3. Basis of the Appeal — Heaven Now and to Come (3:20-21)
3. Basis of the Appeal — Heaven, Now and to Come (3:20-21)
20But1 our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his2 control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be3 like his glorious body.
This sentence serves as Paul's immediate response to those "many" who "walk" contrary to the Pauline pattern, who are ultimately judged because "their minds are set on earthly things."4 It also concludes the long exhortation that began in 3:1,5 returning to the theme of the eschatological prize (vv. 11-14) by underscoring its certainty.6 Whatever the current threat was, and whatever its source, Paul has apparently sensed an ebb in their eschatological anticipation, a matter he has spoken to throughout the letter.7 At the same time, by picking up the play on their "dual" citizenship (cf. 1:27), plus the final affirmation that "our Savior" (a common title for the emperor) is the one who will also bring "all things under his control," Paul puts their present situation — opposition in Philippi resulting in suffering — into divine perspective. All of this is said in a sentence that rises to extraordinary christological heights; not only is Christ the focus and center of everything, but his activities here are those ordinarily attributed to God the Father in Pauline soteriological texts.8
Here is a classic expression of the eschatological framework of Pauline theology, that present life is "already/not yet," predicated on Christ and his coming(s). Although the passage begins with the "already," the accent falls on the "not yet," thus giving perspective to the Philippians' present situation — and to much else in the letter. Christ has gained his present glory through humiliation (2:7-11); he is now "in heaven" where we "eagerly await" his coming as "Savior"; when he comes he will "transform" us into his "likeness," so that our present bodies that know weakness and "humiliation" are conformed into the likeness of his present "glory"; and he will accomplish that in keeping with the same divine "energy" (cf. 2:13) whereby he will also subject "all things" to himself (= "every knee shall bow").
Because of the exalted nature of this passage and its linguistic connections to 2:6-11, some see here another possible piece of pre-Pauline material (n. 8);9 but as with the former passage, and even more so in this case, here is vintage Paul, whose thoroughly eschatological outlook and christological focus repeatedly merge in climactic moments like this.10 For him to live is Christ; to die is to gain Christ; better yet is to be among those who participate in the Parousia of Christ.11 If this were an Apocalypse, here would be the place to say, "even so, come Lord Jesus," and close the book. But this is a "hortatory letter of friendship,"12 so Paul concludes as we should well expect, by drawing out the twofold consequences of this concluding word to their situation: first, that in light of such "glory," the Philippians (his "eschatological joy and crown") remain "steadfast in the Lord" (4:1); and second, that those who are primarily responsible for friction in the community "have the same mindset in the Lord" (4:2).
20 The relationship of this sentence to what has preceded is brought out by the second explanatory "for" in as many sentences.13 The emphasisis twofold; first, over against those who walk contrary to Paul and whose "minds are set on earthly things," Paul says, "our14 citizenship is in heaven." He says "for" rather than "but," because, secondly, he is offering the ultimate reason for their following his example and for looking out for others who do so as well (v. 17). "For," he now explains, "our citizenship (hence our focus) is in heaven"15 and our future is "glory" — in contrast to those whose "end" is destruction since they live only for the present.16
The linkage between this concluding word and v. 17 is also brought out by his returning to the inclusive "we" (see vv. 3 and 15-16), common to Pauline soteriological moments where the truth of the gospel embraces him as well. Perhaps we should say, in light of vv. 12-14, that Paul is now making sure that the Philippians recognize themselves as included with him as participants in the eschatological prize.
