Christ's Example

Today we begin the final leg of our journey through the Bible. Our reading today is taken from Paul's letter to the Philippians. This letter represents one of the most intimate relationships between Paul and one of his congregations. In fact, the letter to the Philippians as been cited as an example of the "rhetoric of friendship."

~

However, even though Paul expresses his great affection for the Christians at Philippi, he also references various sources of potential conflict, both internal and external. It seems likely that Paul believed that much of this conflict was motivated by personal ambition and arrogance. Consequently, he exhorts the Philippians to "do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves." Paul presents the humility of Christ as the example or model that the Philippians should strive to emulate. Jesus, who was in the very form of God, relinquished his claim to divinity and took the form of a human being. His humility was ultimately demonstrated through his radical obedience, which resulted in his death on the cross. In response to this supreme example of humility and obedience, God has exalted Christ and given him the Name that is above every name.

~

Paul may also be contrasting the obedience of Christ with the disobedience of Adam. In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve sought to be "like God" and through their disobedience were made lower (cursed and expelled from the garden). However, Christ relinquished his claim to divinity and through his obedience is made higher (exalted and seated at the right hand of the Father).

~

Finally, a word about hymns in the New Testament. Unlike the Old Testament, which contains a whole book of hymns (the book of Psalms), the New Testament contains mostly prose literature (letters, gospels, sermons, etc.). However, embedded within this prose scholars have detected what are possibly early Christian hymns. Philippians 2:5-10 is one such possible hymn. If one examines this passage in Greek, one finds a remarkably poetic structure. Many scholars speculate that this passage was an early hymn that Paul is quoting to make his point to the Philippians. If this is true, then Philippians 2:5-10 might represent one of the earliest liturgical forms of the church.

~