However wonderful the titles of the Lord may seem to us, it was a self-emptying of Himself for Him to assume

the condition indicated by the title `The image of the invisible God'; `The brightness of His glory'; `The express

image of His person'; `The Word'. This condescension anticipated creation, even as the kenosis subsequently

preceded redemption. This leads us to Proverbs 8:23 `I was poured out as a drink offering from the age, from the

beginning or ever the earth was'.

We do not intend to suggest that we comprehend all that we have brought forward, we felt that at least we should

put the reader in possession of the facts; but for ourselves, our attitude in view of what little we have glimpsed, is to

put our grammars and lexicons aside, take off our shoes from off our feet, and recognize that the place upon which

we stand is holy ground.

By his references to Timothy and Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:19-30) the apostle rounds off his illustrations of `the

mind which was in Christ Jesus'.

`But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you'.

`Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me'.

`I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly'.

`Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus'.

The movement of the apostle's mind is made clear by these passages. He was confident that he would be spared

to serve a little longer (Phil. 1:24,25), but until his release was officially announced he must remain a prisoner. In

order that the Philippians may know the affairs of the apostle and that he also might likewise hear of theirs and be

comforted, he planned to send Timothy. However, even though he planned to send Timothy `shortly' it was useless

sending him until Paul could definitely see `how it will go with' him. Consequently he fell back upon the good

offices of yet another messenger in Epaphroditus whose longing to return to the Philippians is explained.

Intertwined with this very human account of plans projected and postponed, we learn something of the character of

these two men, and the characters that are revealed provide further illustrations of that spirit of selflessness which

the apostle had inculcated in Philippians 2:4, and shown in the great example of the Lord Himself, and had

supplemented by his own attitude to the service of the faith.

The apostle possibly looks back to what he had said in verse 12, when he urged the Philippians to some measure

of independence during his absence. He assures them now, that he did not intend leaving them without some

spiritual assistance, hence the plan to send Timothy. Timothy is seen as an example to the Philippians in the words

employed by the apostle in commending him :

`I have no man likeminded who will naturally care for your state'.

Isopsuchon, `equal soul' or `like-minded', was a word with which Timothy would have been familiar by the

reading of the LXX. It occurs in Psalm 55:13 `a man ... mine acquaintance' (Margin Heb., a man according to my

rank), the Hebrew word meaning `estimation' in the sense of a money equivalent, and so translated twenty-one times

in one chapter of the law, i.e. Leviticus 27.

This would lend a certain weight to the thought that Paul was comparing Timothy with himself. On the other

hand, Lightfoot says `likeminded, not with St. Paul himself, as it is generally taken, but with Timotheus', and gives

his reasons by supplying the words that Paul would have to have used to give the word isopsuchon this meaning. It

is possibly a moot point, but the fact remains whether the comparison be between Paul and Timothy, or between

Timothy and others, that he was exceptional. There were no others then present wrote the apostle `who will

naturally care for your state'.

`For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's' (Phil. 2:21).

`Their own'. The apostle uses the same word that we find in Philippians 2:4. The `all' cannot include such

faithful fellow workers as Epaphroditus or Luke the Beloved Physician, it is rather a generalizing upon the nature of

humanity, `all' naturally `seek their own'. Timothy was an exception: he `naturally' cared for the state of others.