The Epistle to the Philippians is the epistle of joy. Paul, a prisoner, writes to the community of Philippi — the first founded in Europe (Acts 16:11-40) — to thank and encourage it. The text contains one of the most important christological hymns of the NT (Phil 2:6-11, on the kenosis), a lapidary exposition of justification by faith (3:4-11), and a constant call to joy in Christ despite suffering.
Overview
Author
Paul, with Timothy associated in the salutation (Phil 1:1). Undisputed Pauline authenticity: Philippians is one of the seven Pauline epistles accepted by all modern criticism.
Date of composition
The dating is disputed according to the place of captivity: (1) Rome (AD 60-62, the majority position); (2) Caesarea (c. 58-60); (3) Ephesus (c. 54-56). The mention of the "praetorium" (Phil 1:13) and "the household of Caesar" (4:22) argues for Rome.
Addressees
The Church of Philippi, the first Christian community of Europe, founded by Paul c. 49-50 on his second missionary journey (Acts 16:11-40). Philippi was a Roman colony with the ius Italicum.
Place of composition
Place of captivity: Rome probably (60-62), or Ephesus (c. 54-56) according to a minority hypothesis.
Occasion / context
Multiple: to thank the Philippians for their gift sent through Epaphroditus (4:10-20); to send Epaphroditus back (2:25-30); to announce the sending of Timothy (2:19-24); to encourage them in persecution (1:28-30); to warn against the Judaisers (3:2); to exhort Euodia and Syntyche to concord (4:2-3).
Original language
Careful Koine Greek, a personal and warm register, rich in affective terms (χαρά "joy" and its derivatives 16 times), elaborate rhetorical structures.
Place in the canon
Received universally. Present in Polycarp of Smyrna (Letter to the Philippians, c. 110-140), Marcion, the Muratorian Canon.
Authenticity and authorship criticism
The Pauline authenticity of Philippians is undisputed. F. C. Baur (1845) ranked it among the indisputably Pauline epistles.
Literary integrity: the major question. Several critics (Bornkamm, Schmithals, Murphy-O'Connor) have proposed that Philippians is a compilation of two or three letters: (A) Phil 4:10-20 (a brief thanksgiving); (B) Phil 1:1 – 3:1 + 4:4-9,21-23 (the main letter); (C) Phil 3:2 – 4:3 (a polemical letter). Arguments: the abrupt break between Phil 3:1 and 3:2; the late position of the thanksgiving; Polycarp's mention (Letter to the Philippians 3:2), which speaks of "letters" in the plural.
The dominant current position: the integrity of Philippians (Fee, O'Brien, Bockmuehl, Reumann, Hawthorne). The break is explained by a rhetorically justified change of subject; the late position of the thanksgiving is consistent with the epistolary conventions.
The christological hymn (Phil 2:6-11). A major question: does Paul cite a pre-Pauline hymn? The dominant position since E. Lohmeyer (Kyrios Jesus, 1928): a pre-Pauline hymn (hymnic genre, specific vocabulary, strophic structure). Lohmeyer proposes an Aramaic origin; Joachim Jeremias, Larry Hurtado, Ralph Martin (A Hymn of Christ, 1967) extend it. The alternative position: Paul as author (Fee, Bockmuehl). The majority position: the taking up of a pre-Pauline hymn, perhaps adapted.
Literary structure
Prologue: thanksgiving and prayer(Phil 1:1-11)
Salutation: Paul and Timothy, servants (δοῦλοι), to the saints, overseers (ἐπίσκοποι) and deacons (1:1) — the first Pauline mention of these functions. Thanksgiving (1:3-8). A prayer for growth in love, discernment, purity (1:9-11).
Paul's situation as a prisoner(Phil 1:12-26)
Paul's chains have served the advancement of the Gospel (1:12-14). "For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (1:21). The desire to depart to Christ or to remain for the Philippians (1:22-26).
Exhortation to concord and the christological hymn(Phil 1:27 – 2:18)
To lead a life worthy of the Gospel (1:27-30). An exhortation to unity and humility (2:1-4). The christological hymn (2:6-11) on the kenosis and exaltation of Christ. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling (2:12-18).
