Humiliation and Exaltation
You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross! As a result God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth – and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:5-11).
Philippians 2:5-11 is most likely the most commented upon passage within Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, and would also rank highly in Paul’s entire corpus and even the whole New Testament. We should never allow all the questions it might raise to distract us from its core powerful message: we must humble ourselves if we would have God exalt us in the end.
Philippi was a Roman colony in Macedonia (part of modern Greece); Paul first visited the area and preached Jesus around 51 (cf. Acts 16:11-40). Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi most likely around 60-61 from Rome while living under house arrest there (cf. Philippians 1:1). Paul thanked the Philippian Christians for their joint participation in his ministry and prayed for them to abound in love and make good decisions to share in Jesus’ praise at His return (Philippians 1:1-11). He explained how his circumstances had worked to advance the Gospel; if he were to die, he would go and be with Christ, but he was confident he would continue to faithfully serve God, and the Philippian Christians, while in the body (Philippians 1:12-26). Paul set forth his main exhortation: the Philippian Christians should live as citizens of the Gospel, standing firm together in it, and to suffer well for God in Christ (Philippians 1:27-30). Paul had begun establishing and defending this exhortation by encouraging the Philippian Christians to be of the same mind and to seek the interests of one another and not just themselves (Philippians 2:1-4).
Paul continued the probatio, the main body of the letter detailing how the Philippian Christians might live as citizens of and to stand firm within the Gospel, by exhorting the Philippian Christians to share the mind of Christ, and what it would demand, in Philippians 2:5-11.
No contextual division exists between Philippians 2:1-4 and Philippians 2:5-11: for the Philippian Christians to complete Paul’s joy and to be of the same mind, each and every one of them would need to manifest the “mind of Christ.” To “have the mind” translates Greek phroneistho, which suggests having the same thought process; such a process would be reflected in attitude and disposition toward oneself and others. The mind, attitude, or disposition they should have “among [them]selves was “that which” was “in Christ Jesus”: it can be well understood either as “the attitude among yourselves which was in Christ Jesus” or as “the attitude among yourselves which you have in Christ Jesus.”
In 1 Corinthians 2:16, Paul spoke of Christians as having the “mind of Christ”; this instruction was therefore neither new nor novel. Paul would certainly encourage and expect Christians to seek and embody the mind of Christ in all things; nevertheless, he has a specific aspect to the mind, attitude, or disposition of Jesus Christ in mind for the Philippian Christians.
The mind, attitude, and disposition of Jesus Christ which Paul wanted the Philippian Christians to manifest was set forth in poetic form in Philippians 2:6-11. Almost everything about this passage has engendered some kind of argument or dispute.
Disputes attend to what kind of poem Philippians 2:6-11 represents. Many have suggested it is an ancient “Christ hymn,” something written and sung well before Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians, which Paul quoted here to connect his exhortation to a powerful message they already well knew and understood. Others shift away from this perspective and consider the poem to be a composition of Paul himself for this particular context and moment. The arguments will continue because either position remains tenable and can marshal evidence from Paul’s writings to make their case. 1 Timothy 3:16 could certainly represent an early Christian statement of belief or perhaps a kind of hymn. Paul exhorted Christians to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16); by 112 even pagans attested to Christians coming together and singing hymns to Christ as a god (cf. Pliny the Younger, Epistulae X). Therefore, the suggestion Paul might be quoting an already existing hymn in Philippians 2:6-11 should not be deemed outlandish; it would go a long way to explain the presence of a few words Paul used nowhere else, and the lack of emphasis on Jesus’ resurrection, contrary to what one might expect from Paul. Whether Paul composed the poem for the benefit of the Philippian Christians, or he quoted a hymn well known to both Paul and the Philippian Christians, Paul powerfully affirmed the sentiment and substance of the message for the Philippian Christians, and by extension, for us as well.
