Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Philippians 2:15
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
15. be ] Better, with the true reading, become, prove; a gentle intimation that a change was needed.
blameless ] Secure against true charges of inconsistency of temper and conduct.
harmless ] So too R.V. But this can be only a derived rendering. The literal and ordinary meaning of the Greek is “ unmixed, unadulterated, pure.” The character denoted is simple as against double; single-hearted in truth and love. It occurs elsewhere, in N.T., only Mat 10:16; Rom 16:19; but often in secular writers.
the sons of God ] More exactly, with R.V., children of God. The Greek word rendered “children” points more specially than the other to the nature and character of the family of God; the family- likeness. The precise phrase “ children of God,” occurs elsewhere (in the Greek) Joh 1:12; Joh 11:52; Rom 8:16-17; Rom 8:21; Rom 9:8; 1Jn 3:1-2; 1Jn 3:10; 1Jn 5:2. Here the evident meaning is, “that you may prove the fact of your spiritual sonship to God by your spiritual likeness to Him, which is its one true proof.” As a rule, Scripture tends to use the words “Father,” “son,” “child,” as between God and man, to indicate not the connexion of creation but that of new-creation, as here.
without rebuke ] One Greek adjective; the same word (in the best attested reading here) as that in Eph 1:4; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22; passages in this same Roman group of St Paul’s Epistles.
This word is closely connected with the preceding words; we may paraphrase, “children of God, blameless as such.” There is an implicit reference in the phrase to Deu 32:5, where the LXX. reads, “ They sinned; they were not children to Him, but blameworthy children; a generation crooked and perverse.” The “true Israelites” of Philippi were to be the antithesis of the ancient rebels.
in the midst of &c.] A continued allusion to the words (see last note) of Moses; a beautiful inversion of them. “A crooked and distorted generation” is still in view, but it is now not the Lord’s Israel, but “they which are without” (Col 4:5), whose moral contrariety was both to bring out the power and beauty of grace in the saints, and at length to yield to its blessed charm.
“In the midst of”: not in selfish or timid isolation from the duties and difficulties of life. The Gospel has no real sanction for the monastic idea. Cp. Joh 17:15; and the tenor of the Epistles at large.
ye shine ] Better, ye appear, ye are seen (R.V.). The Greek verb is used of the rising and setting of the stars, the “ phnomena ” of the heavens. Perhaps this is meant to be remembered here. The saints, in the beautiful light of holiness, were to rise star-like upon the dark sky of surrounding sin. See next note.
lights ] Better, light-bearers, luminaries ( luminaria, Latin Versions). The word appears in both secular and Biblical Greek as a designation of the heavenly bodies; see e.g. Gen 1:14; Gen 1:16. It occurs again, in N.T., only Rev 21:11, apparently in the very rare sense of “radiance.”
Cp. Isa 60:1; Mat 5:14; Mat 5:16; Eph 5:8.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
That ye may be blameless – That you may give no occasion for others to accuse you of having done wrong.
And harmless – Margin, sincere. The Greek word ( akeraios) means properly that which is unmixed; and then pure, sincere. The idea here is, that they should be artless, simple, without guile. Then they would injure no one. The word occurs only in Mat 10:16; Phi 2:15, where it is rendered harmless, and Rom 16:19, where it is rendered sincere; see the Mat 10:16 note, and Rom 16:19 note.
The sons of God – The children of God; a phrase by which true Christians were denoted; see the Mat 5:45 note; Eph 5:1 note.
Without rebuke – Without blame; without giving occasion for anyone to complain of you.
In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation – Among those of perverted sentiments and habits; those who are disposed to complain and find fault; those who will take every occasion to pervert what you do and say, and who seek every opportunity to retard the cause of truth and righteousness. It is not certainly known to whom the apostle refers here, but it seems not improbable that he had particular reference to the Jews who were in Philippi. The language used here was employed by Moses Deu 32:5, as applicable to the Jewish people, and it is accurately descriptive of the character of the nation in the time of Paul. The Jews were among the most bitter foes of the gospel, and did perhaps more than any other people to embarrass the cause of truth and prevent the spread of the true religion.
Among whom ye shine – Margin, or, shine ye. The Greek will admit of either construction, and expositors have differed as to the correct interpretation. Rosenmuller, Doddridge and others regard it as imperative, and as designed to enforce on them the duty of letting their light shine. Erasmus says it is doubtful whether it is to be understood in the indicative or imperative. Grotius, Koppe, Bloomfield, and others regard it as in the indicative, and as teaching that they did in fact shine as lights in the world. The sense can be determined only by the connection; and in regard to it different readers will form different opinions. It seems to me that the connection seems rather to require the sense of duty or obligation to be understood. The apostle is enforcing on them the duty of being blameless and harmless; of holding forth the word of life; and it is in accordance with his design to remind them that they ought to be lights to those around them.
As lights in the world – The comparison of Christians with light, often occurs in the Scriptures; see at Mat 5:14, note, 16, note. The image here is not improbably taken from light-houses on a seacoast. The image then is, that as those light-houses are placed on a dangerous coast to apprise vessels of their peril, and to save them from shipwreck, so the light of Christian piety shines on a dark world, and in the dangers of the voyage which we are making; see the note of Burder, in Ros. Alt. u. neu. Morgenland, in loc.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Php 2:15
That ye may be blameless and harmless
Gods people
I.
Their true character.
II. Position.
III. Office. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
I. The believers sphere–in a dark world, a perverse age.
II. His office–to dispense knowledge, grace, life.
III. His duty–to hold forth, etc., by precept–example. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
The Christian in the world
Why is not the Christian, as soon as converted, taken to heaven? Enoch walked three hundred years with God before he was translated; Moses for forty years led Israel ere God took him to be with Himself. Our remaining in the world gives rise to the scheme of Christian duties.
1. In speaking of duties, we must remember that there is no conflict between them. They all harmonize. They are so related that we cannot fully perform any one of them without being led on to the performance of others.
2. All our duties may be classified around three entrees.
(1) Our duties to God. These relate (a) to worship and (b) to service. They are contained in the first table of the law.
(2) Duties to our fellow beings. These are contained in the second table of the law.
(3) Duties to ourselves. These relate to securing a title to heaven and a fitness for heaven. They are practically secured when we bind the two tables of the law together.
3. Are we as Christians in the world fulfilling the plan and purpose of God? Are we blameless and harmless? Are we the sons of God? Do we shine as lights? Are we consumed with zeal for our Fathers house, and are we constantly about our Fathers business? (A. H. Moment.)
All Christians must shine
If I had been made a firefly, it would not become me to say, If God had only made me a star, to shine always, then I would shine. It is my duty, if I am a firefly, to fly and sparkle, and fly and sparkle; not to shut my wings down over my phosphorescent self, because God did not make me a sun or a star. (H. W. Beecher.)
Hiding his lamp
A labouring man, soon after confessing Christ and joining a Church in a rural district, had occasion to leave his home for a few weeks, to obtain work during harvest in an adjoining county. On returning home, he was congratulated by his fellow Christians, who expressed their hope that he had been able to stand firm to his profession of Christ, and the opposition and persecution to which they justly concluded he must have been subjected by the ungodly workmen with whom he had been compelled to labour. Oh, no, he replied, I had no persecution at all, for though I was working with them for five weeks, they never found me out. So much the worse for you, they replied, for if your light had shone before them, and you had borne a witness for Christ, they certainly would have found you out.
Christians are lights
Lights have a very cheering influence, and so have Christians. Late one night we had lost our way in a park not far from the suburbs of London, and we were walking along and wondering where we were. We said, There is a light over there, and you cannot tell what a source of comfort that candle in a cottage window proved to us. I remember riding in a third-class carriage, crowded full of people, on a dark night, when a woman at the end of the carriage struck a match and lit a candle; with what satisfaction everybodys face was lit up, as all turned to see it. A light really does give great comfort; if you think it does not sit in the dark an hour or two. A Christian ought to be a comforter; with kind words on his lips, and sympathy in his heart, he should have a cheering word for the sons of sorrow. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Christians carriage in the world
I. Blameless.
1. This if taken generally is impossible. Even Christ did not live without blame (Heb 12:3). The best people are subject to most blame, for wicked people will quarrel with them.