Plans for Timothy and Epaphroditus(Phil 2:19-30)
The forthcoming sending of Timothy (2:19-24). The sending back of Epaphroditus, gravely ill (2:25-30).
Warning against the Judaisers(Phil 3:1-11)
Joy in the Lord (3:1). "Beware of the dogs, the evil workers, the false circumcision!" (3:2). Paul's advantages according to the flesh (3:4-6: circumcision, the race of Israel, Benjamin, a Pharisee) counted as "refuse" because of Christ (3:7-8). The righteousness that comes from God through faith (3:9-11).
The race towards the prize(Phil 3:12-21)
"I press towards the goal, for the prize of the heavenly call" (3:14). A warning against the enemies of the cross (3:18-19). "Our citizenship (πολίτευμα) is in heaven" (3:20-21): the transformation of the body of lowliness into a body of glory.
Final exhortations(Phil 4:1-9)
Reconciliation between Euodia and Syntyche (4:2-3). "Rejoice always in the Lord" (4:4). "The peace of God which surpasses all understanding" (4:6-7). "Whatever is true, noble, just... let all this be the object of your thoughts" (4:8).
Thanksgiving for the gift(Phil 4:10-20)
Thanksgiving for the help sent through Epaphroditus (4:10-13): "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (4:13). Doxology (4:20).
Final greetings(Phil 4:21-23)
Various greetings, notably "those of the household of Caesar" (4:22) — Christians among the imperial staff at Rome. The final blessing (4:23).
Principal theology
The christological hymn (Phil 2:6-11): kenosis and exaltation
Phil 2:6-11 is one of the most important christological texts of the NT. The hymn is articulated in two movements: descent (kenosis, 2:6-8) and exaltation (2:9-11).
The movement of descent (2:6-8). "Who, being in the form of God (ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ), did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself (ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν), taking the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of men; and, having appeared in the form of a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
The verb ἐκένωσεν. The origin of the doctrine of the christological kenosis. Three main interpretations: (1) a real kenosis (Christ abandoned certain divine attributes): the 19th-century kenotic theology (Thomasius, Gore), Bulgakov, Moltmann, Balthasar; (2) a phenomenal kenosis (veiling without abandonment): classical patristics, Catholic scholasticism; (3) a moral kenosis (renunciation of the use of the privileges): Calvin, the Reformed tradition.
The movement of exaltation (2:9-11). "God has highly exalted him, and given him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός), to the glory of God the Father." The "name above every name" is κύριος, the Greek equivalent of YHWH in the LXX. This attribution to Jesus of the divine title κύριος, confessed by the whole creation (a taking up of Is 45:23), is one of the highest christological affirmations of the NT (Hurtado Lord Jesus Christ, 2003; Bauckham God Crucified, 1998).
Paraenetic application. Paul cites the hymn to exhort to humility and attention to others: "Have in you the mind that was in Christ Jesus" (2:5). The christological kenosis is the paradigm of Christian conduct.
Justification by faith and the loss of the "gains" (Phil 3:4-11)
Phil 3:4-11 is the most autobiographical exposition of Pauline justification. Paul enumerates his "advantages" according to the flesh: "circumcised on the eighth day, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews, as to the Law a Pharisee, as to zeal a persecutor of the Church, as to the righteousness found in the Law blameless" (3:5-6).
All these "gains" (κέρδη), Paul counted as a "loss" (ζημίαν) because of Christ (3:7). "I have lost everything and I consider it as refuse (σκύβαλα), in order to gain Christ and be found in him, having not my own righteousness which comes from the Law, but that which is obtained through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith" (3:8-9).
Justification by faith. Phil 3:9 states the Pauline doctrine with density: righteousness is not "my own" righteousness acquired by observance of the Law, but that which comes "through faith in Christ" (διὰ πίστεως Χριστοῦ — the disputed pistis Christou genitive). "The righteousness that comes from God" (τὴν ἐκ θεοῦ δικαιοσύνην) is the righteousness received by grace.
To know Christ. 3:10: "that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the participation in his sufferings, becoming conformed to him in his death." Christian knowledge (γνῶσις) is not purely intellectual but a participation in the paschal mystery.
