Philippians 2:1
I. "If" is not in this case a sign of doubt or hesitation, but, on the
contrary, a sign of the most assured certainty. As employed by Paul,
it is equivalent to "If there is any water in the sea," or "If there
is any light in the sun."
II. This appeal of the Apostle is a burst of te... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:1
Two Incitements to Love.
I. It is tenderness and compassion which St. Paul wants the
Philippians to practise, and he endeavours to win them to the practice
by the recognition and proclamation of the tenderness and compassion
that were already theirs. Listen, he says listen to the lo... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:2
I. _Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be of one mind._St. Paul's happiness was
not quite complete until he could see those whom he loved and he loved
these Philippians walking in unity. There may be unity without
acquaintance, and there may be unity amidst variety. These two defects
(as they... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:3
The Discipline of the Christian Character.
I. The Christian character is set before us in manifold and
diversified ways in the Bible. The Christian character in its
completeness is the result and outgrowth of all that series of events
of which the Bible is in part, but in the most... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:4
Courtesy.
I. Courtesy is the expression in outward manner of deference for the
most delicate susceptibilities of others. It is doubtless, on the one
side, a habit; it is practised instinctively; its forms are caught by
unconscious imitation; it is inherited like other habits, so tha... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:5
The True Imitation of Christ.
Consider two or three simple instances of the mode in which we may
catch something of the true mind of Christ, and carry out into our
lives something of a true _Imitatio Christi._
I. There is, first of all, the readiness to forego, for the good of
oth... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:5
The Humiliation and Glory of Christ.
Consider the practical purposes of the Apostle in bringing this
subject before us.
I. Among the chief of these is the inculcation of humility. This whole
marvellous passage is brought before us, not for dogmatic teaching,
but for moral example.... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:5
The Humiliation of the Eternal Son.
I. In looking into these words, we observe (1) that St. Paul clearly
asserts Jesus Christ to have existed before His birth into the world.
By saying that Jesus Christ existed in the form of God before He took
on Him the form of a servant, St. Paul... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:5
These delineations of Christ reveal the true method of rendering moral
service to man. Human deliverance and progress will remain a theory
only until men come to work upon the method here stated. Great
philanthropic programmes must begin at Bethlehem and comprehend the
mysteries of... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:6
I. The Son of God was in the form of God: glorious as the Father;
equal to the Father; the Creator and Upholder of the universe.
Notwithstanding, He thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
_i.e._for the words are obscure as they now stand He deemed not His
equality with God a ma... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:7
I. We must be careful that we do not suffer our knowledge of the
perfect Deity of Jesus Christ to confound or weaken our apprehension
of His entire and essential manhood. A very little error on this point
may lead to the worst consequences. For instance, if Christ be not
absolutely... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:8
The Humility of Christ.
I. Among the virtues of Christ's humanity brought to dwell among men
was humility, a virtue which lies at the foundation of the Christian
character, a virtue unknown to the moral philosophy of the ancient
world. "Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled H... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:10
I. Even angels are to worship in the name of Jesus. It is, however,
more to the purpose for us to remember that God desires men, all men,
so to worship. And it is a thought at once solemnising and comforting
that not only living men, but the dead also, are required to call upon
God... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:12
Working out Salvation.
(1) This counsel implies that something has been already done. The
very phrase "Work out" suggests this. The salvation has been begun,
and is in one sense a complete thing. We stand still and see the
salvation of God. (2) The exhortation implies that somethi... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:12
I. A Christian man has his whole salvation already accomplished for
him in Christ, and yet he is to work it out. Work as well as believe,
and in the daily practice of faithful obedience, in the daily
subjugation of your own spirits to His Divine power, in the daily
crucifixion of yo... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:14
The Duties of a Church towards its Neighbourhood.
I. The relation of a Church to a neighbourhood is that of salt to the
land. Prejudice may be dispersed, and men be favourably disposed to
the truth, (1) by the irreproachable character of the individual
members of a Church; (2) by... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:15
Sons of God.
I. Sons of God. Let us inquire into the nature of the relationship.
(1) The sons of God are here clearly distinguished from the world. It
is a title in whose honour all then living, man as man, had not a
right to share. But how does this square with the doctrine of the... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:16
In the very act of working out his own salvation, if he be rightly
taught what the charge means, a man will be, incidentally at least,
holding forth or applying to others the word of life. This is true in
some measure. But so prone are we all to selfishness, so prone to
religious s... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:20
The Experience of Isolation.
I. It is a common complaint amongst us that we want sympathy. We are
lonely, we say. If not actually solitary, we are solitary in feeling
and in heart. In later life people make up their minds to this, as a
condition of earthly life. They have fought a... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:20
I. In these and like passages of the Epistles of St. Paul written
subsequently to his imprisonment, we may trace signs of one of the
many trials of the Apostle's life; and it is one which we hardly
perhaps estimate at its real measure. St. Paul's life at this time
must have seemed l... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:21
The Life of Christ the Only True Idea of Self-devotion.
There is something peculiarly touching in the saddened tone of these
few words, in which St. Paul glances at the slackness of his
fellow-labourers. It must have been a cross almost too heavy to bear
without complaining when fr... [ Continue Reading ]
Philippians 2:27
I. Is this the same Apostle who wrote above, I have a desire to depart
and to be with Christ, which is far better? Does he account it a mercy
on the part of God which withdraws a Christian man from the immediate
fruition of the inheritance of the saints in light? The words are so;
a... [ Continue Reading ]