The Humility of Christ
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Philippians 2:5-11 is our text for tonight and it is my intention to get through all 7 of these verses but there really is a lot to unpack in this short section of Scripture. Last week we talked about what I called the stepping stones of the Christian life, the phrases that Paul used in verses 1 and 2 each builds upon the last to highlight what the Christian life looks like and we briefly started talking about humility. Philippians 2:5-11 may be the greatest section on humility in Scripture. What do we mean when we talk about humility? Simply put, it means to be humble. Humility means that we see ourselves as we really are. We don’t exalt ourselves or present ourselves as someone we are not. We aren’t domineering or overly aggressive. C.J. Mahaney said, “Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.” As Christians, we see ourselves as sinners that have only been saved by grace and as those that are always in need of God. Christians aren’t proud but have an accurate view of who they are. As Christians we are to strive for humility but humility is not always easy because it is not natural to ourselves in our fallen state. How easy is it for us to be prideful and how difficult is it for us to be lowly? If we want to be like our Savior, we have to be humble people. Our humility should echo that of our Lord. John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace, said, “I am persuaded that love and humility are the highest attainments in the school of Christ and the brightest evidence that He is indeed our Master.” Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the greatest example of humility to ever grace the earth and we are going to see exactly why this evening. We’ll look at three things tonight: the humility of Christ, the exaltation of Christ, and what His humility means for us. Paul says in Philippians 2:5-11
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 emptied himself, by 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.
The Humility of Christ
The Humility of Christ
Paul begins verse 5 by urging the Church to adopt the same mindset that Christ has. That little phrase, “which is yours in Christ Jesus” means that this was something that Christ Himself possessed. From there, Paul paints this beautiful picture of the humility of Christ. I want to walk through these statements that Paul makes and break them down piece by piece so that you and I can better appreciate the sacrifice that Christ made for us.
Christ was in the form of God
What does Paul mean by this? Christ in the form of God? And why does he start here when pointing to Christ’s humility? You see what Paul is doing is he is telling the reader to stop and think about who the Son of God really is. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. From eternity to eternity, Jesus has been and will always be divine. For Jesus to be in the form of God is for Jesus to be God. Paul says in Colossians 1:15-20 exactly what is meant by Jesus being in the form of God:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Jesus is not just a little god under God the Father. He is very God of Very God, he is co-equal and co-eternal. His majesty and glory is that of His Heavenly Father. The One that came to earth 2,000 years ago to die in the place of sinners is the same One that created all things, holds together all things, is the Head of the Church, the firstborn of the dead, the one to whom the fullness of God is pleased to dwell. Do you understand who it was that came to earth 2,000 years ago? Do you understand the magnitude of what it means that God in the flesh came to man? This is unheard of! To think that God Himself would put on flesh and dwell among man is unthinkable and yet that is exactly what happens! Paul begins this section on Christ’s humility by having us stop and think of the sheer majesty of Christ and by beginning here, Paul greater emphasizes Christ’s humility. Even though Christ is God in the flesh, Paul says that He “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” What this means is that Jesus did not receive any special priviledges. He suffered as man suffered, He experienced life as man experiences life. He was tempted and tried yet was without sin. Jesus did not use His deity to make life easier for Him. Jesus remained fully God but surrendered advantages that come with His deity. Paul continues in verse 7 by saying, “But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”
Christ takes on the form of a servant
Jesus takes on the form of a servant but He is unlike any other servant to have ever walked the earth. The sheer magnitude of Him going from being worshipped in Heaven to taking on earthly flesh and He doesn’t just take on the likeness of man, He takes on the form of a servant. Christ’s entire mission is a mission of servitude. Jesus says in Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus is the supreme example of servanthood. Keep in mind that a servant always acts according to the will of his master. Christ perfectly submitted to the Heavenly Father. Why does the eternal Son of God do this? Why would the One that all of creation should be subject to embrace the role of a servant? Martin Luther wrote, “All this he did for the purpose of drawing us to himself. He wants us to recognize that this poor, weak and humble man is the almighty and eternal God. Therefore since we could not bear to hear God in his majesty, he humbly adopted flesh and blood, assuming not only our nature, that is, flesh and blood, but also all the frailties with which body and soul are afflicted, as, for example, fear, sadness, anger and hatred. We are told that he was weak, that he was like any other man in body and soul, that he made himself subject to all human infirmities, that he hungered and thirsted, that he experienced all the wants of flesh and blood. In this weakness the true and eternal God shows himself. For me he humbles himself; and for me he is finally crucified, although he is at the same time very God, who redeems me from sin and death.” In Christ we see an example, but more than that, we see an answer. We see an answer to the problem of pain and evil in the world, we see an answer to what hope we have in a fallen world, we see an answer to how all the bad will be made good, we see an answer to whether God is for us and not against us, we see an answer to the question of what are we to search for in this life? But Jesus does more than just put on flesh to be made like us, He takes the death that is due to us. Look at what Paul says in verse 8, “And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming opedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
The Son of God dies on a cross made for sinners
Jesus did not come into this world, live 70 years and die in His sleep. His entire life made a beeline to the cross. Jesus truly suffered, He experienced the most shameful and painful death that the Romans could muster. His agony reached unheard of proportions because not only did He experience the wrath of fallen man, He experienced the wrath of His Heavenly Father. The cup of God’s wrath was poured out in full on His Son. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Peter says in 1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Steven Lawson wrote, “Jesus would suffer the worst of all deaths, the dreaded torturous death by crucifixion. He was subjected to the most gruesome kind of death known to the ancient world. This was a death so loathsome that it was reserved only for the worst criminals. Crucifixion was so despised that Roman law forbade any Roman citizen to be subjected to such cruel treatment. Yet the divine man, Jesus, would be put to death by being nailed to a Roman cross. There he would hang naked, publicly exposed, viewed as an enemy of the empire, condemned as a blasphemer against God.” No one has ever suffered like Jesus of Nazareth. He wasn’t let off easy because He was God, He wasn’t given a stay of execution. Jesus suffered beyond what you or I are capable of imagining. As unworthy as we are, Christ chose the cup of God’s wrath. Here we are with a debt that we cannot pay and a death sentence that we could never escape and yet Christ, in His love says, “I will take that on myself.” You will never appreciate the extent of what Christ has done until you see who you really are. You are not someone that just needed a new paint job, you are someone who needs to be totally remade. You are not someone who is dying to sin, you were dead in your sins and trespasses. Paul says in Ephesians 2:5
even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
You aren’t just drowning in the ocean of sin, you are dead at the bottom of the sea. You don’t need a lifeline, you need a new life. You need to be born again, you need to be made new by the saving power of Christ and this is done through the healing power of God alone. Christ’s showed His humility on the cross but have you been humbled by the cross? The sinless Son of God stood in your place, He took the death that you and I deserved, He experienced the wrath that you and I were due. Have you been humbled by the cross of Christ?
