Our Coming Lord

Philippians 2:5-11

Our Coming Lord

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.[1]

Jesus Christ is coming again! This assertion is a cardinal tenet of the Christian Faith. To deny this truth is tacit admission that one is not Christian, whatever else may be professed. This glorious promise of the Faith, often referred to as the Blessed Hope [see Titus 2:13], has sustained saints since the day Christ made the promise. And the promise of His return heartens even the most jaded among us to this present day. Indeed, many saints throughout the long ages have discovered the promise of our Lord’s return is “a soft pillow for a weary head.”

Tragically, it seems as if there is far too little stress placed on this glorious truth in this day far removed from the days of His flesh. Pulpits today appear strangely silent about proclaiming the return of Jesus our Lord. Consequently, far too many of us who bear the title “Christian” no longer live in anticipation of the momentary return of the Saviour. There is little evidence of holy fear demonstrated through the manner of life for professed Christians today, and thus there is scant purity distinguishing us as believers from the world about us.

Perhaps you consider this assessment is too harsh. However, according to a recent Barna Report, the faith confessed by professing Christians has little effect in the manner in which they live.[2] Perhaps this should not be surprising, as we who are Christians have grown increasingly content to be at ease in Zion. We live as though Heaven was but a remote possibility, or worse yet, as though it was but a myth. I content that one major contributor to this distressing state of affairs is the failure of pastors to instruct professed saints about the return of our Lord. There is a correlation.

The Beloved Disciple, John, notes the correlation between anticipation of the return of our Lord and a holy life when he writes, Abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure [1 John 2:28-3:3].

Perhaps we who are pastors and teachers have become lazy? Exposition of this truth demands diligence of those who proclaim it. Moreover, truth anticipates that we will live so as to exhibit that truth through our manner of life. Perhaps we Christians have become enamoured of this present dying world? We appear to believe that we can have the best of both worlds, living like kings and avoiding persecution now, yet holding the promise of Heaven when this life is finished. We who claim to be messengers of God bear an awesome responsibility to make the people of God aware of the claims of God, even when such proclamation makes those same people uncomfortable.

Critical Issues to Aid Understanding[3]— Many of you read a translation other than the English Standard Version. Many translations produced within the past fifty years reflect an assumption that advances a perception that has grown popular within scholarly circles. If you read either the New Living Translation or the New International Version, you will observe that the verses are arranged in a poetical format. This is because many Bible scholars have become convinced that Paul is citing a hymn at this point to emphasise his teaching. Alternatively, the English Standard Version adopts the view of the King James Version and the New American Standard Version, making the text part of Paul’s argument without reflecting the thought that it is the citation of a hymn.

Another issue arises concerning the proper translation of the Greek employed in verse five. There is no verb in the sentence as Paul wrote it; the reader is required to supply the verb. Paul’s words are literally translated into English, “Have this mind among yourselves, which also in Christ Jesus.” To our ears, this sounds funny, but it is perfectly good Greek. The reader would be expected to supply the verb.

In supplying the verb, a reader is presented with the possibility of translating the verse, “Have this mind among yourselves, which you also have in Christ Jesus.” This represents what has become known as the kerygmatic view, in which Paul is admonishing readers to reflect the reality of who they are as Christians. In other words, they are admonished to live as though they have been actually transformed.

Alternatively, Paul may have meant for readers to supply a different verb—was. In this instance, the translators would then render the verse in the following manner: “Have this mind among yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus.” This translation leads to what has become accepted as the ethical view, in which Paul is admonishing the Philippians to follow Christ’s example of humility, obedience and self-sacrifice.

The translation chosen, and the thought that Paul is either citing a hymn or the concept that he is presenting a cogent argument concerning the way in which the Philippians should live, depends upon whether one approaches this particular passage as “kerygmatic” or “ethical.” Was Paul recounting the incarnation, death and exaltation of Jesus? Or was he presenting Christ as an example that the Philippians should follow?

For me, it is not at all clear to me that Paul is citing a hymn or poetical verse. If he was, he assumed that it was sufficiently well known to be immediately recognised by those reading the passage. However, there is no citation of these words as a hymn in any of the literature we have available. Even more important, no Greek or Syriac-speaking commentator from the early days of the Faith recognised its poetic character.[4]

The answer to these questions leads to yet another question concerning the role of verses nine through eleven. Those who hold to the kerygmatic view claim that Paul is merely reminding readers of the descent and exaltation of Christ, thus summarising the Gospel that believers have embraced, and by which they thus conduct their lives. Those holding to the ethical view argue that Paul points to the great humility of our Lord and His ultimate exaltation because of His obedience as an example for us to emulate.

