Humility & Unity in Christ

Introduction

As you guys know, Kaylee and I were blessed with a little baby girl a few weeks ago. About a week or 2 before Jordan was born, we were over at Bachelor Creek having a conversation with our friends, Nate & Chloe, after service. Nate & Chloe had just recently had their first child, Jensen, about 2 months prior. Knowing they had already gone through what we were about to go through ourselves, we were intrigued to learn about their experience with childbirth and with having a newborn.

As Nate was recollecting on the joys of having a child, he mentioned one thing that I found especially intriguing. He mentioned that experiencing the birth of his child was a very spiritual thing for him…specifically in the sense that it has given him a whole new perspective on the incarnation of Christ & the lengths that Jesus went to in order to save us.

Well having now experienced the birth of our own child, we would definitely agree with Nate’s sentiment!

Q: What does the incarnation of Christ refer to?

A: Simply put, God the Son becoming man.

We know that before ever becoming a “man” in the technical sense, God the Son first became a “baby.” With Christmas upon us, I felt that this topic of Christ’s incarnation might be a good one to talk about.

There are many places in Scripture that reference the incarnation of Christ, whether directly or indirectly. Most broadly, all 4 of the Gospel Accounts—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—essentially give an account of God the Son’s life here on earth as a man 2,000 years ago. Luke 2 provides probably the most famous narrative of Jesus’ birth. Any of your families read the Christmas story from Luke 2 every year? My dad’s side of the family has always done that together for as long as I can remember.

Well outside of the Gospel accounts, there are also many other references to the incarnation of Christ…some more general and some more pointed. One of these more pointed examples is found in Philippians 2. It has been this particular passage that I’ve occasionally found myself reflecting on since our conversation with Nate, and since Jordan’s birth.

It’s this particular passage that we’re going to take a look at together tonight.

Philippian Context

The Whole Book

Before we just kind of parachute down into this passage, it’s important that we understand a little bit of the context of this book.

-1st off, the book of Philippians is actually an epistle, or a letter, that was written by the Apostle Paul, and the recipients were fellow Christians who were a part of the Church in Philippi. Philippi was a major city in Eastern Macedonia, or what would now be Eastern Greece.

-Paul wrote this letter to these Philippian Christians while he was imprisoned in the city of Rome, probably sometime around AD 60...about 30 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection.

-Generally speaking, similar to what Paul does in most of his letters, he’s writing them:

*to update them on current events (his imprisonment, etc.)…

*to convey his love and care for them

*to convey his gratitude for their love and care for him, and for their partnership and support in gospel ministry

*most importantly, he’s writing them to clarify the gospel of Jesus Christ and to encourage and remind them of this wonderful gospel amid their suffering

*and then lastly, he’s also writing them to lovingly exhort them to live in light of this wonderful gospel as Christians

The Preceding Verses

The specific passage we’re going to focus on is Philippians 2:3-11. But before we go there, aside from knowing some of the context of this entire letter, it’s also important for us to be familiar with the immediate context surrounding this passage.

By the time Philippians 2:3 comes onto the scene, Paul had just been emphasizing (1:27-2:2) a certain topic with these fellow believers: Unity. He’s sharing his desire and he’s exhorting them, amid their suffering, to strive for unity with one another.

And so it’s at this point—with the pursuit of Christian unity in mind—where I think it’s a good time for us to read our passage together.

The Main Passage

English Standard Version Chapter 2

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. 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 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. 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.

Devotional Message

Well as I already mentioned, the pursuit of Christian unity was something on Paul’s mind heading into this passage. That being said, Q: What is one main virtue that Paul highlights as being important in the pursuit of unity? A: Humility (you could also say Humble Love). Verses 3-5 says this:

English Standard Version Chapter 2

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. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

In order for fellow believers to pursue unity…to pursue being “one”...each and every one of us must individually pursue humility…each and every one of us must pursue humble love toward one another. This pursuit can be very challenging. I mean, let’s consider the first 5 words of Verse 3: “Do nothing from selfish ambition.” Have any of you ever come across these words before, and you were just left feeling like such a failure? “Do nothing from selfish ambition.” Nothing at all? Wow, that’s a lot of humility.

