Christ’s Example of Humility (Phil. 2:5-11) NOTE: the contextual connection with Phil 2:1-4 must be explained.

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on August 6, 2023

Joni

Last week my pastor used an illustration that opened a small window on how “beyond us” God is. Let’s suppose you were a completely flat little water bug who lived only on the water’s surface. As such, you are aware of length and width, but up and down does not exist for you.

Now, suppose a human being stepped into the water. You, as a buoyant creature skimming the water’s surface, would come to know this awesome being by the qualities of, well, the human’s leg where it intersected the water. Poor little you couldn’t begin to understand the portion of the leg beneath the water or the part above, let alone the arms, torso, and head that tower above the water.

In your little bug mind, you know that one day you will live in the world of this awesome being and be transformed into a three-dimensional figure like him, with height and width. But for now you don’t understand what it means. You have to take it on faith.

When the Father revealed himself through Jesus, he was only showing us a slice of himself, a part of all that he is. But there’s so much about him we don’t comprehend, so much beneath and above our universe of understanding. When we go to be with him, we will live in his heavenly world. We will be transformed and lifted out of our limitations. I can’t take that in, so I’ll just have to take it on faith. When I do, it stirs reverence and awe in me. How about you?

Think about ways in which you’ve limited God based on your small slice of knowledge. Then expand your vision as you try to imagine what’s above and beneath your comprehension.

Lord, when I sense how big you are and how small I am, remind me to feel not diminished but rather released to expect great and mighty things from one so capable of so much.[1]

Do we realize how amazing God is? Do we realize how amazing it is that He became fully human? Do we realize that He became part of His creation in order to be brought low? He did this to die for us.

We have been preaching through Philippians. We now come to Philippians 2:5-11.

My theme today:

Paul gives Christ as the example of humility.

