Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Philippians 2:4
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
4. Look ] Better, with documentary evidence, looking. “ Look on ” becomes in R.V. “ look to,” a change not greatly needed. The look is the look of sympathy, kindly interest, self-forgetful cooperation. This short verse is a noble and far-reaching lesson in Christian ethics.
every man every man ] The Greek here, in the first case probably, in the second certainly, gives “each” in the plural; a phrase which may be paraphrased “each circle,” “each set,” or the like. If cliques or petty factions were the bane of the Philippian Church this language would have a special point.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Look not every man on his own things – That is, be not selfish. Do not let your care and attention be wholly absorbed by your own concerns, or by the concerns of your own family. Evince a tender interest for the happiness of the whole, and let the welfare of others lie near your hearts. This, of course, does not mean that there is to be any improper interference in the business of others, or that we are to have the character of busy-bodies in other peoples matters (compare the 2Th 3:11, note; 1Ti 5:13, note; 1Pe 4:15, note); but that we are to regard with appropriate solicitude the welfare of others, and to strive to do them good.
But every man also on the things of others – It is the duty of every man to do this. No one is at liberty to live for himself or to disregard the wants of others. The object of this rule is to break up the narrow spirit of selfishness, and to produce a benevolent regard for the happiness of others. In respect to the rule we may observe:
(1) We are not to be busybodies in the concerns of others; see the references above. We are not to attempt to pry into their secret purposes. Every man has his own plans, and thoughts, and intentions, which no other one has a right to look into. Nothing is more odious than a meddler in the concerns of others.
(2) We are not to obtrude our advice where it is not sought, or at unseasonable times and places, even if the advice is in itself good. No one likes to be interrupted to hear advice; and I have no right to require that he should suspend his business in order that I may give him counsel.
(3) We are not to find fault with what pertains exclusively to him. We are to remember that there are some things which are his business, not ours; and we are to learn to possess our souls in patience, if he does not give just as much as we think be ought to benevolent objects, or if he dresses in a manner not to please our taste, or if he indulges in things which do not accord exactly with our views. He may see reasons for his conduct which we do not; and it is possible that be may be right, and that, if we understood the whole case, we should think and act as he does. We often complain of a man because be does not give as much as we think he ought, to objects of charity; and it is possible that he may be miserably niggardly and narrow. But it is also possible that he may be more embarrassed than we know of; or that he may just then have demands against him of which we are ignorant; or that he may have numerous poor relatives dependent on him; or that he gives much with the left hand which is not known by the right hand. At any rate, it is his business, not ours; and we are not qualified to judge until we understand the whole case.
(4) We are not to be gossips about the concerns of others. We are not to hunt up small stories, and petty scandals respecting their families; we are not to pry into domestic affairs, and divulge them abroad, and find pleasure in circulating snell things from house to house. There are domestic secrets, which are not to be betrayed; and there is scarcely an offence of a meaner or more injurious character than to divulge to the public what we have seen a family whose hospitality we have enjoyed.
(5) Where Christian duty and kindness require us to look into the concerns of others, there should be the utmost delicacy. Even children have their own secrets, and their own plans and amusements, on a small scale, quite as important to them as the greater games which we are playing in life; and they will feel the meddlesomeness of a busybody to be as odious to them as we should in our plans. A delicate parent, therefore, who has undoubtedly a right to know all about his children, will not rudely intrude into their privacies, or meddle with their concerns. So, when we visit the sick, while we show a tender sympathy for them, we should not be too particular in inquiring into their maladies or their feelings. So, when those with whom we sympathize have brought their calamities on themselves by their own fault, we should not ask too many questions about it. We should not too closely examine one who is made poor by intemperance, or who is in prison for crime. And so, when we go to sympathize with those who have been, by a reverse of circumstances, reduced from affluence to penury, we should not ask too many questions. We should let them tell their own story. If they voluntarily make us their confidants, and tell us all about their circumstances, it is well; but let us not drag out the circumstances, or wound their feelings by our impertinent inquiries, or our indiscreet sympathy in their affairs. There are always secrets which the sons and daughters of misfortune would wish to keep to themselves.
However, while these things are true, it is also true that the rule before us positively requires us to show an interest in the concerns of others; and it may be regarded as implying the following things:
(1) We are to feel that the spiritual interests of everyone in the church is, in a certain sense, our own interest. The church is one. It is confederated together for a common object. Each one is entrusted with a portion of the honor of the whole, and the conduct of one member affects the character of all. We are, therefore, to promote, in every way possible, the welfare of every other member of the church. If they go astray, we are to admonish and entreat them; if they are in error, we are to instruct them; if they are in trouble, we are to aid them. Every member of the church has a claim on the sympathy of his brethren, and should be certain of always finding it when his circumstances are such as to demand it.
