#3. He Emptied Himself (Philippians 2:1-11)

Disciple Lessons from Philippians, Paul's Letter to the Church at Philippi

#3. He Emptied Himself (Philippians 2:1-11)

by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
http://www.jesuswalk.com/philippians/3_emptied.htm

Audio Version (38:07)
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Jesus humbled himself to death, even death on a cross. This is the famous marble sculpture by Michelangelo, "The Pieta" (1498-99), 174 x 195 cm (5 3/4 x 6 ft), Basilica of St Peter, Vatican, Larger image.

Philippians 2:1-11

^{1If you have any encouragement from being united with
Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the
Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make
my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being
one in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish
ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better
than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to
your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
^{5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ
Jesus:
^{6Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

⁷but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

⁸And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death--

even death on a cross!

^{9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

I can't help but conclude that the Philippian church had a
problem with unity -- and with the humility required to achieve that
unity. If not, why would Paul spend a significant part of this
short letter exhorting them about it?
Our churches today also need unity and humility. We need to
understand that following Jesus means following him as a servant
who humbles himself -- or we'll never really understand him. So
let's begin as Paul sets up the issues in the first few verses.
This passage has six sections:

An appeal to Christ's blessings and benefits (2:1)
A call to unity (2:2)
A warning against selfishness (2:3a)
A call to humility and selfless love (2:3b-4)
The ultimate example of selfless humility displayed in
Christ (2:5-8)
God's exaltation of Jesus to the highest place (2:9-11)

An Appeal to Christ's Blessings and Benefits (2:1)
Paul pleads with the Philippian Christians to listen to what
he has to say, to open their spiritual ears.

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,
if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the
Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy
complete by being like-minded…." (2:1-2a)
Paul is saying, if Christ has benefited you in any way, I beg
you to listen to me. Let's look at the benefits that Paul piles one on top of another in verses 1-2
as inducements to unity.

"Encouragement" (NIV, NRSV) or "consolation" (KJV,
Greek paraklēsis)
here means "the act of emboldening another in belief or course
of action" and "lifting of another's spirits."¹ Paul
is saying, if Christ has encouraged you by being united to him,
listen!

"United with Christ" (NIV) is the phrase en Christō
that we see throughout Philippians and all of Paul's writings.
(See the

Introduction for a study of the phrase in Philippians.) Any
internal unity the church is going to experience must be
preceded by an individual unity with Christ by each of the
members of the church.

"Comfort" (NIV, KJV) or "consolation" (NRSV, Greek
paramuthion) means "pertaining to that which offers
encouragement, especially as consolation, means of consolation,
alleviation ... solace."² Here Paul is particularly
referring to the comfort derived from realizing that you are
intensely loved by God.

"Fellowship" (NIV, KJV) or "sharing" (NRSV) is the
Greek word we've see a number of times in Philippians, the noun
koinōnia, "sharing,
partnership, fellowship." (See a more complete word study in
the
Introduction.) Paul is reminding them of their
participation in the Holy Spirit as an inducement to listen.

"Tenderness" (NIV), "compassion" (NRSV), "bowels" (KJV)
is the Greek noun splanchnon, "of the seat of the
emotions, heart ... the seat and source of love, sympathy, and
mercy."³ (We also saw this word in 1:8).

"Compassion" (NIV), "mercies" (KJV), "sympathy" (NRSV)
is the Greek noun oiktirmos, "display of concern over
another's misfortune, pity, mercy, compassion."⁴
Here, paired with splanchnon, the words together mean
"tender compassion."⁵ Paul is pleading: If you have
any tenderness in you, any compassion, the listen to me!

If your blessings from being a Christian mean anything to you,
Paul implores, listen to me: You must have the attitude of
humility within you that Jesus Christ himself has.
A Call to Unity (2:2)
Having made his appeal to what they have in Christ, now Paul
gets to the point -- a command:

"Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same
love, being one in spirit and purpose." (2:2)
"Like-minded" uses the Greek verb
phroneō, "to think," which occurs three times in
our passage, twice in verse 2 and again in verse 5. "Like-minded"
(NIV, KJV) or "of the same mind" (NRSV) translates a combination
of two words autos, "same" and
phroneō. Here the verb
means "to have an opinion with regard to something, think, form
or hold an opinion, judge." Later in this verse it is used with
the numeral "one" (heis) and translated, "being one in ...
purpose" (NIV), "of one mind" (KJV, NRSV)."
Think the same, Paul commands us. Is he appealing to some kind
of politically correct "group think"? I don't believe so. Paul
recognizes and applauds differences in people (1 Corinthians 12).
But he calls them to the same attitude of mind, the same
humility, the same way of thinking about life and others, the
same kind of selflessness. Think the same when it comes to
selfless humility, he tells us.