This is the second play on their Roman citizenship17 in this letter; and here it is a bold stroke indeed. Paul is not herewith renouncing their common citizenship in the earthly "commonwealth" of Rome; on the contrary, that citizenship is what will make the present sentence ring the changes for the Philippians. Citizens of the Roman "commonwealth" they may well be, and proudly so; but the greater reality is that they are subjects of the heavenly "Lord" and "Savior," Jesus Christ, and therefore their true "commonwealth" exists18 in heaven.19
And they are citizens of the heavenly commonwealth "already," even as they await the consummation that is "not yet."20 Although Paul's language will not quite allow the translation, "we are a colony of heaven" (Moffatt), the point of the imagery comes very close to that. Just as Philippi was a colony of Rome, whose citizens thereby exemplified the life of Rome in the province of Macedonia, so the citizens of the "heavenly commonwealth" were to function as a colony of heaven in that outpost of Rome. That this is Paul's concern lies in the context. They are to imitate Paul in their "walk," because ("for") their true "commonwealth" is in heaven; as such they live God's righteousness as an outpost of heaven in Philippi. And that life is cruciform in expression, which knows Christ in the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, by being "conformed" to his death on the cross. Thus this passage serves as the basis for the preceding appeals, as well as for those that follow (calling for "steadfastness" and "unity").
This is the "already," and the emphasis in the preceding appeals rests here. But the ultimate concern is with the "not yet," with their living in the present as those in pursuit of the heavenly prize. Thus the rest of the sentence focuses on his and their sure future, which focuses altogether on their heavenly "Lord and Savior." The fact that their "commonwealth" already exists in heaven, and that they await their Savior from there, points to their divine vindication, to the full realization of what is "not yet," even though living out their heavenly citizenship "already" has led to persecution. Three points are made: (1) Our present citizenship is already "in heaven" from whence we "eagerly await [the coming of] our Savior," who is none other than "the Lord, Jesus Christ," the one who had the name "Lord" bestowed on him at his exaltation (2:9); thus Paul focuses first of all on the coming of Christ as the eschatological Lord and Savior. (2) At his coming Christ will "transform" the bodies of our present "humiliation," by "conforming" them into the likeness of his present "body of glory"; thus Paul also emphasizes the great "eschatological reversal" that they (and we) shall experience at his coming, that Christ himself experienced at his resurrection and exaltation. (3) He will do this "in keeping with the power" by which he is able to (and will) also subject all things to himself, thus emphasizing his absolute sovereignty over all things, including those in Philippi — and their "lord and savior," the emperor.
(1) While the language of this clause does not specify Christ's Parousia (coming), what Paul says does in fact presuppose it. First, we eagerly await him "from heaven,"21 which can only mean, his Parousia from heaven; and second, we "eagerly await" him, a verb used exclusively by Paul in connection with the coming of Christ at the eschatological "wrap up."22 By this verb Paul harks back to his own "eager pursuit" of the heavenly prize (vv. 12-14), likewise emphasizing how he lives in the present with his focus constantly on the goal.
Significantly, both for his readers' context and for our understanding of Paul's christology, the one whom we "eagerly await" is called "Savior."23 The significance is highlighted by its rarity in Paul; only once heretofore (Eph 5:23) has he used this title to describe Christ.24 That he does so here is almost certainly for the Philippians' sakes, since this is a common title for Caesar.25 That he does so at all is especially significant christologically, since the title occurs frequently in the OT to refer to God our (my) Savior. As with the title "Lord," therefore (cf. 2:9-10), Paul has co-opted yet another OT term for God and unflinchingly attributed it to Christ. None of this would be missed by the Philippians, who know the term well in both of its contexts.
The clincher to all of this — as far as Paul's word of reassurance to the Philippians is concerned — is the final, otherwise unnecessary, appositive, "the Lord Jesus Christ," in which he picks up the precise language (including word order) from 2:11, the only two absolute uses of this combination in the letter. The Savior, they are thus reminded, is none other than "the Lord, Jesus Christ" himself, whose lordship every tongue will confess at the eschatological denouement. Here is the ultimate reason for their rejoicing in the Lord. The Lord is the Savior, by whose grace they have been redeemed and whose coming they eagerly anticipate, even as in their present suffering they are being "conformed into his likeness."
