I. THE HEIGHT FROM WHICH HE. CAME IS THE MEASURE OF THE DEPTH TO WHICH HE DESCENDED. He was for ever "in the form of God;" i.e. with the essential nature of God (cf. John 13:3, 4).

II. HIS HUMILIATION WAS NO LOSS OF GLORY OR ESSENTIAL WORTH. He is for ever in the form of God; this he could not renounce. He laid aside for a time his external equality with God. This he considered not to be a possession of any great importance. How contrary to ordinary human ideas, which "catch at" anything which confers external honor!! But to catch at an external resemblance argues that we do not possess the essential likeness. Only the truly great can afford to humble themselves.

III. HIS HUMILIATION A REALITY. He takes the" form of a servant;" i.e. he actually becomes such, as he was actually in the "form of God." He assumes also the "likeness of a man," becoming in appearance, as in reality, one of ourselves.

IV. HE ACCEPTS THE TRUE POSITION OF MAN, WHICH IS THAT OF OBEDIENCE, This is man's truest and essential glory. The true man cannot live any other life than that of obedience and service. His obedience is to death, even to a death of shame, if such is required of him. Our glory is to accept whatever may be the will of God for us. - V.W.H.

The apostle evidently points out the three different conditions of Christ. His state of —

1. Dignity.

2. Humility.

3. Glory.These three are essential to the argument, for take away any of them and the example he proposes is lost.

I. IF YOU REMOVE THE STATE OF CHRIST'S NATURAL DIGNITY THE SECOND STATE WILL NO LONGER BE THAT OF HUMILIATION, nor Christ any longer an example of humility.

II. It is implied that HE WAS IN POSSESSION OF WHATEVER BELONGED TO HIS STATE OF DIGNITY BEFORE HE UNDERWENT ANYTHING THAT BELONGED TO HIS STATE OF HUMILIATION. He was in the form of God, before He was made in the likeness of men.

III. It is implied that HE UNDERWENT WHATEVER BELONGED TO HIS STATE OF HUMILIATION BEFORE HE ENJOYED ANYTHING THAT BELONGED TO HIS STATE OF EXALTATION; because His exaltation was the effect and reward of His humility, and being purchased and obtained by His humility could not be antecedent to it. From whence it follows, that the term of God, being the dignity He possessed before His humiliation, does not belong to Him in virtue of anything He did or suffered, nor is any part of that glory to which He was exalted after or on account of His sufferings. To maintain otherwise is to confound the distinct states of glory which belong to Christ: the glory He had with the Father before the world was, and the glory which He received from the Father at the redemption: one the glory of nature, the other the glory of office; one the glory of the eternal Loges, the other the glory of the Son of Man. These are carefully distinguished elsewhere.

1. We find the original glory founded upon creation (Colossians 1:15-17), and in the next verse the apostle mentions a honour belonging to Christ's exaltation founded on His resurrection. As Lord of all, He is styled the firstborn of every creature; as Head of the Church, the firstborn from the dead.

2. To raise the dead is a power equivalent to creation, and therefore St. John tells us, "The hour is coming," etc. (John 5:25). In ver. 27, however, speaking of His being Judge of the world which belongs to Him in virtue of Redemption, lies one of the glories of His exaltation. He says, "The Father," etc.

3. In Hebrews 1:1-2 the apostle describes the dignity of the Person sent for our redemption, and evidently describes Christ's original glory. Then follows, "When He had purged our sins," etc., which speaks of His state of exaltation which He received after His sufferings. And in chap. Philippians 2:9, it is said that Jesus was made a little lower than the angels, but here, "better." If He was made lower in order to redeem us, it seems to imply that He was really, and by nature, higher. We may expound Hebrews by Philippians. For when He, who was in the form of God, made Himself of no reputation, He was made lower than the angels; but when, after His suffering death, He was exalted by God then He was made so much better than the angels, as He had by inheritance a more excellent name than they (Cf. ver. 9-10).

(T. Sherlock, D. D.)