My personal bias is that Paul is not citing a hymn. The Apostle is certainly capable of rich language in presenting what is for him a favourite theme—the Person and character of Christ Jesus the Lord. This is just such an instance, I believe. Nevertheless, I accept that this passage accords with the ethical view. Some translations make this clearer than do others, even if they betray their inclination to assume this to be a hymn. One recent translation makes this view clear. Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus.[5] I believe that Paul is encouraging those who read this letter to look to Christ, emulating His example of humility and obedience, knowing that in due time God will exalt them.

These issues raise one final question that must be answered. Is it appropriate to consider the eschatology of this portion of the Word without considering the ethical implications? Doctrine is a valid study in its own right. The words of the Apostle give us insight into the views of the early churches, and therefore, study of ethical passages solely for their theological content is both valid and appropriate.

However, one must always bear in mind the danger of distortion of the theological teaching if the ethical intent of the writer is either unrecognised or ignored. I believe that we will benefit from a study of the eschatology of Christ’s return, but that we must always bear in mind that eschatology does have an ethical component. In other words, anticipating Christ’s return should make us better Christians.

Perhaps it is not critical to your salvation or Christian character whether you adopt one view or the other. What is incontrovertible is that Christ Jesus our Lord has been exalted and He shall yet be openly exalted before all creation at His return. Christ Jesus and His imminent return is the focus of the message today. Clearly, looking forward to His pending return—and His exaltation before all creation at that time—serves to encourage believers to live godly lives worthy of His Name, knowing that they are being transformed into His likeness and that they shall reign with Him at His return.

God Has Highly Exalted His Son —God has highly exalted His Son. Though we do not now see Him, we believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, because we are receiving the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls. To understand the exaltation that Christ has received, we must study the Paul’s language. Though he was in the form of God, [He] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped [Verse six]. Two words seem chosen to show the unchangeable godhead of Jesus Christ. The word translated by the English word was is from the Greek verb huparchein. This is not the common Greek word for in, or as rendered by the Christian Standard Bible,[6] existing. This word describes that which a man is in his very essence and which cannot be changed. It describes that part of a man that, in any circumstances, remains the same. Therefore, Paul begins by saying that Jesus was essentially and unalterably God.

“There are two Greek words for form—morphē and schēma. They must both be translated form, because there is no other English equivalent, but they do not mean the same thing. Morphē is the essential form which never alters; schēma is the outward form which changes from time to time and from circumstance to circumstance. For instance, the morphē of any human being is humanity and this never changes; but his schēma is continually changing. A baby, a child, a boy, a youth, a man of middle age, an old man always have the morphē of humanity, but the outward schēma changes all the time.

“Roses, daffodils, tulips, chrysanthemums, primroses, dahlias, lupins all have the one morphē of flowers; but their schēma is different. Aspirin, penicillin, cascara, magnesia all have the one morphē of drugs; but their schēma is different. The morphē never alters; the schēma continually does. The word Paul uses for Jesus being in the form of God is morphē; that is to say, his unchangeable being is divine. However his outward schēma might alter, he remained in essence divine.”[7]

“The great title by which Jesus came to be known in the early Church was kurios, Lord, which has an illuminating history. It began by meaning master or owner. It became the official title of the Roman Emperors. It became the title of the heathen gods. It was the word by which the Hebrew Jehovah was translated in the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures. So, then, when Jesus was called kurios, Lord, it meant that he was the Master and the Owner of all life; he was the King of kings; he was the Lord in a way in which the heathen gods and the dumb idols could never be; he was nothing less than divine.”[8]

The point I am making is that Jesus Christ is God—a truth of which we are already convinced through our previous study of the Word of God. Therefore, Christ Jesus our Lord was already exalted in the mind of the disciples, and assuredly this same Jesus was exalted in the estimate of the Apostle Paul. God the Father did not make Jesus divine, but rather He was always divine. Nevertheless, the text before us assures us that God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name [verse nine].

What is in view is not the bestowal of a specific title on our Lord Christ—Jesus has always been Lord of all creation—but rather it is that the Father has glorified His Son through the salvation of His people. That which is in view is the resurrection, the ascension and ultimately the glorification of Christ at the right hand of the Father. This is what is intended through the following statements found in the New Testament.

[Jesus] is the radiance of [God’s] glory, the exact expression of His nature, and He sustains all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high [Hebrews 1:3].

Since [Christ] has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out what you both see and hear [Acts 2:33].

This glorification was not something that occurred only following the conquest of death, hell and the grave, but rather this glorification began before ever the world began [see 1 Peter 1:20, 21]. It is doubtful that Paul could have used any stronger language to make his case that Jesus Christ is God. To ensure that no reader miss the point, he cites Isaiah 45:23: To Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess to God [Septuagint].

Moreover, the citation from Isaiah is strong evidence that God is looking forward to completion of this glorification at the time of Jesus’ coming to reign over His creation. In other words, day is pending when Jesus Christ will return to this earth to visibly rule over all His creation. At that time, even those who have rejected Him as Master of all, will fall before Him and glorify His Name.