The New Perspective. Krister Stendahl criticised the Western Lutheran reading: Paul does not describe a conscience tortured by legalism (as Luther thought) but a "blameless" Jewish life that he abandoned for Christ, not out of guilt but out of christological illumination. Dunn, Wright, Sanders extend it.
Reformation reception. Luther cites Phil 3:7-9 as a key text of the sola fide. Calvin (Inst. III, 11-12) develops the doctrine of imputed righteousness. The Joint Declaration on Justification (1999) cites Phil 3:9.
Christian joy and heavenly citizenship
Philippians is the epistle of joy: χαρά and its derivatives appear 16 times in 4 chapters. This joy is not superficial optimism; it is "joy in the Lord" (4:4), a paradoxical joy that coexists with prison and suffering.
Christian αὐτάρκεια. The term αὐτάρκεια ("self-sufficiency") was Stoic: the sage is sufficient unto himself, indifferent to circumstances. Paul takes up the concept but transforms it: it is no longer the self that suffices, but grace that suffices. "I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (4:13): a pneumatic christological self-sufficiency.
The peace of God (Phil 4:6-7). "Be anxious about nothing... And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding (ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ ὑπερέχουσα πάντα νοῦν), will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus." This Pauline εἰρήνη is more than psychological tranquillity: it is messianic shalom, the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22).
Heavenly citizenship (Phil 3:20). "For our citizenship (πολίτευμα) is in heaven, from which we await the Saviour." The term πολίτευμα designates the political corporation. Paul uses the Roman civic vocabulary to subvert it: the Philippians, citizens of Philippi (a Roman colony), are first of all citizens of heaven. The ultimate allegiance is to Christ, not to Caesar. This theological politics inspired: Augustine (De civitate Dei), Moltmann, Metz, Hauerwas.
Philippian eschatology. Christ "will transform our body of lowliness (σῶμα τῆς ταπεινώσεως) into a body of glory (σώματι τῆς δόξης)" (3:21). Continuity with 1 Cor 15 and 2 Cor 5: the eschatological transformation is the work of the power by which Christ can subject all things to himself.
Major theological disputes
The following disputes draw on the six great confessional voices (Catholic, Orthodox, Reformed, Lutheran, Anglican, Anabaptist), with interjections from Professor Tryphon Goldberg, the site's Jewish pedagogical persona.
The christological kenosis: real abandonment of the divine attributes or veiling?
"He emptied himself (ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν), taking the form of a servant" (Phil 2:7). Did Christ really abandon divine attributes at the incarnation, or is it a veiling, a renunciation of their use? This major christological question has divided theologians since the 19th century.
Catholic
Classical Catholic theology (Thomas Aquinas S.Th. III, q. 1-15) defends a phenomenal kenosis: Christ veiled his divine glory without abandoning his attributes. Christ has two natures (divine and human) in one single person (Chalcedon 451). Contemporary theology: Hans Urs von Balthasar (Mysterium Paschale, 1969) proposes a trinitarian kenosis; Karl Rahner, Joseph Ratzinger. CCC § 461-477.
Orthodox
Orthodoxy articulates a rich kenotic christology since Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria. Maximus the Confessor: kenosis is condescension and full participation in humanity. Sergei Bulgakov (The Incarnate Word, 1933) proposes a radical sophiological kenosis, controverted by the Patriarchate of Moscow (1935). Contemporary theologians: Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, Metropolitan Kallistos Ware.
Reformed
Calvin articulated the extra Calvinisticum: the divinity of Christ persists beyond the assumed humanity (etiam extra carnem). Christ fully assumes humanity while fully maintaining his divinity elsewhere. This doctrine maintains the integrity of the two natures. Second Helvetic Confession (1566), Westminster Confession (1647, ch. VIII). Contemporary position: Karl Barth, Eberhard Jüngel, Bruce McCormack.
Lutheran
Luther defends the real communicatio idiomatum: the divine and human attributes are really communicated in the single person of Christ. The Wittenberg Concord, the Formula of Concord (1577, art. VIII). The 19th-century Lutheran kenotic theology (Gottfried Thomasius, Wolfgang Friedrich Gess) radicalises it: Christ abandoned certain divine attributes at the incarnation. A position criticised by Pannenberg, Jenson but partially received.
