Philippians - Verse-by-Verse Biblical Exegesis

LWB Philp. 2:8 He humbled Himself [voluntarily submitted to the Father] by becoming
obedient to the point of spiritual death, that is, the spiritual death of the cross.
KW Philp. 2:8 And being found to be in outward guise as a man, He stooped very low, having
become obedient [to God the Father] to the extent of death, even such a death as that upon a
cross.
KJV Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
TRANSLATION HIGHLIGHTS
Instead of exercising His divine attributes, which would enable Him to live forever in a human body
without sin, He humbled Himself (Culminative Aorist tense) by becoming (Dramatic Aorist tense)
obedient all the way through spiritual death. Jesus Christ was not forced by the Father and the Holy
Spirit to do this; He voluntarily submitted to death on the cross. The voluntary aspect of this decision
is emphasized by the reflexive pronoun “Himself.” There was no disagreement or argument in the
Trinity. Jesus did not complain about His role in dying on the cross to provide salvation for the elect.
His voluntary humiliation on the cross was the actual means (Instrumental Participle) of procuring
our salvation. It is also important to understand that death in this verse refers to His spiritual death on
the cross.
There have been a lot of men and women throughout history who have died for others. Those who
serve in the military will give us an affirmative nod in this direction. But only one man, the God-
Man, has died a spiritual death on behalf of others. The absence of the definite article in the Greek
actually emphasizes the unique quality of His spiritual death on the cross. No one else could if he
would, or would if he could, provide salvation on the cross for a multitude of sinners. Men and
women can die physically for another person, but we cannot die spiritually for another person. Jesus
Christ, as deity and humanity united in one Person, was the only one in history who could and did
provide this substitutionary atonement. Personal sacrifice to the point of death for another may meet
our human standard of supreme self-sacrifice, but it does not meet the required divine standard.
REVELANT OPINIONS
He deprived Himself (voluntarily restricted Himself in order to execute God's plan, deprived
Himself of the independent function of deity so that in His humanity He could voluntarily obey all
the mandates of God that define the gates of the love complex - "abiding in His love") ... discovered
in the outward appearance of man, without an Old Sin Nature. (R.B. Thieme, Jr.) The form of a
servant is concerned with the fact that the manifestation as a servant corresponded with the real fact
that Christ came as the servant of mankind. In the phrase “in the likeness of men” the thought is still
linked with that of His essential nature which rendered possible a likeness to man, but not an
absolute identity with men. (M. Vincent) These seven downward steps in Philippians 2:6-8 in the
Saviour’s humiliation are followed in verses 9-11 by seven steps upward in His glorification. (E.W.
Bullinger) In polite Roman society the word “cross” was an obscenity, not to be uttered in