(2) There are circumstances where it is proper to look with special interest on the temporal concerns of others. It is when the poor, the fatherless, and the afflicted must be sought out in order to be aided and relieved. They are too retiring and modest to press their situation on the attention of others, and they need that others should manifest a generous care in their welfare in order to relieve them. This is not improper interference in their concerns, nor will it be so regarded.
(3) For a similar reason, we should seek the welfare of all others in a spiritual sense. We should seek to arouse the sinner, and lead him to the Saviour. He is blind, and will not come himself; unconcerned, and will not seek salvation; filled with the love of this world, and will not seek a better; devoted to pursuits that will lead him to ruin, and he ought to be apprised of it. It is no more an improper interference in his concerns to apprise him of his condition, and to attempt to lead him to the Saviour, than it is to warn a man in a dark night, who walks on the verge of a precipice, of his peril; or to arouse one from sleep whose house is in flames. In like manner, it is no more meddling with the concerns of another to tell him that there is a glorious heaven which may be his, than it is to apprise a man that there is a mine of golden ore on his farm. It is for the mans own interest, and it is the office of a friend to remind him of these things. He does a man a favor who tells him that he has a Redeemer, and that there is a heaven to which he may rise; he does his neighbor the greatest possible kindness who apprises him that there is a world of infinite woe, and tells him of an easy way by which he may escape it. The world around is dependant on the church of Christ to be apprised of these truths. The frivolous ones will not warn the fools of their danger; the crowd that presses to the theater or the ballroom will not apprise those who are there that they are in the broad way to hell; and everyone who loves his neighbor, should feel sufficient interest in him to tell him that he may be eternally happy in heaven.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Php 2:4
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others
Our own and others things
This is but a practical application of sentiments and dispositions already enforced.
The vain-glorious spirit is fussily and uselessly concerned with the affairs of others; but love, the faculty of soul sight, looks at others endowments and virtues and appreciates them: at others privileges and rights, and defends them; at others blessings, and rejoices in the possession of them; at others sorrows, and weeps over them; at others wants, and would supply them. And further, what Paul would have the Philippians do Christ Jesus had done (verse 5, etc.). The life of Jesus is a perfect exposition of the text.
I. What do these words prohibit?
1. A supreme and exclusive regard to our own things. It forbids–
(1) The closing of the eye to the things of others.
(2) The shutting of the heart.
(3) The closing of the hand.
2. Why–
(1) Because it is not Godlike. Religion is Godlikeness.
(2) Because it transgresses the laws which demand love.
(3) Because it does not become the gospel of Christ. If God in our salvation has looked on our things so as to provide for our complete uplifting, sheer consistency demands compliance with the text.
(4) Because it is injurious to self and to Christs cause.
II. What do these words require
1. Not the neglect of our own things–also. Nor does it sanction the conduct of the busybody in other mens matters. But–
2. Sympathy with others in whatever state they may be seen by us. We are to weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice. Competitors in any calling find the latter very difficult.
3. Heart readiness to defend and serve others according to our opportunity and ability.
4. The avoidance of all that will damage the things of others. In a word, look not as the Priest and Levite looked, but as she good Samaritan looked–so as to enlarge the heart and open the hands.
III. To what extent are the prohibition and requirement obligatory.
1. They are addressed to every Christian man. Other men cannot translate them into life. We do not wonder that men say, Your morality is too high for us. Of course it is for those who are in the horrible pit, but not for those who are walking on the high table land with Jehovah. Every man
(1) however poor. You cannot give money, but you can give sympathy and prayer.
(2) However rich. Some men give money to be exempt from personal attention to others. They think they are not required to work, only to give.
(3) Masters are to look with careful and sympathetic eyes on their servants things, and servants on their masters.
(4) Tradesmen on the things of their rivals.
(5) Patriots on the things of other lands.
2. On the things.
(1) Although in competition with ones own.
(2) Although not quite to ones taste.
(3) Although not always convenient.
(4) Including the health, wealth, honour, peace, comfort, well-being and well-doing of others.
(5) The others may be strangers, but they are men for whom Christ died; rivals, but they are neighbours whom I am required to love; employers or workpeople, but they may be fellow citizens with the saints and of the household of God; or they may be enemies, but even them we are to love.
Conclusion:
1. The text is one of the many illustrations of the practical character of New Testament teaching. Christs doctrines are the inspiration of its ethics. Nearly every point of Christian theology is raised in the subsequent paragraph to enforce the text. Religion is a sham if it be not practical.