Same attitude of mind
Same love
Same spirit
Same purpose

"Being one in spirit" (NIV), "being of one accord" (KJV),
"being in full accord" (NRSV) translates the Greek noun
sumpsuchos, literally, "united in spirit," "harmonious."⁷
This is a compound word from sun, "together, united with"
and psuchē, "soul."
Put together, the compound word means, "harmonious in soul, souls
that beat together, in tune with Christ and with each other."⁸}
A Warning against Selfishness (2:3a)
Paul has called them to unity with positive exhortations. Now
he calls them by warning them against the negatives, the
destroyers of unity.

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit." (2:3a)
What are the false motives that can destroy unity? Selfishness
and vanity.

"Selfish ambition" (NIV, NRSV) and "strife" (KJV) we
saw already. In explaining the false motives of his opponents
in Rome (1:17), he has set them up to consider their motives
within their own congregation. The Greek noun is eritheia,
"selfishness, selfish ambition." The word is a rare one, found
prior to New Testament times only in Aristotle as "a
self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means."⁹

"Vain conceit" (NIV), "vain glory" (KJV), and "conceit"
(NRSV) is the Greek noun kenodoxia, "a vain or
exaggerated self-evaluation, vanity, conceit, excessive
ambition."¹⁰}
If you've been around the church very long you've seen these:
Powerbrokers who keep a lock hold on the church because it is
their way to retain power. And those who are puffed up in their
opinion of themselves and their importance. These attitudes are
death to unity within the church.
A Call to Humility and Selfless Love (2:3b-4)
Paul has considered the opposites. Now he expounds on the
virtues of humility.

"… But in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each
of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to
the interests of others." (2:3b-4)
In the Greek world of Paul's day, humility was looked down
upon, considered a sign of weakness. But Christians know that it
is their hallmark, the way of life of their Master. Far from
being weak, humility takes the strength of the Holy Spirit since,
it goes against our human nature.
"Humility" (NIV, NRSV) and "lowliness of mind" (KJV) is the
Greek noun tapeinophrosunē,
"humility, modesty."¹¹ This is not an
emotionally-needy, false humility that fishes for compliments in
order to feel good about oneself. Nor is it a Uriah Heep slimy
humility that is all show in order to manipulate others. This is
genuine humility that will actually "consider¹² others
better than yourselves." Wow! How do we do that with
authenticity?
Some resort to a negative humility of self-deprecation,
inability to take a compliment. There is a sort of Christian
piety that runs itself down obsessively. We see the mild form of
this in Paul's statement: "Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 Timothy 1:15). Paul realizes
his unworthiness to be an apostle (1 Timothy 1:13; 1 Corinthians
5:19; Ephesians 3:8), but he isn't obsessed with it. That isn't
the source of his humility. The famous hymn "Amazing Grace"
begins "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound / that saved a wretch
like me." But the focus of the song is not groveling, but
amazement and wonderment in the grace of God that has always been
with us and always will be. The focus is God. Real Christian
humility isn't found in self-deprecation.
A positive, winsome humility, on the other hand, has its focus
on God and on others, rather than self. This is the sort of
humility that Paul is urging. This is the way to understand
Paul's phrase in our passage: "In humility consider others better
than yourselves." "Better than" is the Greek participle of
huperecho means here, "to surpass in quality or value, be
better than, surpass, excel."¹³ It is an attention on
others, on their strengths and virtues that is Christian humility
at its finest. In a word, this humility has at its root love!
Negative humility focuses on self and one's inadequacies. But
positive Christian humility is motivated by love and a focus on
others. See the next verse:

"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but
also to the interests of others." (2:4)
"Look to" (NIV, NRSV) is the Greek verb
skopeō, "pay careful
attention to, look (out) for, notice."¹⁴ Paul isn't
encouraging us to be busybodies, always prying into others'
affairs (2 Thessalonians 3:11; 1 Timothy 5:13). But rather to
care about others' needs over our own. Paul's example in this
brief letter is his assistant Timothy: "I have no one else like
him," writes Paul, "who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.
For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus
Christ" (2:20-21).