21 (2) This second clause, "who will transform our lowly bodies so that they shall be like his glorious body," focuses on the way in which Christ will function as eschatological Savior. Although Paul's language is quite different here, the concept itself is to be understood in light of what Paul had written earlier to the Corinthians (1 Cor 15:42-57), in a context where some were denying a future, bodily resurrection of believers. The contrasts there were between our present bodies as perishable and "natural" (and when dead "sown in dishonor and weakness") and the transformed heavenly body as imperishable and "supernatural"26 (and raised in "glory" and "power"); the present bodies are thus to be transformed into the "likeness" of the "man of heaven," who already bears such a body through his resurrection. And although the emphasis in that passage is on the resurrection per se, Paul concludes by emphasizing that the same transformation will occur for those living until the Parousia.
Apart from the words "body" and "glory," however, none of that language carries over into the present passage, which is here adapted to reflect the present emphases. The verb for "transformation" (meta-schêma-tizô)27 and the adjective "conformed" (sum-morphon) pick up the language of 2:6-8, where Christ, who was in the "form" (morphē) of God, assumed the "form" of a slave in coming in the "likeness" (schema) of human beings. Not only so, but the adjective "conformed" is the cognate of the verb that appeared in 3:10; those who are currently being "conformed" to Christ's death are someday to be "conformed" to his present glory. Moreover, the genitive describing our present bodies ("of humiliation") further echoes the "humiliation" of Christ in 2:8,28 which expressed itself through "death on a cross." Finally, the body of the future is described as "the body of Christ's glory," the word which concludes the Christ narrative in 2:11, that Christ's present exaltation as Lord of all will all redound to God's "glory," which is the word that also reminds the reader of the immediate context (of the "shameful glory" of those who are destined for destruction).29 If those who have made a god of their bellies thus "glory" in their shame, we too have glory, but it is a coming glory, in which our present earthly existence is transformed into the likeness of Christ's own glory.
As to the future itself, two points are made: First, Christ's present existence is "bodily" in the sense of 1 Corinthians 15, that the "body" is the point of continuity between the present and the future; but the "form" that body has taken is the point of discontinuity — a "mystery" for Paul, but adapted to the final life of the Spirit, hence a "supernatural body," or as here, "the body of his [present] glory."30 Second, the same future awaits those who are his, which is Paul's present concern. Our present lot, he has argued in 1:29-30, and alluded to in 2:17, is to "suffer for Christ's sake." But we can "rejoice in the Lord" in the midst of such suffering (2:18; 3:1; 4:4) because that suffering itself is enabled by "the power of his resurrection" (3:10), which resurrection at the same time guarantees our certain future. Hence in our present "humiliation" we await the coming of the Savior, and with that coming the transformation of our humiliation into the likeness of his glory. That is worth the eager pursuit of vv. 12-14.
(3) Finally, the power by which Christ will bring about this transformation is "in keeping with31 the working that enables him also to bring everything under his control." In some ways this is the most remarkable "transformation" of all, in that Paul here uses language about Christ that he elsewhere uses only of God the Father. First, it is "in keeping with the working,"32 which is then defined, "that enables him also to subject all things to himself." Second, the phrase "able to subject all things to himself" is Paul's eschatological interpretation of Ps 8:7, where God will "subject all things" to his Messiah, who in turn, according to 1 Cor 15:28, will turn over all things to God the Father so that "God might be all and in all." Remarkably, in the present passage the "subjecting" of all things to himself is said to be by Christ's own power.
The little word "also" is much too important to be omitted, as in many English translations.33 Here is the final word of assurance to the Philippians. In keeping with the same power by which he will transform their present bodies that are suffering at the hand of opposition in Philippi, Christ will likewise subject "all things"34 to himself, including the emperor himself and all those who in his name are causing the Philippians to suffer. As Paul has already said in 1:28 and implied in 3:19, their own salvation "from God" will at the same time result in the "destruction" of the opposition.
It simply cannot be said any better than that — for them or for us. This passage reminds us that, despite appearances often to the contrary, God is in control, that our salvation is not just for today but forever, that Christ is coming again, and that at his coming we inherit the final glory that belongs to Christ alone — and to those who are his. It means the final subjugation of all the "powers" to him as well, especially those responsible for the present affliction of God's people.35 With Paul we would do well not merely to "await" the end, but eagerly to press on toward the goal, since the final prize is but the consummation of what God has already accomplished through the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord.
