Barth, Karl. The Epistle to the Philippians. Richmond, Va.: John Knox Press, 1962. The most effective attempt in modern times to unleash the theological power of Philippians on the modern church.

Beare, F. W. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians. Harper’s New Testament Commentaries. New York: Harper & Row, 1959. A brief, lucid, and theologically sensitive exposition of the letter, which nevertheless defends an eccentric position on the letter’s unity. Beare believes that an early editor of Paul’s letters fashioned our Philippians out of three Pauline letters (4:10–20; 1:1–3:1 + 4:2–9 + 4:21–23; 3:2–4:1), one of which (3:2–4:1) may not have even been written to Philippi.

Bonnard, Pierre. L’Épître de Saint Paul aux Philippiens. Commentaire du Nouveau Testament. Neuchatel/Paris: Delachaux & Niestlé, 1950. A short, sound exegesis of the letter from a Reformed European perspective. Intelligible to anyone with high-school level French.

Bruce, F. F. Philippians. Good News Commentary. New York: Harper & Row, 1983. A brief, clear exegesis of the letter from the greatest evangelical biblical scholar of this century.

Caird, G. B. Paul’s Letters From Prison (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon) in the Revised Standard Version. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1976. A brilliant exposition of Philippians within only a few pages, from one of Oxford’s greatest New Testament scholars.

Collange, Jean-François. The Epistle of Saint Paul to the Philippians. London: Epworth Press, 1979. The 1973 replacement for Bonnard in the Commentaire du Nouveau Testament. Whereas Bonnard assumes the unity of Philippians, Collange argues that the canonical document is a composite of three letters (4:10–20; 1:1–3:1a + 4:2–7 + 4:21–23; and 3:1b–4:1 + 4:8–9).

Hawthorne, Gerald F. Philippians. Word Biblical Commentary. Waco, Tex.: Word Books, 1983. An insightful exposition of the Greek text by a revered and erudite professor of the Greek language.

Lightfoot, J. B. Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians. London: Macmillan, 1896. An exegesis of the Greek text by a brilliant historian of early Christianity, Cambridge professor, and devout Anglican bishop. Valuable as much for its appendices as for the commentary itself.

Martin, Ralph P. Philippians. New Century Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids/London: Eerdmans/Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1976. A short, clear, and exegetically sane exposition, based on the Revised Standard Version. Not to be confused with Martin’s less technical exposition of Philippians in the Tyndale New Testament Commentary series.

Meyer, Heinrich August Wilhelm. Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistles to the Philippians and Colossians, and to Philemon. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1885. A detailed analysis of the grammar of the Greek text.

Michael, J. Hugh. Moffatt New Testament Commentary. The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1928. A clear, concise reading of the letter, which nevertheless labors to argue several exegetically unsound positions, including the notion that 3:1b–19, although from Paul’s pen, is an interpolation.

O’Brien, Peter T. The Epistle to the Philippians: A Commentary on the Greek Text. New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991. The most detailed exposition of the Greek text in over a century and a reliable guide to virtually every exegetical problem in the epistle.

Silva, Moisés. Philippians. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992. An exegetically sound and theologically sensitive work written from a Reformed perspective.

Vincent, Marvin R. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistles to the Philippians and to Philemon. International Critical Commentary. Edinburgh, Scotland: T. & T. Clark, 1897. A brief and uneven exposition of the Greek text.

Witherington, Ben. Friendship and Finances in Philippi: The Letter of Paul to the Philippians. Valley Forge, Pa.: Trinity Press International, 1994. A clearly written exposition of the letter in light of ancient rhetorical and cultural conventions.

Barclay, William. The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians. Daily Study Bible. Revised Edition. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster, 1975. A helpful attempt to bridge the ancient context of the letter and the devotional needs of the modern Christian.

Boice, James Montgomery. Philippians: An Expositional Commentary. Ministry Resources Library. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971. A series of exegetically responsible and theologically sensitive sermons.

Briscoe, Stuart. Philippians: Happiness Beyond Our Happenings. Revised edition. Wheaton, Ill.: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1993. A widely used guide to the letter’s significance for the modern believer.

Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn. The Life of Joy: An Exposition of Philippians 1 and 2. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989. This and the next volume constitute a collection of exegetically responsible and theologically insightful sermons originally preached in 1947 and 1948 by one of Britain’s great Congregationalist preachers.

———. The Life of Peace: An Exposition of Philippians 3 and 4. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990.

Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Joyful. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1974. A widely used and straightforward attempt to apply Philippians to contemporary Christian living.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. New York: Harper & Row, 1954. A classic study of Christian unity by a theologian who, like Paul, paid for his theology with his life.

Carson, D. A. How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990. A cogent and sensitive approach to one of the most difficult of all theological problems.

Dieter, Melvin E., Anthony A. Hoekma, Stanley M. Horton, J. Robertson McQuilkin, and John F. Walvoord. Five Views on Sanctification. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987. An informative and civil literary debate by spokesmen for five major trends in thinking about holy living.

Ellul, Jacques. Money and Power. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1979. A provocative essay on the challenge that money presents to the church.

Erickson, Millard J. The Word Became Flesh. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991. A thorough account of the incarnation by a thoughtful evangelical theologian.