Anglican
Anglicanism developed a rich kenotic theology in the 19th century. Charles Gore (Lux Mundi, 1889) proposes a moderate kenotic theology: Christ really renounced certain modes of exercising his divine attributes, without abandoning his divine nature. P. T. Forsyth (The Person and Place of Jesus Christ, 1909) deepens it. Contemporary position: Sarah Coakley, Rowan Williams (Christ the Heart of Creation, 2018), N. T. Wright.
Anabaptist
The Anabaptists have developed little systematic christology. The dominant position receives Chalcedon. Anabaptist ethics makes the Christic kenosis the radical model of following Jesus. John Howard Yoder (The Politics of Jesus, 1972) articulates the politics of kenosis: refusal of violence, identification with the humble. Stanley Hauerwas, Glen Stassen, Denny Weaver. Anabaptist kenotic ethics is better known than its kenotic christology.
Synthesis
The christological kenosis remains one of the pivotal texts of christology. Three readings: (1) phenomenal (veiling, classical Catholic-Orthodox); (2) moral (renunciation of use, Calvin and the Reformed); (3) real (abandonment of attributes, 19th-century Lutheran kenotic theology and certain Anglicans). Contemporary theology (Barth, Balthasar, Bulgakov, Moltmann, Jüngel) renews it by integrating the kenosis into the eternal trinitarian identity of God. The pivot is fidelity to Chalcedon while honouring the Pauline scandal of the real abasement.
Overseers and deacons (Phil 1:1): Pauline ministries
"Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ... to the overseers (σὺν ἐπισκόποις) and the deacons (καὶ διακόνοις)" (Phil 1:1). This mention is the first Pauline occurrence of "overseers" and "deacons" as distinct ecclesial functions. Are these functions already institutionalised? Is the ordained ministry iure divino?
Catholic
The Catholic Church defends the threefold ordained ministry: bishop, priest, deacon. Lumen Gentium (1964): the episcopal ministry is of divine right, apostolic succession. The overseers of Philippi are understood as plural collegial bishops, ancestors of the monarchical episcopate attested in Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110). The female diaconate restored? Studied by the Commission 2016-2024. BEM (Lima, 1982) on ministry.
Orthodox
Orthodoxy maintains the threefold ministry: bishop, priest, deacon. Apostolic succession iure divino. Married deacons and bishops chosen from among the monks. The female diaconate restored in the Patriarchate of Alexandria (2017). The episcopate is synodal-conciliar (no universal jurisdictional primacy in the Roman sense).
Reformed
Calvin (Institutes IV, 3-11) defends a fourfold ministry: pastors, teachers, elders, deacons. The episcopate is not iure divino but a mere reformable human order. The Reformed ecclesial ordo is presbytero-synodal. The WCRC recognises the episcopate as a legitimate structure (agreements with Lutherans) but not a necessary one.
Lutheran
Luther did not reject the episcopate on principle but reformed it. The Lutheran Churches retained the episcopate (Sweden, the Scandinavian countries) or abolished it (the United States ELCA). Augsburg Confession (1530, art. V, XIV, XXVIII): the ordained ministry exists by divine institution, but its structure (episcopal or presbyterian) is an adjustable human order. The Porvoo Common Statement (1992): mutual recognition of ministries between the Nordic Lutherans and the Anglicans.
Anglican
Anglicanism defends the threefold ordained ministry as essential (the Caroline divines, Tractarianism). Apostolic succession claimed. The Lambeth Conference of 1888 established the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral: Scripture, the Creeds, two sacraments, the historic episcopate. Ordination of women (priests 1994, bishops 2014). Sarah Mullally, Archbishop of Canterbury enthroned 25 March 2026, the first woman to occupy this see.
Anabaptist
The Anabaptists rejected, from the 16th century, the episcopate as a useless hierarchical structure. Schleitheim (1527, art. V): pastors are elected by the local community. No apostolic succession in the historical sense. Contemporary position: congregationalism with modulations among Mennonites, Baptists, Pentecostals. The Quakers abolished even the ordained pastoral function.