To be in the form of God signifies not only to be King, to possess majesty and power, but also to have the insignia of royalty, its courtly train and equipage. Thus formerly among the Romans we might call the form of a consul, the equipage and pomp with which the laws and customs of that people invested those who exercised the office; the purple, the ivory chair, the twelve lictors with their fasces and rods, and such like. When, then, the apostle here says that the Lord, before taking our nature upon Him, was in the form of God, he does not merely intend that He was God in Himself, and that He had the true nature of the divinity; but, further still, that He possessed the glory and enjoyed all the dignity, majesty, and grandeur due to so high a name. This is precisely what our Lord means in St. John by the glory which He says He had with the Father before the world was.

(J. Daille.)

Epaphroditus, Paul, Philippians, Thessalonians, Timotheus, TimothyPhilippiAlthough, Beginning, Consider, Count, Counted, Didn't, Equal, Equality, Esteem, Existed, Existing, Form, Grasped, Nature, Object, Oneself, Rapine, Reckon, Regard, Robbery, Seem, Subsisting, Though, Tightly, Treasure1. Paul exhorts them to unity, and to all humbleness of mind, by the example of Christ's humility;
12. to a careful proceeding in the way of salvation, that they be as lights to a wicked world,
16. and comforts to him their apostle, who is now ready to be offered up to God.
19. He hopes to send Timothy to them, and Epaphroditus also.

Philippians 2:6

     1403   God, revelation
     2018   Christ, divinity
     2063   Christ, perfection
     5308   equality
     8770   idolatry, in NT

Philippians 2:3-8

     5765   attitudes, to people
     5961   superiority
     8356   unselfishness
     8827   selfishness

Philippians 2:4-8

     8475   self-denial

Philippians 2:5-6

     8780   materialism, and sin

Philippians 2:5-7

     2570   Christ, suffering
     5959   submission

Philippians 2:5-8

     2033   Christ, humanity
     2414   cross, centrality
     7797   teaching
     8276   humility
     8435   giving, of oneself
     8481   self-sacrifice

Philippians 2:5-11

     2327   Christ, as servant
     5037   mind, of Christ
     7449   slavery, spiritual
     8028   faith, body of beliefs
     8235   doctrine, nature of
     8316   orthodoxy, in NT
     8428   example

Philippians 2:6-7

     1512   Trinity, equality of
     5023   image of God
     5034   likeness

Philippians 2:6-8

     1444   revelation, NT
     2030   Christ, holiness
     2048   Christ, love of
     2051   Christ, majesty of
     2421   gospel, historical foundation
     2595   incarnation
     5441   philosophy
     5700   headship
     5879   humiliation
     7160   servants of the Lord

Philippians 2:6-11

     2012   Christ, authority
     2336   Christ, exaltation
     4945   history
     5396   lordship, of Christ
     5398   loss
     7927   hymn

Notes on the Second Century
Page 94. Line 9. The Book of ---- The reference here is to the apocryphal Wisdom of Solomon xiii. 1-5. Page 104. Med. 33. As originally written this Meditation commenced thus: Whether the sufferings of an. Angel would have been meritorious or no I will not dispute: but'---- And the following sentence, which comes after the first, has also been crossedout: So that it was an honour and no injury to be called to it: And so great an honour that it was an ornament to God himself, and an honour even to …
Thomas Traherne—Centuries of Meditations

January 17. "It is God which Worketh in You" (Phil. Ii. 13).
"It is God which worketh in you" (Phil. ii. 13). God has not two ways for any of us; but one; not two things for us to do which we may choose between; but one best and highest choice. It is a blessed thing to find and fill the perfect will of God. It is a blessed thing to have our life laid out and our Christian work adjusted to God's plan. Much strength is lost by working at a venture. Much spiritual force is expended in wasted effort, and scattered, indefinite and inconstant attempts at doing good. …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

April 28. "For it is God which Worketh in You" (Phil. Ii. 13).
"For it is God which worketh in you" (Phil. ii. 13). Sanctification is the gift of the Holy Ghost, the fruit of the Spirit, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the prepared inheritance of all who enter in, the greatest obtainment of faith, not the attainment of works. It is divine holiness, not human self-improvement, nor perfection. It is the inflow into man's being of the life and purity of the infinite, eternal and Holy One, bringing His own perfection and working out His own will. How easy, how …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

