin (and so death), Christ, the last Adam, was the very image of God but, choosing to go
lower
(and so dying), thereby became exalted (cf. Mt 23.12; Lk 14.11). Because the doctrine of the Christ as the
second
Adam appears distinctively Pauline, it was likely Paul himself who introduced it into the Church.
» The motif of the suffering servant who (Isa 53.12) “poured out himself to death” (cf. 45.22–23; and, broadly, 52.13–53.12).
» The preexistent figure of divine Wisdom created by, or proceeding from, God who came down to dwell among humans, offering them knowledge of the Divine (Prov 1.20–33; 8–9; Wis 7.22–10.21; Sir 24).
Akin in function to the liturgical use of Hebrew biblical psalms and other poetry, the Christ hymn presupposes a Christian cultus practicing religious devotion (perhaps being set at baptism or the Eucharist). Attesting to early use of hymns in Christianity are Acts 16.25; Eph 5.19; Col 3.16; and Lk 1.46–55,67–70; 2.14; cf. also Pliny,
Letters
10.96–97 (here, to the Emperor Trajan): Christians “were accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god.” The Christ hymn likewise lent itself to responsive singing.
As the earliest extant material underpinning later Christology, the Christ hymn’s closest New Testament approximations are Col 1.15–20; 1 Tim 3.6; and 1 Pet 3.18–22; cf. Jn 1.1–5. The Christ hymn seems
pre
-Pauline because it is easily detachable from its current context, and its superlative style makes it difficult to envision Paul composing it, extemporaneously, amidst the flow of dictating the wider epistle. Rather, he likely incorporated this known hymn as apt for buttressing his admonitions to the Philippians. It is unlikely that Paul composed it himself earlier and only now incorporated it since it lacks a key Pauline motif: the redemptive significance of Christ’s death.
14
Do all things without murmuring and arguing,
15
so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world.
16
It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
17
But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you—
18
and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.