Philippians

Philippians is the warmest of Paul's letters, written to the church he seems to have loved most, and its dominant note, struck repeatedly despite Paul writing from prison and facing a possible death sentence, is joy: the word family for joy and rejoicing appears more often here than in any other Pauline letter. The occasion was practical, thanking the Philippian church for a gift of material support sent by the hand of Epaphroditus, who had fallen dangerously ill on the journey and whom Paul is now sending home.

At the letter's center sits one of the New Testament's most studied passages, the hymn of Christ's self emptying in 2:6 to 11, describing one who, "though he was in the form of God," did not cling to equality with God but took the form of a servant, was obedient to death, and was then exalted above every name. Many scholars believe Paul is quoting an existing hymn already in use in early Christian worship rather than composing it fresh, which would make it one of the earliest surviving statements of Christian belief about Christ's nature in any form. The letter also contains Paul's famous renunciation of his own credentials, his Pharisaic pedigree and zeal, counted as "rubbish" beside "knowing Christ," and closes with the instruction to rejoice always that has given the letter its lasting reputation as the New Testament's letter of joy under pressure.

The Christ hymn of Philippians 2 has shaped Christian doctrine about the incarnation more than almost any other single passage outside the Gospels, cited constantly in the christological debates of the 4th and 5th centuries that produced the Nicene and Chalcedonian formulas about Christ's two natures. Its rhythmic, parallel structure, unusual vocabulary not found elsewhere in Paul, and self contained theological completeness have persuaded most scholars that it began life as an early liturgical hymn, sung in worship before Paul incorporated it into this letter, which would place its core confession about Christ's divine and human natures extremely early in Christian history, possibly within two decades of the crucifixion.

The letter's abrupt shifts in tone, particularly the sudden, sharp warning against "the dogs, the evil workers" who insist on circumcision that interrupts the letter's warmth in chapter 3, have led some scholars to propose that the canonical letter combines fragments of two or three shorter notes Paul sent to Philippi over time, though the theory remains a minority position without manuscript support. Philippians is also the primary New Testament source for Paul's own account of his credentials as a zealous Pharisee before his conversion, material he offers nowhere else in comparable personal detail.