Synthesis
Phil 1:1 opens the question of the Pauline ministries. Historical criticism: in Paul's time, overseers and deacons are local functions without a monarchical hierarchy; the monarchical episcopate develops at the beginning of the 2nd century (Ignatius of Antioch). The confessions diverge: Catholics-Orthodox-Anglicans (episcopate iure divino or essential), Lutherans-Reformed (an adjustable human order), Anabaptists (rejection). The ecumenical dialogue (BEM 1982, Porvoo, Leuenberg) seeks to articulate structural diversity and ecclesiological unity.
"Work out your salvation" (Phil 2:12) vs. justification by grace
"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who produces in you the willing and the doing" (Phil 2:12-13). This verse seems to be in tension with the Pauline doctrine of justification by faith apart from works. This question divided Catholics and Protestants at the Reformation.
Catholic
The Catholic Church articulates justification and sanctification as one single dynamic reality (Trent, session VI, 1547). Phil 2:12-13 is a pillar-text: justifying grace is a free gift; it includes the inner sanctification that produces the cooperation of human freedom. The position is synergistic: God acts, man cooperates freely. CCC § 1989-2029. A contemporary position renewed by the Joint Declaration on Justification (1999).
Orthodox
Orthodoxy defends the principle of synergeia (συνέργεια) between divine grace and human freedom. Theōsis is a divine work received by free human cooperation. Maximus the Confessor, Gregory Palamas. The Synod of Jerusalem (1672) defends the synergeia against the Calvinist confessions. Contemporary theologians: Vladimir Lossky, John Romanides.
Reformed
Calvin (Institutes III, 11-19) articulates justification (an instant, a forensic declaration) and sanctification (a duration, a transformation) as distinct but inseparable. Phil 2:12-13 concerns sanctification, not justification. Heidelberg Catechism (1563), Westminster Confession (1647, ch. XIII). The Joint Declaration (1999) co-signed by the WCRC (2017) recognises a differentiated consensus.
Lutheran
Luther articulates justification by faith alone (Phil 3:9) and the new life that flows from it (Phil 2:12-13). The "working out of one's salvation" adds nothing to justification but expresses the life of faith. Augsburg Confession (1530, art. IV, VI, XX). The Formula of Concord (1577) specifies, against antinomianism: faith alone justifies, but faith is never alone. The Joint Declaration on Justification (1999) co-signed by Catholics and Lutherans.
Anglican
Classical Anglicanism (Thirty-Nine Articles, art. 11-12) receives justification by faith alone. But the Homily of Salvation (Cranmer, 1547) articulates faith and works as inseparable. The position of the via media: faith alone justifies, but a faith without works is dead (Jas 2:17). N. T. Wright proposes a covenantal synthesis.
Anabaptist
The Anabaptists received the doctrine of justification by faith while accentuating the necessity of visible holiness. Menno Simons: true faith produces the new birth and the Nachfolge Christi. The "work" of Phil 2:12 is understood as radical discipleship. Contemporary position: Stanley Hauerwas, Glen Stassen articulate justification as inclusion in the kenotic community of Christ.
Synthesis
Phil 2:12-13 articulates justification by faith and the active Christian life. The Reformation controversy of the 16th century has been partially surpassed by the contemporary ecumenical dialogues: the Joint Declaration on Justification (1999), co-signed by Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists (2006), Anglicans (2016), Reformed (2017). The differentiated consensus: justification is a free gift received by faith; sanctification ("working out one's salvation") is the work of the Spirit which freely produces good works as fruits, not as a cause. The historical antagonism has subsided.
Historical reception
Patristic reception (2nd-5th c.)
Polycarp of Smyrna (Letter to the Philippians, c. 110-140) is the oldest explicit reception. John Chrysostom (Homilies on Philippians, 15 homilies) is the major patristic commentary. Theodoret of Cyrus, Severian of Gabala. Ambrosiaster, Marius Victorinus, Jerome, Augustine, Pelagius comment. On the hymn (Phil 2:6-11), Greek patristics develops a high christology (Athanasius, Gregory of Nazianzus, Cyril of Alexandria). The hymn is cited at the Council of Chalcedon (451).
Medieval reception
Thomas Aquinas (Super Epistolam ad Philippenses, c. 1265-1268) comments. His christology (S.Th. III) integrates Phil 2:6-11. On the kenosis, Thomas defends the communicatio idiomatum in the person (two natures, one person). Bonaventure, Peter Lombard (Sentences III). The Glossa ordinaria. For medieval mysticism, Phil 3:7-11 fed the spirituality of detachment (Meister Eckhart, the Rhineland mystics, the Imitatio Christi).
