A Hymn of Christ - R. P. Martin
A Hymn of Christ - R. P. Martin
A Hymn of Christ - R. P. Martin
Ksemann was right to object to the ethical interpretation and to propose instead that
the hymn is a recital of the soteriological story of Christ, who is now exalted as Kyrios,
under whose authority the church is summoned to live. The lordship of Christ is central.
Hermeneutical assumption: We should isolate the meaning of the terms in the hymn
from the use which is made of them by Paul in the verses which precede and follow them
... The hymn may well have had one meaning in its original form and yet an altered
meaning in the context of Pauls letter (xvii).
The hymn celebrates the way of Christ (Weglied) how the heavenly one was humbled
but has now returned to his heavenly glory and received cosmic lordship. The lordship of
Christ is the basis of the paraenetic appeal in v. 12 the Philippians should obey
Christs lordship. But since the Lord they obey is the crucified Jesus, they should live out
their life-in-Christ in terms of a theology of the cross. (xviii)
Martin doubts Jeremias thesis that the phrases, form of a servant, emptied himself,
and humbled himself, are allusions to Isaiahs suffering servant. (xxiii)
1
Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
2
Strimple, Phil. 2:5-11 in Recent Studies: Some Exegetical Conclusions, WTJ 41 (1979) 247-68; Hurtado,
Jesus as Lordly Example, ch. 9 in From Jesus to Paul: Studies in Honour of Francis Wright Beare, eds. Hurd and
Richardson (Waterloo, 1983).
R. P. Martin, A Hymn of Christ
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Lohmeyers insight: the phrase obedient to death can only refer to the act of a divine
being. It is the ultimate limit of a freely willed obedience. (xxiv) Later, Martin expands
this thought: As Lohmeyer says in a brilliant insight, only a divine being can accept
death as obedience; for ordinary men it is a necessity, to which they are appointed by
their humanity (217).
Martins assessment of the opponents at Philippi the same Jewish Christians who
opposed Paul in Corinth. They have an over-realized, triumphalistic eschatology. Paul
responds to their theology of glory with a theology of the cross. He intentionally inserts
the phrase even death on a cross into the hymn. He does so in response to his
opponents whom he later calls enemies of the cross. (xxxvi-xxxix)
Martin accepts the RSVs translation of v. 5: which is yours in Christ Jesus. (xlviii)
Pauls makeover of the earlier hymn. (xlix) Following Jeremias, Martin believes that
the 4 lines Paul added to the hymn are:
Taking the servants form (v. 7)
Even death on a cross (v. 8)
The heavenly, earthly and demonic (v. 10)
To the glory of God the Father (v. 11)
By thus redacting the hymn, Paul sought to correct its triumphalist emphasis on the
victory of Christ.
The heavy theological, ecclesiological and ethical freight contained in the term
(1:27). Martins paraphrase: let your life in the polis of Gods realm be
worthy of your adherence to the good news. (li)
The obedient one is to be obeyed. (lii) The call is not to cultivate the virtues of verses
6-8 but to yield obedience to the obedient one who is now hailed as cosmic Lord (verses
9-11). (lvii-lviii)
Martin says that he is more disposed now (in 1997) than in earlier editions of the book to
see some echoes of Isaiahs Ebed Yahweh.3 (lx, n 35)
3
For a robust defense, see Gundry, Style and Substance, in Crossing the Boundaries: Essays ... in Honour
of Michael D. Goulder, eds. Porter, et al (Leiden, 1994).
4
N. T. Wright, The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology (Edinburgh, 1992), pp.
56-98. Originally published in NTS 37 (1986) 321-52.
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Martins critique:
Re. , Martin argues that one can forego the opportunity to use a prize
that is held out in prospect. Christ refused to use what he did possess (being in the
form of God) as an opportunity to advance to what he did not yet possess
(equality with God). This makes sense of the basic idea behind the noun, which
corresponds to the verb , to seize.
It is arbitrary to equate being in the form of God and equality with God.