The poem or hymn first meditated on Jesus’ humiliation: Jesus existed in the morphe of God, but did not consider being treated as God a thing He should seize or grasp firmly (Greek harpagma); instead, Jesus “emptied Himself” (Greek ekenosen), taking on the morphe of a slave, fully partaking of humanity; in so doing He profoundly humbled Himself and proved obedient to the point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8).
Philippians 2:6-8 remains most assuredly one of those passages regarding which Peter warned about the unstable and ignorant twisting in 2 Peter 3:16. When Paul insisted Jesus did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but He instead emptied Himself, Paul did not speak ontologically, as if Jesus divested Himself of some or all of His divinity when He took on flesh and dwelt among us. Paul had already confessed Jesus existing before His incarnation in the form of God: not merely image, but form. Instead, and for very good contextual reasons, Paul spoke of honor and privilege: as God the Son, Jesus had every right to expect and insist upon enjoying all the privileges, honor, and glory which would attend to such a lofty standing. But Jesus did not insist on seizing this privilege and honor for Himself: instead, He emptied Himself of all such privilege and honor, humbling Himself profoundly not only by becoming human, but living as a peasant in the backwoods of Galilee during the Second Temple Period. Therefore, Paul did not suggest Jesus only “seemed” to be human, or was ontologically a slave.
Paul, either in his own composition or by means of a hymn appreciated by all, wanted to deeply focus on the humiliation Jesus willingly experienced: fully God, yet setting aside all glory, honor, and privilege to live among humans as a human being, experiencing the deprivations of human life as the least among humans, proving obedient to the point of death on a cross.
The power of the cross has been severely diminished by its idolization by well-meaning Christians. Death by crucifixion was agonizing, an inhumane and degraded form of execution. Crucifixion was designed to humiliate the victim and terrify all spectators into compliance. In the first century Roman world, one would not speak of crosses or crucifixion in polite society; no Roman citizen would ever be subjected to such a humiliating fate, and anyone who would speak about such a thing among the elite would commit a serious faux pas.
Thus, the One who should have enjoyed all the benefits of privilege and standing instead chose to endure the most despicable and shameful form of life and sentence of execution. Whether in existing song or a fresh poem from Paul, we can only imagine how deeply the Philippian Christians would have been impacted by how Paul spoke of the mind, attitude, or disposition of Christ which they should have among themselves in Philippians 2:6-8.
But the poem or hymn did not end there, just as Jesus’ story did not end there. Because Jesus so profoundly and deeply humbled Himself, God comparatively exalted and glorified Him: Jesus was given the name above every name, and every knee would bow and tongue confess Jesus as Lord to the glory of God the Father, whether in heaven, on earth, or under the earth (Philippians 2:9-11).
Arguments regarding whether God was exalting the name of Jesus over the name of God Himself would seem to miss the point: the poem or hymn bore witness to God’s complete endorsement and elevation of Jesus. Jesus’ humiliation and suffering were not accidents or some kind of “Plan B”: they reflected the will of God and the fulfillment of all which had been promised. Jesus gained His rule, authority, power, and all the glory, honor, and privilege due Him, because God granted it to Him because of all He endured and suffered.
We emphasize these things so that we may not get so lost in all the arguments, contentiousness, and disputes regarding Philippians 2:5-11 that we miss Paul’s point and purpose.
Paul wrote to the Christians who were dwelling in, and at least many of whom were citizens of, Colonia Augusta Iulia Philippensis, the Philippian Colony of the Augustus Julius. The name made reference to Augustus Caesar, since he settled Philippi with many veterans and other Roman citizens in the final years of the first century BCE. The Philippian Christians, therefore, had been raised and enculturated in the Roman world and the Roman way of things. The Romans prided themselves on their military prowess and organization. Advancement in society was reserved for the elites and followed the cursus honorum, the series of political offices which would eventually lead to the consulship and governor of a province. The Roman world was quite hierarchical: everyone had their place and knew their place; if anyone presumed beyond their station, they would be quickly reminded of where they belonged. We have every reason to believe the Roman colonists who remained in Philippi in the middle of the first century still highly regarded Augustus Caesar, and most likely considered him as divine.