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1. The difficulty with Paul's γάρ, reflected in the NIV's "but," is found in early versions as well (d e f g m goth arm eth syr) and in a few isolated citations in the Fathers (Clement, Origen, Eusebius, Chrysostom), who read "but" for γάρ. The "evidence" from the Fathers is nearly worthless in this case, since they seldom attempt to carry over into their citations the precision of the Greek particles (on this matter see Fee, "Use," 355 [guideline 5.4]). That no Greek manuscript evidence lies behind these expressions of "but" is made clear by the bilingual MSS Dd Ff Gg, where the Greek side reads γάρ, while the Latin has autem. Martin (147) is so focused on the contrastive note in these verses that he actually says Paul uses de to introduce his "counter-position."
2. For the sake of clarity (that Christ is the "him" throughout the sentence), a large number of later MSS (including L Ψ 6 104 326 630 1175) changed Paul's αύτφ (or αύτφ) to the reflexive έαυτφ ("his own"). See the discussion in Metzger, Textual Commentary, 615-16.
3. The later MS tradition (MajT syr; Ambrosiaster) clarified Paul's compressed grammar (= "who will transform the body of our humiliation similar in form [σύμμορφον] to the body of his glory") by adding (είς τό γένεσθαι αύτό = so that it will be) before σύμμορφον. The difficulty is reflected in the NIV, which translates by adding these very words to the English text, although they were wanting in the Greek text being translated.
4. This is recognized by most interpreters. Some (Koester, Collange, Martin. Lincoln) see it as a response to "a false enthusiasm"; but it is difficult to derive that from anything said explicitly by Paul himself (cf. η. 45 on v. 19 above).
5. The passage in fact has several significant linguistic ties to what has preceded: to 1:20 (that Christ will be magnified in Paul's "body" whether through life or death); to 1:27 ("citizenship"); to 2:4-11 ("humiliation, transform [μετασχηματίσει], conform [σύμμορφον], the Lord Jesus Christ"); and to 3:10 ("conform").
6. Given the role and emphasis of vv. 12-14 in Paul's personal narrative (vv. 4-14), Hawthorne's judgment (168) about these verses seems a bit strong ("Nothing that has immediately preceded . . . has prepared the reader for this kind of happy outburst"). Silva (213) rightly judges the alleged contextual difficulties lying behind such statements to "have been greatly exaggerated."
7. See on 1:6 and 10; cf. 1:20, 21-24, 26; 2:9-11, 16; 3:11, 12-14, 15-16, 17-19.
8. Which some see as "condemning it" as Pauline (e.g., Güttgemanns, Strecker, Becker; see next n.). This is a remarkable judgment, since Paul himself dictated what is said here; and as noted on 2:6-11 (n. 3), methodologically we must assume as self-evident that what the apostle dictates for the hearing of the Philippians he also affirms — all the more so, one would think, when the passage brings this hortatory section that began in v. 1 (or at least v. 2) to its resounding conclusion. It is little wonder that the idea of a pre-Pauline, and therefore non-Pauline, hymn fragment has found such a small hearing in this case.
9. For this point of view see Lohmeyer (150), Flanagan ("Note"), Güttgemanns {Der leidende Apostel, 240-47), G. Strecker ("Redaktion," 75-78), Becker ("Erwägungen"), Müller (Prophetie, 190-96), Hawthorne (168-70), Reumann ("Hymnic Fragment"); see Reumann (594-97) for a helpful survey of this development in (mostly German) NT scholarship. Cf. the critiques in Gundry, SOMA. 177-83; Lincoln, Paradise, 87-89; and O'Brien, 467-72.