2. But the meaning is so behave yourselves that you give no occasion of offence to your own conscience, or that of others.
II. Harmless. The property of Christians is to do no harm, because our nature is changed. The gospel makes us Came. Among birds, the wicked are likened to ravenous eagles, the Christians to harmless doves; among beasts, the one are like lions, the other like lambs; among plants, briars–lilies.
III. Christians that are blameless and harmless are the sons of God.
1. The ground of this is the love of God (Joh 1:12; 1Jn 3:1).
2. Those who are His sons–
(1) He renews to do His will and commandments h Peter 1:16).
(2) He gives them the spirit of prayer (Act 9:11), by which we have constant access to Him (Eph 2:18; Eph 3:8).
(3) He affords them sweet consolation (Rom 5:1).
(4) He saves from overmuch carefulness.
3. Gods sons live without rebuke.
IV. The blameless and sons of God live in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation.
1. The nature of this crookedness.
(1) It is in the will (Jer 27:13; Mat 23:37).
(2) In the affections. Men love their bane.
(3) In the life.
(4) As regards religion.
2. The signs.
(1) Bring thyself to the rules of Gods truth; if thou do it unwillingly and shun the means of salvation, it is a sign thou art crooked.
(2) Do you tremble when the rules are applied to your lusts and corruptions.
3. The cure.
(1) Obedience to Gods ordinance.
(2) Especially when young.
(3) Keep good company.
(4) Pray with the Psalmist (Psa 119:5).
4. Why are Christians so placed?
(1) God hereby shows His power in that He can and doth preserve His children among lions.
(2) That condemnation of the wicked is hereby justified. They cannot say they were without good examples.
(3) That ungodly men may be won.
(4) That Christians may be refined.
5. Directions for Christians so placed.
(1) Remember your calling as sons of God: dont disgrace it.
(2) Observe the people with whom you converse.
(3) Beware how you give them offence.
(4) Be warned by the example of David.
(5) Look to the duties of the second table.
(6) Use a loving carriage towards all.
V. In the midst of this nation the sons of God are to shine as lights.
1. Light is–
(1) Excellent, showing the excellences of all creatures.
(2) Pure.
(3) A most comfortable thing in darkness.
(4) A quality of the surest motion.
(5) Hath a secret influence wherever it is. Herein Christians resemble light.
2. How to be a light.
(1) Communicate with the chiefest light.
(2) Use the means.
(3) Have no connection with the unfruitful works of darkness.
(4) Follow the example of those that He lights.
(5) Pray that thy light may grow more and more unto the perfect day.
(6) Enlighten thy brethren. (R. Sibbes, D. D.)
Harmless–This word probably means sincere, that is to say, pure, not mixed, not sophisticated, that is entirely of one kind, without the true and natural constitution having been altered by anything foreign. And it appears that, to set forth this simplicity and sincerity, God formerly forbade His ancient people to plant a vineyard with different kinds of plants, and to unite under the same yoke animals of different species, and to clothe themselves with a cloth of linen and woollen mixed together, to teach us by the enigma of these figures that He hates a mind and life double and variegated, in the composition of which enters vice and virtue, good and evil, piety and superstition. He wishes us to be entirely Christians, and that there should be nothing strange in the whole range of our conversation; that the outside and the inside should be of the same nature, the one exactly corresponding to the other; that the form, colour, and substance of our lives should be simple, and not mixed. And although this virtue is very extended, it may, nevertheless, be referred to four principal heads.
I. Without hypocrisy before God, acknowledging and confessing ourselves such in His presence as we are in truth, without lessening the good which there is, without also hiding interior defects with the paint and false colouring of our artifices, imitating the coarse fraud of our first father, who, having renounced the naked simplicity in which he had been formed, wished to disguise himself before that sovereign Majesty by covering himself with fig leaves.
II. not to counterfeit before men, giving up frauds, pretences, and dissimulations, crooked and equivocal ways, which the people of the world use, to make their neighbours believe of them the contrary of what they really are.
III. Gentleness and meekness of mind; it is not easily irritated, or if irritation should sometimes arise, it is soon appeased, and in reality loses the remembrance of the offences that have been committed against it.
IV. Freedom from curiosity; it only employs itself on its own business; and, entirely turned within, does not observe very carefully what passes without, from whence it is neither suspicious nor distrustful. (J. Daille.)
The sons of God–
1. There was nothing strange to the ear of a heathen in this title. The gods of the Gentiles were fabled to be the parents of earthy heroes, the fathers of races. One belief of man stands out in all ages, that man and God are related as no creature is related to either God or man.
2. Communion on some level man would have, and so the gods of the Gentiles played the part of the murderer, the adulterer, etc. Sons of God blameless and harmless was quite a new collocation of ideas. The sons of God up to that time had been too largely the tyrants, deceivers, roysterers of the world.
3. The atheism of the times was largely a reaction against these degrading conceptions. The mind of all thoughtful men was thoroughly unsettled when Christ appeared, and by living as the Son of God effected a revolution. The seed of this revolution is in Php 1:5-11. God dwelt among men at last not corrupting, thieving, or destroying, but healing, purifying, blessing. The end of God is to surround Himself with sons after this pattern.
I. Sons of God: the nature of this relationship.
1. The sons of God are clearly distinguished from the world. It is a title which man as man has no right to share.
2. But how does this square with the doctrine of universal Fatherhood taught, e.g., in Hebrews ii? Children and sons are not coordinate there. The latter is higher than the former, although the former is the base out of which the latter is evolved. In the home the natural relation is one thing, and confers certain rights and claims. The spiritual relationship is another, that is the condition of the child as a being of will, thought, and affection with regard to the parent. And so man may be a child of the Great Parent, but sensual, rebellious. To such God fulfils a Fathers duties and feels a Fathers sorrows; but sons they are not until the spirit of sonship be in them.
3. This is what regeneration means. It is the carrying up the childs relation through all the higher powers and faculties, and yielding to God the child complete (1Pe 2:1-11; 1Jn 3:1-4). It is in view of this that our Saviour delivers to Nicodemus the deepest doctrine of His kingdom. The new birth is the only way by which the unfilial child can pass into the freedom, joy, and spiritual life of the son.
II. The manifestation of sonship and its fruits.
1. Blameless and harmless (1Pe 2:18-25; 1Pe 3:8-18; 1Pe 4:12-19). Goodness is the most powerful appeal to man. Revenge may terrify, but forgiveness will awe and control. In the multitude there is a hidden sense of the beauty of goodness that only wants appealing to by some act of goodness. Bold men stood and trembled before an agonized child as they never trembled before the foe. Why? Because goodness, patience, faith, are heavenly.
2. There is nothing exclusive in this sonship–Holding forth the word of life, that men may live also. The sons are to be magnets to draw the children to the Father, that they may be received as sons. (Baldwin Brown, B. A.)
Insincere professors
As you see that in the world art counterfeits precious stones and drugs, exchanging them for others of little value, which they pass off for good by favour of some apparent resemblance which they have to the true; so also in the Church there has always been found a number of cheats, who, deceiving themselves and others, take the colour and form of the children of God, although in reality they are not so. And as there are certain means by which adulterated goods, such as the gold and stones of alchemy, are discerned from the true; so also in religion there are marks and certain proofs whereby those may be known who have only the name of the children of God from those who are so in reality. Those who sustain these trials, and in whom are really found all these marks, are they whom the apostle here very elegantly calls children of God, without rebuke; those whom the crucible cannot make to blush; those in whom neither the calumny nor the cunning of the enemy can find anything to lay hold of; such as the Scripture sets forth in a Job, who confounded all the artifices of Satan, and justified most fully by his trials the glorious testimony which God had condescended to bear to him with His own mouth. (J. Daille.)
