Philippians 2:6

2:6 ¹ who though he existed in the form of God ² 

did not regard equality with God

as something to be grasped,

John 1:14

1:14 Now ³  the Word became flesh ⁴  and took up residence ⁵  among us. We ⁶  saw his glory – the glory of the one and only, ⁷  full of grace and truth, who came from the Father.

Romans 1:3

1:3 concerning his Son who was a descendant ⁸  of David with reference to the flesh, ⁹ 

Romans 8:3

8:3 For God achieved what the law could not do because ¹⁰  it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,

Galatians 4:4

4:4 But when the appropriate time ¹¹  had come, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

Hebrews 2:14-17

2:14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in ¹²  their humanity, ¹³  so that through death he could destroy ¹⁴  the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), 2:15 and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death. 2:16 For surely his concern is not for angels, but he is concerned for Abraham’s descendants. 2:17 Therefore he had ¹⁵  to be made like his brothers and sisters ¹⁶  in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement ¹⁷  for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 4:15

4:15 For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin.

[2:6]  ¹ sn This passage has been typeset as poetry because many scholars regard this passage as poetic or hymnic. These terms are used broadly to refer to the genre of writing, not to the content. There are two broad criteria for determining if a passage is poetic or hymnic: “(a) stylistic: a certain rhythmical lilt when the passages are read aloud, the presence of parallelismus membrorum (i.e., an arrangement into couplets), the semblance of some metre, and the presence of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, chiasmus, and antithesis; and (b) linguistic: an unusual vocabulary, particularly the presence of theological terms, which is different from the surrounding context” (P. T. O’Brien, Philippians [NIGTC], 188-89). Classifying a passage as hymnic or poetic is important because understanding this genre can provide keys to interpretation. However, not all scholars agree that the above criteria are present in this passage, so the decision to typeset it as poetry should be viewed as a tentative decision about its genre.

[2:6]  ² sn The Greek term translated form indicates a correspondence with reality. Thus the meaning of this phrase is that Christ was truly God.

[1:14]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic, the incarnation of the Word. Greek style often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” but English style generally does not.

[1:14]  ⁴ tn This looks at the Word incarnate in humility and weakness; the word σάρξ (sarx) does not carry overtones of sinfulness here as it frequently does in Pauline usage. See also John 3:6.

[1:14]  ⁵ tn Grk “and tabernacled.”

[1:14]  ⁶ tn Grk “and we saw.”

[1:14]  ⁷ tn Or “of the unique one.” Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used of an only child (a son [Luke 7:12, 9:38] or a daughter [Luke 8:42]). It was also used of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clem. 25:2). From here it passes easily to a description of Isaac (Heb 11:17 and Josephus, Ant., 1.13.1 [1.222]) who was not Abraham’s only son, but was one-of-a-kind because he was the child of the promise. Thus the word means “one-of-a-kind” and is reserved for Jesus in the Johannine literature of the NT. While all Christians are children of God, Jesus is God’s Son in a unique, one-of-a-kind sense. The word is used in this way in all its uses in the Gospel of John (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, and 3:18).

[1:3]  ⁸ tn Grk “born of the seed” (an idiom).

[1:3]  ⁹ tn Grk “according to the flesh,” indicating Jesus’ earthly life, a reference to its weakness. This phrase implies that Jesus was more than human; otherwise it would have been sufficient to say that he was a descendant of David, cf. L. Morris, Romans, 44.

[8:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “in that.”

[4:4]  ¹¹ tn Grk “the fullness of time” (an idiom for the totality of a period of time, with the implication of proper completion; see L&N 67.69).

[2:14]  ¹² tn Or “partook of” (this is a different word than the one in v. 14a).

[2:14]  ¹³ tn Grk “the same.”

[2:14]  ¹⁴ tn Or “break the power of,” “reduce to nothing.”

[2:17]  ¹⁵ tn Or “he was obligated.”

[2:17]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[2:17]  ¹⁷ tn Or “propitiation.”