What does it mean to consider others more significant than oneself?

Explanation:

Paul calls the Philippians to treat each other with humility, counting others more significant than themselves. At first it is not clear what it means to count others as more significant than yourself, for if everyone did this, the whole system would be subverted.³ When we continue reading, we find that Paul clarifies his point. For when we reach Philippians 2:4, he explains that each should look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others. In other words, when Paul says that the Philippians should count others more significant than themselves, he means that the needs of others should be prioritized even over their own needs.⁴

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that it is not clear whether Philippians 2:4 extends or clarifies Paul’s meaning in Philippians 2:3. This view holds that it clarifies Paul’s meaning. That is, it holds that Paul makes a general statement in Philippians 2:3 and then clarifies that statement by explaining what he means in Philippians 2:4. While it is possible that Philippians 2:4 is meant for clarification, it could also be for extension. In other words, Paul may be saying in Philippians 2:3 that one ought to consider others better than oneself as in, more valuable, and an extension of considering others more valuable than oneself is looking not only to one’s own interests, but also the interests of others.

Response to counterargument:

The problem with this counterargument is that even if Philippians 2:4 is an extension of Philippians 2:3, we should not think of Philippians 2:3 as the statement that one should consider others more valuable than oneself. We can see that Paul is not saying, Consider others more valuable than yourself, by considering what he means by humility. That is, Paul says the Philippians should be humble, and consider others more significant than themselves. When Paul refers to being humble, he does not have in mind false modesty or abject servility. Rather, he is saying that the Philippians ought to consider their weakness in light of their relationship to the Creator, and then remember their lowly position as they interact with one another.⁵ In other words, they should not be self-centred or self-aggrandizing, but see that they inhabit a meek and lowly position, and from that position care for the needs of others.

The only problem with this view is that the verb we normally translate as more significant is ὑπερέχω, which carries the sense of better than or transcend. Thus, it seems that Paul is saying we should consider others as more valuable than ourselves. Still, we know that all humans have the same intrinsic value as those created after the image of God, so likely Paul has in mind something more like, Consider the needs of others as more important.

Explanation:

Paul calls the reader to count others as more significant than himself. Interestingly, the term Paul uses for others is in the accusative plural. From this, we can deduce that Paul likely has in mind not just one another but the entire community.⁶

In other words, what Paul is saying is not that the Philippians ought to count each individual as more significant than oneself, but the entire church community as more significant than oneself. This means looking to the needs of the community as a whole and putting those needs first.

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that the plural form of one another includes both individuals and the community as a whole. That is, it refers to an interchange between two or more groups.⁷ In the context of Philippians 2:3, this means it can refer to considering either each individual as more significant or the group as more significant. In fact, the pronoun one another is reciprocal, which means there is no singular form, so there is nothing special about the fact that it is in the plural.⁸

Explanation:

When Paul calls the Philippians to consider others more significant than themselves, he likely means that the Philippians ought to prioritize the needs of the community. We can deduce this is his meaning because we know from other letters that he often calls his readers to love and to care for one another, as in, the community.⁹ For example, in Romans 1:11–12 he mentions wanting to visit the Romans so they can encourage one another. Also, in Romans 12:5, he explains that Christians are members one of another. Likewise, in Romans 12:10 he calls the Romans to love one another and outdo one another in showing honour. So we can deduce that Paul teaches that Christians belong to a community, and he encourages them to care for the needs of that community.

Counterargument:

While it is true that Paul encourages Christians to care for the needs of the whole church community, in Philippians 2:3 as well as other passages Paul not only has caring for the community as a whole but each individual in the community as well. It is important to understand that Paul has the community as a whole and individuals in mind, because the community as a whole has different needs from individuals, and we should not think that Paul prioritizes one of these over the other. For example, a community as a whole might need more men to stand as elders or deacons. Or it might need a larger place to worship. Paul is not saying in Philippians 2:3 that the Philippians should only count these broad community concerns as more significant than themselves. Rather, given his call in other passages, such as Romans 12:10, that Christians love one another, we can deduce that Paul has the concerns of individuals in mind. Thus, we should think of Paul’s call to consider others more significant than oneself as thinking of the needs of the community as a whole, along with the needs of individuals in that community.

Explanation:

Paul calls the Philippians to humility, treating others more significant than oneself. The verb that the ESV translates more significant is ὑπερέχω (to be higher). It is important to consider the nuance of that verb because it is used to denote more significant not as in more valuable but as in a higher social standing. Given the Greco-Roman culture of Paul’s audience and this plea makes sense. For social status was important to the Romans, and Paul is explaining that Christians are not to care about such things. Instead, Christians should be humble, which means not reflecting on one’s own social status. They should also consider others more significant than oneself, which means not favouring others based on their social status.¹⁰

Counterargument:

The problem with this argument is that it does not consider how the first half of Philippians 2:3 influences Paul’s meaning. For in the first half of Philippians 2:3, Paul calls the Philippians not to do anything out of self-ambition or vain conceit. He then follows this up with ἀλλά (but) in humility, treat others as more significant. The but indicates that Philippians 2:3b is an extension of Philippians 2:3a so we should consider the meaning of Philippians 2:3b in light of Philippians 2:3a. In Philippians 2:3a, Paul’s condemnation has to do with selfish ambition and vain conceit. While vain conceit might have to do with social status, selfish ambition has to do with self-centredness. Thus, when Paul refers to being humble and treating one another as more significant than oneself, he has in mind not being self-centred.¹¹ That is, he does not have in mind social status, but caring for each other’s needs.

Response to counterargument:

This argument undermines itself, for it acknowledges that we ought to use Philippians 2:3a to understand Philippians 2:3b, and that in Philippians 2:3a, Paul refers to vain conceit, which has to do with social status. Further selfish ambition might also be construed not only as self-centredness but as being better than others, that is, having a higher social status. Thus, the notion that counting others as more significant has to do with social status, is consistent with Philippians 2:3a.