10. See, e.g., 1 Thess 1:9-10; 5:9-10; 2 Thess 2:13-14; 2 Cor 1:21-22; Gal 4:4-7; Rom 5:1-5. It is not surprising that most of these have been called into question, even though they are available only through Pauline dictation and none can be found in any other source. It is of some interest that this judgment is made at every lyrical or liturgical moment in Paul; apparently Paul is prejudged as incapable of such creativity, which may say more about the pedestrian nature of most Western theology than it does about the apostle! This does not mean that he was not drawing on available creedal or liturgical material (as, e.g., Lincoln, Paradise, 89), but that the sentence in its present form is a Pauline composition, which did not have prior existence in this form.
11. Contra many who assert otherwise about Paul's hopes in this letter, mostly by those who are convinced that Paul expects to die (e.g.. Bruce, 134), despite what he plainly says to the contrary; see the discussion on 1:23-24.
12. See the Introduction, pp. 2-7; cf. on 1:12.
13. Gk. γάρ; see on v. 18. For this double γάρ, where a second clause further explains or elaborates the primary clause by way of the preceding clause ("Watch for those who walk thus, as you have us for an example; for many walk otherwise,.. . whose minds are set on earthly things; for our citizenship is in heaven"), see 1 Thess 3:3-4; 1 Cor 2:10-11; 9:15-16; Gal 1:11-12; et al. As in 1 Cor 2:10, to translate this as "but," as though it were related only in a contrastive way to what has immediately preceded, rather than in an explanatory way, is to miss Paul's grammar for our own inclinations (cf. η. 1 above). Loh-Nida are bold: " 'For' is not a natural connective with the previous verse. It is therefore best rendered as however" — and that despite the total lack of lexical evidence supporting an adversative understanding of γάρ.
14. Gk. ήμων γάρ, where the "our" stands in the emphatic first position, intending the strongest kind of contrast to "them." Cf. 1:28 and 3:3, where the identical thing happens. On the rare "vernacular possessive" in Paul, see on 2:2.
15. Gk. έν οΰρανοίς; the plural reflects Jewish usage (which reflects the Hebrew plural found most often in liturgical texts). That the concept is singular for Paul is evidenced by the singular relative pronoun that follows. For a discussion of the "heavenly dimension" in Pauline thought, see Lincoln, Paradise, esp. the concluding chapter (169-95); see also U. Schoenborn, EDNT, 3.543-47.
16. Michael (177-78), who adopts a partition theory for chap. 3, sees the interpolation to end with v. 19 (mostly because he recognizes that the linguistic ties of vv. 20-21 to 2:6-11 are too significant to exclude those verses from the letter containing the latter — a point that goes begging with most who adopt a partition theory). Hence he is unimpressed by any of the links noted between vv. 20-21 and 17-19, and finds no explanation of the γάρ satisfactory. His presentation has the net effect of illustrating the extreme difficulties for all theories of interpolation.
17. Gk. πολίτευμα; cf. 1:27, where Paul used the cognate verb as his primary imperative in that appeal (for the interchange of that verb for this noun see the sentence in Ep. Diog. cited in n. 20 below). The word itself can refer either to the "constitution" by which a state is governed or for the "state" or "commonwealth" itself. The meaning "colony" can be found, the concept of "citizenship" itself is poorly attested, while "homeland" (as Lohmeyer, Beare, Hendriksen) is without support. In the present instance "colony" will not do as a translation (although the effects of that imagery are not far from what Paul is getting at), since the believers' πολίτευμα is in heaven, not on earth. Most likely Paul is using the term in its most common hellenistic sense of "commonwealth." But both the former word play in 1:27 and the present context of "walking" in righteousness imply that if their present "commonwealth" is in heaven, their "already/not yet" existence on earth is that of "citizens" of that heavenly commonwealth. Hence in terms of theirbeing constituted as the people of God who have a heavenly "commonwealth" that is both "already" and "not yet," Paul emphasizes their commonwealth that is in heaven; but in terms of their own participation in that heavenly commonwealth, both now and to come, it is their being citizens of that commonwealth that is in view here (similarly, Silva, 214). The primary discussion of the word is by W. Ruppel, "Politeuma." For a helpful overview see esp. Lincoln, Paradise, 97-100 (although the usage in 1:27 calls into question whether Paul is here taking over the language of "opponents," as Gnilka, Lincoln, et al. contend; cf. the critique by Reumann, "Hymnic Fragment," 605). The use of this word, which (a) corresponds to the usage in 1:27, (b) fits the Philippian situation specifically, and (c) is not found elsewhere in the NT, not to mention Paul, is especially damaging to the theory of a pre-Pauline hymn fragment (n. 8 above; cf. Gundry, SOMA, 178).
