This is about Jesus Christ...

Who, although he was in the form of God,
Did not regard
being equal with God

As anything to be
grasped after.

But he emptied himself,
Taking on
the form of a slave

In human appearance

He humbled himself
And was obedient unto death,
Even death on a cross.

For that reason, God highly exalted him,

Bestowing on him a name
That is more revered than other names.

At the name of Jesus

Each knee should bow,
No matter if one is in heaven,
On earth, or under the earth.

Each tongue is to proclaim
That Jesus Christ is Lord
To the glory of God the Father.

The Christ poem in Philippians 2:6-10

Scholars view an early passage in Paul’s letter to the Philippians as one of the most important in the New Testament.

Paul incorporates into the Philippians letter an early Christian hymn. Paul did not write these words. Instead, Paul passes along info that preceded Paul’s ministry, so this may represent the earliest surviving Christian thinking. It is “pre-literary” Christian thinking. It is "pre-literary" in the sense that these words were around before any Christian was putting Christian thinking down on paper. Before Paul's letters, Christian beliefs were passed along orally, sometimes through memorized hymns.

It states that Christ was a pre-existent being who chose to empty himself into human form. Because of this, he was elevated to a higher status than he had before. Some scholars have interpreted the passage to mean that Jesus was an angel who chose to appear in human form and thereafter was exalted into being God.

Paul's letter to the Phillippians is earlier than any surviving gospel and helps us understand how the earlier Christians (those of the first generation) viewed Jesus. The first generation had a different view than the later generation that produced our four canonical gospels.

According to Philippians Jesus is co-equal to YHWH but did not start out that way. Jesus was elevated to equality. This is in contrast to John's gospel (John 10:30), which claims that Jesus and YHWH are equal though not the same. “I and the father are one,” from John's gospel, might suggest they are the same, but it really means they are close. (If they were the same, Jesus would be talking to himself when praying, but that is not the case in John's gospel. Since Jesus prays, it is likely that YHWH prays, too--right?)

On the other hand, maybe John's gospel does not present Jesus as equal to God the Father. In John 14:28, Jesus says the Father is greater than him? John's gospel is not logically consistent.

It is safest to say that John's gospel presents Jesus and the Father has having the same divine status; therefore, they are equally worthy of worship,

Anyway, the first generation of Christians viewed Jesus as exalted to a higher place on the divinity ladder. Jesus had preexistence only as an angel. By the time of the second and third generations, Jesus is increasingly exalted in Christian thought and worship. Heightened views led to higher Christologies--that is, Jesus was always God (no preexistence as a mere angel)..

The end of the Christ Poem (written in Greek) echoes Isaiah 45:22-23 (written in Hebrew).

I recommend Susan R. Garrett's book No Ordinary Angel: Celestial Spirits and Christian Claims about Jesus (The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library).

Her book covers the development of "angelology" and the origins of Christology. It also covers popular Western spirituality movements.





Saint Paul's letter famous Christ poem in Philippians 2:6-10 (Jesus emptied himself into slave form)