Byzantine reception
The Byzantine exegesis follows Chrysostom. Oecumenius, Theophylact of Ohrid, Euthymios Zigabenos comment. On the hymn, Maximus the Confessor (Ambigua) develops his cosmic and kenotic christology. Gregory Palamas integrates the kenosis into his theology of the divine energies. Nicholas Cabasilas. For Orthodox modernity, Bulgakov (The Incarnate Word, 1933) proposes a renewed kenotic sophiology.
Reformation reception
Luther did not formally comment on Philippians but very often cites Phil 2:6-11 and Phil 3:7-11. The christological hymn is a paradigm of the theologia crucis. Calvin publishes in 1548 his Commentary on Philippians. On the kenosis, Calvin defends the extra Calvinisticum. On Phil 3:9, the doctrine of imputed righteousness. On the Catholic side: Cornelius a Lapide (d. 1637), Estius. The Council of Trent cites Phil 2:8 ("obedience unto death"). On the radical side: the Anabaptists read Phil 2:6-11 as a paradigm of the kenotic Nachfolge Christi.
Modern reception (19th-21st c.)
(1) Ernst Lohmeyer (Kyrios Jesus, 1928) launches the study of Phil 2:6-11 as a pre-Pauline hymn of Aramaic origin. (2) Ralph Martin (A Hymn of Christ, 1967) synthesises. (3) James D. G. Dunn (Christology in the Making, 1980) proposes an Adamic reading without personal pre-existence; a position criticised by Larry Hurtado (Lord Jesus Christ, 2003), Gordon Fee, N. T. Wright.
(4) Richard Bauckham (God Crucified, 1998) proposes the "christology of divine identity": Jesus is integrated into the identity of the one God. (5) Larry Hurtado deepens it in Lord Jesus Christ (2003). Major contemporary commentaries: Gordon Fee (NICNT, 1995), Peter O'Brien (NIGTC, 1991), Markus Bockmuehl (BNTC, 1998), John Reumann (AB 33B, 2008), G. Walter Hansen (PNTC, 2009), Stephen Fowl (THNTC, 2005).
Selected bibliography
References selected according to the conventions of the SBL Handbook of Style (2nd ed., 2014).
Bauckham, Richard. God Crucified : Monotheism and Christology in the New Testament. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 1998.
Bockmuehl, Markus. The Epistle to the Philippians. BNTC. London : Black, 1998.
Bonnard, Pierre. L'Épître de saint Paul aux Philippiens. Commentaire du Nouveau Testament X. Neuchâtel – Paris: Delachaux & Niestlé, 1950.
Bulgakov, Sergius. The Lamb of God. Translated by Boris Jakim. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.
Dunn, James D. G. Christology in the Making. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 1996.
Fee, Gordon D. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. NICNT. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 1995.
Fowl, Stephen E. Philippians. THNTC. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 2005.
Hansen, G. Walter. The Letter to the Philippians. PNTC. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 2009.
Hawthorne, Gerald F. Philippians. WBC 43. Waco : Word, 1983 ; rev. ed. by Ralph P. Martin, Nashville : Nelson, 2004.
Hurtado, Larry W. Lord Jesus Christ : Devotion to Jesus in Earliest Christianity. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 2003.
Lohmeyer, Ernst. Kyrios Jesus : Eine Untersuchung zu Phil. 2,5-11. Heidelberg : Carl Winters, 1928.
Martin, Ralph P. A Hymn of Christ : Philippians 2:5-11 in Recent Interpretation and in the Setting of Early Christian Worship. Downers Grove : InterVarsity, 1997.
Moltmann, Jürgen. The Crucified God. Translated by R. A. Wilson and John Bowden. London: SCM, 1974.
O'Brien, Peter T. The Epistle to the Philippians. NIGTC. Grand Rapids : Eerdmans, 1991.
Polaski, Sandra Hack. A Feminist Introduction to Paul. St. Louis : Chalice, 2005.
Reumann, John. Philippians. AB 33B. New Haven : Yale University Press, 2008.