`In the Greek poets from Aeschylus down, the bowels were regarded as the seat of the more violent passions,

such as anger and love; but by the Hebrews, as the seat of the tenderer affections, especially kindness,

benevolence, compassion' (Thayer).

Splanchna `bowels', gives us the verb splanchnizomai `to be moved with compassion', a word used in the

gospels twelve times and translated `to be moved' or `to have compassion'. Seven of these references speak of

Christ's compassion, the others include the compassion of the Good Samaritan and the father of the prodigal son. Of

the eleven occurrences of splanchna `bowels' only one passage uses the word literally, namely Acts 1:18 where it

speaks of Judas. The remaining ten passages, are translated `tender mercies' `inward affection' or where the literal

word `bowels' occurs, as in Philippians 1:8 and 2:1, the idea of mercy and compassion is intended without

Instead of looking at this figurative use of the word bowels as of Hebrew origin and something far removed from

Gentile thinking, we should remember that Luke alone of the four evangelists uses it (Luke 1:78); and apart from

1 John 3:17 every other reference is found in Paul's epistles. Then, when limiting our survey to Paul's epistles, we

discover that two references only are found in the earlier epistles (2 Cor. 6:12; 7:15), the remainder being found in

Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. Of all companies of believers therefore, the church of the mystery should be

characterized by `bowels of compassion'.

These four grounds of appeal, quoted from Lightfoot's commentary at the beginning of this chapter, are made by

the apostle, that the Philippians should (1) complete the apostle's joy (see Phil. 2:2), (2) by being likeminded.

This general expression of accordance, says Lightfoot, is defined and enforced by the three following clauses:

(a) a common love; (b) manifesting itself in complete harmony of the feelings and affections; and (c) producing an

entire unison of thought and directs it to one end.

The redundancy of expression is a measure of the apostle's earnestness.

All this, the apostle will focus into one intense passage presently, when he says `one thing I do' (Phil. 3:13), and

his insistence upon unity of heart and mind and purpose is as surely necessary to the church, as is the basic unity of

the Spirit revealed in Ephesians 4, or the newly created `one new man' of Ephesians 2. Indeed, it reduces the unity

of the Spirit, and the idea of the one body to a mockery when the members of such a unity fail to be of one mind and

of one soul. Philippians is all the time presenting in its insistent appeal, the legitimate outworking of the truth

revealed in Ephesians.

Pursuing this intense application of the truth, and realizing that the seeds of division were present (Phil. 4:2), the

apostle now puts the case in the negative :

`Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than

themselves' (Phil. 2:3).

Tapeinophrosune `lowliness of mind' is a distinctly Christian grace. In classical Greek tapeinos had the sense of

`grovelling' and `abject'. That it could have this conception still Paul makes evident by his use of it in Colossians

2:18, `a voluntary humility' which is deprecated, but its use in the Christian sense in the same epistle `humbleness of

mind' (Col. 3:12), shows that it had a positive meaning when enjoined by the apostle. Lowliness should be the

characteristic of all who have received such grace as is brought to them in the present high calling (Eph. 4:2).

The exhortation of the apostle in Philippians 2:3 gains meaning and point when we associate the word

tapeinophrosune with tapeinoo `to humble' and tapeinosis `vile' which come in the same epistle.

The exhortation to exhibit `lowliness of mind' is enforced by the example of Christ Himself, where the word

tapeinoo occurs in Philippians 2:8 `He humbled Himself' and later in Philippians 4:12 where the apostle says of

himself, `I know both how to be abased', and in the reference to `the vile body' or better `the body of this

humiliation' where tapeinosis is employed (Phil. 3:21).

The concluding exhortation if accepted as it stands in the Authorized Version `let each esteem other better than

themselves', is not always possible if one would be strictly and impartially true. It would not have been humility for

Paul to have reckoned Demas `better' than himself, or for Timothy to have considered Alexander the coppersmith as