Morphology in Philippians

October 3, 2014

Philippians 3:21’s “morphology” theme relates directly to 2:6, 7. The Messiah, though in the form (morphe) of God, emptied Himself and came in the form of a servant, and God exalted Him (explicitly: with an exalted name; implicitly, with a glorified morphe, as per 3:21). So likewise, the body of our humiliation will be reordered, transformed to the morphe of the glorified Messiah (summorphos, 3:21). Even as the Messiah took the morphe of a servant (2:7), Paul by example teaches us to lay hold on the morphe of glory. (See 3:21 in the full context of 3:12ff’s language of apprehension and pursuit.)