Wright would even insert the word this: who, being in the form of God, did not
regard this divine equality as something to be used for his own advantage.
Although the article could be anaphoric, Martin argues that there is another
possibility: it functions merely to identify as the direct object of
rather than . (The clause reads:
.)
At the conclusion of his career, the exalted one is accorded a dignity as world-
ruler. He receives a divine equality that in the nature of the case could not be his
as pre-existent (before time and creation). This is the meaning of more-than-
highly exalted (v. 9).
Wright sees in the story of the hymn the revelation of the divine character as
love. In response, Martin says, We are in the realm of a hypothetical meta-story
that floats above the text and is not as closely linked to the text as it professes
to be. The text makes no mention of Gods love or of Christs sacrifice on behalf
of others.
Introduction
Deals with the Pliny reference (singing alternately a hymn [carmen] to Christ as to a
god)
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Ernst Lohmeyer, Kyrios Jesus: Eine Untersuchung zu Phil. 2,5-11 (1928) seminal study
J. Jeremias (1953) modified Lohmeyers literary analysis
In the end, Martin says that the arguments for and against Pauline authorship are finely
balanced. He postpones decision until after the exegetical section (Part II).
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Part II: An exegetical study of the hymn in the light of recent interpretation
Martin opts for view 2, and goes on to argue that Pauls Two Adams doctrine forms the
conceptual background to the hymn, particularly verse 6 (116-20, 142, 161-64). Other
scholars cited by Martin who see Adamic connections:
Main interpretations:
1. Active sense (an act of robbery or usurpation)
2. Passive sense
a. Res rapta (already possessed, a prize to hold fast)
b. Res rapienda (not yet possessed, a thing to be seized)
c. Mediating view (Jaeger to treat as a piece of good fortune; Hoover
something to be used for his own advantage)
Martin combines res rapta and res rapienda: The is res rapta, for the pre-
existent Christ has His place within the Godhead. He is the Image of the Father. Bound
up with this existing possession is the exercise of cosmic dominion, which the hymn calls
the name and office of Kyrios. This authority constitutes a res rapienda; and the issue
before the pre-incarnate One is whether He will treat His possession of His as a
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vantage-point, ein Vorsprung, from which He will reach out to the exercise of lordship in
His own right and independently of God the Father On the contrary, the hymn declares,
He did not raise Himself up in proud arrogance and independence although He might
have done so but chose by the path of humiliation and obedience (vv. 7 ff.) to come to
His lordship in a way that pleased God (v. 9). (152)
Martin points out the - contrast: The fact that is found in the text
and it is used only here in the New Testament of Christ is prima facie evidence that
there is an intended contrast with The pre-incarnate Christ refused lordship in
His own right by an act of seizure, but at the end of His career as the humiliated and
obedient He is granted that which might have been His in His pre-
existence. (175) emphasizes obedience to the will of another person, in this
context God Himself; and the obedience of Christ, at length vindicated and
rewarded, is a dominant motif in the entire passage. (176) What is meant by the phrase,
taking the form of a ? It means that He had a lord, and that He had to
subordinate His own will to that of His master. (177)
Does the hymn allude to Isaiahs Servant? If so, why is the term employed, when
the LXX translates ebed with ?
Although the LXX generally translates ebed with (Isa. 42:1; 49:6; 50:10; 52:13),
there are two occasions where is used (Isa. 49:3, 5).
Euler proved by exhaustive examination the interchangeability of and .5
Aquila reads in Isa. 52:13, where the LXX had .
The verb is used in Isa. 53:11 (LXX). (187-89).
5
K. Euler, Die Verkndigung von leidenden Gottesknecht aus Jes 53 in der griechischen Bibel (Stuttgart,
1934).
