Philippians 2:5-11 offers what may very well be one of the oldest Christological reflections in the entire New Testament. Because of the poetic splendor of these verses, there is considerable suggestion that these texts make up an early Christian hymn, which Paul has skillfully incorporated into his letter to the Philippian church. If this is indeed the case, the theology behind this hymn represents not only Paul's own thoughts, but also the Christological convictions of the first generation of believers.

As a hymn, that is, as poetic material, this passage presents the scholar with two quite different ways to view its contents. The poetic language means the words are open-ended and theologically imprecise, leaving the door ajar for debate about this hymn's "true" meaning for the past 20 c…