In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation–As naturalists say that there are rivers which run through lakes without mingling their waters with them, may we flow together in this world without uniting in its ways, preserving all the colour, strength, and substance of our Divine source; may we be truly that people of God, of which Balaam formerly said, They shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations; always strangers in the world, although living on the earth, and breathing its air; floating in the midst of its waters without being confounded with them; walking in its fires without being burnt; constantly remaining upright, perfect, sincere, and unrebukable in the midst of all its obliquities and perversities. (J. Daille.)
Children of God without rebuke.
Moral courage
When the late Commodore Foote was in Siam he had, upon one occasion, the king on board his vessel as a guest. Like a Christian man as he was, he did not hesitate in the royal presence to ask a blessing as the guests took their places at the table. Why, that is just as the missionaries do, remarked the king, with some surprise. Yes, answered the heroic sailor, and I am a missionary too. (Homiletic Monthly.)
Shining Christians
A friend told me that he was visiting a lighthouse lately, and said to the keeper, Are you not afraid to live here? It is a dreadful place to be constantly in. No, replied the man; I am not afraid. We never think of ourselves here. Never think of yourselves! How is that? The reply was a good one. We know that we are perfectly safe, and only think of having our lamps burning brightly, and keeping the reflectors clear, that those in danger may be saved. Christians are safe in a house built on a Rock, which cannot be moved by the wildest storm, and in a spirit of holy unselfishness they should let their light gleam across the dark waves of sin, that imperilled ones may be guided into the harbour of heaven. (Homiletic Monthly.)
Shine for others
Unless we let our light shine we are hidden from recognition, and may be only stumbling blocks. A blind beggar, sitting on a sidewalk one dark night, had a bright lantern by his side. Whereat a passer-by was so puzzled that he had to turn back with, What do you keep a lantern burning for? You cant see. So that folks may not stumble over me, was the reply. We should keep our light burning for the sake of others as well as for the good of being in the light ourselves. (J. L. Nye.)
Christian influence
When Lord Peterborough lodged for a season with Fenelon, Archbishop of Cambray, he was so delighted with his piety and virtue that he exclaimed at parting, if I stayed here any longer, I should become a Christian in spite of myself.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 15. That ye may be blameless] In yourselves, and harmless to others.
The sons of God] Showing by your holy conduct that ye are partakers of the Divine nature.
Without rebuke] Persons against whom no charge of transgression can justly be laid.
A crooked and perverse] Probably referring to the Jews, who were the chief opponents and the most virulent enemies which the Christian Church had.
Among whom ye shine] Be like the sun and moon; bless even the perverse and disobedient by your light and splendour. Let your light shine before men; some will walk in that light, and by its shining God will be glorified. It is evident that the apostle, by , lights in the world, refers to the sun and moon particularly, and perhaps to the heavenly bodies in general.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That ye may be blameless and harmless; that ye behave yourselves so that none can justly reproach you, Luk 1:6 and though you cannot altogether put to silence foolish men, Joh 15:25; 1Pe 2:15, yet they cannot have any just cause to stain your reputation; but you may be found sincere, simple, void of guile, Mat 10:16; Joh 1:47; Rom 16:19; 1Pe 2:1, with 1Pe 1:14.
The sons of God, without rebuke; without such spots and blemishes as are inconsistent with your adoption, or sonship, Eph 5:27. Sons of God, in regard of their relation, should be careful, as much as may be, that they do not expose themselves to the biting reproofs of those carping neighbours who are not of their Fathers family, Son 4:7; Mat 5:48; Eph 1:4; Jud 1:24.
In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation; who show by their lying in wickedness, 1Jo 5:19, and the uncured spots, yea, even plague sores, upon them who have notoriously corrupted themselves, that they are a perverse, crooked, untoward, and adulterous generation, Deu 32:5; Psa 125:5; Mat 12:39; Act 13:8,10.
Among whom ye shine as lights in the world; in conversing with such a sort of men, ye either do, or ought, unanimously to show yourselves to be light in the Lord, Mat 5:14,16; Eph 5:8,15; enlightened by the Sun of righteousness, Mal 4:2, to give a more clear light, that however the uncivil wicked would bespatter you, and cast reproach upon you in the necessary exercises of religion; yet, you not suffering as murderers, thieves, busybodies, &c., 1Pe 4:4,15,16, you will then, especially if Christs faithful ambassadors, show yourselves to be not such lantern or torchbearers as accompanied treacherous Judas, Joh 18:3, (however the ill men you live among may reckon you no better), but such light-bearers under Christ, (the Seventy use the word for stars, Gen 1:16; Dan 12:3; Rev 1:16,20), as irradiate the world; not a house, as a candle doth, but the world, as stars do, Rev 12:1.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. blameless and harmlesswithouteither the repute of mischief, or the inclination to do it [ALFORD].
sonsrather as Greek,“the children of God” (Ro8:14-16). Imitation of our heavenly Father is the instinctiveguide to our duty as His children, more than any external law(Mat 5:44; Mat 5:45;Mat 5:48).
without rebuke“without(giving handle for) reproach.” The whole verse tacitlyrefers by contrast to De 32:5,”Their spot . . . not . . . of His children . . . aperverse and crooked generation” (compare 1Pe2:12).
ye shineliterally,”appear” [TRENCH].”Show yourselves” (compare Mat 5:14-16;Eph 5:8-13).
as lights in the worldTheGreek expresses “as luminaries in the world,”as the sun and moon, “the lights,” or “great lights,”in the material world or in the firmament. The Septuagintuses the very same Greek word in the passage, Gen 1:14;Gen 1:16; compare Note,,see on Re 21:11.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
That ye may be blameless,…. This, and what follows, show the end to be answered, by observing the above exhortation. This respects not their being blameless in the sight of God, which the saints are not in themselves, being not without sin, though they are, as considered in Christ, clothed with his righteousness, and washed in his blood; but their being blameless before men: and this may be understood both actively and passively; actively, that they might be without blaming others; some are so unhappy in their disposition and conduct, as to be always finding fault with, and blaming all persons they are concerned with, and all things in them, and done by them, right or wrong, without any just reason; and this ought not to be, and may be prevented by doing all things, as before directed: or passively, that they might not be blamed by others justly; for no man can escape the blame and censure of everyone; our Lord himself did not, nor this our apostle; but doing, as before exhorted to, will, in a great measure, preclude any just reason for blame and complaint: it is added,
and harmless; that is, that they might be, and appear to be so; harmless as doves, in imitation of Christ, who was holy in his nature, and harmless in his conversation, as his followers should be; doing no injury to any man’s person or property, behaving in an inoffensive manner to all men, to Jew and Gentile, and to the church of God: it follows,
the sons of God; not that they might be sons by so doing; but be “as the sons of God”, as the Syriac version renders it, be like them, and behave as such; for they were the sons of God already; not by creation only, as angels, and all men are, not merely by profession of religion, but by adopting grace; they were predestinated to the adoption of children, and were taken into this relation in the covenant of grace, Christ had redeemed them from under the law, that they might receive this blessing, and it was actually bestowed upon them by him in conversion: but the sense is, that they might appear to be the children of God, by acting as becomes such; not that they might appear so to themselves, for they were openly and manifestly to themselves the children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus, and through the testimony of the Spirit, witnessing to their spirits that they were in such a relation to God; but that they might appear so to others, that they were the adopted sons of God, and also begotten again by him, and made partakers of the divine nature; by their being followers of God as dear children, and by their being obedient ones to him in all holiness and godly conversation, yielding a ready and cheerful obedience to his will, without repining at it, or disputing about it; and to be
without rebuke; not without the rebuke of their heavenly Father, for whom he loves he rebukes, and every son that he receives into his family he scourges and chastises, not in wrath and anger, or with rebukes of fury, but of love; but without the rebuke of men, both of the churches and ministers of Christ, whose business it is to reprove and rebuke, publicly and privately, as cases and their circumstances require; and of the men of the world, who when they have any occasion, make use of it to speak reproachfully, as a railing Rabshakeh did, when it is a time of rebuke and blasphemy, and to be shunned and guarded against as much possible: especially since the saints live
in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation: or age and generation, as every age is; saints are like lilies in the valleys, liable to be trampled upon by the foot of every wild beast; like roses among thorns, to be scratched and torn; and like Lots in the midst of Sodom, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: the whole world lies in sin, and the saints are enclosed on every side with wicked men. Philippi, where these saints lived, was a place of wickedness, and so no doubt was the whole region of Macedonia; the inhabitants were evil for the most part; their ways were crooked, and their works perverse, being contrary to the law of God, and Gospel of Christ; and therefore the following exhortation to the saints there was very suitable.