“The word huperúpsosen is translated ‘highly exalted.’ It is a compound of hupér and hupsóo. The question that the prefix hupér provokes is, does the word have the comparative force meaning that God has exalted Christ to a position higher than he originally had, or does the word mean roughly what hupsóo would mean, that Christ was given the highest exaltation? The verb is found only here in the New Testament, although it appears twice in the Septuagint [Psalm 97:9, (Hebrew Psalm 96:9); Daniel 4:34].

“…Pretty clearly the idea here is superlative (the elative force), not the comparative. Jesus is exalted in superlative measure, or to the highest possible exaltation [cf. Romans 8:37].”[9]

The vital point to establish in each mind is that the Father delights to exalt Jesus. Our Lord was always God—He never divested Himself of His deity. However, because He did divest Himself of His glory, accepting unimaginable humiliation by setting aside His majesty and submitting to the incarnation, He is now glorified before all creation. Therefore, all mankind should honour Him as God, and assuredly, we who are called by His Name are responsible to glorify His Name. This knowledge leads us to examine more closely how this came about and what it means concerning His return in glory.

The Precursor to Christ’s Exaltation was His Humiliation. It is not particularly humiliating to be a human—unless you were God the Creator and set aside your glory in order to accept the limitations of the creature. Keep in mind that Christ’s humiliation was voluntary and not imposed. The humbleness of our Lord is important because it demonstrates a vital aspect of the character of our God. Our God is not a proud tyrant! He seeks what is good for His creation, and in this He is glorified.

We have already established that the words Paul used mean that Jesus was really and truly God. There is more in that original tongue than this, however. The participle that is translated into English by the word in means basically “to exist originally”[10] [verse six] but in time it was used as an intensive that meant, “really exist.” The result is that Paul is insisting that Jesus “really existed” in the form of God.

We are afforded insight into the mind of the God we serve with these words, Though he was in the form of God, [Jesus] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. The Christian Standard Bible captures more accurately the intent of the passage when it states that Jesus did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage.[11] Unlike Adam, who being human sought divinity [Genesis 3:5], Jesus, being deity, relinquished His rightful position of honour to identify as man.

With verse seven, Paul’s focus moves from attitude to action. Two verbs describe successive actions as our Lord provided His life as a sacrifice for mankind. Seeing the mind of the Lord revealed, we now witness the truth that attitude does dictate action. We are told that our Lord made himself nothing and that He humbled himself.

Jesus divested Himself of all prerogatives to glory. He identified with His creation in the fullest sense, and then, having humbled Himself in this manner, He stooped lower still by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Enumerate in your mind the choices Jesus made, asking whether they are choices you might have made given the same need. Bear in mind that His decision was not because of His need, but because of our need. Jesus chose humiliation because of our helpless state.

He was born as a mere infant, just as we each entered into this life. He did not descend on a cloud in great glory, but rather He was born into the squalor of a sheepcote Thrust out of the womb of a teenage girl, He was born into a family of no great means as a citizen of an occupied land. Labouring with His hands, He chose not to be counted among the elite of the nation. Without social stature or wealth, the Son of Man shared every hardship we know. Of Jesus, the prophet has painted a startling verbal portrait.

He had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by men;

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

[Isaiah 53:2b, 3]

Such a picture does not match the ideal of greatness that prevails in our world, and this humble view must certainly challenge the common view of God. Nevertheless, I contend that it is precisely in the humility of Christ our Lord and in His willingness to serve our need that the majesty of God is most clearly witnessed. Though He was very God, Jesus willingly accepted the humiliation referred to in our text, including that humiliation which was most odious to all peoples of that day—a cross death.

Death on a cross was reserved for slaves and for the least important citizens of the Roman Empire. Such a death was considered the ultimate humiliation. Cicero reveals the view of the elite of that day when he wrote, “Far be the very name of the cross, not only from the body, but even from the thought, the eyes, the ears of Roman citizens.”[12] To pious Jews, death on the cross was considered shameful because of what was written in the Law—a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance [Deuteronomy 21:23].

Jesus was not ashamed to humble Himself, and consequently, He is not ashamed to call them brothers who look to Him. He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers [Hebrews 2:11]. Again, of those who are listed in Faith’s Hall of Fame [Hebrews 11], we read that God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city [Hebrews 11:16].

The Basis for Christ’s Exaltation is His Obedience. When the text says that Jesus was obedient to the point of death, we may wonder to whom He was obedient. I undoubtedly stand in good company by saying that He was obedient to the will of the Father. Though I cannot give an extended emphasis to this thought at this time, I believe it sufficiently important that I must make mention of one great truth.