Q1. (2:1-4). To achieve unity in your congregation,
why is humility necessary? Can you give an example of how
lack of humility caused a division in your church? What are
you doing to bring unity in your church?

http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=75&t=313

The Ultimate Example of Selfless Humility Displayed in Christ
(2:5-11)
Now having talked about the importance of humility and defined
it positively and negatively, Paul gives us the supreme example.

"Your attitude¹⁵ should be the same as that of
Christ Jesus." (2:5)
What follows seems to be an early Christological hymn that
Paul inserts. It focuses on Christ's humility that is based on
love for the Father. Paul may have drawn on a Christian hymn that
was circulating among the churches or penned it himself for the
occasion of this letter. Ralph Martin outlines the arguments for
the hymn structure:

"The evidence for this is found in the stately and solemn ring
of the words and the way in which the sentences are
constructed. The words are obviously carefully chosen, with the
result that, when the verses are read aloud [in Greek], the
stress falls in such a way as to give a rhythmical cadence to
the lines…. We must also take into account the presence of
extremely rare words."¹⁶}
Important Christology
Christology, or the study of Christ, owes a great deal to
these few verses, for the hymn focuses on Christ's relationship
to God the Father -- his humiliation, his crucifixion,
and his exaltation.
These verses also provide important underpinnings to our
understanding of the Trinity, especially as formulated in the
Nicene Creed. Let me explain about the Nicene Creed so you'll
know the importance of what you are seeing in 2:6-11.
In the fourth century church there was a lot of disagreement
about the nature of Christ's divinity.

Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria understood Jesus and
God the Father to be equal in their divinity, though separate
persons. He believed that Jesus was always with God (John
1:1-2) and that there never was a time that Jesus did not
exist.

Arius, also of Alexandria, understood Jesus to be a
lesser divinity. That there was a time when Jesus didn't
exist. That Jesus was exalted to his high position because
of his obedience to God in redeeming man. Present-day
Jehovah's Witnesses hold some of the same positions as Arius,
and in some ways Arian beliefs underlie LDS understandings of
Christ as well.

Back in the fourth century, bishops of the various cities
began to take sides with a great deal of acrimony. In order to
bring peace in his empire, Emperor Constantine (the first
so-called "Christian" emperor) called for the Council of Nicea
which took place at Nicea (present day Iznik in northern Turkey)
in 325 AD.
Here 250 to 300 bishops of the church gathered to better
understand what the church believed about Christ's nature and
what the Scriptures taught. Of course, there were politics and,
unfortunately, lots of acrimony.
Their conclusions are stated succinctly in the Nicene Creed.
Contrary to what some anti-trinitarians claim, the content of the
Nicene Creed was not imposed by Constantine. He only forced the
bishops to get together and come to unity over the issue. The
result came from the Scriptures and the Spirit of God working in
the churches and the bishops to understand the truth.¹⁷
(You may read the

Nicene Creed, which we'll refer to below.)
Let's examine this Christian hymn found in 2:6-11 in some
detail. The meaning of these verses has been vigorously debated
by scholars, but I'll try to simplify the issues for you. Hang in
here with me. The issues are a bit technical, but are vitally
important to how we understand who Christ is!
In Very Nature God (2:6a)
Paul begins by describing the state of the preexistent Christ.
Paul shares with other New Testament writers the conviction that
Christ existed from before time began (John 1:1-2; Colossians
1:17; Hebrews 7:3; 13:8; Revelation 22:13, cf. Proverbs 8:22-31).
The Nicene Creed states it this way: "begotten of the Father
before all worlds."