18. Gk. υπάρχει; for this verb see on 2:6 above. As several point out, this usage, rather than a form of "to be," is probably significant, in that it emphasizes the actual existence of our heavenly commonwealth.
19. As Barth points out regarding this imagery, it reflects "a judicial order which at once both obliges and protects [people]."
20. Cf. the anonymous Ep. Diog. 5.9 (έπί γης διατρίβουσιν, άλλ' έν ούρανφ πολιτεύονται, "[Christians] go about their business on earth, but they live as citizens of heaven"), which is almost certainly dependent on a combination of this text and 1:27 (which also serves as evidence that the verb in 1:27 and this noun were understood to reflect the same reality).
21. Gk. έξ ού xαί. The "from whence" modifies "in heaven" (contra Jones, Lohmeyer, et al., who are troubled by the singular pronoun and suggest that its antecedent is πολίτευμα); the "also" (xαί) functions to get the "not yet" part of the sentence under way.
22. Gk. άπεκδεχόμεθα; cf. 1 Cor 1:7; Gal 5:5; Rom 8:19, 23, 25 (elsewhere in the NT in Heb 9:28, also an eschatological context, and 1 Pet 3:20). This rare compound (intensifying έκδέχομαι [await] with άπό) appears for the first time in Greek literature in 1 Cor 1:7; it was probably coined by someone in the early church (perhaps Paul himself) to emphasize either the certainty of their expectation or, more likely, to express the eagerness with which they awaited Christ's coming.
23. Gk. σωτήρα, which stands in the emphatic first position (the object before the verb) and without the definite article. But it is doubtful that Paul intended merely "a Savior," as some contend. Rather the anarthrous usage is emphatic, as with the anarthrous κύριον Ίησοΰν Χριστόν that follows. This is probably a variation on "Colwell's rule," that a definite predicate noun that precedes the verb is usually anarthrous (in this case a definite direct object, followed by an apposition, seems to function analogously).
24. Although it becomes more common in the letters that follow this one; see Tit 1:4; 3:6 (some would add 2:13); 2 Tim 1:10 (a context very much like this one). Many (e.g., Beare, Koester, Collange, O'Brien) emphasize the usage as reflecting Paul's use of the verb "save," which, it is alleged, is used exclusively to refer to the future of eschatological salvation. But that is simply not so, as 1 Cor 1:21; 15:2; Rom 8:25; and Eph 2:5 and 8 bear clear witness.
25. Cf. Foerster, TDNT, 7.1010-12. In its hellenistic derivation the term refers to anyone who "saves" or delivers, thus it has nothing to do with being "saved from sin" but with being delivered and protected, either by the gods (thus it is variously applied to Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon, Heracles, Asclepius, and Sarapis) or significant human figures (e.g., Pompey, the emperors). Caesar is thus called "the Savior of the World," Augustus himself being "the Savior of Humankind." Κ. H. Schelkle (EDNT, 3.326-27) denies that the usage here has any reference to the emperor, but the fact that it occurs in a sentence that deliberately places their "commonwealth" in heaven, from whence they await their true "Savior," seems to weigh more heavily in favor of the view espoused here; cf. Perkins, "Philippians," 93-94.
26. For this as the proper contrast between ψυχικόν σώμα and πνευματικόν σώμα, as bodies "adapted to the present, natural, life and to the final eschatological life of the Spirit," see Fee, Presence, 262-64.