Among whom ye shine; or “shine ye”, as it may be rendered,
as lights in the world. This world is, in a moral sense, what the original chaos was in a natural sense, covered with darkness; the darkness of ignorance and unbelief, of impiety and superstition, has spread itself over the far greater part of the world; the men of it are children of the night, and of darkness; their works are works of darkness, and they are going on in darkness, not knowing where they are going. The saints are the lights of the world, they were once darkness itself, but are made light in and by the Lord; they are called into marvellous light, and are filled with light spiritual and evangelical; they are like the moon and stars, that give light to the world in the night; and as they receive their light from the sun, and communicate it to the world, so do the saints receive theirs from Christ, the sun of righteousness, and show it forth to others, both by doctrine and practice: or rather the churches of Christ are as candlesticks, in which the light of the Gospel is put, and held forth to men, as follows, see Mt 5:14.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
That ye may be ( ). Rather, “that ye may become” (second aorist middle subjunctive of , to become).
Blameless (). Free from censure (, to blame).
Harmless (). Unmixed, unadulterated as in Ro 16:19.
Without blemish (). Without spot, “unblemished in reputation and in reality” (Vincent).
In the midst of (). Preposition with genitive.
Crooked (). Old word, curved as opposed to , straight. See on Ac 2:40.
Perverse (). Perfect passive participle of , to distort, to twist, to turn to one side (, in two). Old word. See Matt 17:17; Acts 13:10.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
May be – harmless [ – ] . May be is rather may prove or show yourselves to be. Harmless, lit., unmixed. See on Mt 10:16. Better, guileless. Blameless in the sight of others, guileless in your own hearts.
Sons of God [] . Rev., better, children. See on Joh 1:12. Compare Deu 32:5.
Without rebuke [] . Rev., correctly, without blemish. See on Col 1:22. The word is epexegetical of the two preceding epithets, unblemished in reputation and in reality.
Crooked and perverse [ – ] . Crooked, see on untoward, Act 2:40; froward, 1Pe 2:18. Perverse, lit., warped, twisted. See on Mt 17:17; Luk 23:14.
Ye shine [] . Rev., more correctly, ye are seen. Compare Mt 24:27; Rev 18:23, A. V., where the same error occurs. Shine would require the verb in the active voice, as Joh 1:5; Joh 5:35. Lights [] . Only here and Rev 21:11, see note. Properly, luminaries. So Rev., in margin. Generally of the heavenly bodies. See Gen 1:14, 16, Sept.
In the world. Connect with ye are seen, not with luminaries. The world, not only material, but moral. For the moral sense of kosmov world, see on Joh 1:9.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “That ye may be blameless and harmless” “In order that ye may be blameless and harmless,” or become pure and harmless, Mat 5:45; Eph 5:1.
2) “The sons of God, without rebuke” “Children of God faultless,” or irreproachable, 1Pe 2:12.
3) “In the midst of a crooked and perverse nation” “in the midst of a crooked and having been perverted generation,” with regards to their moral values and distorted spiritual concepts, Deu 32:5.
4) “Among whom ye shine as lights in the world” (en ois phainesthe en kosmo) “In the midst of whom shine ye as luminaries in the world order,” Mat 5:14; Mat 5:16; Eph 5:8. Christ is the true Light of the world, Joh 8:12. Believers are to be light “reflectors” or light-bearers of Him.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
15 The sons of God, unreprovable. It ought to be rendered — unreprovable, because ye are the sons of God. For God’s adoption of us ought to be a motive to a blameless life, that we may in some degree resemble our Father. Now, although there never has been such perfection in the world as to have nothing worthy of reproof, those are, nevertheless, said to be unreprovable who aim at this with the whole bent of their mind, as has been observed elsewhere. (129)
In the midst of a wicked generation. Believers, it is true, live on earth, intermingled with the wicked; (130) they breathe the same air, they enjoy the same soil, and at that time (131) they were even more intermingled, inasmuch as there could scarcely be found a single pious family that was not surrounded on all sides by unbelievers. So much the more does Paul stir up the Philippians to guard carefully against all corruptions. The meaning therefore is this: “You are, it is true, inclosed in the midst of the wicked; but, in the mean time, bear in mind that you are, by God’s adoption, separated from them: let there be, therefore, in your manner of life, conspicuous marks by which you may be distinguished. Nay more, this consideration ought to stir you up the more to aim at a pious and holy life, that we may not also be a part of the crooked generation, (132) entangled by their vices and contagion.”
As to his calling them a wicked and crooked generation, this corresponds with the connection of the passage. For he teaches us that we must so much the more carefully take heed on this account — that many occasions of offense are stirred up by unbelievers, which disturb their right course; and the whole life of unbelievers is, as it were, a labyrinth of various windings, that draw us off from the right way. They are, however, notwithstanding, epithets of perpetual application, that are descriptive of unbelievers of all nations and in all ages. For if the heart of man is wicked and unsearchable, (Jer 17:9,) what will be the fruits springing from such a root? Hence we are taught in these words, that in the life of man there is nothing pure, nothing right, until he has been renewed by the Spirit of God.
Among whom shine ye. The termination of the Greek word is doubtful, for it might be taken as the indicative — ye shine; but the imperative suits better with the exhortation. He would have believers be as lamps, which shine amidst the darkness of the world, as though he had said, “Believers, it is true, are children of the night, and there is in the world nothing but darkness; but God has enlightened you for this end, that the purity of your life may shine forth amidst that darkness, that his grace may appear the more illustrious.” Thus, also, it is said by the Prophet,
“
The Lord will arise upon thee, and his glory will be seen upon thee.”(Isa 60:2.)
He adds immediately afterwards, “The Gentiles shall walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness of thy countenance.” Though Isaiah speaks there rather of doctrine, while Paul speaks here of an exemplary life, yet, even in relation to doctrine, Christ in another passage specially designates the Apostles the light of the world. (Mat 5:14.)
(129) Our Author most probably refers to what he had stated when commenting on 1Co 1:8. See Calvin on the Corinthians, vol. 1, pp. 58, 59. — Ed.
(130) “ Mesles auec les infideles et meschans;” — “Mingled with the unbelieving and the wicked.”
(131) “ Et lors mesme que S. Paul escriuoit ceci;” — “And even at the time that St. Paul wrote this.”
(132) “ De la generation peruerse et maudite;” — “Of the perverse and accursed generation.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(15) Blameless and harmless.Blameless as to external law and judgment (as in Luk. 1:6; 1Th. 2:10); harmless in internal purity and simplicity (as in Mat. 10:16, harmless as doves; and Rom. 16:19).
The sons of God, without rebuke.The word without rebuke is, according to the best MSS., the same as that which is used in Eph. 1:4 (where see Note), and elsewhere, to signify unblemished. The whole passage seems certainly a reminiscence of Deu. 32:5, as it runs in the Greek version, speaking of the Israelites as no children of God, full of blemish, a crooked and perverse generation. The word crooked is similarly applied to the unbelieving Jews by St. Peter in Act. 2:40, and the epithet faithless and perverse generation used by our Lord in Mat. 17:17; Luk. 9:41.