2. The text exhibits a high standard of conduct, but it leads us in a path in which we may hear the Good Shepherds voice. He speaks these words through His apostle; elsewhere He spoke them through His life. Look at him providing for His mother amidst the agonies of the cross.
3. The text shows that a selfish man cannot be a Christian.
4. Such precepts as these exalt the dispensation to which we belong. What must Christs religion be if this be a precept in harmony with its doctrines, facts, ordinances, and spirit? (S. Martin.)
The evils of selfishness
1. It is true that our own things have the first claim on our regard (Pro 27:23; Rom 12:17). Persons without wealth cannot be generous without first seeking their own profit. Nay, attention to a lawful calling where nothing is given away benefits the community. The carpenter and the mason may have exclusive regard to their earnings, but the house they build is not less valuable. The mariner who handles dexterously the tackling of a ship, may aim only at promotion, but he is the undesigned benefactor of all on board. So with the vessel of state.
2. On these grounds some have ridiculed all philanthropy, and have pronounced a vigorous selfishness the best disinterestedness. With this the text remonstrates. Let no man look on his own things only. This exclusive looking is–
I. Mean in itself. The effect of such action may be magnificent, but that does not alter its inglorous character. Each of the lower animals in satisfying its immediate wants tenders some service to the whole economy of life. Nay, insensible matter has comprehensive usefulness. The eye is affected by its colours, the ear by its vibrations, etc., and each molecule has its share in imparting the stability of attraction to the stellar universe. For a man to tell us, then, that he is doing good when it is not his aim is to appropriate a praise due equally to brutes and vermin. You must do good with an intent to do it, and find your motive and reward in communicating bliss.
II. Ruinous to society.
1. How far is the adage, Every man for himself, to he carried?
(1) Is not a man to act for his family? Then the brutes he scorns will be his censors.
(2) But if a wife or child is to be cared for, why not an aged father, or widowed mother, or dependent sister?
(3) And if relation create claim in one case, why not in all?
(4) And if obligation extend to all the members of a family connection, how shall it disown neighbourhood and country? for one God hath made us, and we are all His offspring.
2. To think or act otherwise will leave countless evils without remedy, and create manifold disasters. The landed proprietor will look only to his rents, the manufacturer think only of the number of his hands, the railway contractor strive only to make the most of his navvies without the least care for evils which may entail ruin and death. The neglect of superiors foments dislike, and induces all those jarrings which marked the decline of ancient commonwealths.
3. The man who cares for none but himself does harm by his very presence. He is like an iceberg, which, straying into warmer latitudes, reduces instantly their temperature, replaces their pure air by fogs, the bright sun by gloom, and a luxuriant vegetation by decay.
III. Opposed to the whole spirit of the gospel. Scripture associates the conceptions of God and goodness. He did not need to give His bounties for His own happiness. He does not confine them to friends; His foes share them. But He is more than good; He so loved the world, etc., and He who was sent in love, came and suffered in love, to teach us not to look on our own things, but also on the things of others. (D. King, LL. D.)
Christian disinterestedness
I. What the text forbids.
1. Negatively. Not proper self-attention, which reason and Scripture combine to enforce. You may, and aright, look on your own things–
(1) As to the soul. This is the one thing needful.
(2) As to your bodily health, which is to be valued not only for enjoyment, but for usefulness. Life is yours; therefore take care of it.
(3) As to your reputation. A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and a Christian cannot afford to be indifferent to it.
(4) As to the welfare of your family, otherwise you are worse than an infidel.
(5) As to your secular affairs. Idleness is condemned. If any would not work, neither should he eat; not slothful in business.
2. Positively. Look not exclusively. Also on the things of others; No man liveth unto himself; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
II. What it enjoins.
1. How are we to look on the things of others?
(1) Not inquisitively;
(2) nor enviously;
(3) nor unconcernedly;
(4) but so as to have an interest in them by sympathy.
2. Why are we to look?
(1) Because God commands it;
(2) because of our mutual need;
(3) the pleasures of beneficence;
(4) the reward of benevolence;
(5) the example of Christ. (W. Jay.)
Christian obligation
Mans first obligation is to save his own soul; his second to save the souls of others. The first is implied, the second taught in our text. Observe–
I. The personal state of every Christian places him under an obligation to promote the work of God. Being initiated into the faith and privileges of the Christian covenant, he is bound to hold it as a whole. Now, Christianity contemplates not only his personal illumination, happiness, and preparedness for heaven, but it equally contemplates the same privileges for others, and constitutes saved men its agents. The true Christian, then, does not meditate upon misery and leave it in its destitution.
II. The spiritual graces and gifts possessed by the church lie her under an obligation of devoted zeal to God.
1. Spiritual blessings can only be enjoyed in spiritual channels. You cannot bestow the tenderness of Christian affection on gold and commerce and art. They must be employed religiously.