"Who, being¹⁸ in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped...."
(2:6)

"Nature" (NIV) or "form" (KJV, NRSV) in both verses 6 and 7 is
the Greek noun morphē,
"form, outward appearance, shape."¹⁹ In the Greek
papyrii, morphē refers
to that "form which truly and fully expresses the being which
underlies it."²⁰ (Paul uses the same word
morphē in verse 7,
"taking the very nature of a servant.") Does this mean that the
preexistent Christ only had the shape of God? Or that he was God?
I believe that it is saying that he was God. Jesus was and
is divine -- pure
and simple.²¹
In order to make this unambiguous, the framers of the Nicene
Creed introduced a Greek word that doesn't appear in the actual
New Testament, homoousious, "of the same substance,
consubstantial." The Nicene Creed states this relationship of the
preexistent Christ to the Father in this way: "God of God, Light
of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one
substance (homoosious) with the Father." In other words,
to put it rather crudely, Jesus is made of the very same divine
"stuff" that the Father is made of.
Clinging to Equality with God (2:6b)
To clarify this further, this Christian hymn considers
"equality with God":

"Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped...."
(2:6)
"Equality" (Greek isos) means "pertaining to being
equivalent in number, size, quality; equal."²² But did
the preexistent Christ have this equality with God? It all hinges
on the meaning of a very rare Greek word, used only here in the
New Testament, the Greek noun harpagmos. It is translated
variously: "Something to be grasped" (NIV, RSV), "something to be
exploited" (NRSV), and "robbery" (KJV). The basic meaning, "a
violent seizure of property, robbery," can mean move to,
"something to which one can claim or assert title by gripping or
grasping, something claimed."²³ Whatever, the exact
meaning of harpagmos, it seems clear that the preexistent
Christ already possessed equality with God, and determined not to
clutch at it or cling to it, but rather to obey his Father and
humble himself.²⁴

Q2. (2:6) In your own words, what does it mean that
Christ didn't cling to his equality with God? How
specifically does this passage teach that Jesus is divine?

http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=75&t=314

Emptied Himself (2:7-8a)
The hymn has discussed Christ's preexistent state. Now it
turns to his human state.

"… But made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man...."
(2:7-8a)
The meaning of the Greek words themselves are clear enough.
"Made himself nothing" (NIV), "made himself of no reputation"
(KJV), and "emptied himself" (NRSV) is the Greek verb
kenaō, literally, "to
make empty, to empty,"²⁵ and figuratively or
metaphorically, "to make of no effect." Used with the emphatic
"himself" makes it clear that this was a voluntary action by the
preexistent Christ.²⁶ We may see echoes here from the
Suffering Servant passage in Isaiah 53:12 where, "he poured out
himself to death."
But just what did this kenosis ("emptying") entail? The
lexicographer says that kenaō
is used of "divestiture of position or prestige." When used in
Philippians of Christ, "he emptied himself, divested himself of
his prestige or privileges."²⁷}

Did he give up the form or nature of God, that is, his actual divinity? Or did he give up some of the "relative attributes" of deity -- omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence -- while retaining the "essential attributes" -- holiness, love, and righteousness, as some exponents of the Kenotic view have taught? Frankly, this text in Philippians doesn't really tell us exactly of what he emptied himself. But we know from the text that he:

Became a slave and
A human being.

"He took on the form (morphē) of a slave," an expression of servility. This is in contrast to expression of divinity in the preëxistent Christ, "although he was in the form (morphē) of God."²⁸

The hymn says he was "made in human likeness." "Likeness" is the Greek noun homoiōma, "state of being similar in appearance, image, form," used thus both here and in Romans 8:3. The lexicographer comments, "In the light of what Paul says about Jesus in general it is probable that he uses our word to bring out both that Jesus in his earthly career was similar to sinful humans and yet not totally like them."²⁹

According to our text he was human in two ways:

by birth (ginomai, NIV and KJV "being made, NRSV, "being born") and
in appearance (schēma).

The Greek noun schēma means "the generally recognized state or form in which something appears, outward appearance, form, shape of a person."³⁰

Was Jesus really human or just pretending to be? A second century Christian heresy, docetism, held a Hellenistic dualistic view that spirit is good and flesh is evil, thus Jesus could not have become flesh and thus partaken in human evil. Ergo, Jesus must have been merely pretending to be human.

But from its earliest days, the apostles insisted that Jesus indeed had become human. The Apostle John made this confession a test of a genuine Christian:

"This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God" (1 John 4:2-3a).

