****Philippians, Rightly Divided, Verse-by-Verse

Session 8 | Phillippians 2:9-14

Philippians 2:5-11 | The Mind of Christ

Verses 5-8 -- see session 7
Verse 9 -- Blue
Because of Jesus' obedience unto death while under the likeness of men, God highly exalted him“session" of Christ the Lord (see Acts 2:33). He has also been given a name which is above every name. Paul elaborates on this in Ephesians 1:21.
Verse 10 -- Blue
Christ has been exalted so that every knee should bow at His name, Jesus. This bowing of the knee is a figure of speech, often displayed literally but the literal being secondary to the spiritual. The verse does not say that every knee does bow, but that every knee should bow.
The phrase of *things in heaven, and *things in earth, and things under the earth moves this reverence beyond people to all of creation. All things were created by him, and for him (Col. 1:16) but today the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain (Rom. 8:22) and continue as they were from the beginning of the creation (2 Pet. 3:4). In fact, God hast put all things in subjection under his feet...he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him (Heb. 2:8).
Note the insertion of the word things, required by linguistics. Most modern translations have narrowed this, incorrectly I believe, to people“of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth." The Greek uses the neuter, and the masculine would be expected if the author intended people rather than all of creation.
Verse 11 -- Blue
The phrase every tongue seems to move more specifically to living beings, that they should all confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This does not imply salvation, but rather the acceptance of reality (see Rom. 14:9).

Philippians 2:12-18 | Expected Behavior

Verse 12 -- Blue
Paul continues, having begun in verse 1, speaking generally to all Pauline followers, and not so specifically to the Philippians that we would not use blue letters. This verse (and entire section) is written to those who are not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence.
The instruction is to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
κατεργάζομαι [katergazomai], translated work out. This particular word does not have an active tense but is always found in the middle or passive. Such verbs are called deponent and are almost always translated in the active tense. They are assumed active. The verb itself is made of two parts, kata, the prefix which intensifies to the fullest degree possible, and ergon“to work."
The saved believer is saved without works and is complete in Christ (Col. 1:10) as the gift of God (Eph. 2:8). Nonetheless, each believer should then take the grace-gift and use it to its fullest extent.
Verse 13 -- Blue
Because God worketh in you the believer is to cooperate and work out his or her own salvation“you can lead a horse to water..." category.
“silence" of God we must not forget that God worketh in you (present, active, participle). In fact, the way in which God's good pleasure is carried out in our world is not God's miraculous and supernatural intervention into the affairs of mankind or the physics of creation, but rather by using the work force of the Body of Christ. We, therefore, should cooperate with this work of God with fear and trembling (v 12).
Verse 14 -- Blue
The thoughts of this verse continue into verse 15, and arguably are the continuance of verses 12-13. Because God worketh in you then we should do all things without murmurings and disputings.
A murmuring is an under-the-breath complaint. While such complaints are not plainly spoken, they are almost always plainly known.
The disputings are more verbal, coming from διαλογισμός [dialogismos], literally (by etymology) to thoroughly talk about it.
Together, without murmurings and disputings“don't mumble about it and don't over-talk it, just do it."