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(becoming in the likeness of men): This word has two meanings in the NT:
1. Identity or equivalence (e.g., Rom. 6:5: we have been united with him in the
same death that he died)
2. Similarity, resemblance (e.g., Rev. 9:7: in appearance the locusts were like
horses)
Which meaning is being used here? Meaning 1 would yield the statement that Christ
became completely and fully man (i.e., a real incarnation). Meaning 2 would imply that
he only appeared in human form but in reality he was a divine being (i.e., a theophany or
divine epiphany).
Various interpretations:
1. Some take the phrase (interpreting = born) as a reference to Christs
virgin birth
2. Some interpret the phrase as similar to Rom. 8:3, the likeness of sin-dominated
flesh (Johannes Weiss); Paul dare not express the complete humanity of Christ in
view of his doctrine of human nature as in the grip of the demonic power of sin;
in this, Paul grazes the later heresy of Docetism (203)
3. Apocalyptic usage (e.g., one like the son of man, Dan. 7:13; Ezek. 1:26; Enoch
31:2; Rev. 1:13) (Otto Michel); the formula expresses sense of hesitancy
as the seer tries to put into human terms a vision of a supra-historical, other-
worldly reality (205-6)
(the appearance of a man): His outward appearance was such that those who
saw him gained the impression that he was a man.
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The controlling factor that binds together the two sections (vv. 6-8 and 9-11) is the
theme of obedience and its vindication. (230) The obedience of Christ is crowned by
this act of Exaltation in which the Father raised Him from the dead, and elevated Him to
the place of honour. (231) Michaelis sees the obedience of Christ as the all-controlling
theme of the hymn.7
The debate over whether Christ merited the reward. Roman Catholic interpreters
traditionally said Yes. But the idea of Christ receiving his exaltation as a reward was
repugnant to Reformed theologians. Calvin translated with quod facto (which
done). Barth also rejects the concept of reward here.
Martin rejects merit as well, and appeals to the verb (< ). The
obedience of Christ did not force the hand of God, as a doctrine of merit implies. (232)
Exaltation was not a reward but an act of grace. (244) It was the by-product of
Christs humility and service, something unsought-after by the disinterested Lord.
(247) The exaltation of Christ is due to the Fathers good pleasure ( , v.
9). (248)
What is the name that Christ received at his exaltation? Cant be Jesus, since he bore
that name from his circumcision. Other options:
1. Kyrios
2. The office of Lordship
3. The self-revelation of God in Christ
4. Unknown
6
Bornkamm, Zum Verstndnis des Christus-hymnus Phil 2.6-11, Gesammelte Aufstze, II, 182.
7
W. Michaelis, Der Brief des Paulus an die Philipper (Theologischer Handkommentar; Leipzig, 1935).
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Allusion to Isaiah 45:23: What God had announced as a future promise is now, for this
hymn, a reality, with the difference that whereas Isaiah expected all the nations to turn
to Yahweh, the hymn expands the scope to all sentient beings throughout the cosmos.
(256)
In support of view 3, many scholars argue that the verb does not
necessarily mean to confess with faith and can mean to admit, acknowledge,
recognize even by an unwilling foe.
The Christ-hymn enables the Church to see beyond the present in which the Head of the
Church reigns invisibly and powerfully but known only to faith to that full proof of
His reign in the heavenly sphere in which all the powers are veritably subject to Him and
His dominion is manifestly confessed. (270)
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Of whom is God the Father here? Is he is the Father of Jesus, or of believers? Martin
follows Ksemann here and sees it as both. The hymn is concerned with the interrelation
of two worlds, the divine and the human. (278)
Ksemann and Martin side with Lohmeyer. It is not religious worship which is offered
to the regnant Christ, but cosmic acclamation of Him as Lord. It is not the song of the
redeemed, but the cry of the subjugated The formula runs Lord, not our Lord.
