[Over seven years ago I spent several weeks going through these 11 verses as part of a series on Philippians. In this message I have drawn heavily on that earlier work. SN]
“…take up your cross, and follow me…”
Philippians 2:1-11
Introduction: This passage in Philippians seems to be an excellent
bridge between Advent and our study of Mark’s Gospel. This pericope highlights the incredible self-humiliation of the
incarnation, Eternal God becoming man. Paul says, “He took the form of a servant…” A little later in Mark’s
Gospel we’ll see a key verse answering the question of discipleship. To be His
disciple, we must take up our
cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34)! This passage is a call to…
The Maine* Idea: Pursue unity, following Christ’s example of
humility, empowered by our blessed hope!
I. A Call to us: Pursue Unity through
Humility (1-4). Paul, himself a prisoner, is writing to encourage the Philippians to rejoice and to be strong in the Lord, and to thank them for their support during his
imprisonment.
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any
comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and
sympathy, 2 complete my joy
by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of
one mind. 3 Do nothing from
rivalry 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.
This
chapter begins by saying that because of God’s abundant blessings to us, we
should bless others by striving for unity (2:1-2). The fact that God has blessed us in Christ should
evoke a response on our part (v.1). By asking “So if…” Paul is not questioning whether these blessings are part of
the experience of believers. He is
speaking rhetorically and saying that since
we have been blessed so lavishly we should live differently! If we live like
that, people will notice. Paul said elsewhere that we are “…living letters, seen and read of men…”
(2 Cor 3:2). Striving for unity in the church should be our response to the blessings
he describes…
“…consolation in Christ…” paraklesis, is the same root word that
is used of the Spirit as our “comforter,” and Christ as our mediator, literally,
one “called alongside to help.” We have a new position “in Christ,” and it is
here we have true encouragement and comfort. The next phrase is closely
related, “…comfort of love…” One
translation says “If there is any solace
afforded by love…” Everyone wants to be loved – that is what we were made
for. In Christ we have the truest,
deepest form of love. When all else fails, when it seems as though the world doesn’t
care, there is comfort in knowing we are known and loved by God. He is present
with us and we experience “…fellowship
of the Spirit…” “koinonia”, fellowship, or sharing. We are connected
with God through the indwelling Spirit.
“You are God’s temple…” (I Cor
3:16,17). Think of it! God lives in you…
He is with you always!
“…affection and mercy…” These terms
connote heartfelt compassion. We have
a High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, one who was tested in all
points as we are, yet without sin. One
outcome of suffering is that we can empathize with others who are going through
struggles. In Christ we have One who understands and has compassion. In the church, though others may not
understand fully, we still bear each other’s burdens.
Paul is
saying that God’s abundant blessing toward us demands a response (v. 2). Because of the great salvation He has given
us, because of the blessings of the Spirit He lavishes on us, we are compelled
by a thankful heart to live differently. He says, “…fulfill my joy…” This one accomplishment
will complete Paul’s joy in the Lord.
What is it? Being released from prison?
The end of persecution? In a word, unity, unity in the church. God’s abundant blessings toward us should
elicit a response, that is, living out our “oneness” in Christ. Paul uses three
parallel phrases to express the idea: 1) “…by
being like minded…” 2) “….having
the same love…” and 3) “…being of
one accord, of one mind…” By the way, our passage was preceded
with a call to unity in 1:27, and here Paul repeats that idea.
Why
should we be concerned with “improving our serve”? It is the means for achieving
the unity that is God’s design for the church (2:3,4). First of all, we should “Do nothing from selfishness…” The simple truth is that too often we tend to
live our lives cafeteria style: self-service only! It’s like the little boy who
was riding a hobby horse together with his younger sister. The boy said: “If one
of us would just get off this hobby horse there would be more room for me!”
It’s not all about me! Paul is talking about putting others before ourselves.
“…or empty conceit…” I heard the story
of a young woman who asked her pastor for prayer. She said, “Pastor, can you
pray for me? I can’t help myself, I look around at the other women in the
church and all I can think is ‘I am by far the most beautiful girl here’!” The
pastor said, “I think your problem is your eyesight!” CH Spurgeon said: “Humility is to make a right estimate of one’s
self… The higher a man is in grace, the lower he will be in his own esteem…” C.S. Lewis said “humility is not thinking
less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.” Self-centeredness is at the
heart of our struggle against sin! We need an “I” check!
“…but with humility of mind regard one
another as more important…” Murray said,
“Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to
expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done
against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or
despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut
the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of
calmness, when all around and above is trouble… The humble person is not one
who thinks meanly of himself, he simply does not think of himself at all…” (A. Murray).
