One of the best known and most influential passages in the New Testament is the hymn of Philippians 2:5-11 which traces the dialectical path of Christ from preexistence--or pretemporal existence--to incarnation to exaltation. There is little agreement and a great deal of debate on this central text of Christian theology. In this book, an international group of scholars comment on the classic and current understandings of this passage, searching for insights into the ongoing exegetical inquiry.

Contents

Contributors

Abbreviations

1 Carmen Christi Revisited

2 Ernst Lohmeyer's Kyrios Jesus

3 Incarnation, Myth, and Theology: Ernst Kasemann's Interpretation of Philippians 2:5-11

4 Christ, Adam, and Preexistence

5 Christ, Adam, and Preexistence Revisited

6 In the Form of God and Equal with God (Philippians 2:6)

7 "When He at Last Is First!": Philippians 2:9-11 and the Exaltation of the Lord

8 The Worship of Jesus in Philippians 2:9-11

9 Christology and Ethics in Philippians 2:5-11

10 The Story of Christ and the Imitation of Paul in Philippians 2-3

Bibliography