2. The moral power of Christianity can only be employed morally, and no other form of power–that of genius, science, oratory, magistracy, etc., can supply its place in the Church. It is of no great consequence on what nature this moral force operates. Take a feeble branch and engraft it on a living tree, and it partakes of the beauty and vigour of the tree, and bears fruit. And this moral power operates individually, as in Howard, Wilberforce, and Wesley, or it may be centralized in the Church. But we must be careful not to drown the individual in the society.
3. The Church also possesses the gifts of the Spirit, which can only be devoted to religious objects. On these and on Him who gives them depends the life of the Church.
4. Other gifts are superadded for the purpose of conveying the truth to the world.
III. From the situation of Christians in the kingdom of God they are bound to promote its interests. Christian patriotism suggests that we should defend the faith, and Christian philanthropy that we should extend it.
IV. The great alternative before us–whether we and the world will go to heaven or hell–makes it imperative on us to do our utmost to promote true religion. (J. Dixon, D. D.)
Doing good
I. The evil the text guards us against–Selfishness. Self-preservation is indeed the first law of nature, but we are bound to observe the higher law of grace–Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
II. The duty the text enjoins–To care for and promote the welfare of our fellow men. True benevolence demands–
1. Our personal exertion towards our families, friends, neighbourhood, world.
2. Our property.
3. Our influence.
4. Our prayers.
III. Some motives to the observance of this duty.
1. He who cares only for self is a useless member of society.
2. The law of nature requires the exercise of beneficence (Act 10:26).
3. The pleasure of doing good invites to it.
4. A regard for the esteem of our fellow men.
5. The Word of God enforces it.
6. The example of Christ sets it forth.
7. The hope of standing without confusion before the judgment seat of Christ is an important consideration. (Essex Congregational Remembrancer.)
Sectarianism
What is it? It is the overweening zeal for a part to the prejudice of the whole, and it has four great spheres.
I. The sectarianism of the individual.
1. Our first association with religion is its bearing on our own salvation. All the world for us centres round the question, What must I do to be saved? And so far we must for the time look on our own things, and not on the things of others. And we want to see more of this personal conviction and individual dealing of the soul with Christ.
2. But twin monsters are begotten alongside of the genuine conviction, and begin at once to make a personal interest in religion a sectarian interest.
(1) The limitation of the idea of salvation to safety from misery. I do not underrate the part the terror of the Lord has played in conversion; but we are not forever to stand on the brink of the pit, but to use the vantage ground Christ has given us. Be no longer anxious about your own soul. Leave that to Christ, and be doing His work. The man who is ever thinking of personal safety will endanger that safety; but he that loses himself in Christ shall find Him.
(2) The continuance of mere personal considerations as the staple of religion. There are those who think that Christian separateness means being very unlike other men.
II. The sectarianism of the congregation.
1. I would speak with the deepest sympathy of congregational life. Our most blessed hours are connected with it, and its records are a ground for thankfulness. And it is to be viewed in relation to its whole work, Sunday school, tract society, etc.
2. But it is subject to sectarianism, and that in a more virulent form, because of the strength of its organization. I find it in the pronouns which appropriate religion–my, our. These contain–
(1) The best of love. When we mean by them, This is my Church; These are our forms of doing good; May God grant success to our cause; we give expression to an appropriation of truth without which no Church can thrive.
(2) But they contain the worst of sect, and mean ours to the exclusion, and even prejudice, of others. We express true churchmanship, i.e., others do not; We are liberal, others are narrow, etc. And then wretched pecuniary interests intervene, and we are glad that some wealthy man has left one Church to join ours, or that we are successful where others fail.
3. The best means to counteract this is to take an interest in another Churchs work, or at least to join it on a common platform.
III. The sectarianism of the denomination. It is this we usually think of as sectarianism.
1. But for two causes, their historical greatness and the overweening claims of a portion of the clergy, there would be nothing to be feared; for the belief in the Divine sanction of the denominations has waned considerably in the last two centuries, and each contributes its quota to full Christian life; and again they have been very useful as checks and chasteners to each other.
2. But the advantages of amity among the denominations are obvious.
(1) While we maintain a separate and defiant attitude we waste our energies, weaken ourselves for all good purposes, and present a divided front towards sacerdotalism, infidelity, and indifference. The result of our divisions is the alienation of mankind; when we shall be at one, the world will believe in its Saviour.
(2) We lose the advantage of effective mutual admonition and encouragement, by not thoroughly understanding each other.
(3) It is preeminently in the interest of souls that we should cease from sectarianism. We are more anxious to make them members of our denomination than to make them members of Christ.
