The end of Philippians 2 contains a section of personal remarks from Paul about his coworkers, especially Timothy and Epaphroditus.In this week’s passage, he commends the work of Timothy.

You can see this encouraging passage in Philippians 2:21-22:

As Paul writes to the Philippians, he expresses his hope and desire to send Timothy to them in the near future. And while the Philippian church needs no introduction to Timothy, Paul still expresses his love and care for this staunch coworker for the sake of the gospel.

He has already expressed to them that Timothy genuinely cares for the church and people in Philippi, and that he longs to send Timothy to them, so he can return with news for Paul’s ears.

Timothy stands out in a world that is typically self-seeking. We must not read this first statement as a bitter complaint Paul makes about those around him, who have failed in displaying the commitment level needed for faith in Christ. That is not what Paul is doing here. Nor is he stating that of all the people around him, none but Timothy fit the qualities of this particular task.

Rather, Paul is making a blanket statement, it seems, concerning the times he lives in, and claims that Timothy is different, that he stands out from his culture because of his faith in Christ.

In this, Paul seems to be describing our own culture as well. In a world, where we each look out for “number one,” Timothy considers the needs of others ahead of his own. This is exemplary behavior, and Paul points it out to the Philippians.

Paul moves into one of the longest personal passages in Philippians, and yet he still uses this personal information to exhort the Philippian believers.

You can see the beginning of these personal remarks in Philippians 2:19-20:

Paul loves the Philippian church. They were instrumental in supporting his ministry, and maintaining him while he was imprisoned. This church sent financial gifts, and even sent people to assist Paul, Epaphroditus, who delivered the financial gifts they sent (4:18).

As a result, he shares a lot of personal information with them, interspersed throughout the letter. Typically, he would wait until the end of the letter to do so, as he does in most of his other letters to churches. But here, there are several sections within the body of the letter that show his heart more fully.

First of all, Paul expects to send Timothy to the church in Philippi soon. Timothy was his son in the faith, and was a steady help to Paul throughout his life and ministry. Paul also commissioned Timothy to serve the church, and wrote two letter instructing him, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy. Paul relies on Timothy heavily, especially now that he cannot visit the church in Philippi himself, at the moment. Yet he does expect to be released, as we can see in verse 24.

Timothy’s task for now is to gather information and news about the church in Philippi and bring it back to Paul. Paul was very likely concerned about how his instruction was taken by the church, and how the problems were being resolved. And, by sending Timothy, he had a competent person in place to help instruct the church in such areas.

In the previous couple of verses, Paul expressed his desire to boast about the faith of the Philippian believers. As he finishes this paragraph in this week’s passage, you can see the urgency in his wish.

Take a look at this week’s passage in Philippians 2:17-18:

Paul uses imagery here that is very vivid. He compares his life to being poured out like a drink offering. It is generally believed that he is speaking about his own forthcoming death. It is doubtful if he means an execution, because in verse 24, he expresses hope that he will soon be released.

That means that his terminology here is more along the lines of “even if.” He has run the race. He has labored. And he is willing to die if necessary for the sake of the gospel.

He uses an Old Testament image as a means to illustrate this. A drink offering was something that accompanied a sacrifice, and was to be poured out on the altar, or at the base of it (See 2 Kings 16:13 for an example). In this case, the sacrifice stems from the faith of the Philippians, and Paul is willing to be the drink offering partnered with that sacrifice, if necessary.

It is noteworthy to remember that a drink offering was not worth anything on its own. It was to always accompany a regular sacrifice. What Paul is implying here is that the faith of the Philippian believers is what makes his offering valid. Without their faith, his efforts are in vain.

With all of the issues that Paul has addressed so far with the Philippian church, arrogance and conceit, lack of unity, and more, it is no surprise that complaining and arguing is cropping up. This is what Paul addresses next.

You can see this week’s passage in Philippians 2:14-16:

As Paul continues through this letter to the Philippian church, he becomes more and more practical. As is typical with Paul’s letters, he spent the first part dealing with doctrine and philosophical issues, “This is what is wrong.” Now he moves more into the practical application side of teaching, “This is how we can fix it.”

Complaining and arguing

First of all, he says, do everything without complaining or arguing. There isn’t anything else mentioned in this letter about complaining or arguing, so the question comes to mind that this could refer to Euodia and Syntyche in 4:2, although that is not certain. It could be that, with all of the other issues that were going on, some were finding reason to complain. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Blameless and pure

There is a reason for the Philippians’ need to set such things aside. It is for their own good, so that they can become blameless and pure. As they set aside their differences and focus on unity and humility, they will grow in their own spiritual health. Our main concern is the holding forth of the word of life, and if we don’t live such lives, our task goes unfinished. We shoot ourselves in the foot, because we look no different than the world, when we should look quite different.

After quoting what may be an early Christian hymn, Paul turns to application. His use of the word “therefore” indicates this. And what comes next is extremely valuable instruction.

Take a look at this week’s passage in Philippians 2:12-13:

Paul begins this passage with a linking word that connects what he is about to say directly back to the passage before it. In effect, this becomes the invitation to action that should be a direct result of what Paul has stated to this point.

What comes next though has been a source of disagreement for centuries. Paul make a statement that gives us a portion of the responsibility for our own salvation. He makes a statement that shows that we have a role to play.

If works could save us, then we would have no need for God’s grace in our lives. What we do would be enough to get us to heaven. But Paul, and several other New Testament writers, make a strong point that it is by God’s grace that we are saved.

But is that sufficient? Is there a need for human involvement in the process? Verse 12 seems to make this statement, giving the responsibility to the person. But verse 13 allows for God’s involvement at every level.

In this week’s passage, Paul finishes what is likely a very early hymn or stanza about the majesty of Christ. In the first few verses, this hymn speaks of his humility and his sacrifice. In these final verses, we see his exaltation to majesty.

You can see this for yourself in Philippians 2:9-11:

To this point, the focus has been on the humility Christ displayed in leaving behind his status and position at the right hand of God to become one of us, and being sacrificed for us. But now Paul shifts to the glory that God gives to Jesus because of this.

The opening word of verse 9 is “Therefore.” This means, based on what came before, now we see what the results are. This word ties the coming information directly back to the passage preceding it.

Another change is seen in who the focus is on. In the first verses, Jesus is the focus. But now, Paul shifts the focus to God himself, who transforms the humiliation of Jesus into glory.

A third difference in these verses is the number of Old Testament allusions compared with the first part of this hymn. These last verses contain more than the first ones do, displaying just how grounded this passage is in Old Testament theology.

Paul quotes what is quite possibly an early Christian hymn in this second chapter of his letter to the Philippians. This hymn speaks of Christ becoming nothing and suffering on the cross.

Look at this week’s part of this passage in Philippians 2:7-8:

In the first couple of verses in this poetic piece of the chapter, Paul stresses that Christ was equal with God. But he also stresses Christ’s humility, and in these verses, we see just how far that humility took him… All the way to the cross!

There are several actions that Paul states Jesus took in this process of humility. Let’s take each in turn:

Made himself nothing

Jesus voluntarily emptied himself of all of his rights as a part of the Godhead. He poured himself out totally for our sake. The depths of this we will never know this side of eternity, since we cannot fathom the mind of God in its entirety. But it is sufficient for us to know that he left everything he had for you and me.