A fair case can be made for considering Philippians 2:5-11 not as some imported Christological hymn, but as a genuine piece of Pauline exalted prose (not unlike 1 Corinthians 13). (See Gordon D. Fee, "Philippians 2:5-11, Hymn or Exalted Pauline Prose?" Bulletin for Biblical Research 2 (1992): 29-46.) Paul's intent here is not to debate the essence of Christ's nature fully human and fully divine but to offer his Philippian readers a most moving and miraculous example of genuine Christian behavior. In Philippians 2:2, Paul urges his readers to be "of the same mind" and have "the same love" as Christ. In light of this plea, then, Paul offers Christ's astoundingly humble and obedient acts of incarnation and crucifixion as the supreme examples of the kind of behavior he is advocating.

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