IV. The sectarianism of religion.
1. We speak of that alone as religion which consists in prayer, Bible reading, public worship, etc.; but surely the administration of justice, the enactment of laws, education, etc., are religious. The Bible knows nothing of the distinction between secular and sacred, but only that between good and evil.
2. The man who marks out a particular sphere as religious, and bans the rest as worldly, makes religion a sectarian thing which grows narrower and pettier continually. The religion that has no message for the workman in his shop, the artist in his studio, the scientist in his laboratory, is in danger of alienating, not drawing mankind. (The Hon. and Rev. W. H. Fremantle, M. A.)
Regard for others
Two boats were sent out from Dover to relieve a vessel in distress. The fury of the tempest overset one of them, which contained three sailors, one of whom sank. The two remaining sailors were floating on the deep; a rope was thrown to one of them from the other boat, but he refused it, crying out, Fling it to Tom; he is just ready to go down. I can last some time longer. They did so. Tom was drawn into the boat. The rope was then flung to the generous tar, just in time to save him also from drowning. (W. Baxendale.)
Unselfish care for others
A very poor and aged man, busied in planting and grafting apple trees, was interrupted by the question, Why do you plant trees who cannot hope to eat the fruit of them? He raised himself up, and, leaning on his spade, replied, Some one planted trees before I was born, and I have eaten the fruit; I now plant for others, that the memorial of my gratitude may exist when I am dead and gone. (W. Baxendale.)
Disinterested friendship
The Rev. Thomas Thomason, while at Cambridge, having once gained the Norissian prize for a theological essay, tried a second time for it, but was surpassed by his friend Jerram. The latter thus describes the incident: One morning Thomason hastened into my room, followed by one of the beadles, and with a gladness of heart which I shall never forget, told me that the prize was awarded to me, and that the beadle, not knowing my room, had called at his and asked where he could find me. I sincerely believe my friend could scarcely have rejoiced more had he a second time succeeded. Thomasons account to his mother was as follows:–I have lost the prize; Jerram has got it. I am not mortified; it is still in the family, a young man of the same college, of the same Church and profession. I have had it once; it ill becomes me to murmur. It is pleasant to learn that Thomason again gained the same prize on two successive occasions. (J. F. B. Tinling, B. A.)
Religious selfishness common
I have been a member of your Church for thirty years, said an elderly Christian to his pastor, and when I was laid by with sickness only one or two came to see me. I was shamefully neglected. My friend, said the pastor, in all those thirty years how many sick have you visited? Oh, he replied, it never struck me in that light. I thought only of the relation of others to me, and not of my relation to them.
Self-sacrifice for others
An engineer in the Southwest, on a locomotive, recently saw a train coming with which he must collide. He resolved to stand at his post and slow up the train until the last minute, for there were passengers behind. The engineer said to the fireman, Jump! One man is enough on this engine. Jump! The fireman jumped, and was saved. The crash came. The engineer died at his post. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
Christian disinterestedness
It was said of Wilberforce that he was asked one day by a pious lady how the salvation of his own soul fared in the midst of business entailed on him by his efforts for the slave, and that he answered (surely a noble answer), Madam, I forgot for the time I had a soul. (W. H. Fremantle, M. A.)
Others before self
Thomas Sampson was a working miner, and worked hard for his bread. The captain of the mine said to him on one occasion, Thomas, Ive got an easier berth for you, where there is little comparatively to do, and where you can earn more money. Will you accept it? What do you think he said? Captain, theres our poor brother Tregony. He has a sick body, and he is not able to work as hard as I am. I fear his toil will shorten his useful life. Will you let him have the berth? The captain, pleased with his generosity, sent for Tregony, and gave him the berth. Thomas was gratified, and added, I can work a little longer yet. (Sunday Magazine.)
The difficulty of looking on the things of others
In the journals of the sainted wife of Jonathan Edwards it is recorded how one of her great struggles was to acquiesce in the revival work in the town being done by another minister than her husband. (W. H. Fremantle, M. A.)
