This letter is the most affectionate of all of Paul’s letters. Philippi was the capital of ancient Macedonia, in northern Greece. According to Acts 16, it was the first city in Europe in which Paul founded a Christ centered group of people after leaving Asia Minor in the late 40’s A.D. Paul is filled with gratitude while writing this letter.
Joy and Rejoicing
Paul writes from the perspective as one who thinks that he may possibly die, as he is in prison at the time of writing this letter (probably writing in the mid 50’s A.D.) and so we get a glimpse as to how he views his life at a point of near death.
His message is filled with JOY
I thank my God… you all making request with joy (1.3-4)
I have you in my heart (1.7)
I rejoice (1.18)
He is between life and death – he desires to die, but loves the Philippians (1.21-26)
Joy and rejoicing (2.17-18)
That you may rejoice (2.28)
Rejoice in the Lord (3.1)
Rejoice in the Lord always (4.4)
I rejoiced in the Lord greatly (4.10)
Catabasis in Philippians
A great example of catabasis in the New Testament comes to us from the writings of Paul. Paul used this form to illustrate the redemptive power of Jesus Christ as Savior and Redeemer. Paul first shows us that Jesus is equal with God the Father, and then step by step downward shows us that Jesus became human, going down in the depths of humility so far as to suffer a humiliating death “as a man” on the cruel cross of Calvary:
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 (Phillippians 2:6-8).
This tells us that Jesus descended, and, according to Joseph Fielding Smith, he experienced all that we experience. Christ experienced mortality and grew grace to grace as described in Section 93 of the Doctrine and Covenants.
Christology of Philippians 2.6-11
The text of Philippians 2.6-11 is considered some of the earliest Christian writing, probably textualized around the mid 50’s A.D., right around the time Q was written, 1 as well as the genuine Pauline epistles. This early text of Philippians 2 demonstrates that early Christians did indeed have what we call a “High Christology” – how they viewed Jesus… he wasn’t just a man who was “adopted” as God’s son, what some would call a lower Christology, or an adoptionist view. In my view, the Christology of Philippians does not match that of John or Colossians, but it is still a “high” Christology. This was probably an early Christian hymn, and what scholars call “an early window into the belief and liturgical practices of early Christians” 2
Philippians 3.10-15 is a temple text
Fellowship = koinonia κοινωνία= the right hand as a sign/membership/fellowship of his sufferings
Conformable to his death = summorphizo συμμορφίζω = to “render like” – nowhere else in the KJV
That I may “apprehend” = katalambano καταλαμβάνω (lambano means to “take by the hand, lay hold of”) – katalambano means to take hold of… here Paul is saying he may take hold of that for which he is also “taken ahold of” – Christ Jesus.
He is pressing towards the skopos σκοπός – the mark in verse 14, a word that doesn’t appear anywhere else in KJV. Skopos = a guardian/sentry… perhaps concealed.
The text of Philippians 3 can be read as follows:
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the koinonia or the sign/token in the right hand/fellowship of his sufferings, being made to render like his death… that I may katalambano, or “take by the right hand and lay hold of” that which has taken hold of me (the right hand of Christ)… that I may press toward the skopos, or guardian who stands as a sentry for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus- or to enter into the presence of God, to “win the prize,” a celestial crown. (Philippians 3.10-14)
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem said, “…we did not really die, we were not really buried, we were not really crucified and raised again; but our imitation was but in a figure, while our salvation is in reality. Christ was actually crucified, and actually buried, and truly rose again; and all these things have been vouchsafed to us, that we, by imitation communicating in His sufferings, might gain salvation in reality…. Christ received the nails in His undefiled hand and feet, and endured anguish; while to me without suffering or toll, by fellowship of His pain He vouchsafes salvation.” 3
RSV Rendition of Philippians 3.10-15:
that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you.
Article of Faith #13 Text
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4.8)
Notes
- Burton Mack, The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q and Christian Origins, Harper One, 1994. According to scholars that have analyzed Q, this seems to be the source document for much of the text contained in Matthew and Luke. According to the Four Source Hypothesis accepted by many contemporary scholars, the authors of Matthew and Luke each made use of two different sources: the Gospel of Mark and a non-extant second source termed Q. The term Q derives from the German word “Quelle,” which means “Source.” Q primarily consists of the “double tradition” material, that which is present in both Matthew and Luke but not Mark.
- R.P. Martin, Carmen Christi: Philippians 2.5-11 in recent interpretation and in the setting of Early Christian Worship, 1967, Cambridge University Press.
- Library of Fathers, Vol. II, pp. 260-66, Lec. XIX-XX, Cyril on the Mysteries, Pub. by John Henry Parker, Oxford, London, MDCCCXXXIX. See also The Catechetical Lectures of Saint Cyril, Lecture XX On the Mysteries, Aeterna Press, 2015.
Further Reading on Temple Texts in the New Testament:
Jeff Bradshaw, What did Joseph Smith know about Modern Temple Ordinances by 1836?
S. Kent Brown, The Temple in Luke and Acts in Revelation, Reason, and Faith: Essays in Honor of Truman G. Madsen, 2002.
Todd Compton, The Handclasp and Embrace as Tokens of Recognition in By Study and Also by Faith, Volume 1, Essays in Honor of Hugh Nibley on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday, 27 March 1990.
Daniel B. McKinlay, Temple Imagery in the Epistles of Peter, in Temples of the Ancient World: Ritual and Symbolism, edited by Donald W. Parry, 1994, Deseret Book.
William Hamblin, “I Have Revealed Your Name”: The Hidden Temple in John 17, Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 1(2012):61-89.