Part III - Philippians ii. 5–11 in its First Century Setting

Summary

THE ‘SITZ IM LEBEN’ OF THE HYMN

In this closing section of our study our task is to enquire into the meaning of the passage in the setting of the community which first used it or heard it. When the scope of the enquiry is framed in this way, it is clear that certain presuppositions are being made. These presuppositions may be summed up in a sentence: Philippians ii. 6–11 is an independent, hymnic composition in praise of the cosmic dominion of the Kyrios, Jesus Christ. We have now to address ourselves to enquiring into the hymn's setting in the New Testament period, its Sitz im Leben der alten Kirche. But there are two separate issues involved here. There is the meaning of the passage in the context of Paul's letter; and there is the meaning of the Christ-hymn on its own, i.e. before its incorporation into the hortatory context of the Apostolic Epistle. It is conceivable that the two meanings may in no way coincide. One can imagine that Paul would utilize the hymn for his own purposes, without necessarily implying that the original sense of the hymn is to be understood in the use he makes of it. The recognition of this fact is really the decisive factor in the newer interpretation of the passage.