Considering others before self
A German countryman went one day with his four sons to the neighbouring town to transact some business. While there, in the market place, he bought five peaches. One of these he kept for his wife, who was at home, and the others he gave to his boys. When they were sitting round the fire the next evening, he thought he would ask each of his sons what he had done with his peach. The eldest said he had eaten his, but had kept the stone to plant in the garden, in hopes that it would grow up and bear some peaches as good as the one he had so much enjoyed. The youngest boy confessed he had eaten his own peach and thrown the stone away, and after his return home had helped his mother to eat half of her peach! The second eldest boy told how he had picked up the stone which his little brother had thrown away, and cracked it, and eaten the kernel. It was nice and sweet, he added, and I sold my own peach for so much money that I have enough to buy several peaches now with what I got for it. The third son then had to tell his tale. The others had told all theirs out at once with no hesitation and no shame, but this little lad blushed as he began his story: I took my peach to a poor little friend who has been in bed for so long, and suffers so much pain. He refused to take it from me, so I put it on his bed and ran away. His mothers kisses, as she heard these words, were far sweeter on his young lips than any fruit. (T. T. Shore.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. Look not every man on his own things] Do nothing through self-interest in the things of God; nor arrogate to yourselves gifts, graces, and fruits, which belong to others; ye are all called to promote God’s glory and the salvation of men. Labour for this, and every one shall receive the honour that comes from God; and let each rejoice to see another, whom God may be pleased to use in a special way, acquiring much reputation by the successful application of his talents to the great work.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Let; most translations do express the causal or rather illative Greek particle, which ours doth here omit as an expletive. However, the apostle doth urge them to the exercise of self-denial, mutual love, and a hearty condescension to one another, from the great example of Jesus Christ, 2Co 8:9; that so the mind which was in Christ may be perceived in us, who, if spiritual, judge all things and have the mind of Christ; being enlightened by the same Spirit, we do judge as he coming in the flesh did: or: Let the same affection be found in you that was really in him, Mat 11:28; Joh 13:15.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. The oldest manuscripts read,”Not looking each of you (plural, Greek) on hisown things (that is, not having regard solely to them), buteach of you on the things of others” also. Compare Php2:21; also Paul’s own example (Php1:24).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Look, not every man on his own things,…. Not but that a man should take care of his worldly affairs, and look well unto them, and provide things honest in the sight of all men, for himself and his family, otherwise he would be worse than an infidel; but he is not to seek his own private advantage, and prefer it to a public good; accordingly the Syriac version reads it, “neither let anyone be careful of himself, but also everyone of his neighbour”; and the Arabic version thus, “and let none of you look to that which conduces to himself alone, but let everyone of you look to those things which may conduce to his friend”; but this respects spiritual things, and spiritual gifts: a Christian should not seek his own honour and applause, and to have his own will, and a point in a church carried his own way, but should consult the honour of Christ, the good of others, and the peace of the church; he should not look upon his own gifts, he may look upon them, and ascribe them to the grace of God, and make use of them to his glory, but not to admire them, or himself for them, and pride himself in them, and lift up himself above others, neglecting and taking no notice of the superior abilities of others:
but every man also on the things of others; not on their worldly things, busying himself with other men’s matters, and which he has nothing to do with, but on the sentiments and reasons of others; which he should well weigh and consider, and if they outdo and overbalance his own, should yield unto them; he should take notice of the superior gifts of others, and own and acknowledge them; which is the way to submit to one another in the fear of God, and to promote truth, friendship, and love.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Looking (). Present active participle of from (aim, goal). Not keeping an eye on the main chance for number one, but for the good of others.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Look [] . Attentively : fixing the attention upon, with desire for or interest in. So Rom 16:17; Phi 3:17; 2Co 4:18. Hence often to aim at; compare skopov the mark, ch. 3 14. The participles esteeming and looking are used with the force of imperatives. See on Col 3:16.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Look not every man on his own things” (me ta heauto hekastoi skopountes) “Let each one not be looking (selfishly) at the things or welfare of himself, themselves, alone.” It is this mind, care, for others that brought Jesus down from heaven for man’s redemption, a mind and disposition that should be held by each follower and professor of Jesus Christ, 2Co 8:9; Php_2:5.
2) “But every man also on the things of others” (alla kai ta heteron hekastoi) “But, in contrast, let each also be looking (unselfishly) at the things or welfare of others.” Even our Lord came “not to be ministered unto but to minister” and gave Himself for others, Mat 20:28. In this spirit of self-abasement Paul too lived and died, 2Ti 4:7-8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(4) Look not every man on his own things.This verse similarly describes the positive effect of this being of one mind as consisting in power of understanding and sympathy towards the things of othersnot merely the interests, but also the ideas and feelings of others. To look upon here is something more than to seek (as in Php. 2:21). It expresses that insight into the thoughts, hopes, aspirations of others, which only a self-forgetting love can give, as well as the care to consider their welfare and happiness. Yet by the word also we see that St. Paul does not, in the spirit of some forms of modern transcendentalism, denounce all self-consciousness and self-love, as in a bad sense selfish. For man is individual as well as social; he can subordinate his own things to the things of others, but cannot ignore them.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Look not A self-denying love of the brethren will consider their rights, opinions, claims, wishes, interests, as well as one’s own, and only where it prevails can true unity exist.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.’