The Council of Nicea affirmed that Christ had not only become human, but in human form was both fully God and fully human, not half divine and half human. As John's Gospel declares:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father." (John 1:1, 14, RSV)

The Nicene Creed states this truth thus:

"Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end."

Q3. (2:7-8) Was Jesus really a human being or only pretending to be one? What do these verses teach? What difference does it really make whether or not Jesus was human?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=75&t=315

Obedient to Death (2:8b)

The humiliation of the transcendent Almighty God to become a human being might be compared to a human taking the form of a slug or a mosquito. But this voluntary humiliation was not enough. In addition, he took on the humiliation of death, and a very painful and shameful death at that:

"He humbled³¹ himself
and became obedient³² to death --
even death on a cross!" (2:8b)

Jesus' death on the cross is comparable to being executed as a criminal by the electric chair or a slow public death by hanging -- a shameful and tortured death, nothing as painless or private as lethal injection.

Paul's point all along is that Jesus set the ultimate example of humbling oneself rather than insisting on one's own way with selfish ambition and vain glory. Jesus did this twice over -- first in his humbling by becoming a human being and whatever loss of divine power and prestige that required. Then again by voluntarily assenting to the most shameful and painful death imaginable in his day. Jesus humbled himself, Paul insists, and we must, too.

Exalted to the Highest Place (2:9-11)

Christ -- one equal with God -- emptied himself, humbled himself, and gave himself up to a tortured death for us. Now the hymn builds to its glorious conclusion:

"Exalted ... to the highest place" (NIV) or "highly exalted" (KJV, NRSV) is the Greek verb huperupsoō, "to raise to a high point of honor, raise, exalt." Here, "to raise someone to the loftiest height."³⁴ Paul is referring to Christ's resurrection from the dead, of course, but even more to his ascension into heaven, where "God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior" (Acts 5:31; cf. 2:33). This passage has strong echoes from of Isaiah 53:

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:12)

Humility, followed by being exalted by God, is a theme that runs through the New Testament, especially in Jesus' own teaching:

"Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:4)

Concerning seeking to be called exalted titles by men, "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (Matthew 23:12)

Take the lowest place when you are a guest at a banquet, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 14:11)

On the Pharisee and tax collector praying in the temple, "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:14)

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:10)

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." (1 Peter 5:6)

It is no accident that genuine, self-imposed humility is the only way that love and unity can flourish in the Church, the Body of Christ. And Jesus himself leads the way.

Q4. (2:9-11) We know we're supposed to humble ourselves like Jesus did. But how can we know whether or not God will exalt us? Why do we get impatient with this? What does our impatience sometimes lead to?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=75&t=316

A Name Above Every Name (2:9b-10)

Every Knee Shall Bow (2:10-11)

As a result of this exaltation all are subject to Jesus:

"that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess³⁶ that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father." (2:10-11)

This verse recalls Isaiah 45:23b

"Before me every knee will bow;
by me every tongue will swear."

Is this submission and confession voluntary? Not by all. Though Jesus is now exalted to this highest place, not all acknowledge him as divine Lord, as the writer of Hebrews observes:

"In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." (Hebrews 2:8-9)

It remains for the Last Day for Christ's exaltation to be made plain to all. The Antichrist will be dethroned, "whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings -- and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers." (Revelation 17:14)

In Romans 14:10-11, Paul identifies this time of kneeling and confessing with "God's judgment seat" or "the judgment seat of Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:10). Judgment will take place "in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead" (2 Timothy 4:1).

In Revelation 20:11-15 we see this awesome courtroom with the great white throne of judgment where all are called to judgment and no longer show any rebellion in the face of his holy righteousness.

Ultimately, worship of all shall ascend to Christ,

"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise." (Revelation 5:12)

Come soon, Lord Jesus.

Prayer

Lord, so often I see in myself a desire to be appreciated by others, to be recognized, to be somebody, to push myself forward. Then I see Jesus who humbled himself to the lowest place -- for me. Give me enough faith that you will exalt the humble so I will stop attempting to do it for you. Forgive me. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Key Verses

It's hard to pick just a single verse or two from this passage, so ...

"⁶Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death--
even death on a cross!