God’s Perfect Law can have a way of leaving us feeling very inadequate like that at times…especially when we consider the inner, spiritual depths of God’s Law. In His famous “Sermon on the Mount,” part of what Jesus does for his listeners is that He actually spends a good bit of time clarifying the moral law of God’s Kingdom…a moral law which had been so misinterpreted and abused, particularly by the Pharisees. And as Jesus spends time clarifying the law, we begin to see that a truly correct view of God’s Law is a Law that demands not only perfect outward obedience, but perfect inward obedience from the depths of our hearts. Think about Jesus’ statement in Matthew 5:21-22, which says this:

Matthew 5:21–22 (ESV)

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you [here’s Jesus’s clarification] that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment...”

You see, the terrible news for all of us is that when it comes to keeping God’s commands at their true & pure spiritual depths, we all fall miserably short, each and every day. I don’t know about you, but when it comes to the command of pursuing a humble love toward one another, I’ve found that even when I do sincerely “look to the interests of others”—as Philippians 2:4 commands us to do—even my sincere efforts are often polluted with self-serving motives and self-serving desires. Can any of you relate to this? We need to be very careful with this, and we need the help of the Holy Spirit. Because if we’re not careful, we can fall into the trap of working really hard at maintaining and protecting our “outer humility,” while at the same time neglecting the inner workings and motives of our heart. And if we fall into this trap, we may very-well come across as humble people on the surface, for others to see, while at the same time being so full of pride and selfishness on the inside.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 7:12 that “the law is holy…that it is righteous...and that it is good. And because God’s Law is all of these things, this actually makes the Law very bad news for sinners like us, because we fall miserably short of the holy, righteous, and good demands of the Law.

But thanks be to God...He has not left sinners like us with only a Law that condemns. Instead, He has graciously given sinners like us a Gospel that liberates. Here is the wonderful news of the Gospel for every believer: that “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

“Gospel-received” means that we now have a much different relationship with God’s Law than we did before as unbelievers. Now “hidden in Christ”—Who Himself perfectly obeyed for us—the Law no longer condemns...it no longer is our death sentence. For us as believers, while the Law indeed remains holy, righteous, and good…rather than condemn us, it now graciously “guides” us in Christian living. This means that we can see the commands of Philippians 2:3-4 in a much different light.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

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.

These commands no longer leave us with a futile, meritorious pursuit before an exacting and righteous Judge. Now safely in Christ, we have been liberated to gladly pursue humility and unity before a gracious & loving Father. In verse 5, Paul tells us to “have this mind” among ourselves “which is ours in Christ Jesus.” This “mind” that Paul is referring to is a mind that desires and pursues this humble love toward one another for the sake of Christian unity.

The really interesting part about Paul’s exhortation in verse 5 is that in one sense he speaks of “this mind” as something we are to pursue having. Yet in another sense, he also speak of us as already having this mind! Q: How is this possible? A: He tells us at the end of the verse. He writes that this mind is ours “In Christ Jesus.”

What he means by this is that those whom God has redeemed, He has put His Holy Spirit within us…and by doing so, we are given new hearts, new minds, and new desires. Those who reject Jesus Christ don’t even entertain the idea of humbly loving fellow Christians. How could they do that when they aren’t even Christians themselves? But those of us who receive Christ for our salvation and our righteousness…we’ve been given renewed minds that desire to humbly love our fellow Christians! And though we all fall terribly short in our efforts to do this, the mind and the desire to pursue it is there...because ultimately it flows from our new identity in Christ.

Earlier, I mentioned that the true and pure spiritual depths of God’s law can have a way of revealing our utter sinfulness. Well as believers, instead of condemning us with this reality, God graciously convicts us with this reality. He doesn’t convict us in order to bring about shame, but He does so in order to humble us in a disciplinary way by reminding us of our dependency on Him and on His Gospel. This is why Jesus can say: “blessed are the poor in spirit.”

And you know what? His humbling of us then helps us in our pursuit of humbly loving others. By His Spirit, when were are humbled of pride and selfish ambition, we can be more Christ-like in our efforts to “count others as more significant than ourselves.” When we are humbled, we can be more affective at lifting others up. And when we are more affective at lifting others up, we will see greater levels of unity achieved in the body of Christ, to the glory of our Father.