This is then summed up in terms of genuine consideration for others. Not as seen in a determination to make them ‘see the truth’ as we see it, but in a concern for their genuine welfare and growth in Christ. Our concern is not to be for ourselves but for others, and for their spiritual advancement. This will involve avoiding controversy, and going out of our way to be encouraging without ‘picking fault’, while at the same time genuinely seeking to help the weaker brother or sister. It includes the idea of having more admiration for their spiritual gifts, than we have for our own, and encouraging them to develop them. All this indeed is what was meant by living as citizens worthily of the Gospel of God (Php 1:27). It will now be exemplified in the One Who above all was concerned for the things of others.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Php 2:4. Look not every man, &c. “Let no one among you be only solicitous for his own profit; but let every one desire, and, as he has opportunity, further the profit of others.” See Php 2:21.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Ver. 4. Look not every man, &c. ] Self is a great stickler, but must be excluded where love shall be maintained. He that is wholly set up within himself is an odious person; and the place he lives in longs for a vomit to spew him out. It is his pleasure, his profit, and his preferment (saith one) that is the natural man’s trinity; and his carnal self that is these in unity. Indeed it is that flesh that is the principal idol; the others are deified in the relation to ourselves.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Phi 2:4 . The authorities are pretty evenly balanced in the case of the alternative readings and (see crit. note). Probably edd. are right in preferring the latter, both on account of the variety of its witnesses and its aptness in the context. Besides, as the more difficult, it would be very liable to correction. has overwhelming authority in its favour. “No party having an eye for its own interests alone but also for those of the rest.” (frequent in this sense in classical Greek) = each group, each combination. . Used with strict correctness as opposed to . It often has a less strict usage in N.T. From the gentle way in which he deals with them, we cannot suppose that there was as yet any serious rent in the Philippian Church. Probably he has already in mind the party feeling roused by the disagreement between Euodia and Syntyche. The opinion of the Christian community was divided. This might, of course, lead to serious issues. He has already implored them to be of the same mind (Phi 2:2 ). The way of reaching this harmony is unselfishness. “Paul’s ethic is at least as much a social as an individual ethic” (Hitzm., N.T. Th. , ii., 162. Instructive discussion).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Look. Greek. slopeo. See Luk 11:35.
not. App-105.
every man = each one.
also, &c. = on the things of others also.
others. App-124.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Php 2:4. ) not merely your own interest, nor on your own account: comp. Php 2:21.- -) Perverted usefulness is manifold; true usefulness is simple and one.[15] This is the difference between and .[16]
[15] Therefore the plural, , is used in the former case; the singular, , in the latter: a distinction lost in the reading of the Engl. Vers.-ED.
[16] The margin of the older Ed., which has the suffrage of the Germ. Vers., prefers the reading – , but the margin of the 2d Ed. declares the reading , I know not whether at the beginning or end of the verse, not quite certain.-E. B.
None but inferior uncial MSS. read in the second position. ABC Vulg. and Rec. Text read . D corrected Gfg read .-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Php 2:4
Php 2:4
not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.-This means more than to look to the material good of others as well as yourselves. Look to their conditions, surroundings, and the influences brought to bear upon them, and endeavor to see things as they see them, and it will enable you to sympathize more with them in their trials and troubles, and you will come to esteem them the more highly. This is what Paul meant by saying: I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. (1Co 9:22). Seek to promote the well-being of others in all things. In doing this one gains his own truest good.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Mat 18:6, Rom 12:15, Rom 14:19-22, Rom 15:1, 1Co 8:9-13, 1Co 10:24, 1Co 10:32, 1Co 10:33, 1Co 12:22-26, 1Co 13:4, 1Co 13:5, 2Co 6:3, 2Co 11:29, Jam 2:8
Reciprocal: Num 32:6 – shall ye sit here Jos 1:15 – Until 2Ki 7:9 – this day Est 2:22 – Mordecai’s name Est 4:5 – to know Mat 20:28 – came Rom 15:2 – General Rom 15:5 – according to 1Co 11:1 – even Gal 6:12 – as desire Phi 2:21 – all 3Jo 1:2 – that
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Php 2:4.) -Looking each of you not to your own things, but each of you also to the things of others. The plural is preferred on good authority, such as A, B, F, G, etc., though in other cases it occurs only in the singular, and the participle is preferred to , as the reading of A, B, C, D, E, F, G. This counsel is still in unison with the preceding advices. Some understand it as explanatory of the third verse-Regard not every man his own virtues and excellencies, but regard also the virtues and excellencies of others. Calvin, Musculus, Raphelius, Kiel, Hoelemann, Mller, and Baumgarten-Crusius are of this opinion; but it is not so agreeable to the common idiom as the prevalent one, and it does not harmonize with the example of Christ which is immediately set forth. The verse brings out one special phasis of the duty-let each regard others better than himself. The verb , connected with such a phrase as , is to regard one’s affairs, or seek his own individual benefit, and is not, as Meyer remarks, materially different from , similarly used in 1Co 10:24; 1Co 10:33; 1Co 