^{9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord,

to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:6-11)

References

Standard Abbreviations
http://www.jesuswalk.com/philippians/refs.htm

Paraklēsis, can carry the meanings
"encouragement, strong appeal, or comfort" (BDAG 766).
BDAG 769. While this can have a similar meaning to
paraklēsis, in this
verse paraklēsis
carries the idea of encouragement while paramuthion
carries the idea of comfort or solace in struggle.
BDAG 938.
BDAG 700.
The pairing of these words is an hendiadys, "the expression
of an idea by the use of usually two independent words
connected by 'and' instead of the usual combination of
independent word and its modifier" (Merriam Webster's
Collegiate Dictionary (Eleventh Edition; Merriam-Webster,
2004), p. 581).
BDAG 1065-1066.
BDAG 961.
Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament.
BDAG 392.
BDAG 538.
Elsewhere in the Greek language you can find the verb used
in a pejorative sense, but in the New Testament it is used only
in a favorable sense (BDAG 989).
"Consider" (NIV), "esteem" (KJV), and "regard"
(NRSV) is the Greek
verb hēgeomai, "to
engage in an intellectual process, think, consider, regard."
With the double accusative, as in 2:3a, it means "look upon,
consider someone or something (as) someone or something" (BDAG
434).
BDAG 1033.
BDAG 931.
"Attitude" (NIV) or "let this mind be in you" (KJV, cf.
NRSV) is the Greek verb phroneō,
which we saw twice in 2:2. Here it means "to develop an
attitude based on careful thought, be minded, be disposed"
(BDAG 1065-1066).
Martin, Philippians, pp. 110-111. He has also developed
this in his monograph, An Early Christian Confession.
Philippians 2:5-11 in Recent Interpretation (London, 1960).
The history and issues behind the Nicene Creed are well
laid out in

"Debating Jesus' Divinity: The; Council of Nicaea and Its
Bitter Aftermath," Christian History and Biography,
Issue 85, Winter 2005.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/2005/001/
"Being" (NIV, KJV) or "though he was" (NRSV) is the Greek
present active participle of
huparchō, "to be," a widely used substitute in
Hellenic Greek for einai.
BDAG 659.
J.H. Moulton and G. Milligan, The Vocabulary of the
Greek Testament, 417, cited by G.F. Hawthorne,
Philippians (Word Biblical Commentary; Waco, 1983), p. 83.
O'Brien, Philippians 207-211, details five different
understandings of morphē
in this verse. From a study of the grammar of verse 6 he
concludes, "This then, is what it means for Christ to be 'in
the form of God;' it means 'to be equal with God,' not
in the sense that the two phrases are identical, but that both
point to the same reality" (p. 207).
BDAG 480-481.
BDAG 133-134.
J.B. Lightfoot argues that harpagmos means "a prize"
or "treasure," and interpreted the phrase, "He ... did not
treat His equality with God as a prize, a treasure to be
greedily clutched and ostentatiously displayed," that is, he
already possessed divine equality and resolved not to cling to
it (Lightfoot 134). A recent study by R.W. Hoover, indicates
that the Greek phrase was a common idiomatic expression that
meant, "to regard something as a stroke of luck, a windfall, a
piece of good fortune." Thus, the meaning would be "he did not
regard being equal with God as something to take advantage of,"
or, more idiomatically, "as something to use for his own
advantage." This understanding assumes that equality with God
represents a status which belonged to the preexistent Christ.(Cited and explained by O'Brien, 214-216, who is
convinced by Hoover's philological conclusions.)
BDAG 539.
O'Brien 216-217.
BDAG 539.
BDAG 659.
BDAG 707.
BDAG 981.
"Humbled" is the Greek verb
tapeinoō, "to cause someone to lose prestige or
status, humble, humiliate, abase" (BDAG 990). A related word
occurs in the Greek Septuagint translation of Isaiah 53:8, "in
his humiliation...."
"Obedient" is the Greek adjective
hupēkoos, "obedient"
(BDAG 1035) from the verb
hupakouō, "to follow instructions, obey, follow, be
subject to" (BDAG 1028-1029).
Fee 220.
BDAG 1034.
O'Brien 238.
"Confess" is the Greek verb
exomologeō, here means, "to declare openly in
acknowledgement, profess, acknowledge" (BDAG 351).

Disciple Lessons from Philippians

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