1. Let’s put this passage in context.
   1. This passage picks up from verses 3-4:
   2. Philippians 2:3–4 (ESV) ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
   3. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. In other words, don’t do anything from selfishness or with empty pride. This is not the idea of some things, but no things, nothing. Don’t do anything from selfishness!
   4. Paul continues; with humility of mind consider others more important than yourselves.
   5. This is a mindset; it starts in the mind.
   6. The test is in the rest of the verse: consider others more important than yourself.
   7. How are we doing with this?
   8. Remember that Paul is writing this from a prison. Paul is a Roman citizen; Paul is highly educated, yet he is writing about humility. He is also living humility. You know, not once do I see Paul writing, “This is below me; people of Philippi, get me out of this prison!” No, instead, he talks about how much of a witness he can have with the prison guard. Paul is living in humility.
   9. In verse 4, Paul says to look out for the interests of others. Again, this is the idea of humility.
   10. You know, humility is a good thing in our culture. If we say someone is humble, that is a compliment. But did you know that in the first century, it was not a compliment to be humble?
   11. So that is the context and some review from last week.
2. Now, we are exhorted to have the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5).
   1. 2:5: Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…
   2. So, Paul told them to consider others more important than themselves.
   3. Paul told them to consider the needs of others first.
   4. Now, Paul says have the mind of Christ.
   5. What was Paul’s mindset?
3. In verses 6-8, we see the humility of Jesus.
   1. Philippians 2:6–8 (ESV): ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
   2. Verse 6 talks about how Jesus existed in the form of God.
   3. Jesus is God; Jesus was God, yet what does this passage go on to say? He did not consider being God a thing to be grasped. That is a hard thing to understand, but it basically means that Jesus was willing to become a human being, submitting to the creation that He created. He willingly set aside Divine abilities.
   4. It was not something to be grasped, to be kept and exploited for his own benefit or advantage. Instead, he had a mind-set of service. “Christ did not please himself” (Rom. 15:3). In humility, he counted the interests of others as more significant than his own (Phil. 2:3–4).^[2]
   5. D. A. Carson: The expression is not what he emptied himself of; it’s an idiomatic way of saying he became a nobody, he humbled himself completely, not only to become a human being, but to go all the way to the ignominy and shame and torture of the cross. . . . It’s talking about the astonishing, unequal, unimaginable, indescribable, self-humiliation in becoming human and then going so far not only to be a slave, but a slave who dies on the cross.
   6. This helps me to put this into the whole picture: Paul is getting ready to talk about the crucifixion, and going into the crucifixion if Christ wanted to, He could have called down ten armies of angels to conquer and rescue Him back to being with God. He could have called down ten legions of angels; each legion is between 4000 and 6000 angels. So, Jesus could have called down at least 40,000 angels to rescue Him from the cross (Matthew 26:53). That would have been using “being God” to His advantage. Instead, He died as a Human servant. Instead, Paul is just about to talk about what Christ did.
   7. Christ had everything; He had everything and gave it up. He gave up His royal robes for our salvation.
   8. Christ has always been God.
   9. Jesus created everything (John 1:1-14). Jesus holds all creation together (Col. 1:15-20). Jesus is the very imprint of God (Heb 1:3). Jesus has always existed as God. Bethlehem was not His beginning, but when He became a human being (Rev. 1:8 and Jesus saying that He is the alpha and the omega…).
   10. The American Dream is to start at the bottom and work your way to the top. Christ started at the top and worked His way down to His death on the cross. His life was the opposite of the American Dream. Ask yourself:
   11. Am I willing to sacrifice the American way for Christ?
   12. Am I willing to be humiliated for Christ? Are you? How? Witnessing? Stepping outside of your comfort zone. We live in a comfort zone country. The Christian life is not about comfort zones. We are not called to live in comfort zones. How about working at a homeless shelter? Missions? Inner city ministry? Being a friend to the one no one else will be a friend to? Jesus talked to the outcast. The woman at the well (John 4).
   13. Mother Teresa, founder of the Roman Catholic Missionaries of Charity, working saint of the streets in Calcutta, and the recipient of the Nobel peace prize in 1979, says she finds the same thing missing in the lands of plenty as in the lands of poverty—compassion. “Maybe they are starved for bread in Africa. You are starved for love in the United States.”^[3]
   14. Now, verses 7-8:
   15. Christ emptied Himself, He became a nobody.
   16. Christ being equal with God, still patiently waited to return to His place on the throne. While He waited, He continued in the position of a servant.
   17. Let’s start with a rhetorical question, “How was Christ born? Think about it…..
   18. Alright, Christ was born in a manger or a barn in a feeding trough on what was probably a cold night to a virgin woman.
   19. You and I always think of Mary as the virgin woman that was blessed by God to give birth to Jesus.
   20. That is correct; she was a very good and honorable woman. However, do you think all the other people thought of her that way? They thought of Mary as a woman committing adultery; they thought of her as a prostitute. I had one New Testament professor put it this way, “People would see Jesus and say, “Look! There is Jesus, the son of that prostitute Mary.”
   21. We would think of a King coming down to earth and being born in a castle into royal Robes, but no, that wasn’t Christ. Christ was born in a barn, into a trough where you would usually put food or water. This is how the Creator became part of His creation.
   22. Jesus was raised and suffered just like anyone else. He probably mourned the death of his earthly father. He went through pain and sickness, I am sure. He had emotions; in fact, the Bible says that Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus (John 11:35). He had to work and learn a trade.
   23. If I was Jesus talking to God the Father in eternity past and God the Father said, “I am going to create people, and they are going to break my law, will you become one of them and die for them?” I would think I would say, “All right, I’ll do it but I have to be born into a castle with running water, air conditioning, breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day on time at the same time. I don’t want to have to work. I’ll teach the people, but you can make them come to me and sit in front of my throne while I talk to them. Then, I guess I have to die; just make someone assassinate me while I am asleep so I don’t feel it!!!!” No, this wasn’t Jesus. Think about Him. He is God; he created the universe. He was with God in the creation, He knew that He would return to the form of God again, but He decided to become part of His Creation. He created man, and He created the laws we live by, and now He is subject to them. He was all-knowing; now, the Bible says that He grew in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52), which means He doesn’t know everything anymore. I am sure he was subject to body odor and bad breath, just like you and I are. At least, I am. He was once all-powerful and will be again, but for His lifetime, He submitted to corrupt powers and authorities. That is what Christ did!
   24. The text in verse 8 says that He was obedient to death, even the death on the cross.
4. Let’s read the last three verses of our text: 9-11

1. 1. Philippians 2:9–11 (ESV) ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
   2. Jesus isn’t dead anymore. We serve a risen Savior. Everyone will acknowledge someday that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Conclusion:

We must be Christ-like. We must follow Christ’s example in this way. The church has everything to offer the community, not vice versa. However, to help people, you have to be a servant. To be a servant, you must be humbled.

• How are we treating others?
• Christians?
• Non-Christians?
• Are we looking upon others as better than ourselves?
• Are we being humble?
• Are we willing to die a humiliating death to help someone else? I know this is a strong statement, but verse 5 said to have the attitude of Christ; what did He do? He died for the gospel.
• Once again, are we willing to be humiliated to help others?

This all has to do with your perspective; are you storing up treasures in Heaven or on Earth? Martin Luther said, “I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all, but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.” Jim Elliot said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Are you being humble as Jesus is humble?

Pray

[1] Taken from More Precious than Silver By Joni Eareckson Tada; Copyright © 1998; Published in Print by Zondervan, Grand Rapids; All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version.

^[2] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2283.

^[3] Jones, G. C. (1986). 1000 illustrations for preaching and teaching (257). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.