“…do
not merely look out for your own personal interests…” The natural man needn’t be told: “Look out
for number one!” We naturally tend to put ourselves at the center of “our”
universe. Elizabeth Chevalier, author of the novel, Driven Woman, wrote
in a letter to a friend: “Have you heard the one about the novelist who met an
old friend? After they had talked for
two hours, the novelist said, “Now we’ve talked about me long enough-let’s talk
about you! What did you think of my last
novel?” Enough about me! We need to think…
“…also for the interests of others…”
This is the church! God designed humans
to be interdependent. Even in the Garden God said “it is not good for man to be alone”! The Preacher said in Ecclesiastes
4:12: "Though one may be
overpowered, two can defend themselves" (NIV). Who is watching out for your spiritual welfare?
We need each other. Just a couple verses before the Preacher said, "If one falls down, his friend can help him
up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him" (4:10). We’re
not “lone rangers,” we were designed to be part of the church—the Body of Christ!
Pursue unity, following Christ’s example of humility, empowered by our blessed
hope!
II. A Cause (or motivation) for Unity: Following Christ’s
Example of a Servant Heart (5-8).
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in
Christ Jesus, 6 who, though
he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be
grasped, 7 but made himself
nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And
being found in human form, 8
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a
cross.
“…have this attitude in yourselves which was
also in Christ Jesus…” Jesus does
not simply command us to serve, he himself came as the “suffering servant,” the
perfect example of what it means to serve, to put others before himself. Paul
is calling the Philippians first of all to think like Jesus. Right thinking
will lead to right living.
“…who although he existed in the form of
God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped…” The self-humiliation of Christ is magnified when we
consider the reality of who he is. He is
God, the ETERNAL SON. The One who was
present in creation and who holds all things together by his power. Jesus was
not simply a prophet and teacher who lived in Israel 2000 years ago – He is Eternal
God, who always lived in perfect union with the Father and the Spirit. All
things were made by Him and for Him. Perfect—Holy—Son of God, He left his
exalted position and entered this fallen world, to give himself for us, to
reconcile us to God.
Paul says he “…emptied himself…”
Commentators disagree about what it meant for Jesus to “empty” Himself. I suggest it doesn’t mean that He divested
himself of his divine attributes – God is immutable, He does not change. Jesus
is God. He didn’t stop being God when He came to this earth. He is the same yesterday, today, and
forever. In contrast to the self-glory denounced in v.3, Jesus masked his
divine glory by taking on a human nature. This is explained by the
following phrases:
1. “[by] taking the form of a servant and being
made in the likeness of men…” Rather than laying aside something intrinsic
to his divinity (which does not change) the participle here should be read
instrumentally: He emptied himself by taking the form of a servant… The humiliation of Christ included the act of
eternal God taking on a human nature.
This is the “hypostatic union”,
the union of two natures, divine and human, in one person, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Fully God and fully man, he reveals the Father to us.
2. “Being found in appearance as a man, he
humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death…” Not only did
he take on a human nature and enter this sinful world, but he came to fulfill
the Father’s plan, his humiliation would include dying for sinners. Death is the result of sin. By one man sin entered into the world and
death through sin. So death spread to all men because all have sinned (Rom 5:12). Jesus was without sin, he didn’t have to die.
But he came to die. To give his life.
3. “…even death on the cross…” The repetition
of the word “death” is deliberately
dramatic and emphatic. Not only death,
but the most humiliating and torturous form of execution in the Roman world of
the 1st century. He did that for us! We are called to pursue unity,
following Christ’s example of humility, empowered by our blessed hope!
III. The Consummation of Unity: The Kingdom of God (9-11).
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.
Psalm 2
begins with a question that has echoed through the course of human history: “Why are the nations in an uproar and the
peoples devising a vain thing? 2
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together
Against the LORD and against His Anointed…” Resistance against the rule
of God and His anointed is the essence of sin. Our text today stands almost as a doxology at
this point in the letter. There is no
more important subject than that which it addresses: the worship of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, in John
4:23 "But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be
His worshipers.” The word “worship”
has the idea of prostrating oneself before another in reverence (see Rev 1:12-17).
Paul
tells us WHY Jesus was exalted by the Father and deserves our worship:
"Therefore God has highly
exalted him…." The NASB translates: “For
this reason also, God highly exalted Him….” Why has God highly exalted Jesus? The
previous verses tell us, because, "though
he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be
grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant… and became obedient
unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him."
He exalted Jesus because of who He truly is, and because of what he freely
did. The Father has an infinite
delight in the Son because the Son esteemed the Father so highly that he chose
to die the worst of deaths rather than forsake the Father's assignment!
We are called to think like Jesus and
to follow Him. The Bible states that the Father exalts the humble. "For though the Lord is high, he regards the
lowly" (Ps 138:6). "Thus
says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell
in a high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and humble
spirit'" (Isa 57:15). Jesus said:
"Whoever exalts himself will be
humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted" (Matt 23:11 ). And it is fitting that the One
who humbled himself most deeply, the One whose obedience cost the most, the One
who was without sin, should be most highly exalted.
