July 28 | Philippians 2:1-11
- Pastor Dave Mann
- Jul 28
- 2 min read
DAILY READING
REFLECTION
TITLE
By Dave Mann
This text, found in Philippians, is perhaps the oldest Christian hymn that has survived to this day from the first century. Notice the poetic formatting of these verses, provided by the editors of virtually every edition of our various English translations.
Some commentators have noted that Philippians 2:5-11 is written in the form of a chiasm, a balanced composition in which the crucial point is positioned in the very middle of the poem. Notice how the text is arranged so that the chiasm is easily seen.
Verses 6-8 clearly laud the humility of the second person of the Trinity in accepting to become incarnate (squeezed into human form) in order to suffer the humiliation of being limited to a human, mortal body. In addition, not only does God accept to be confined to a physical body, but he also accepts to suffer the ignominy of the excruciatingly painful death of crucifixion. All this he has done to live and die in conformity with the will of the Father. This results in our deliverance, saving us from the righteous judgment over our sin.
Verses 9-11 rejoice in the exaltation of Jesus Christ resulting from his humble obedience. The name of Jesus is to be honored and magnified throughout all creation – in heaven, on earth, and under the earth – because of his faithfulness to the fulfillment of the glorious plan of God which is working for our salvation.
Imagine the stress of the work that Jesus endured in the Garden of Gethsemane where he agonized to stay the course of God’s plan. In Luke 22:44, we read of Jesus’ toil in prayer: And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. This was the context in which Satan worked the hardest against Jesus’ resolve to finish the job. And Jesus was indeed obedient. The movie The Passion of the Christ, as disturbing as that masterpiece is, captures well the inner turmoil of Jesus’ battle for prayerful surrender in the Garden. It is hard to watch this struggle, until Jesus’ heel decisively crushes the head of the satanic serpent, in fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. (Click here.)
PRAYER
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for working through this struggle until you finished your work of my redemption. Your obedience in the plan of salvation is indeed necessary for my deliverance. I will be forever grateful for your faithfulness, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DAVE MANN
I am a Pastor for Internationals (retired) in the UALC community. I am married to Pam, father of four, and grandfather of six. Pam and I have lived twenty of our years in other countries including France, Cameroon, Haiti, and Morocco. In retirement, we continue to enjoy writing devotionals, learning languages, and teaching English to internationals.
Amen