Christ’s Exaltation
Christ’s Exaltation
For times’ sake, let’s look at verses 9-11. Paul writes in Philippians 2:9-11
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.
Christ’s humiliation leads to His exaltation. Notice what happens the moment that Christ is resurrected. He steps out of the grave and Mary worships Him, the disciples worship Him, Thomas worships Him, 500 believers see Him and worship Him, He ascends to Heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father and the angels and saints worship Him. From the moment that resurrected life entered into Him, Christ has been exalted. The whole universe proclaims in Revelation 5:13
And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
All of creation will recognize the supremacy of Christ. This doesn’t mean that every single person in the world will be saved eventually. What it does mean is that nothing in all creation will be unaware of who Jesus Christ is. No one will fail to see Him as the supreme Lord and King over all. He is our Master, our Supreme One, our Leader, Our Savior, Our ruler and king. As we look to who Jesus is and what He has done, we are given a challenge for our own lives. What does Christ’s humility mean for you and me?
Christ’s Humility and Me
Christ’s Humility and Me
It’s important for us to recognize that if we are Christians, we are to submit in every way to our Savior. No servant is ever above his master. There are some tremendous lessons that we need to be reminded of as we look at Christ’s humility.
We can always be more humble
None of us this side of heaven will ever be able to say that we have perfected any aspect of our Christianity. None of us have arrived at perfection. Later in Philippians 3:12, Paul will say, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” This is the Apostle Paul saying this, the greatest missionary to ever walk the earth, the man who would write about 30% of the entire New Testament. If Paul isn’t perfect, what shot do you and I have? So, we can always be more humble. We can always find new ways to submit, there is always going to be an additional length that we should be able to go.
We have a perfect example before us
Lesson #2 is that we have a perfect example before us in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is sometimes easy for us to forget the humanity of Christ. Jesus was fully man just as you and I are and He was humility perfected. He was walking humility. Christ showed more humility than any person past, present, or future. He was fully man and yet He came not to be served but to serve. He came partially as an example to us so that we would know how to live.
Humility now leads to rewards later
With Christ as the perfect example to us, lesson #3 reminds us that humility now leads to rewards later. Our humility on earth is not a guarantee of physical prosperity on earth. But just as the full extent of Christ’s reward came once He ascended to Heaven, the full extent of our reward will also be realized as we stand before His throne. If you think back to the first beatitude in Matthew 5:3, Christ promises that there is a great reward for the humble.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Our reward will not just be some earthly treasures that are here today and gone tomorrow, those that have been humbled before God and practice that humility will receive the very Kingdom of God! Spurgeon said, “The ambitious worldling grasps after a kingdom, but he does not possess one. The humble in heart are content, and in that contentment they are made to reign.”
Humility does not equal weakness but highlights something that is desperately needed today
Lesson #4 is that humility does not mean that we are weak but highlights something that is truly needed today. The world does not need more boasting. The world doesn’t need more haughty and prideful individuals putting themselves up on a pedestal so that people may flounder before them. The world needs men and women with humble hearts, with servant hearts, with a heart that reflects that of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you truly want to make a difference in the world today, take on humility.
We can be like Jesus because He became like us
The final lesson, almost an echo of the second, is that we can be like Jesus because we have seen Him become like us. The Son of Man lived humbly and the sons of man are able to live humbly. When our eyes are set upon Christ, humility will always be possible.
While there are certainly more points that we could refer to, we will stop it here. I want to challenge you with this: what does humility look like to you? Does it look like someone with a positive attitude who is sometimes kind to others or does it look like the Son of God, putting on flesh and dying a criminals death on the cross? How do we become humble? Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
We endure shame now, we submit now, we love others now because we know He who did it perfectly and we know that we will one day see Him as He is and our reward will be great. Submit now, carry the cross now, knowing that with the cross comes reward. Let’s pray.