13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

13 So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Strength

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

By placing the proclamation of Christ in the hymn after his moral exhortation, Paul is pointing to the power for moral transformation. Christian behavior is motivated and empowered by salvation in Christ, not by the example of Christ.

This line of interpretation gains support from Paul’s appeal to Euodia and Syntyche to be reconciled (4:2). He urges them to be of the same mind in the Lord. The similarity of 2:5 and 4:2 is striking. The same verb to think is followed by the same reference to union with Christ. Paul is urging these two women to change their attitudes toward one another to reflect the reality of their union with the Lord. The reality of their union in the Lord should transform the way they think of one another.

“The pre-existent son regarded equality with God not as excusing him from the task of (redemptive) suffering and death, but actually as uniquely qualifying him for that vocation.”

In contrast to the natural human tendency to say Yes to every opportunity to exploit personal advantages of position and power for selfish purposes, this person said No to the exploitation of his divine position and his unlimited power for his own selfish pursuits. The great rulers, heroes, and gods of the citizens of Philippi were famous for exploiting their positions of power. When did the emperors, Caligula and Nero, the great conqueror Alexander the Great, or the gods Apollo and Zeus ever not regard their positions as advantages to exploit? But the one existing in the form of God said No to selfish exploitation of his position in the form of God and said Yes to the form of a servant.

Paul moves from commending to commanding. As you have always obeyed … continue to work out your salvation.

The way to continue obeying Christ is to work out. The imperative means “to cause a state or condition, bring about, produce, or create.” A few examples will illustrate Paul’s use of this word. “The law brings wrath” (Rom 4:15); “suffering produces perseverance” (Rom 5:3); “sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting” (Rom 7:8); “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory” (2 Cor 4:17).

The way to continue obeying Christ is to work out. The imperative means “to cause a state or condition, bring about, produce, or create.” A few examples will illustrate Paul’s use of this word. “The law brings wrath” (Rom 4:15); “suffering produces perseverance” (Rom 5:3); “sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting” (Rom 7:8); “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory” (2 Cor 4:17).

Restoring unity in the church by serving one another is the responsibility of each individual Christian. Paul’s command in verse 14 to do everything without grumbling or arguing confronts each member with the challenge to desist from attitudes and words that tear apart the social fabric of the community.

Paul urges them to express in their community life a dramatic demonstration of the salvation given and promised to them. “What Paul is referring to, therefore, is the present outworking of their eschatological salvation within the believing community in Philippi.”

The verb works in means “to put one’s capabilities into operation, work, be at work, be active, operate, and be effective.” All the capabilities of God are in operation, active, and effective in the work of believers.

By his indwelling presence in you, in individual believers and in the community as a whole, God directs, strengthens, and sustains even the will-to-work. The word will has a wide range of meanings: “to have a desire for something, wish to have, to want something; to have something in mind for oneself, or purpose, resolve; to take pleasure in.” Contemporary Christians speak of a purpose-driven church and a purpose-driven life;325 Paul speaks here of a God-driven purpose. Even our purpose, our willing and desiring to live and work for God, comes from God. God is the great originator of human willing as well as human working. That is why Paul says that we work with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in us to will and to work. The true understanding that the same God who exalted the Lord Jesus (2:9) is the God who now works in us even to will to work (2:13) fills us with fear and trembling in his presence. We humbly bow before God to let his creative, gracious will regenerate and energize our will to serve him. When our own human ambitions work in us to will and to work, our human wills fight against each other and tear apart the church. In any human organization, human wills run in conflicting directions. When our wills are not bound to God’s will, we are bound to divide. Only when our wills are bound to God’s will are we free to unite.

When God’s creative work is demonstrated by Christians living and working together in harmony and unity, his purpose is fulfilled.