July 11. "For it is God which Worketh in You" (Phil. Ii. 13).
"For it is God which worketh in you" (Phil. ii. 13). A day with Jesus. Let us seek its plan and direction from Him. Let us take His highest thought and will for us in it. Let us look to Him for our desires, ideals, expectations in it. Then shall it bring to us exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. Let Him be our Guide and Way. Let us not so much be thinking even of His plan and way as of Him as the Personal Guide of every moment, on whom we constantly depend to lead our every step. …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

November 30. "In Lowliness of Mind Let Each Esteem Other Better than Themselves" (Phil. Ii. 3).
"In lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves" (Phil. ii. 3). When the apostle speaks of "the deep things of God," he means more than deep spiritual truth. There must be something before this. There must be a deep soil and a thorough foundation. Very much of our spiritual teaching fails, because the people to whom we give it are so shallow. Their deeper nature has never been stirred. The beatitudes begin at the bottom of things, the poor in spirit, the mourners, and the hungry …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

May 28. "He Humbled Himself" (Phil. Ii. 8).
"He humbled Himself" (Phil. ii. 8). One of the hardest things for a lofty and superior nature is to be under authority, to renounce his own will, and to take a place of subjection. But Christ took upon Him the form of a servant, gave up His independence, His right to please Himself, His liberty of choice, and after having from eternal ages known only to command, gave Himself up only to obey. I have seen occasionally the man who was once a wealthy employer a clerk in the same store. It was not an …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

June 6. "He Emptied Himself" (Phil. Ii. 8, R. V. ).
"He emptied Himself" (Phil. ii. 8, R. V.). The first step to the righteousness of the kingdom is "poor in spirit." Then the next is a little deeper, "they that mourn." Because now you must get plastic, you must get broken, you must get like the metal in the fire, which the Master can mould; and so, it is not enough to see your unrighteousness, but deeply to feel it, deeply to regret it, deeply to mourn over it, to own it not a little thing that sin has come into your life. And so God leads a soul …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Palm Sunday
Text: Philippians 2, 5-11. 5 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 who, existing in the form of God, counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; 8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; 10 that …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. II

Work Out Your Own Salvation
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.'--PHIL. ii. 12, 13. 'What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder!' Here are, joined together, in the compass of one practical exhortation, the truths which, put asunder, have been the war-cries and shibboleths of contending sects ever since. Faith in a finished salvation, and yet work; God working all in me, and yet I able and bound to work likewise; …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Willing Sacrifice
'That I may have whereof to glory in the day of Christ, that I did not run in vain neither labour in vain. 17. Yea, and if I am offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. 18. And in the same manner do ye also joy, and rejoice with me.'--PHIL. ii. 16-18 (R.V.). We come here to another of the passages in which the Apostle pours out all his heart to his beloved Church. Perhaps there never was a Christian teacher (always excepting Christ) who spoke more about …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Plea for Unity
'If there is therefore any comfort in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassions, 2. Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; 3. Doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself; 4. Not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.'--PHIL. ii. 1-4 (R.V.). There was much …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Copies of Jesus
'Do all things without murmurings and disputings; 15. That ye may be blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as lights in the world, 16. Holding forth the word of life.'--PHIL. ii. 14-16 (R.V.). We are told by some superfine modern moralists, that to regard one's own salvation as the great work of our lives is a kind of selfishness, and no doubt there may be a colour of truth in the charge. At least the meaning …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Paul and Timothy
'But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. 20. For I have no man like-minded, who will care truly for your state. 21. For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ. 22. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a child serveth a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the gospel. 23. Him therefore I hope to send forthwith, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me: 24. But I trust in the Lord that …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Paul and Epaphroditus
'But I counted it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need. 26. Since he longed after you all, and was sore troubled, because ye had heard that he was sick. 27. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28. I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Descent of the Word
'Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus: 6. Who, being in the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God, 7. But emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; 8. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.'--PHIL. ii. 5-8 (R.V.). The purpose of the Apostle in this great passage must ever be kept clearly in view. Our Lord's example is set forth as the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Ascent of Jesus
'Wherefore also God highly exalted Him and gave unto Him the name which is above every name; 10. That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth; 11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.'--PHIL. ii. 9-11 (R.V.). 'He that humbleth himself shall be exalted,' said Jesus. He is Himself the great example of that law. The Apostle here goes on to complete his picture of the Lord …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