Lights.Properly, luminaries; so used in the Old Testament, and probably in Rev. 21:11. Christians are as the lesser lights of heaven, dim in comparison with the Sun of Righteousness, perhaps shining by His reflected light, and seen only in the night of this life, till He shall rise on us again in the day of Christ spoken of in the next verse. The word, therefore, stands half-way between light itself, as in Mat. 5:14, and the merely artificial light (or, candle) of Joh. 5:35.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. Blameless and harmless Better, pure in character.
Sons Recognised by others as true children of God, without rebuke, unblamable in life.
Lights Christians are among wicked, insincere, gainsaying men, as the sun and moon in the world, shedding light by their manner of life upon its deep darkness.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Php 2:15. As lights in the world; As light-houses; according to the original word, which alludes to the buildings so called. The passage in this view may be paraphrased, “Among whom be careful that you shine as elevated lights in the dark world about you; that you may direct those who fail on this dangerous sea, and secure them from suffering shipwreck on those fatal rocks, which every where lie in their way.” See Mat 5:14; Mat 5:16. Several of our expositors prefer the marginal rendering of our bibles; among whom shine ye, &c. Instead of nation, some render the original generation.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Phi 2:15 . If to their obedience of the admonitions given down to Phi 2:13 there is added the manner of obedience prescribed in Phi 2:14 , they shall be blameless , etc. This, therefore, must be the high aim , which they are to have in view in connection with what is required in Phi 2:14 .
. ] blameless and sincere; the former represents moral integrity as manifesting itself to the judgment of others; the latter represents the same as respects its inner nature (comp. on Mat 10:16 and Rom 16:19 ).
.] comprehending epexegetically the two former predicates. Children of God (in virtue of the that took place in Christ, Rom 8:15 ; Rom 8:23 ; Gal 4:5 ; Eph 1:5 ) they are (Rom 8:16 ; Rom 9:8 ). They are to become such children of God, as have nothing with which fault can be found; which in children of God presupposes the inward moral , since they are led by the Spirit of God (Rom 8:14 ). This ethical view of the , prominent throughout the N. T., and already implied in the mode of contemplating Israel as the people of adoption (Rom 9:4 ) in the O. T. and Apocrypha, necessarily involves, in virtue of the ideal character of the relation, the moral development towards the lofty aim implies, therefore, in the being the constant task of the becoming; and hence the sense of showing themselves is as little to be given, with Hofmann, to the here as in Mat 10:16 , Joh 15:8 , et al.; comp. also on Gal 4:12 . , qui vituperari non potest , occurring elsewhere in the N. T. only at 2Pe 3:14 (not equivalent to or ), but see Hom. Il . xii. 109; Herod. iii. 82; frequently in the Anthol. Its opposite is: , Deu 32:5 ; the recollection of this latter passage has suggested the subsequent words, which serve as a recommendation of the condition to be striven for by contrasting it with the state of things around .
(see the critical remarks) is adverbial, in the midst of (Hom. Il . xii. 167; Od . xiv. 300; Eur. Rhes . 531 ( ); LXX. Num 35:5 ).
. .] crooked and perverted , a graphic figurative representation of the great moral abnormity of the generation. Comp. on , Act 2:40 ; 1Pe 2:18 ; Pro 4:24 ; Wis 1:3 ; Plat Legg . xii. p. 945 B, Gorg . p. 525 A; and on ., Mat 17:17 ; Deu 32:20 ; Polyb. viii. 24. 3, v. 41. 1, ii. 21. 8; also , Soph. Aj . 442.
i.e . among the people of this ; see Buttmann, Neut. Gr . p. 242 [E. T. p. 282]; Bremi, ad Isocr . I. p. 213 f.; Khner, II. 1, p. 49 f.
] not imperative (Cyprian, Pelagius, Ambrosiaster, Theophylact, Erasmus, Vatablus, Calvin, Grotius, and others, including Storr, Flatt, Rheinwald, Baumgarten-Crusius), but the existing relation, which constitutes the essential distinctive character of the Christian state as contrasted with the non-Christian, Eph 5:8 , al . The aim of the . . . is, by means of an appeal to the true Christian sense of honour (the consciousness of their high Christian position towards them that are without), to assist the attainment of the end in view; this is misunderstood by Bengel, when he suggests the addition of “ servata hac admonitione ,” a view in which he is followed by Hofmann. The meaning is not lucetis (so usually), but (comp. also Weiss, Schenkel, and J. B. Lightfoot): ye appear , [128] come into view, apparetis (Mat 2:7 ; Mat 24:27 ; Jas 4:14 ; Rev 18:23 ; Hom. Il . 1:477, 24:785, 788, Od . ii. 1, Il . ix. 707; Hes. Oper . 600; Plat. Rep . p. 517 B; Xen. Hell . iv. 3. 10; Polyb. ix. 15. 7; Lucian, D. D . iv. 3; also Xen. Symp . i. 9, Anab . vii. 4. 16; hence , the heavenly appearances ). Lucetis (Vulgate) would be , Joh 1:5 ; Joh 5:35 ; 1Jn 2:8 ; 2Pe 1:19 ; Rev 1:16 ; Rev 21:23 ; 1Ma 4:40 ; Plat. Tim . p. 39 B; Arist. Nub . 586; Hes. Oper . 528; Theoc. ii. 11.
] light-givers (Rev 21:11 ), here a designation, not of torches (Beza, Cornelius a Lapide) or lamps (Hofmann), which would be too weak for , and without support of linguistic usage; but, in accordance with the usage familiar to the apostle in the LXX, Gen 1:14 ; Gen 1:16 , of the shining heavenly bodies; Wis 13:2 ; Sir 43:7 ; Heliod. 87; Anthol . xv. 17; Constant. Rhod. ep. in Paralip . 205.
] is to be taken in reference to the physical world, and closely connected with . As light-bearers in the world (which shine in the world, by day the sun, by night the moon and stars), the Christians appear in the midst of a perverted generation . Comp. Mat 5:14 ; also classical expressions like ( Anthol . vi. 614, 2), etc. If be rightly interpreted, cannot be joined with it (de Wette, Weiss, who takes in the ethical sense), or be supplemented by (Hoelemann, Rilliet, van Hengel). It is erroneous, further, to make mean in heaven (Clericus, Rheinwald [129] ), and also erroneous to attach a pregnant force to , making it mean “ within the world,” in contrast to the lights of heaven shining from above; thus Hofmann, connecting it with . and bringing out with emphasis something quite self-evident. On without the article , see Winer, p. 117 [E. T. p. 153]. On the whole passage, comp. Test. XII. Patr . p. 577: , . . . Paul, however, has put without the article , because he has conceived it qualitatively .
[128] So also Homer, Il . i. 200, which Hofmann compares and brings out for our passage the sense: “stand in the light proper to them.” Comp., however, Il. xix. 16, xxii. 28, and l.c.; Duncan, Lex. ed. Rost. p. 1148 f. In the former passage, i. 200, the sense is: her eyes (Athene’s) appeared terrible. Comp. Ngelsbach, p. 87, Exo 3 . The same sense, according to another explanation, is found in Faesi.
[129] The designation of the heavens by , first used by Pythagoras (see Bremi, ad lsoc. Paneg. p. 90), did not enter into the Biblical usus loquendi.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
Ver. 15. Blameless and harmless ] Gr. , hornless, or sincere, without mixture of deceit or guile, Israelites indeed.
The sons of God ] Dignity enforceth duty. Remember that thou art a king’s son, said he to Antigonus, and thou canst not do amiss.
Without rebuke ] , such as envy itself cannot justly tax, or fasten her fangs on. Si Luthero faverem ut viro bono, quod fatentur et hostes, &c., saith Erasmus, who yet loved him not. Luther is a good man, as his very enemies cannot but acknowledge. So Bucer, Bradford, Melancthon. Christians should excel others, standing as standard bearers, higher than others, as Saul was by the head and shoulders; being without blemish from head to foot, as Absalom; fair to the eye and good to the taste, as the tree of knowledge, Gen 3:6 .