In Philippians 2:5-11, Paul therefore exhorted the Philippian Christians to cultivate a mindset, attitude, and disposition entirely contrary to almost everything they had been taught as good Romans. The Roman system “worked” by making sure those who deserved glory and honor enjoyed it; Jesus could have insisted on those kinds of privileges, but instead divested Himself of all of them. The Roman gods were fickle, capricious, and terrifying, demanding sacrifice and living like super-powerful humans; Jesus maintained full divinity and yet took on human form and humbled Himself. Slaves were barely human and had no social identity or standing; Jesus was God and took on the form of a slave. It would be humiliating and degrading enough for a Roman to be compelled to commit suicide in order to avoid execution and to save face; Jesus endured the comparatively unimaginably degrading and shameful death on a cross. Jesus’ life and death was everything the Romans abhorred and despised.
But God exalted Jesus and gave Him the name that is above every other name, and every knee would be compelled to bow, and tongue to confess, Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. No Philippian Christian of any sense or sound mind would have missed the implication: if Jesus Christ is thus Lord, then Augustus Caesar and his descendants were not as powerful as they claimed to be. All the elites and “great men” of the Greco-Roman world would likewise be compelled to bow the knee before Jesus and confess Him as Lord and Christ. Augustus Caesar himself, victor in the Roman civil wars, the great propagandist and administrator who made the Roman Empire what it would be, would therefore be compelled to bow the knee before Jesus and confess Him as Lord and Christ. Alexander “the Great”, against whom Augustus judged himself, and upheld as the great paragon of what people thought a great conqueror and ruler looked like, would likewise be compelled to bow the knee before Jesus and confess Him as Lord and Christ.
What Paul was expecting from the Philippian Christians, therefore, was no little thing. Whether in a new composition, or by using well known words in a familiar hymn, Paul exhorted the Philippian Christians to a completely different way of thinking, feeling, and acting than they had been raised to believe. If they wanted to share in Jesus’ exaltation, they would have to first live according to Jesus’ humiliation. In Christ it would no longer matter who was poor or rich, a slave or among the elite; all were called upon to humble themselves and to be of one mind with one another in Christ. In Christ none would become great because of birth or impressive striving; in Christ only God can and will exalt those who have deeply humbled themselves and served one another like Jesus served us all (cf. Matthew 20:25-28). The Philippian Christians would likely earn the suspicion and hostility of their neighbors who would rightly perceive how everything the Christians believed, lived, and stood for would undercut and overthrow the Roman world and way of life.
What Paul might expect from Christians to this very day in Philippians 2:5-11 remains no little thing. He calls all of us to a completely different way of thinking, feeling, and acting than we have been enculturated by our culture and society to believe. Every President of the United States, every highly regarded general and soldier, the greatest titans of industry, and the most popular celebrities and influencers will be compelled to bow the knee before Jesus and confess Him as Lord and Christ. In Christ it still no longer matters who is poor or rich or where they fall in the social hierarchy; we are all called upon to humble ourselves and be of one mind with one another in Christ. None of us will find greatness through our accident of birth or our impressive striving in worldly, or even spiritual, affairs; we will only find greatness if and when God exalts us with Christ because we have profoundly humbled ourselves and have served and suffered as Christ did.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). What is His Way? He was, is, and ever will be God; He humbled Himself, becoming fully human, fully experiencing humanity, serving, and suffering a most despicable and humiliating death. The Father exalted Him and gave Him the name above every name, and everyone, however willingly or unwillingly, will be compelled to humble themselves before Him and confess His name to God’s glory. If we want to share in Jesus’ exaltation, we must have the mindset He has given us, and share in His humiliation and suffering. May we humble ourselves like Jesus so we might share in His exaltation on the day of the resurrection of life!
Ethan R. Longhenry
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