July the Fourth Emptying Oneself
"He emptied Himself." --PHILIPPIANS ii. 1-11. In Mr. Silvester Horne's garden a very suggestive scene was one day to be witnessed. A cricketer of world-wide renown was playing a game with Mr. Horne's little four-year-old son! And the fierce bowler "emptied himself," and served such gentle, dainty little balls that the tiny man at the wickets was not in the least degree afraid! And the Lord of glory "emptied Himself," fashioning Himself to our "low estate," and in His unspeakably gentle approaches …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Your Own Salvation
We have heard it said by hearers that they come to listen to us, and we talk to them upon subjects in which they have no interest. You will not be able to make this complaint to-day, for we shall speak only of "your own salvation;" and nothing can more concern you. It has sometimes been said that preachers frequently select very unpractical themes. No such objection can be raised to-day, for nothing can be more practical than this; nothing more needful than to urge you to see to "your own salvation." …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 17: 1871

The Exaltation of Christ
I ALMOST regret this morning that I have ventured to occupy this pulpit, because I feel utterly unable to preach to you for your profit. I had thought that the quiet and repose of the last fortnight had removed the effects of that terrible catastrophe; but on coming back to the same spot again, and more especially, standing here to address you, I feel somewhat of those same painful emotions which well-nigh prostrated me before. You will therefore excuse me this morning, if I make no allusion to that …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

Consolation in Christ
You will remember, my dear friends, that the Holy Spirit, during the present dispensation, is revealed to us as the Comforter. It is the Spirit's business to console and cheer the hearts of God's people. He does convince of sin; he does illuminate and instruct; but still the main part of his business lies in making glad the hearts of the renewed, in confirming the weak, and lifting up all those that be bowed down. Whatever the Holy Ghost may not be, he is evermore the Comforter to the Church; and …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 7: 1861

The Temper of Christ
PHILIPPIANS ii. 4. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. What mind? What sort of mind and temper ought to be in us? St. Paul tells us in this chapter, very plainly and at length, what sort of temper he means; and how it showed itself in Christ; and how it ought to show itself in us. 'All of you,' he tells us, 'be like-minded, having the same love; being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory: but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others …
Charles Kingsley—The Good News of God

The Mind which was in Christ Jesus. Rev. George Wood.
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." PHILIPPIANS ii. 5. The Saviour left His followers an example that they should tread in His steps; and His example in everything that appertains to His human nature, is not only practicable but essential. We cannot imitate His power, or His wisdom, or His miracles, or His sufferings, or anything in which His Divine nature was manifested or employed; but we can imitate His meekness, His patience, His zeal, His self-denial, His superiority …
Knowles King—The Wesleyan Methodist Pulpit in Malvern

How to Keep Passion Week
(Preached before the Queen.) Philippians ii. 5-11. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

2 Cor. Iii. 5
Not that we are sufficient of our selves, to think any things as of our selves: but our Sufficiency is of God. THE Apostle, in this Epistle, was led, by the cunning Management of some evil-minded Persons amongst the Corinthians, to asset his own Apostleship; and his own Right to be their Director and Instructor, as He had been the Founder of their Church, and of their Faith. But lest they should think that He boasted of himself above measure; as if from Him, considered by Himself, came all their …
Benjamin Hoadly—Several Discourses Concerning the Terms of Acceptance with God

Philippians 2:6 NIV
Philippians 2:6 NLT
Philippians 2:6 ESV
Philippians 2:6 NASB
Philippians 2:6 KJV

Philippians 2:6 Bible Apps
Philippians 2:6 Parallel
Philippians 2:6 Biblia Paralela
Philippians 2:6 Chinese Bible
Philippians 2:6 French Bible
Philippians 2:6 German Bible

Philippians 2:6 Commentaries

Bible Hub