BACKGROUND:If anyone didn’t understand what Paul meant by acting out of humility and looking first to others’ concerns, then Paul made it clear by giving an example to follow. The believers should adopt the same attitude or frame of mind that was found in Jesus Christ, their Lord.
Many people feel that they can’t control their moods or attitudes. But Paul doesn’t accept the fact that Spirit-filled Christians are slaves to their attitudes. Christ Jesus had a particular attitude; so must we. One of the great myths of popular psychology that has drifted into the church today deals with impulsive behavior based on emotions. Those who accept Jesus Christ as Savior enter a community of believers, the church. Believers are to obey their Savior because of who he is and what he has done on their behalf. Paul eloquently describes this in the following verses.
Many scholars believe that verses 6-11 are from a hymn sung by the early Christian church. Paul was using this hymn to show Jesus as a model of servanthood. The passage holds many parallels to the prophecy of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53. As a hymn, it was not meant to be a complete statement about the nature and work of Christ. It is not known if Paul wrote it or merely quoted it.
This verse describes the status of Christ as he existed before the creation of the world—that is, his preincarnate state. Jesus Christ was God. Everything God is, Christ is; the equality is in essential characteristics and divine attributes. But Jesus did not demand and cling to his rights as God, but set them aside for a time in order to become human. When Christ was born, God became a man. Jesus was not part man and part God; he was completely human and completely divine. Christ is the perfect expression of God in human form. As a man, Jesus was subject to place, time, and other human limitations. What made Jesus’ humanity unique was his freedom from sin. He did not give up his eternal power when he became human, but he did set aside his glory and his rights. In his full humanity, we can see everything about God’s character that can be conveyed in human terms.
Christ voluntarily gave of himself, making himself nothing. The Incarnation was the act of the preexistent Son of God voluntarily assuming a human body and human nature. He did not give up his deity to become human. Yet upon his birth as a human being, he took the humble position of a slave. What appeared on earth was not a prince in a palace, or a royal king, or a wealthy and scholarly teacher; instead, Jesus’ entire life was devoted to serving others.
When Jesus took on a human form, he then humbled himself to accomplish that task for which he had come—to die for sinful humanity in order that they might have eternal life. He died a criminal’s death, but he was not a criminal. He took on that humiliation so that we might be saved. He died by the worst possible torture—death by crucifixion. Death on a cross was the form of capital punishment that Romans used for notorious criminals. It was excruciatingly painful and humiliating. Prisoners were nailed or tied to a cross and left to die. Death might not come for several days, and it usually came by suffocation when the weight of the weakened body made breathing more and more difficult. Jesus died as one who was cursed.
But why did Jesus have to become human and have to die? A holy God cannot overlook sin. The sinfulness of humanity had to be punished. In the Old Testament, God required his people to sacrifice animals (“perfect” animals, healthy and whole) to atone for their sins. The costly sacrifice of an animal’s life impressed upon the sinner the seriousness of his or her sin before God. When animals’ blood was shed, God regarded the people’s faith and obedience, cleansed them, and made them ceremonially clean.
Why blood? There is no greater symbol of life than blood; blood keeps us alive. Instead of sending all humanity to eternal punishment, God took the punishment himself. Jesus shed his blood—gave his life—for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to experience spiritual death and eternal separation from God.
Because Christ willingly set aside his glory to totally obey the Father’s will, God raised him up to the heights of heaven. God did not leave Christ in the grave but raised him from the dead, brought him back up to heaven, and glorified him. In keeping with Jesus’ exaltation and power, one day every knee will bow before him. In heaven refers to the angels; on earth means all humanity; under the earth refers to the underworld—possibly to unsaved people who have died or to demons. Those who love Jesus will bow in adoration and worship; those who refused to acknowledge him will bow in submission and fear.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)
We continue the foundational teaching/sharing about joy. Do you want to have joy? This is the power of this passage - “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” That verse is so power - so meaningful - that's why it's our memory verse at COV this week. How do you get joy?
Follow the right example
If this is to happen in my life this is a big challenge. Looking out for other people’s interests and it’s one that I’m going to be growing towards the rest of my life. It’s certainly not one you’ve arrive at. You haven’t either. But I’d like to grow towards it. How am I going to grow towards this kind of challenge? Follow the right example.
