Comments on Philippians 2 by Joe La Bianca
1If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, (Jesus does console us. He gives us relief, support and comfort. This is the real Jesus, not the harsh Lord so many represent) if any comfort of love, (Jesus comforts us with love, not threats. You will never know God when you view Him as an exacting Lord) if any fellowship of the Spirit, (The Spirit of Jesus is our companion. He is our friend who sticks with us to the end) if any bowels and mercies, (Did you ever get that wonderful feeling of happy anticipation in your stomach? That’s how God feels when He thinks of us. And what do His loving feelings prompt Him to do for us? Show mercy.)
2Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. (We make God happy when we realize that He loves us so. We need to love each other identically not preferentially. We need to believe the same way to do this. The simple gospel can be agreed upon. The many doctrines of religion can never be agreed upon. That’s impossible.)
3Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. (Don’t contend with people or think you’re great! To think more highly of yourself than you ought is the mind of legalism.)
4Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. (It’s perfectly fine to look to your own interests. But don’t forget to be interested in others. This adds appeal to life.)
5Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: (Think the same way as Jesus thought of Himself. If the greatest Person became nothing, shouldn’t we be ready to prefer others sometimes?)
6Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: (Jesus is equal with God.)
7But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (Jesus humbled Himself and became a man. He had all the glory of God’s status and laid it down for us. We could never even approach this kind of commitment and love.)
8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (It was necessary for Jesus to die on the cross, not as our example but as our Savior from sin. Jesus shamed Himself down in order to save us.)
9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: (Now Jesus is the highest. He was the lowest when He became every sin on the cross, but now God has raised Him above all.)
10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; (You have no choice. You will bow down to Jesus. Better to bow today and be saved.)
11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Every mouth will say that Jesus is Lord. He is Lord to the glory of the Father. That means that Jesus makes God glorious to man. Otherwise God would just be terrifying without the cross to make us right with Him.)
12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (This verse is used to heap fear and guilt on people. The law-followers do not understand. They rip verses like this out of the bible and try to support their wrong ideas. I’ve never heard someone comment on the first part of this verse, only the second! They should not be telling other people how to comprehend the scriptures when they fail to see words that are right before their eyes. Look at the first part of this verse. It is very important in understanding the second part. Paul was afraid of their disobedience to the gospel of grace because he was not with them. Philippi was a distant place where Paul could not easily go. In other books of Paul he spoke anxiously about being away from his churches. It was always because he worried that the legalistic false brothers would pervert grace and cause the pure message of the cross to be mixed with rules and laws. Look for yourself! Paul was constantly telling his churches to be careful in his absence so they would not fall for the lie of goodness through the law. Paul cannot be present with us today, so this verse doesn’t apply, obviously. Paul would never have written this verse to people who have all 14 of his letters and who have the truth spelled out for them. People see the word “obey” in this verse and insert their own object of obedience, which is always the law. They never realize that Paul wanted the Philippians to obey the teaching of faith in the grace of God which was the Pauline message. People look at the words “fear and trembling” and insert their own object again, which is God. They want us to be afraid of God. They fail to realize that we should not be afraid of the God of all comfort, but we should be afraid of not being with this God. We should be afraid to not be saved by grace! We lose God when we lose grace. You’d be surprised just how much subjective garbage is in the sermons of those who are in pulpits but do not understand the gospel. Be careful of what you listen to.)
13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. (God’s Holy Spirit causes us to be in one accord with His will when we just believe. God’s will is merely to believe in Jesus. So obey the gospel by just believing. Be afraid to not trust the cross which would cause us to lose our salvation and know that God is not to be feared any longer, just loved. He is in us to bring us to our happy conclusions. Paul couldn’t be with the Philippians, and so he gave this warning against false teachers who mixed law with grace and perverted the gospel of Christ.)