ACC ~ Philippians 2 v1 - 5

2:1a | Encouragement in Christ

IF OBEYED, THESE INJUNCTIONS WILL BECOME REALITIES. AMBROSIASTER: These things that he enumerates will, as he shows, be proved realities if the injunctions that he has given below are obeyed: They are of one mind and humble in spirit, not provoking one another but rejoicing in love. If so, the apostle’s joy in them may be complete. EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.4.2.

PLEADING FOR THEIR HIGHEST INTERESTS. CHRYSOSTOM: See how this blessed man pleads with the Philippians concerning the things that are to their own advantage. For when he is counseling them about concord, the cause of all good things, what does he say? See how elegantly, how energetically he speaks, with what fellow feeling! “If there is any encouragement in Christ.” It is as though he were saying: “If you take comfort in Christ and if you take any account of me, if you have any thought for me personally, if you have received any good from me, listen to this carefully.” We use this way of speaking when we are making a request about a matter that we take to have the highest priority. HOMILY ON PHILIPPIANS 6.2.1-4.

2:1b | Love, Participation in the Spirit, Affection and Sympathy

HOW THESE TERMS CORRELATE. MARIUS VICTORINUS: When we are in the midst of ills and labor under the ills of the world, if we have mutual love for one another, God will be our “consolation in love.” “If, therefore,” he says, “there is this consolation in love, so that, because I love you, you console me in the midst of my ills, make my joy complete.” … He has done well to put [the Spirit] third. For the first is to be called in Christ, the next to have love. But when both are true and they have already been called in Christ and enjoy the consolation of loving and being loved, without doubt the fellowship of the Spirit is there. … The church becomes one body when those who have been called are bound to one another in the love of Christ, when they are bound also in the Spirit and have the same “affection and sympathy.” The affection corresponds to the calling in Christ and the fellowship of the Spirit, the sympathy to the consolation of love. EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.1-4.

2:2a | Completing Paul’s Joy

BEING OF THE SAME MIND. MARIUS VICTORINUS: Remember that God is one, his Son is one and his Holy Spirit is one, and all three are one. If so, then we too ought to be one in our thoughts, so as to “be of the same mind” with the one God. Then it follows that we are to “have the same love.” To be of the same mind pertains to knowledge, while to have the same love pertains to discipline, to the conduct of life. EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.2-5.

COMPLETE MY JOY. CHRYSOSTOM: He does not want this exhortation to appear to be addressed to those who have failed in their duty. So he does not say “give me joy” but “complete my joy.” That is as if to say: “You have already begun to flourish. You have already pursued peace as I wish. Now I long for you to reach the highest levels of maturity in faith.” HOMILY ON PHILIPPIANS 6.2.1-4.

2:2b | Being in Accord and of One Mind

HAVING THE SAME LOVE. MARIUS VICTORINUS: What does he mean by “the same love”? That you should have the same love for another that the other has for you, not a divided love but a love embedded in life in Christ. Then he adds “in full accord and of one mind.” He seems to me to be underscoring what he has said above but in a reversed order. “In full accord” corresponds to “the same love. Of one mind” refers to the previous phrase: “being of the same mind.” Yet there is something more nuanced in this pair than in the previous one. For “being of the same mind” and “of one mind” differ only slightly. Both pertain to knowledge. “Being of the same mind” suggests a knowledge that is not yet established, yet its capacity of knowing may be seen to be the same. … “Being of the same mind” seems to be still a continuing process. It is the way to life. But “having the same love” is the way of life to which that knowing leads. PISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.2-5.

2:3a | Doing Nothing from Ambition or Conceit

BANISH AMBITION. MARIUS VICTORINUS: “Do nothing,” he says, “through ambition.” For many are either prone toward ambitiousness of their own accord or moved toward ambitiousness through others. All these kinds of ambition are to be banished. There is to be no inordinate ambition, whether voluntary or constrained, since both are vicious. Some rush into this ambition through speculation; others are naturally of such temper as to be ambitious. So he advises: “do nothing through ambition.” EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.2.5.

ENSLAVED TO POPULARITY. CHRYSOSTOM: Selfishness is the cause of all sorts of evils. From it come strife and rivalry. From these come jealousy and contentiousness. Out of this that love grows cool when we are in love with human glory and become enslaved to the honors of popularity. One cannot be both a slave to popularity and a true servant of God. HOMILY ON PHILIPPIANS 6.2.1-4.

2:3b | Counting Others Better Than Oneself

COUNT OTHERS BETTER. CHRYSOSTOM: If you accept that such and such a person is better than you and persuade yourself of this, not only saying it but being fully assured of it, you also will happily see him honored. And if you happily give him honor, you will not be disturbed to see him honored by others. HOMILY ON PHILIPPIANS 6.2.1-4.

2:4 | Looking to Others’ Interests and One’s Own

AS ONE BODY, THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS BECOME MY OWN INTEREST. MARIUS VICTORINUS: If we think only of ourselves, we may act for our own benefit and bother only with our own affairs, our hope, our own deliverance. But this is not enough. We are truly acting for ourselves if we also have a concern for others and strive to be of benefit to them. For since we are all one body, we look out for ourselves when we look out for others. EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.2-5.

2:5 | The Mind That Was in Christ Jesus

THE MIND YOU ARE TO HAVE AMONG YOURSELVES. MARIUS VICTORINUS: Above he has given two injunctions, first that they should delight in humility, then that they should think not only of their own affairs but of those of others. Then he says, “Have this mind among yourselves that was in Christ Jesus.” Which of these two then do we take to have been manifested in Christ Jesus? One or the other or both? For the first, his humility, is manifest, since Christ humbled himself and assumed the character of a slave. But the second injunction could be here as well, since he bore this for others and thought of others rather than of himself. EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS 2.6-8.

THE MIND THAT WAS IN JESUS CHRIST. CHRYSOSTOM: Our Lord Jesus Christ, when urging his disciples to undertake great works, makes himself an example. … This too the blessed Paul does, bringing Christ before their eyes when he urges them to practice humility. … For nothing so sustains the great and philosophic soul in the performance of good works as learning that through this one is becoming like God. HOMILY ON PHILIPPIANS 7.2.5-8.