(279) It is set in a framework which has little connection with the Churchs worship;
rather the primary application of the lordship is to the cosmic spirit-powers which admit
their subservience to the enthroned Christ. They utter the cry: He is Lord. The Church
overhears this and identifies herself with it, thereby committing herself to His sovereign
rule. She thus confesses that she too belongs to the Regnum Christi (282)
These verses, cast in lyrical and liturgical form, portray a soteriological drama. They are
not a piece of Christological speculation which answers our question who Christ was, but
the record of a series of events of saving significance ... The drama of verses 6ff. tells
8
See G. Vos, The Kyrios-Christos Controversy, Princeton Theological Review XII (1914) 636ff; XV
(1917) 21-89.
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how it came about that Christ has received a cosmocracy and why He is now installed as
the heavenly Kyrios, with all creation under His control. As befits a drama, the language
is picturesque and set in the form of a story ... The plot is told in spatial terms and by
the use of a kinetic imagery thus we read of a divine being, who is not identified with
God, but is on a par with Him. He is faced with a choice, which He makes. The
consequence of this momentous decision is an epiphany, as He who was above came
down. His appearance is marked by self-humbling and obedience to the farthest point,
to death. The imagery of movement is continued in the thought that God lifted Him up
and bestowed upon Him a kingly name and office, before which angelic powers and the
entire cosmos bend down in submission. The epiphany is thus completed; and the
incarnate One resumes a place in the celestial sphere. In so doing He has joined together
heaven and earth; and brought under His authority those cosmic powers which up to that
point had had control in the realms of creation. In this sense they are reconciled and
brought into unity and harmony with the divine will. For the hymn, this is the soteriology
which is important; and it is Christs present Rule that is of supreme moment. (295-96)
Martins description of the first century background: Hellenistic man lived in fear of the
astral deities, blind fate, astrology, and magic. In this hymn, Christ the Cosmocrator is set
forth as the answer. (306-11; cp. 281)
Literary questions:
1. Is the pericope pre-Pauline or Pauline?
2. If pre-Pauline, was it originally composed in a Semitic language or in Greek?
3. Did it originate from Palestinian or Hellenistic Christianity?
4. Is the conceptual background Gnostic (Urmensch) or Scriptural (Ebed Yahweh or
Adam)?
5. What is the literary structure of the hymn (division of lines & stanzas)?
6. If pre-Pauline, which lines were added by Paul?
7. What was the original Sitz im Leben of the hymn eucharist, baptism, creed, etc.?
Exegetical questions:
8. What word or words should be supplied to fill in the ellipsis (v. 5)?
9. What does (v. 6) mean?
10. How should (v. 6) be translated?
11. What does (v. 7) mean?
12. Are there allusions (e.g., ) to Isaiahs Ebed Yahweh in the hymn?
13. Why did Paul add (v. 8)?
14. What is the significance of the prefix - in the verb (v. 9)?
15. In view of and (v. 9), was Christs exaltation a reward or a gift?
16. What is that Jesus received (v. 9)?
9
Martin nowhere formally lists these as the key questions, but they are the main interpretive questions he
addresses throughout his volume.
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Theological questions:
19. Is there an Adam Christology here?
20. Does the hymn teach the pre-existence of Christ?
21. Is the kenotic theory of the incarnation valid?
22. Did Christ receive something (vv. 9-11) that he did not have before (v. 6)?
23. Do we have Christological monotheism here?
24. Is the universal confession of Jesus as Lord past or future? Cultic or cosmic?
25. How does the hymn function in the context of Pauls paraenesis (1:27-2:18)?
I (a)
(b)
(c)
II (a)
(b)
(c)
III (a)
(b)
(c) [ ]
IV (a)
(b)
(c)
V (a)
(b)
(c)
VI (a)
(b)
(c)
Pre-existence
I (a)
(b) ,
(c)
(d)
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Incarnation
II (a)
(b)
(c)
(d) [ ]
Exaltation
III (a)
(b)
(c)
[ ]
(d)
[ ]
R. P. Martin (1967)
6 stanzas composed of couplets
A (a)
(b)
B (a)
(b)
C (a)
(b)
D (a)
(b) [ ]
E (a)
(b)
F (a)
[ ]
(b)
[ ]
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