So in all of this we’ve actually seen that God’s Law & God’s Gospel are meant to beautifully together in our lives. In one sense, God’s Law convicts us, humbles us, and drives us to Christ and the Gospel. In another sense God’s Law guides us as we are motivated and fueled by the Gospel, to humbly love one another.

So as we’ve seen: the humbling of ourselves leads to the lifting up of others and the fostering of unity. Let me say that again: the humbling of ourselves leads to the lifting up of others and the fostering of unity. Does that sound familiar? Does that bring to mind anyone in particular?

The Apostle Paul, in his effort to motivate us toward humility and unity, brings to our attention someone in particular. He points us directly to the perfect example of Jesus Christ. In his effort to exhort us, Paul taps into the motivating-power of the Gospel....a Gospel which proclaims the Humble, Incarnational Love of Jesus Christ…a humble, incarnational love that looks to the interests of others, that exalts others, and that unites others.

Let’s take a look at the rest our passage. After reminding us of our identity in Christ, and exhorting us “in Christ” toward humility and Christian unity, Paul points us directly to Jesus Christ as our example and our motivation. Paul writes this in verses 5-11:

English Standard Version (Chapter 2)

5 Have this mind among yourselves [mind that desires and pursues humble love toward one another for the sake of Christian unity] , 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 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. 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.

Amen. Oh the wonderful incarnation of Christ, and the wonderful implications that flow from it.

Let’s recall the earlier commands in Philippians 2:

-“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit”

-“In humility count others more significant than yourself”

-“Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others”

Humble love. What could possibly be a better demonstration of humble love than God the Son—Holy, Perfect, Creator, Sustainer, All-Powerful, All-Glorious—What could possibly be a better demonstration of humble love than God the Son laying aside the honor and glory of existing exclusively in the Father’s form, and adding to His eternal existence of being “truly God” the existence of being “truly man.” Verse 6 tells us that “though he was in the form of God, he 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.”

God the Son humbly looked to our interests. And what were our interests? Sin. Selfishness. Opposition and Hatred toward Him. And yet, He still came. He still took on flesh...because, in spite of our own interests, He knew what was truly in our very best interest: salvation, forgiveness, and redemption. Conceived by the Holy Spirit. Born of the Virgin Mary. Truly God, Truly Human…the Light of the World came out of His mother’s womb and into a dark, broken, and sinful world.

“And being found in human form,” Jesus proceeded to “humble himself.” In the midst of utter spiritual darkness all around Him…in the midst of trial, temptation, and demonic forces...“He humbled himself by becoming obedient”—amid a lifetime of suffering, a lifetime of obedience...perfectly keeping the spiritual depths of His own Law. A lifetime of perfectly obeying His Father’s redemptive will...which meant “obedience to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

And because God the Son perfectly humbled himself on this earth—even to the point of death on a cross—”Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.”

And what has this act of perfect, humble love done for the believer? In looking to our interests, what has the Humble Servant done for us? He has exalted us with Him and He has united us with Him.

In one of his other New Testament letters, the Apostle Paul paints a beautiful picture of our exaltation in Christ. He writes this in Ephesians 2:4-6

Ephesians 2:4–6 (ESV)

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

Because of the humble love of Jesus Christ, we have been exalted with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places.

And yet, while this exaltation is very much a personal exaltation for each believer, it is by no means a private exaltation for each believer. Elsewhere in Ephesians, the Apostle Paul shows us that our exaltation in Christ means that we are united together in Christ. He writes this in Ephesians 1:20-23

Ephesians 1:20–23 (ESV)

...he [God] raised him [Jesus] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Brothers and Sisters, by God’s grace alone, through faith in Jesus alone, we have been exalted with the Risen Christ. And having been exalted with Christ, we have been united with Him. And not only have we been united with Him, but we have been united with one another. The Body of Christ. All of its members united together in Him and under Him.

That is our reality: we’ve been exalted and united. All because of the Humble, Incarnate Jesus Christ. So may we look to Him in faith. And in light of His perfect, humble love for us…and in spite of our imperfect pursuit...“if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit..”:

-”May we be of the same mind”

-”May we have the same love”

-”May we be in full accord and of one mind”

-”May we do nothing from selfish ambition of conceit, but in humility, May we count others more significant than ourselves”

-”May each of us look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others”

-”May we have this mind [of humble love for the sake of unity], which is ours in Christ Jesus.”