Therefore,
therefore God has highly exalted him. And He calls us to follow the Master, to take up our cross and follow Him (Mk
8:34). It may be in missions. Hudson Taylor said, after a lifetime of toil and
suffering in China, "I never made a sacrifice." He understood the
"therefore" of Philippians 2:9. "If we suffer with him, we shall be glorified with him" (Rom 8:17 ).
Whether overseas
or here, the word “therefore…” in this text evokes the power to serve quietly
behind the scenes, avoiding the limelight, often seemingly unnoticed or
unappreciated, buy consistently serving because you do it for Him. What a privilege to be called a child of God,
a servant of the King! After all, it’s
not about us, He is Lord!
HOW Jesus was exalted by the
Father: "Therefore God has highly
exalted him and bestowed on him a name which is above every name."
In Acts 2:36 Peter says, "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made him
both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Before his
death and resurrection, the lordship of Christ over the world had not been
brought to full actuality. The rebel forces were not yet defeated, and the
power of darkness held the world in its grip. In order to be acclaimed Messiah
and Lord, the Son of God had to come, defeat the enemy, and lead his people out
of bondage in triumph over sin and Satan and death. And that he did on Good
Friday and Easter. There are at least five aspects of the exaltation of
Jesus: 1) His death on the Cross (Jn 3:14,15); 2) The resurrection (Eph
1:20; Rom 1:4); 3) The ascension (Jn 20:17; cf. Acts 1:9-11); 4) His
coronation, (seated now at the Father’s right hand) [Matt 28:18; 1 Pet
3:22; Eph 1:21,22; Heb 1:3; cf. Acts 5:30,31]; and 5) His future millennial
reign from Jerusalem (Rev 20:4-6). Jesus wins, and so do we if we are His!
It says
in 1 John 3:8, "The reason the Son
of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." And in Hebrews
2:14, 15, it says,
"Since therefore the children share in flesh
and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through
death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong
bondage."
When Jesus died on the cross, making atonement by his
blood for our sins, Satan was defeated. Christ disarmed the principalities and
powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in the cross
(Col 2:15 ). The sting of
death was removed, the power of sin was broken, and the triumph of the Church
was secured. In its march to victory the gates of hell cannot withstand it (Matt
16:18). Paul goes on to describe the response to the exaltation of Jesus by the
Father…
“Every
knee will bow…”. At the end of the age, when the mission of the Church
reaches its glorious conclusion every knee will bow, and every tongue will
confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Believers and
unbelievers will acknowledge in that day that Jesus has triumphed over every
enemy—believers, to their everlasting joy, and unbelievers, to their everlasting
shame. Notice that “…every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…” In the context of the New Testament “Lord”
substitutes the divine name, “Yahweh” in citations from the Old Testament. Jesus is Lord,
He is God! The word “confess” here
refers to an open, public confession.
This is not a confession of faith, at this moment people are either
saved or are not. All however will bow
the knee and publicly acknowledge the Lordship of Christ.
At Jesus’
birth, the angel announced to the shepherds that “Today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior who
is Christ the Lord” (Lk 2:11).
Jesus told his disciples “You call
me teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am” (John
13:13), and after the resurrection Thomas confessed Him as “My Lord and My God.” At Pentecost Peter proclaimed, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know
for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom
you crucified” (Acts 2:36).
Paul
told the Romans “If you confess with your
mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from
the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9).
He told the Corinthians that “there is but one God, the Father, from who
are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are
all things, and we exist through Him” (I Cor 8:6). And all of this “…to the
glory of God the Father…” Here we
see a hint of the intimate fellowship within the Godhead: To proclaim the
sovereign Lordship of the Son is the greatest glory that can be given to God
the Father. As Jesus is recognized as
Messiah and King, as he is worshipped as our Savior and our God, the Father is
glorified as well.
Because
of Jesus’ obedience in carrying out the Father’s plan He has been exalted to
the Father’s right hand. As we worship
the Son, which is our only fitting response to Him, the Father is
glorified. One day all will bow,
either in worship or in defeat. Is He your Lord? Then worship Him today, and every day! He
is calling us to…
What is God
saying to me in this passage?
Pursue unity, following Christ’s example of humility, empowered by our blessed
hope!
What would
God have me to do in response to this passage? How do we do this when there are always people who
seem to thrive on conflict and bringing division? Follow Jesus. How do
you know when you have the attitude of a servant? By how you react when someone
treats you like one! As far as it rests with you, be at peace with all. Choose
to speak words of grace that encourage and edify. We are all a work in progress!
Let’s look ahead with the sure hope that God is in control, and that Jesus is building
His church! As we live and serve in unity, God will carry out His good purpose
for Boothbay Baptist Church in 2018!
AMEN.
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