In the midst of a crooked ] As Noah was righteous in his generation; as Joshua would serve Jehovah, though alone; as David therefore loved God’s testimonies, because other men kept not his law; as Elijah amidst the Baalites cries, Zelando zelavi; the worse they were, the better was he. Baruch kindled himself ( accendit seipsum, Trem.) from other men’s coldness, and quickened himself from other men’s dulness, Neh 3:20 .
As lights in the world ] , luminaries, great lights, such are the sun and moon, that give light to others. Some wicked have greater common gifts than the godly; as many metals are brighter and more orient than the heavens: yet as those metals are not fit to convey the light of the sun, nay indeed they would stop it; so neither are the wicked fit to shine the true light into us; but Christ and Christians, those lights of the world. Such as Chrysostom was, whom Theodore styleth eximium orbis terrarum luminare, a famous light of the Church; and others said, that the sunlight might better be spared than Chrysostom’s preaching.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
15 .] , without blame , , “ pure , simplices , vulg th: sinceres ( i ), Clarom.: , , Etym. Mag. For the distinction between , , and , see Tittm. Synon. i. p. 27.” Ellicott. On , see especially Rom 8:14-15 .
, blameless : unblamed, and unblamable: Herod. uses it, ii. 177, of a law: , . The whole clause is a reminiscence of ref. Deut., where we have , . .
For the figurative meaning of , cf. reff. Acts and 1 Pet., and Plato, Legg. xii. p. 945 B, , Gorg. p. 525 A, . , . : and on , , Polyb. viii. 24. 3.
, the masculine referring to those included in : so Thuc. i. 136, , . See more examples in Khner, ii. p. 43.
, not imperative , as most of the Fathers, Erasm., Calvin, Grot., al., but indicative , for this is the position of Christians in the world: see Mat 5:14 ; Eph 5:8 . So De W., Meyer, Wiesinger, &c. &c. It has been said (Mey., Wies., al.) that we must not render ‘ shine ,’ which would be : but surely there is but very little difference between ‘ appear ’ and ‘ shine ’ here, and only St. John and St. Peter use for ‘ to shine ,’ Joh 1:5 ; Joh 5:35 ; 1Jn 2:8 ; Rev 1:16 ; 2Pe 1:19 , not St. Paul, for whom in such a matter their usage is no rule. Ellic. 1) objects that this must not be alleged against the simple meaning of the word, and 2) wishes to give the middle a special use in connexion with the appearance or rising of the heavenly bodies. But we may answer 1) by such examples as , where Rost and Palm translate the passive ‘ leuchteten :’ and 2) by urging that such a reference seems here to lay too much pregnancy of meaning on the word.
, not ‘ lights ’ merely, but luminaries , ‘ heavenly bodies :’ see ref. Gen.: and Sir 43:7 , Wis 13:2 .
] probably as E. V. holding forth (hardly, as Ellic., “ seeing ye hold forth ,” but “ in that ye hold forth :” the participle being rather explicative than causal) to them, applying to them, which is the one of the commonest meanings of , see reff. Various senses have been given, e.g. ‘ holding fast ,’ Luther, Estius, Bengel, De Wette, al.: ‘ in vertice tenentes ,’ Erasm.: ‘ sustinentes ,’ Calv.: ‘ possessing ,’ Meyer, who quotes for this meaning Herod. i. 104, , and Thuc. ii. 101, . . , neither of which justify it: for in both these places it is ‘ to occupy ,’ not ‘ to possess :’ as also in Polyb. iii. 112. 8, . . . . . And this sense would manifestly be inapplicable. His objection to the ordinary rendering, that the subjects of the sentence themselves shine by means of the , surely is irrelevant: for may not the stars be said ‘prbere,’ ‘prtendere,’ their light, notwithstanding that that light is in them? Chrys., c., Thl., interpret it, , and Chrys. continues , , . , , , , , : Thdrt., , ungrammatically, for this would be , as , Act 3:5 ; cf. also ref. 1 Tim.
. ] for (result of your thus walking, as concerns myself ) a matter of boasting for me against (temporal: reserved for) the day of Christ, that ( , Thdrt.) I did not run (the past tense is from the point of view of that day. On , see reff.) for nothing, nor labour for nothing (cf. ref. Job).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Phi 2:15 . . “That ye may become.” A high ideal before Paul’s mind to be reached by a gradual process. . (Chr [9] ). Perhaps . refers to the judgment of others, while denotes their intrinsic character (so Lft [10] ). Cf. Mat 10:16 , where Christ exhorts the disciples to be . . This whole clause is a reminiscence, not a quotation, of Deu 32:5 , , , . It is impossible to say whether Paul uses . . in the strict sense common in N.T., or whether he employs the term more loosely as in Eph 5:8 . The best authorities read , the more usual N.T. word. may be due to of LXX. is certainly to be read instead of , with all leading authorities. It is one of those adverbial expressions which, in the later language, perhaps under the influence of Semitic usage, took the place of prepositions. Cf. Hatz., Einl , p. 214, where several exx. are quoted from Porphyrogenitus, de Caer . . . . The latter epithet is precisely = the Scotch expression “thrawn,” “having a twist” in the inner nature. . Sense-construction. . Commentators differ as to whether . means here “appear” or “shine”. Surely the appearing of a , a luminary, must be, at the same time, a shining. Both interpretations really converge in this context. [Calv. takes . as imperative, and compares Isa 60:2 . This is by no means unlikely.] Probably (= the whole universe of things) goes closely with , emphasising the contrast, while nothing is said as to their influence on others. Christ Himself is (Joh 8:12 ). His followers are . For see Evans’ excellent note on 1Co 2:12 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
be. Literally become.
blameless. Greek. amemptos. Only here; Php 3:6. Luk 1:6. 1Th 3:13. Heb 8:7.
harmless. Greek. akeraios. See Rom 16:19
sons. App-108.
without rebuke. Greek. amometos. Only here and 2Pe 3:14, but the texts read amomos (as Eph 1:4), Both words are akin to amemptos.
crooked. Greek., skolios. See Act 2:40.
perverse. See Act 13:8.
nation = generation.
among. App-104.
shine = appear. App-106.
lights. App-130.
world. App-129. Compare Mat 5:14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
15.] , without blame, , pure, simplices, vulg th: sinceres (i), Clarom.: , , Etym. Mag. For the distinction between , , and , see Tittm. Synon. i. p. 27. Ellicott. On , see especially Rom 8:14-15.
, blameless: unblamed, and unblamable: Herod. uses it, ii. 177, of a law: , . The whole clause is a reminiscence of ref. Deut., where we have , . .
For the figurative meaning of , cf. reff. Acts and 1 Pet., and Plato, Legg. xii. p. 945 B, ,-Gorg. p. 525 A, . , . :-and on ,- , Polyb. viii. 24. 3.
, the masculine referring to those included in : so Thuc. i. 136, – , . See more examples in Khner, ii. p. 43.
, not imperative, as most of the Fathers, Erasm., Calvin, Grot., al.,-but indicative, for this is the position of Christians in the world: see Mat 5:14; Eph 5:8. So De W., Meyer, Wiesinger, &c. &c. It has been said (Mey., Wies., al.) that we must not render shine, which would be : but surely there is but very little difference between appear and shine here, and only St. John and St. Peter use for to shine, Joh 1:5; Joh 5:35; 1Jn 2:8; Rev 1:16; 2Pe 1:19,-not St. Paul, for whom in such a matter their usage is no rule. Ellic. 1) objects that this must not be alleged against the simple meaning of the word, and 2) wishes to give the middle a special use in connexion with the appearance or rising of the heavenly bodies. But we may answer 1) by such examples as , where Rost and Palm translate the passive leuchteten: and 2) by urging that such a reference seems here to lay too much pregnancy of meaning on the word.
, not lights merely, but luminaries, heavenly bodies: see ref. Gen.: and Sir 43:7, Wis 13:2.
