Taking a Closer Look at Philippians 2:1–11

An Encouragement and a Challenge

Let’s look at Philippians 2. When I first started in pulpit ministry as a twenty-five year old in the west of Scotland, I decided I would try Philippians for a number of reasons. One, I thought I knew what it was about, and two, it was relatively short. And so if it didn’t go very well, I could always bail. And here I am, after all these years, rejoicing in the fact that Philippians 2 continues to both challenge and encourage me in my own personal Christian life, because first of all, I’m a Christian, and then I’m a pastor.

In Philippians 2, Paul writes, “If there is any encouragement in Christ and comfort . . . ” What he means by that is since there is all of this, it’s very important that you don’t succumb to the temptation to push yourself to the front.

One of the privileges of pastoral ministry is that you have a position before people. One of the challenges is the exact same thing. And so Paul says, “I don’t want you to be doing stuff out of selfish ambition, but instead of that, in a posture of humility, you should count others as more significant than yourself.” That, of course, is a huge challenge.

Name above All Names

Alistair Begg, Sinclair B. Ferguson

Jesus is the most important person in the life of the Christian. In this stimulating book, Begg and Ferguson explore the Bible’s teaching on 7 key attributes of Jesus’s life and ministry, from Genesis to Revelation.

It’s a challenge even within a family with our siblings, and in a church, certainly. Paul then masterfully says the example that is set for you is none other than the Lord Jesus himself. And he actually says to “have this mind among you.” The fact that the way we think controls our attitudes and our actions is obvious all the way through the Scriptures, and not least of all here: “Have this mind among you, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”

And then he goes on to give us this amazing song, perhaps a poem, perhaps penned by Paul, perhaps it was in circulation. We don’t know. It gives us this wonderful picture of the fact that Christ, who is the eternal Son, steps down into time. He does so not in royal robes, not wearing a crown, not riding in a chariot.

Although he was God, and along with the Spirit and with God the Father, rejoicing in the reality of that in eternity, his part in that great salvation covenant was to step down. He was born in the likeness of men. He was a real person. He came down a birth canal just the same as anybody else does. And he was there regarded as totally human and understood as someone who had something to say. And of course he was moving inexorably towards the reason that he’d come in the first place. The reason for his arrival was actually his departure.

You wouldn’t say that about anybody else, that the reason that he was born is so that he might die. And of course that’s the point that he makes. He became obedient even to the point of death, bearing sin in himself. And as a result of that, God has highly exalted him and has actually given him a name that is above every name.

The name of Jesus rings in the world today. It’s in every continent of the world, and it is on the lips of almost every language we might ever hear. And one day it will be in every tribe, nation, people, and tongue, declaring the glory of Christ himself. And one day, Paul says, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, he is Yahweh, he is God. That’s not an expression of devotion. It may be an expression of devotion, but beyond that is an expression of theology. One day every knee will bow and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So I encourage you to read Philippians 2, ponder it, and perhaps even memorize it. I find it a wonderful encouragement and a pretty deep-seated challenge too.

Alistair Begg is coauthor with Sinclair Ferguson of Name above All Names.

Alistair Begg is the Bible teacher on Truth For Life, a daily and weekend program that brings the exposition of Scripture to a global audience through radio, podcast, and a wide range of digital and streaming platforms. Since its launch in 1995, Truth For Life has featured teaching drawn from Alistair’s decades of faithful preaching at Parkside Church, where he served as senior pastor from 1983 until 2025. Alistair and his wife, Susan, have been married since 1975. They have three grown children and eight grandchildren.

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