The death of our Lord was not an accident. His sacrifice was determined and deliberate, prepared from before the foundation of the world [see 1 Peter 1:17-21]. God knew even before He created man that His creature would rebel and plunge the entire universe into ruin. The only solution for addressing man’s sin, short of destroying all that He had made and beginning fresh, was to provide an infinite sacrifice in the place of sinful man. Even though it would cost Him humiliation and pain and death, God presented Himself as a sacrifice because of rebel man.

The obedience of Christ the Lord was not merely obedience to the will of God—though it was certainly that—but His sacrifice in deep humiliation was an act of love. It is divine love that is the basis for the apostolic plea found in the Ephesian encyclical, walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God [Ephesians 5:2]. Christ Jesus our Lord was obedient to the anguished, silent cry for deliverance arising from mankind’s slavery to sin. God alone could hear such a plea, arising as it does from our fallen condition, and God alone is capable of providing relief. This, Jesus did, as an act of obedience demonstrating His glory and His majesty.

All Creation Shall Honour the Son of God — Every knee should bow … and every tongue confess. All living creatures shall glorify God through giving honour to the Son. We have sufficient information to briefly focus on the coming again of Christ our Lord. We that saw the attitude of Christ impelled Him to action. In verse nine the Father acts. God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. As we saw earlier, Jesus is declared by the Father to be God in that the words recorded by Isaiah are ascribed to Christ Jesus. No stronger statement of His deity could be provided!

In view is a time when all sentient beings shall praise the Lord Jesus. Individuals in heaven and on earth and under the earth who are seen as confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. Although Paul is capable of ascribing to inanimate objects and unconscious animals the ability to praise the Lord, in this instance he makes it clear that He speaks of those beings that have consciousness who shall acknowledge the Lordship of Christ. I want to look forward to that day and then I want to examine what it means for us now.

Jesus Christ is coming again in great glory. At one point prior to His passion, Jesus spoke of the Great Tribulation which is coming upon all the earth—those days when God at last begins to judge the world. As Jesus taught, His disciples questioned the impact of His return and wondered about the timing of those days. The Lord spoke of the impact of those days on the people of Israel and then He added these comforting words.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other [Matthew 24:29-31].

Listen carefully to one powerful statement that tightly binds that past to the future. It was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him [Hebrews 9:23-28].

Because He was obedient to the will of the Father, Jesus humbled Himself, even to the point of death on a cross. This was in order to provide one great sacrifice sufficient to provide salvation for all sinful people. The divine sacrifice has been provided and no one need be ever separated from the love of God because of insufficient sacrifice or because there has been provided no atonement. Having offered Himself once for all, there is no further sacrifice available for our sin other than that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we await His return. This time, however, He is coming not to present Himself as a sacrifice because of our sin, but He is coming to save those who eagerly wait for Him.

The choice upon which the future is determined lies with each individual—whether to receive the sacrifice of Christ the Lord because of his or her own sin, or whether to reject that sacrifice, attempting to depend upon one’s own efforts. What is your choice? What have you done with the gracious provision of life that is even now offered through the sacrifice of Jesus the Lord? If you have yet to accept His gracious offer of life, you need but heed the Word of God.

We are called to life with the following words. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13].

You who confess Christ as Lord, the Apostle has challenged us to consider Him—His humility, His obedience, His sacrifice. The message of the Word is nothing less than a call to submit your life to Him so that as you follow His example He receives glory and honour. Whatever else may be true let it be our aspiration to ensure that this church reflects the character of Christ the Lord.

As for me, I need not wait until He returns to glorify Him as Lord. Let my lips confess Him as Master of life now. Let my life be devoted to His service now. Let my highest desire be His will now. Let my deepest thoughts reflect His reign over my life now. Let this all be done to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

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[2] Faith has a Limited Effect on Most People’s Behavior, The Barna Update, May 24, 2004, http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=164

[3] Cf. Frank Thielman, The NIV Application Commentary: Philippians (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1995) 110-115

[4] Frank Thielman, op. cit., 111

[5] Holman Christian Standard Bible, (Broadman & Holman, Nashville, TN 2004), hereafter HCSB

[6] HCSB

[7] William Barclay, The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians: The Daily study Bible, Rev. ed. (Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA 2000, 1975) 35-6

[8] William Barclay, op. cit., 39

[9] Paul D. Feinberg, “The Kenosis and Christology: An Exegetical-Theological Analysis of Phil 2:6-11,” Trinity Journal 1 NS (1980): 21-46 (here 42).

[10] The etymology of the term means “under the beginning,” stressing the original state of affairs. In actuality, it is somewhat synonymous with “to be,” but stresses the reality of existence (Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, Greek-English Lexicon of The New Testament, (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL 1957) 845-6).

[11] HCSB

[12] cited in D. A. Carson, New Bible Commentary, 21st Century Edition (4th ed.), (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL 1994)