These verses aren’t written to tell us necessarily who Jesus is, although they do. They’re written for a practical purpose. This is the most powerful, christological passage in the Bible. This passage that incredibly shares the glory of what Jesus did. It’s one that theologians have studied for 2000 years and they’re still trying to get the mysteries out of it. But the exciting thing to me about this passage is it wasn’t written just to teach us theology although it does. It was written to tell us how to live our lives. There is a deep theology behind it. Let’s start there.
Jesus is God and He came to this earth, that’s how your attitude should be – like His attitude was. What He’s really telling us here is How do you do humility, because Jesus was all about humility How do you make humility work? Jesus knows how to teach us this. Matthew 11:29 says, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” That’s who Jesus is. He’s gentle and humble in heart.
There may be more but there’s at least four aspects of humility you can see in these verses.
1. Release. If I’m going to be humble and have the kind of humility that results in genuine joy it begins with a release. We’ve got a good hold on our rights. But to release them. This is tough. This is going to be the toughest part for most of us to grab a hold of. Because we’re Americans. Our country was founded on the Bill of Rights. When somebody says you have to release your rights you think, Don’t tread on me! Others of you think, “Isn’t that co-dependent to release your rights.” And it can be in a certain way. Because some people don’t release their rights. They give up all identity. Don’t mistake what I’m saying. To say that you let people tread over you when you give up your identity.
Releasing your rights means you do what Jesus did. He let go of what was due Him. He let go of something of who He was. He was in very nature God. He had every right to say, “I’m going to stay in heaven. I’m going to rule for eternity.” But He set it down. He let it go.
2. Service. Philippians 2:7 says, “He made Himself nothing taking the very nature of a servant and being made in human likeness.”
Servant, He took up that nature. But before He could do that it says He made Himself nothing. He made a decision. This is one of those places in the Bible where you walk into this verse and there’s a hush. The literal word means, “He emptied Himself.” That doesn’t mean that He became any the less God at all. It means that Jesus, the God who made this universe, He created everything that you see, in some way He let go of some of those rights to come to this earth to serve me. To serve you. So that we could have eternal life. So we could have forgiveness.
Does that awe you? Most of the time I just go through life realizing, “Jesus loves me this I now, for the Bible tells me so,” but every once in a while like this week when I was studying this passage it hit me again. That’s how much God loves me, that He would do that for me, that He would serve me.
True greatness, Jesus taught us, is found in service. Some people think that true humility is denying your desires for greatness. The Bible doesn’t teach that. Jesus instead taught us to translate our desires for greatness into a decision to serve. Do you want to be great? The greatest in this life, He said, are people who serve. That’s the greatest among you. Those are the people that are really great.
3. Obedience. He obeyed God “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and He became obedient to the point of death.” That kind of obedience equals sacrifice.
That’s what humility comes down to in the end. There’s a time in my life when I need to obey what God is asking me to do. Sometimes that may seem easy. Many times it’s hard. Humility equals obedience in the end.
4. Reward. Jesus says humility takes him from letting go and renouncing some things to a great reward in his life. “Therefore also God highly exalted Him to the highest place.” The interesting thing is the Bible reveals this same process happens in our lives as Christians. Not that we get exalted to the highest place, the place of Jesus, but that when we let go of ourselves, the end of that road of humility is reward.
Matthew 23:12 says, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Not just Jesus but it’s you and I too. Don’t think, “I’m going to humble myself so that I can be exalted.” That’s not true humility. When true humility comes into my life the end of that road is God doing something great in and through my life. It’s exaltation.
Here’s the trick, here’s the real trick to humility. How are you going to keep holding on to humility not just during the obedience and the sacrifice but during the exaltation? That’s the tough part. That’s when I lose it. Probably when you lose it. “I’m going to obey God. I’m going to be humble. I’m going to sacrifice.” Then comes the great day – the exaltation and “I’m doing pretty good aren’t it? What’s in it for me? Notice me! This is great.” Then you have to go through the whole process again.
Jesus was able to be humble in obedience and sacrifice and also able to be humble when He was being exalted. That’s part of how genuine humility works.
This verse Matthew 23:12 reveals to us some of the attitude we need towards this. “Whoever humbles himself will be exalted...” The words “humbles himself” is an active verb. It’s something I’ve got to choose to do. “Will be exalted” is a passive verb. That means it’s something God chooses to do. That means the choice for humility is mine.
Think upon these things today. I love you guys. Stay faithful. Stay the course.
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