◄ Philippians 2 Devotional Commentary ►
Philippians 2:1
Throughout his writings, the apostle Paul emphasises the importance of Christians living together in spiritual unity and godly harmony. He reminds us that spirituality and godliness is manifested in a life that is emptied of self and is filled with Christ - a life that is walking in spirit and truth and in dependence upon the Father - a life that produces the beautiful fruit of righteousness in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul read more...
Philippians 2:2
In order for believers to be united together in love, joy, peace, and harmony, we are to let the mind of Christ dwell in us richly and to display the same beautiful disposition that Jesus displayed in His earthly life.
No wonder Paul's joy would be complete if his brothers and sisters at Philippi were united together in love, having the same mind and being in full accord with one another. Paul knew that only as we remain in the read more...
Philippians 2:3
There are certain threats that are common to all Christian churches that are identified at Philippi. One is the infiltration of false teachers whose outward appearance is that of a gentle lamb but inwardly are ravening wolves seeking to shed blood, destroy souls, and accumulate dishonest gain. We are instructed to identify such teachers by their bitter fruit. Another problem is internal division which endangers the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and love read more...
Philippians 2:4
Paul knew that one of the keys that contributes to Christian joy and walking in fellowship with the Lord, is that brothers in Christ are kind and considerate to one another, having the love of Christ in their hearts, and being one in spirit and like-minded in purpose.
He knew that an unselfish attitude of heart and humbleness of spirit towards our brothers and sisters in Christ was a key to maintaining our joy in the Lord, and so read more...
Philippians 2:5
The joy of the Lord is our strength, and we are called to: "Rejoice evermore, to pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks," for this is God's will for all His children. As believers, we are called to live in unity with one another, but all too often people can deliberately or unintentionally quench our joy, causing our mind to spin out of control and our spirits to become discouraged, and so we are called to let the Word of Christ dwell in us read more...
Philippians 2:6
Christ is and always has been the eternal Word of God, Who was and is and is to come the Almighty. In essence, form, character, and attributes He is fully God, and He remains the God of all gods and Light of all lights. The Son of God does not simply resemble God, but He is equal with the Father; equal in every aspect of His deity, His majesty, and His character. Christ is the incarnate Word, and the Word was made flesh and tabernacled among the people that He read more...
Philippians 2:7
Our natural inclination is to place ourselves in the centre of everything and to think how we are going to be affected by this and that, before we consider the needs, necessities, or feelings of others, and before we consider the desire of God's heart. Indeed, even when we do exhibit 'caring concern', how often our choices are rooted in selfish pride, knowing that our 'thoughtful' actions will excite the applause of others and feed our ego, which will only result read more...
Philippians 2:8
The humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ is as much a reality as His deity. He is as truly Man as He is infinitely God. He is eternal in His divinity but born at a point in time into the human race, for a specific purpose. The Lord Jesus was born to become the representative Man, upon Whose shoulders rested the future of humanity and the salvation of the human race.
He was sent by the Father to pay the price for the sin of the read more...
Philippians 2:9
Divinity's Son-of-God became humanity's Son-of-Man. He set aside eternity's glories, to be clothed in humility, in poverty, in suffering, and in death. It is for this very reason that God, in His wisdom and justice, has raised Him up and honoured Him above all that is in the heaven heights, the earth beneath, and the waters under the earth, whether it be men or angels, spiritual principalities or earthly thrones.
Jesus is the very read more...
Philippians 2:10
No other name deserves all honour and praise, might and majesty, dominion and power, for there is no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved. The truth of this Scripture is an offense to all that are in the world, but to those that have been saved it is life – eternal life – abundant life, by grace through faith.
We meet together in His name and come to the throne of grace through the name of Jesus. His name is the read more...
Philippians 2:11
The Lord Jesus has been resurrected, ascended, glorified, and highly exalted above every created being, and a day is coming when every knee will bow before Him and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
One group of humanity will confess Him as Lord and Saviour joyfully. The other will be forced to confess Him as Lord and Judge, but they will remain under His grievous condemnation. It read more...
Philippians 2:12
Salvation is ours by faith alone in Christ alone. We cannot be saved by our own effort, and we cannot do anything to add to Christ's finished work on Calvary's Cross, for the sacrificial offering of Himself on the Cross for our salvation was all-sufficient in the eyes of God - and it is finished.
As the sinless Son of Man, Christ's death on the Cross fully met God's redemption price. God accepted Christ's offering of Himself as read more...
Philippians 2:13
How important it is that we do not seek to do good works in our own strength. How vital that we do not carry out our kind actions and considerate deeds from the source of our old sin nature, for when we do good works that are produced by ME, rather than by God working through me, they are works of the law - works of the flesh - works of the old sin nature - works that God will not accept, for God will not share His glory with ME. All the good works that we produce read more...
Philippians 2:14
The apostle Paul showed great concern for the spiritual wellbeing of the believers in Philippi. We see his deep affection shining forth as he spoke words of reassurance and encouragement to the congregation - exhorting them to live lives that honour the Lord in thought, word, and deed.
"Do all things without complaining and disputing," is his godly advice. He wants them to be blameless and harmless children of God, read more...
Philippians 2:15
Paul was writing to the Philippian Church from a prison cell, but he wanted to emphasise that the many misfortunes that had befallen him in his ministry, and his incarceration and trial before a Roman court of law, had resulted in the furtherance of the gospel. And so this was to be seen as an occasion of joy and great rejoicing.
Paul wanted them to understand that what the enemy had intended for evil God had turned to good. He read more...
Philippians 2:16
In his instructions for godly living, Paul calls the Philippian Christians to do all things without grumbling, murmuring, or disputing among themselves. This was obviously a problem in the early Christian Church, just as it can be in the Body of Christ today. But when we consider the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ before our own, we prove ourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God who bring honour and glory the Lord.
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Philippians 2:17
Following his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul had spent his life in sacrificial service to the Lord for the joy of seeing others come to a secure, trusting faith in Christ. Paul rejoiced to see them grow in grace and mature in their Christian life. And despite his imprisonment in a Roman jail, it was with the joy of the Lord that Paul was able to write his letter of encouragement to his brothers and sisters in Philippi, exhorting them to unity, humility read more...
Philippians 2:18
It is always a joy to have Christian brothers and sisters whose lives are a shining example of Jesus Christ, radiating in them and working through them. It is good to receive wise advice on godly living from such precious examples of Christlikeness.
Many of Paul's epistles are written to encourage Christians towards such godly living, exhorting the saints to live their life to the glory of God, while warning them to place no read more...
Philippians 2:21
Timothy was a godly man who had a genuine concern and Christ-like love for his Christian brethren - seeking their good above his own. He was a man whose spiritual walk eclipsed that of many other Christians, because he sought to carry out the will and work of God before his own preferences and desires.
He proved himself to be a blameless and innocent child of God who was above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse read more...
Philippians 2:22
Paul encountered many people, both within and outside the Christian Church, that excited disunity and conflict between believers, and yet one of the most important messages in his epistles was the need for Christians to live in harmony - one with the other.
In his letters, Paul sets out, with clarity, the need for children of God to be pure and blameless in this crooked and depraved generation. He exhorts us to live without read more...
Philippians 2:29
However godly a group of believers may be, there are often little areas of dissension or strife which may rise to the surface to discredit our Christian witness. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul addresses certain undercurrents of disunity, by exhorting Christians to live in the unity of spirit; to adopt an attitude of gracious consideration towards one another; to be like-minded, selfless, sacrificial, and to demonstrate brotherly affection towards each read more...