27. The verb means basically, "change the form of," hence "transform" or "change." For Pauline usage see 2 Cor 11:13, 14, 15; the usage in 1 Cor 4:6 is especially difficult. See the discussion by J. M. Niitzel in EDNT, 2.419.
28. The genitive (ταπεινώσεως) is not descriptive (as the NIV, "lowly"), but expresses "belonging." The "our" and "his" in both cases go with "humiliation" and "glory" respectively, not with "body." Thus it is not "our lowly bodies," but "the body that belongs to our humiliation," or that "belongs to his glory." Thus, the body itself is not "lowly" but is the locus of present suffering and weakness, hence "the body of our present humiliation" in contrast to the body that shall be ours "in glory." Paul is not expressing contempt for the body, neither in the form found in the KJV ("our vile bodies"), which sounds far more dualistic than Paul could ever be, nor that suggested by Kennedy (463), that it refers to "the unfitness of the present bodily nature to fulfill the claims of the spiritual life" (it is not sinful, but full of weakness). After all, this is something Paul could well have said of Christ in his incarnation! It is also unlikely that this expression is "anti-Gnostic" (as Schmithals) or "anti-enthusiastic" (as Gnilka, Martin); the "Gnostics" have denied the body altogether, Paul is alleged here to be affirming it by way of polemical contrast. None of these suggestions takes seriously enough the linguistic ties with 2:6-11, while the latter must read a great deal more into the passage than Paul actually expresses (see n. 45 on v. 19).
29. As Michael recognized (see n. 16 above), these linguistic ties are such that it makes theories of interpolation which include these verses in the interpolated matter very difficult to sustain. On the other hand, while one is intrigued by the suggestion that this sentence is the next phase of the "Christ-hymn" of 2:6-11 (vv. 6-8, Christ becoming as us; vv. 9-11, what he now is; 3:20-21, his making us like him; as Hooker, "Interchange," 356-57), it is not finally demonstrable.
30. Even more than with the preceding genitive (see n. 28), it is especially doubtful whether Paul intended "glorious body," as though he were describing the nature of the new body itself. Paul's point is not the nature of this body, but that it is the body that is Christ's by virtue of his present glorified state. Vincent (121; followed by Plummer, 85) rightly says that this translation "dilutes and weakens the conception," not to mention causes the reader to miss the contrast with v. 19.
31. Gk. κατά; see Fee, Presence, 481 n. 24, for a discussion and rejection of the view that this preposition ever functions in a purely instrumental way. This is especially so here; not only does the preposition not denote instrumentality (pace NIV, NASB, NRSV, NAB, REB, NJB), but what it does convey is the "norm" or "standard" in keeping with which something is done. Hence Paul intends not "by the working" but "in keeping with that working" that is already recognized to have been at work in his own resurrection/transformation.
32. Gk. κατά τήν ένέργειαν; cf. Eph 3:7, κατά τήν ένέργειαν της δυνάμεως αύτοϋ ("in keeping with the working of his power"; also Eph 1:19, "in keeping with the working of his might," and 3:20, "in keeping with the power that is at work in us"), texts referring to the way God's power is (or will be) tangibly at work in the world. The verb occurred in Phil 2:13 of God's working all things in/among them for his good pleasure.
33. Cf. NIV, GNB, NAB, REB; translated "also" in NRSV, or "even" in RSV, NASB, NJB.
34. Gk. τά πάντα, used by Paul when he wants to refer to the whole of the created universe or the whole of a given subject; for present usage cf. 1 Cor 8:6 (2x); 15:27-28 (4x); and Rom 11:36. The present passage is a direct reflection of the argument of 1 Cor 15:25-28.
35. This was "penned" in late April, 1994, when thousands of believers in Rwanda were suffering in the midst of a terrible civil war. Such realities are a constant reminder that Philippians is not "ivory tower" stuff, but was written to realities unlike those of most of us who write commentaries on such passages. It is hard not to believe that Rwandan Christians hear texts like this better than do many of us whose lives have currently fallen in more pleasant places.