] probably as E. V. holding forth (hardly, as Ellic., seeing ye hold forth, but in that ye hold forth: the participle being rather explicative than causal) to them, applying to them, which is the one of the commonest meanings of ,-see reff. Various senses have been given,-e.g. holding fast, Luther, Estius, Bengel, De Wette, al.: in vertice tenentes, Erasm.: sustinentes, Calv.: possessing, Meyer, who quotes for this meaning Herod. i. 104, , and Thuc. ii. 101, . . ,-neither of which justify it: for in both these places it is to occupy, not to possess: as also in Polyb. iii. 112. 8, . … . And this sense would manifestly be inapplicable. His objection to the ordinary rendering, that the subjects of the sentence themselves shine by means of the , surely is irrelevant: for may not the stars be said prbere, prtendere, their light, notwithstanding that that light is in them? Chrys., c., Thl., interpret it, , and Chrys. continues , , . , , , , , :-Thdrt., , ungrammatically, for this would be ,-as , Act 3:5; cf. also ref. 1 Tim.
. ] for (result of your thus walking, as concerns myself) a matter of boasting for me against (temporal: reserved for) the day of Christ, that ( , Thdrt.) I did not run (the past tense is from the point of view of that day. On , see reff.) for nothing, nor labour for nothing (cf. ref. Job).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Php 2:15. , of God) who is good.-) crooked.-) ye shine, namely, by having kept this exhortation. Of life follows, as the mention of light and life is frequently joined.- , in the world) among the human race, of whom many are yet to be converted, others are to be reproved.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Php 2:15
Php 2:15
that ye may become blameless-To do these things cheerfully, gladly, without questioning the requirements, dispensations of God alone enable us to be blameless before him. [To be blameless is to be without fault or stain. To be correct in the externals of life. It is said of Elisabeth and Zacharias that they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. (Luk 1:6). And so it was the desire that these brethren should meet all their duties and discharge all their obligations and in all their intercourse with their fellow men be irreproachable.]
and harmless,-[This refers to the internal purity, simplicity, and sincerity which ought to characterize all followers of Christ. To be harmless is to have the innocence of character which has no admixture of evil thought or desire in it. Thus these Philippian Christians were to be outwardly and inwardly correct that they might be no hindrance nor scandal to the name of Jesus Christ; and inwardly correct because no mere outward correctness can long be maintained without inward correctness. These traits are distinguishing marks of the children of God, and they should be cultivated and honored. If the followers of Christ would only see to it that their lives are all blameless and harmless, the cause of Christ would make greater progress.]
children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,-The children of God can be without blemish while they are living in the midst of the people who are perverse in their disposition, rebellious in their spirit, and who walk not according to the straight rule laid down by the Master. [It is of very great importance always and everywhere to be without blemish; but when surrounded by people whose views of truth, whose ideas of life, and whose general course of conduct are always wrong, it is of importance beyond estimate to be right- minded and straightforward and clean.]
among whom ye are seen as lights in the world,-They were to shine as lights in the world by holding forth in their lives and in their teaching the word of God. The law of God is a lamp to our feet.
[Jesus said to his disciples: Ye are the light of the world. (Mat 5:14). So Paul says here. In both instances, of course, the idea is of a reflected light. In the highest sense of the words light belongs only to Christ. (Joh 1:4; Joh 8:12). The two figures are blended here. Christians are the lesser lights of the spiritual world-always dim in comparison with the shining of the Sun of Righteousness, but they are still lights. Though they can give only borrowed radiance; they are yet the clearest luminaries which not a few behold. More people have no other conception of Christianity than that they actually see in the lives and doings of professed Christians. They do not go to Jesus Christ, and look at the truth as he speaks it out and lives it out; they do not yield up their minds and hearts to his teaching and come under his guidance, and let him take them forward into the knowledge and fellowship of the law of the Spirit of life, as revealed in the scriptures, but they watch Christians, and draw their inferences and reach their conclusions from the type of character which they illustrate-they are the Bible the world reads and studies. If Christians exemplify a new life, if they bring forth the fruits of the life in Christ, they are the luminaries in whose light the multitude will sometimes come to rejoice.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
world
kosmos = mankind. (See Scofield “Mat 4:8”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
blameless: Luk 1:6, 1Co 1:8, Eph 5:27, 1Th 5:23, 1Ti 3:2, 1Ti 3:10, 1Ti 5:7, Tit 1:6, 2Pe 3:14
and: Mat 10:16, Rom 16:19, Heb 7:26
harmless: or, sincere, Phi 1:10
sons: Mat 5:45, Mat 5:48, Luk 6:35, 2Co 6:17, Eph 5:1, Eph 5:2, Eph 5:7, 1Pe 1:14-17, 1Pe 2:9, 1Jo 3:1-3
rebuke: 1Ti 5:14, 1Ti 5:20, Tit 2:10, Tit 2:15, Rev 3:9
a crooked: Deu 32:5, Psa 122:5, Mat 17:17, Act 20:30, 1Pe 2:12
ye shine: or, shine ye, Isa 60:1, Mat 5:14-16, Joh 5:35, Eph 5:8
Reciprocal: Gen 7:1 – thee Gen 13:7 – Canaanite Gen 37:9 – stars Gen 39:3 – saw that Exo 34:35 – General Exo 37:17 – the candlestick of Exo 39:37 – even with Lev 24:2 – the lamps Num 14:2 – murmured Deu 2:4 – take ye 1Sa 25:7 – we hurt 1Sa 25:15 – very good 1Ch 28:8 – in the sight 1Ch 29:9 – David Psa 125:5 – crooked Pro 2:15 – General Pro 4:18 – General Son 2:2 – General Isa 11:9 – not hurt Isa 62:1 – the righteousness Dan 6:4 – but Mat 5:9 – for Mat 5:16 – your light Mat 25:1 – which Mar 4:21 – Is a Luk 3:14 – Do violence to no man Luk 8:16 – when Luk 11:33 – may see Luk 12:35 – your lights Joh 4:36 – he that reapeth receiveth Rom 2:19 – a light 1Co 5:10 – for 1Co 6:6 – brother 2Co 6:14 – and what Gal 3:26 – General Eph 1:4 – without 1Ti 4:15 – that 1Ti 6:14 – unrebukeable 1Pe 1:15 – so 2Jo 1:8 – that we lose Rev 1:20 – and the
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Php 2:15.) -That ye may be blameless and pure. This reading of the verb has considerable authority, but so has , which is adopted by Lachmann. The ordinary reading may, perhaps, be preferred. The two adjectives express the same idea in different aspects, the first meaning that to which no blame is attached, and the latter that of which moral simplicity can be asserted. There is, therefore, a climax in the statement-not simply blameless, or escaping censure, but possessing that spiritual integrity which secures blamelessness. Mat 10:16; Rom 16:19. Or, as Meyer suggests, the two adjectives correspond to the two previous nouns. If they did all things without murmurings, they should be blameless; if without doubts, they should be sincere. None should censure them, if they were cheerful in duty; and none could censure them, if this inner integrity characterized them. The conjunction brings out this clause as the end or object. If they did all these things without murmurings and doubts, what surer proof of having reached the possession of the same mind which was also in Christ Jesus? Nay, more, they should be-
-children of God, blameless. For , which has good authority, A, B, C read , the more common form in the New Testament, the previous word occurring only twice. They were already the children of God, but they were to be blameless children of God. How far , in the previous clause, differs from in the present clause, it is difficult to say. Perhaps the last is really a stronger term than the first. If the first mean unblamed, or without moral defect, the second may rise to the higher meaning of without cause of blame, without ground of moral challenge-children breathing the spirit, possessing the image, and exhibiting the purity of their Father-God. And the blamelessness of their character would be the more apparent from the contrast-
-in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. The adverbial form has preponderant authority over the common reading -the former having in its favour A, B, C, D1, F, G. The term is used adverbially. Winer, 54, 6, note; Num 35:5. The clause is virtually quoted from Deu 32:5 – , .