13:5; Php 2:21. Examples abound in the classics, as may be seen in the collection of them by Wetstein. is, however, the stronger form, for it is the modal or instrumental idea of embodied in active search. In the phrase , the contrast is softened. Winer, 55, 8; Fritzsche, ad Marc. 788. The first clause, if taken in an absolute sense, would forbid all regard, and in every form, to one’s own interests; but the introduction of so far modifies it, that it is supposed to be allowed to a certain extent. The is therefore far from being superfluous, as Beelen loosely affirms. The apostle condemns exclusive selfishness-l’goisme, as Rilliet calls it, and he inculcates Christian sympathy and generosity. One’s own things are not worldly, but spiritual things. This verse is, in fact, the theme which is illustrated down to the 17th verse. The Philippians were not to consult each his own interests, but to cherish mutual sympathy, and engage in mutual co-operation. They were not to disregard their own things on pretence of caring for each other’s-for unless they had first cared for their own things, they were not qualified to care for the things of others. Undue curiosity and impertinent meddlings are far from the apostle’s thought, but he requires a holy solicitude and warm fellow-feeling-not absolute self-abnegation, but a vivid substantial interest in the spiritual welfare of others. It is not myself alone or in isolation, as if others did not exist, but myself with them and they with me, in earnest brotherhood and love. My object must not be simply to outstrip them in religious attainment, but to bring them and myself to a higher stage of Christian excellence. Though charity seeketh not her own, still she has her own.
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Php 2:4. Christians should not be concerned in their own things only, for that would be selfishness. Instead, they should be interested in the welfare of others.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Php 2:4. not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others. According to the best texts, this is another participial sentence continuing the explanation of means towards attaining the great end of oneness of mind. The apostle does not exhort men to cease to look to their own things, for he knows this would be impossible, but he would have them, as they look to their own, in the same degree to look to the things of others. Another form of the precept to love ones neighbour as oneself. St. Paul uses the indefinite phrases, his own things, the things of others, because he would make his exhortation apply to all men at all times. He includes in it every interest of whatever kind by which men are bound to one another. And by the word look he would make each of us a watchman, ever on the look-out lest in thought for himself, he is missing any occasion where he should equally think for his brethren.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The apostle here, dissuadeth from another sin, which is very destructive of unity and peace, of concord and love; and that is, the sin of inordinate self-love, whereby we regard only our own honour and profit, wholly neglecting the concerns of others. Look not every man on his own things; that is, his own provate advantage only or chiefly, but take care of the things which tend to the advantage of others.
Not but that a Christian may and ought to look at his own things, but not wholly: our regard must extend further than ourselves, and our own things; we must look on the things of others also; we must be as just and true to another’s reputation as to our own, and regard both the honour and profit of our neighbour as well as our own: and where Christians are of this public spirit and temper, it contributes much, very much, towards the preserving and maintaining of unity and peace among them.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Verse 4
His own things; his own attainments and excellences.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Fourth, the readers should consider the interests and affairs of one another, not just their own. Php 2:3 deals with how we view other people, and this one deals with how we relate to them. We have a duty to be responsible and to look out for the needs of our families (1Ti 5:8). However the believer’s sphere of concern should be broader than this and should include the needs of the members of his or her extended Christian family as well. In a larger sphere this attitude should also encompass unbelievers.
"One must also be careful not to push this clause beyond Paul’s own intent, which is not concerned with whether one ever ’looks out for oneself’-the ’also’ in the final line assumes that one will do that under any circumstances-but with the basic orientation of one’s life . . ." [Note: Fee, p. 190.]
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Contrasts between a Helper and a Servant |
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A Helper |
A Servant |
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A helper helps others when it is convenient. |
A servant serves others even when it is inconvenient. |
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A helper helps people that he or she likes. |
A servant serves even people that he or she dislikes. |
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A helper helps when he or she enjoys the work. |
A servant serves even when he or she dislikes the work. |
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A helper helps when the circumstances are convenient. |
A servant serves even when the circumstances are inconvenient. |
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A helper helps with a view to obtaining personal satisfaction. |
A servant serves even when he or she receives no personal satisfaction. |
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A helper helps with an attitude of assisting another. |
A servant serves with an attitude of enabling another. |