better than himself, for the example of Christ which immediately follows makes such a thought impossible.

Weymouth seems to have sensed this and translates the passage :

`Do nothing in a spirit of factiousness or of vain glory, but, with true humility, let every one regard the rest as

being of more account than himself; each fixing his attention, not simply on his own interests, but on those of

others also'.

This naturally and easily leads us to the example of Christ, Who while He did not and could not esteem any other

`better' than Himself, did indeed think of others rather than think of Himself.

We are now ready to give undivided attention to this most blessed example of Christ, that occupies Philippians

We now approach a passage, which for the profundity of thought and majesty of doctrine, takes its place among

the most wonderful pronouncements of Divine Revelation. The Person of the Saviour irradiates the passage with

glory, the condescension of the Saviour like His love `passeth knowledge'. The Reverend Professor A.B.Bruce,

D.D, says of this passage, Philippians 2:6-11 :

`The diversity of opinion prevailing among interpreters in regard to the meaning of the principal passage bearing

upon the subject of Christ's humiliation - that namely in the second chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the

Philippians - is enough to fill the student with despair, and to afflict him with intellectual paralysis'.

We do not intend discussing the various and conflicting interpretations that are here alluded to, but we do assure

every reader, that we do not enter into this exposition without some due recognition of the nature of our task, fully

conscious that without Divine aid our efforts will be in vain. In coming to any definite conclusion the reader may

rest assured that we have patiently considered the arguments put forward by such standard exegetes as Alford,

Bloomfield, Lightfoot, Ellicott, Meyer, Pearson, Bull, Wordsworth and many of the `Fathers', in order that no

contribution to the exposition of such a theme should be neglected or set aside without due consideration. We shall

not, however, burden these pages with all the pros and cons thus examined, but will give scriptural and grammatical

reasons for every step taken in the attempt to set before the reader the `mind of the spirit', and would record our

indebtedness to E. H. Gifford, D.D., whose articles in The Expositor of September and October 1896 blazed a trail

that it has been a joy and a profit to follow.

There are three governing considerations which must be taken into account in the endeavour to arrive at a true

understanding of this, or of any other passage in Scripture.

(1) The logical connection of the passage.

(2) The meaning of the words employed.

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(3) The grammatical construction of the sentences.

If we can come to a satisfactory conclusion on these three counts, we may reasonably expect, with the

illumination granted by the Holy Spirit, to be enabled to perceive the truth of God as it is revealed in this passage.

Our first consideration therefore must be the logical place which Philippians 2:6-8 holds in the apostle's

argument, and for this the context must be examined, and the literary structure discovered.

In the structure of the epistle as a whole, which the reader will find on page 8, the passage before us is found to

be in correspondence with 3:4-19 as follows :

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