Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.
For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.
But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.
Him ° therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me.
For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick.
I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.
 

2:1 bowels. The Greek word translated “bowels” actually was the word for intestines, but it was commonly also used figuratively for the deep inner affections of the heart. See also Colossians 3:12.

2:3 esteem other. A modern psychological ploy is to attribute many personal and social problems to individual lack of self-esteem. The Scriptures, however, urge each of us to have “other-esteem,” not self-esteem. Our real problem is self-centeredness and too much self-esteem. However, Paul urges us to be lowly-minded, not high-minded, seeking the good of others, not concerned with ourselves.

2:5 this mind. As followers of Christ, we should try to think as He would think, walk as He walked (I John 2:6) and love as He loved (John 13:34). With renewed minds (Romans 12:2), we can and should have “the mind of Christ” (I Corinthians 2:16).

2:6 form of God. Jesus Christ was God from eternity (John 1:1-3), the Creator of all things.

2:6 not robbery. He was not fearful of losing His deity when He exchanged the outward form of God for the outward form of man; that is, He did not have to cling to His deity as a robber would his plunder. He could not cease being God. The word for “robbery” is used only this one time in the New Testament.


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