The noun is generation-the men living at that period. Mat 11:16; Mat 17:17; Act 2:40. The first epithet, , meaning bent or crooked, has a similar tropical signification, Act 2:40; 1Pe 2:18; and the second term, , signifies physically and ethically what is twisted or distorted. Mat 17:17; Luk 9:41; Act 20:30. The two adjectives have the same general meaning, the one referring to the inner disposition, and the other to its outer manifestation; and both pointing out, not so much the dulness of disobedience, as its caprices; not so much its fatal stupidity, as its wayward and eccentric courses. What the apostle describes is not spiritual torpor, but spiritual obliquity; his mental reference being to those examples of periodical insanity for which Israel of old was proverbial, and by which Moses had been so surprised and grieved. Sin brought chastening, and though penitence followed punishment, it was soon succeeded by another wanton outbreak. It was sunshine to-day, but shadow to-morrow-a song on the bank of the Red Sea-and then, after a few weeks’ advance, the blasphemous howl-Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt. They were always overmastered by the idea of the moment, the passion of the hour -sinning and suffering, fretting and praying, mere children without firmness of temper or stability of resolve. Their character was uniform only in its variableness and perversity -tears for their chains the one month; tears for the fleshpots the next. A character not identical certainly, but similar in some respects, the apostle ascribes to the Philippian population of that day, not as sunk into sullen unbelief, but moved by tortuous impulses to reject what they could not disprove, and persecute what they could not but admit was innocent in its civil aspect, and pure and benignant in its spiritual results. Nothing would please them; give them one argument, and they cry for another. Tell them of the simplicity of the gospel, and they pray you to dilate on its mysteries; speak of its power, and they bid you dwell on its charity. Both Jew and Pagan at Philippi may have shown such a spirit to the church. The impeachment is not only open wickedness, as Grotius gives it, but also a want of candour and sincerity; public avowals at variance with secret convictions; objections made on mere pretence, the ostensible motive not the true one; one purpose secretly crossed or overlaid by another; their conduct a riddle, and their life a lie. Our Lord depicted a similar feature of his own age. Mat 11:16, etc. In the midst of such society, the Philippian believers were to do all things with cheerfulness and promptitude, so as to approve themselves the sons of God by their spiritual integrity and purity, for it was true of them-
-among whom ye appear as luminaries in the world. The verb is taken as an imperative by not a few, such as Cyprian, who renders lucete, and by Theophylact, Erasmus, Calvin, Storr, Rheinwald, and Baumgarten-Crusius. The indicative is preferable, as the clause describes an existing or actual condition, and so it is understood by most modern expositors. The plural represents the individuals comprised in the , a frequent form of construction according to the sense. Mat 13:54; Luk 10:7; Act 8:5; 2Co 2:13; Winer, 58, 4, (b). Wiesinger and Meyer remark that the verb is improperly rendered ye shine, though the lexicographers appear to give it that signification. It has this meaning in the active, and is so employed. Joh 1:5; Joh 5:35; 2Pe 1:19; but in the passive it signifies to appear. Still, when coupled with such a word as , it may be rendered shine, without any impropriety-for to appear as luminaries, is simply to shine. In the term the allusion is to the heavenly bodies; not to light-houses certainly, as Barnes supposes; nor yet to torches, as is imagined by Beza and Cornelius a-Lapide. The concluding words do not belong to the verb, which has already before it, but to . wants the article (Winer, 19), and it serves no purpose in figures of this popular nature to assign this noun an ethical sense, as Ellicott does. It is strange that Rheinwald, preceded by Drusius, should take to mean the firmament. Hoelemann, Rilliet, and van Hengel supply a verb -among whom as stars shine in the world ye shine-but this is not necessary. The figure is, simply, that the sons of God are in the world what the heavenly luminaries are to it. The world is the sphere in which they revolve and shine. The point of comparison is obvious. It is not first nor simply eminence in virtue, nor conspicuous position, nor elevation above worldly pursuits and likings, but the diffusion of light. Mat 5:14-16. They did not only enjoy the light, but they reflected it. They appeared as luminaries in the world, and its only spiritual light came from them. There was deep gloom around them, but they tended to disperse it. What in fact has not the world learned from the church? The apostle now describes the mode of illumination-
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Php 2:15. Blameless denotes a life against which no charge can be truthfully made. Harmless is rendered “sincere” in the margin, and the lexicon agrees with it. The fuller definition would be “without mixture” with the evil things of the world. The sons of God should be without rebuke, which they will be if they comply with the forepart of the verse. Crooked and perverse mean virtually the same, and are used for the purpose of emphasis. It refers to people who will not walk in the straight path of righteousness, but stubbornly persist in doing that which is evil. Christians must live in such a nation while in this world, but they should not live as such a nation lives. Instead, their lives should reflect the light of divine truth by practicing the good works directed by Christ (Mat 5:14-16).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Php 2:15. that ye may be blameless and harmless. The verb implies that the process will be a gradual one, that ye may become, and the whole context makes its clear that the advance will be one which will make itself felt by others. Blameless no doubt primarily before men, but also with the further sense of 1Th 3:13, that they may be presented blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Harmless, the word used, Mat 10:16, as a description of the Christian character, and explained, Rom 16:19, in such a way as to show that it is without any admixture of evil, pure,
children of God. As Dr. Lightfoot points out, the reference is to the description of the children of Israel (Deu 32:5) in the LXX. God had chosen them, but they behaved with so much murmuring and want of trust in the wilderness, that they are described as no longer His children, but full of spots and blemishes, a crooked and perverse generation. That the children of God shall be known unto men by their works is declared by St, John (1Jn 3:10), they will do righteousness and manifest brotherly love the very marks on which St. Paul insists in this Epistle.
without blemish. The thought no doubt goes back to the description of the spotless victims which alone were fit to be offered to God under the old covenant, and which spake typically of the Lamb without blemish and without spot of the Christian covenant. As their Master was, so His followers must strive to be.
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. The spirit of Christianity is that Christs people are not concerned only for their own salvation, but that all men should come to the knowledge of Christ. For them, therefore, it is Gods intent that they should not be taken out of the world, but only be kept from the evil, and that their conduct should make them like the salt of the earth, a purifying and saving influence wherever they are.
among whom ye are seen as lights in the world. The word rendered lights is found only here and Rev 21:11 in the New Testament. In the LXX. it is used for the luminaries in the sky, and in classical writers for windows through which light is admitted. The sense of luminaries is no doubt that which St. Paul intended. Christians are to be the lights of the world, shining, however, with the reflected light of Him who is the only true light. The verb ye are seen refers both to the duty of the servant of Christ to let his light shine, and also to the certainty that in the end such light will gain attention and attract followers. Men through it will come to glorify God.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
2:15 {7} That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
(7) To be short, he requires a life without fault, and pure, so that being enlightened with the word of God, they may shine in the darkness of this world.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
By working out their own salvation with fear and trembling, rather than with grumbling and disputing, the Philippians would show themselves to be blameless and innocent (pure, NIV). "Blameless" (Gr. amemptos) means without blame (not culpable; cf. Php 3:6) because we deal with our sins as we should. It does not mean unblemished (Gr. amomos) nor unblameable (Gr. anegkletos and anepileptos). [Note: See Richard C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, pp. 354-56.] "Innocent" or "pure" (Gr. akeraioi) means unadulterated, unmixed with anything defiling (cf. Rom 16:19).
Paul then added the idea of being unblemished (Gr. amomos). The children of God are to be free from defilement and so not chargeable with justifiable criticism even though we live in the midst of a twisted and perverted generation (cf. Deu 32:5). The word "generation" (Gr. geneas) can refer to a group of people several generations long, not just to one generation of people. [Note: A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, s.v. "genea," p. 112.] Here it probably refers to unbelievers as a whole (cf. Mat 17:17; Act 2:40).
Christians are lights in a dark world (Mat 5:14; cf. Dan 12:3). The Light of the World now indwells us (Joh 8:12). Paul wanted his readers to bear a strong witness rather than having their light shaded by sin or uncleanness (cf. Mat 5:15-16). Light is a good illustration of something that does what it has to do by being what it ought to be. [Note: Motyer, p. 133.]