The Savior of the Philippians

Philippians 2:5-30

I. Introduction

OPENING QUESTIONS

Idea #1: Who do you think the most famous person in the world is? What qualities or attributes make you gravitate toward some celebrities over others?

Idea #2: What are some material things in your life that you hold really closely—that would be really, really hard to give up?

Idea #3: Talk about a time when you were truly stuck (in a physical place or in a situation) and couldn't get out on your own.

PRAY

Open your time together in prayer.

REHEARSING THE GOSPEL

What does gospel mean?

Good news

What’s the good news?

Jesus died for my sins

Why did He die for your sins?

So that I can have abundant life in relationship with Him now and forever

What is grace?

God’s love for undeserving sinners

REVIEW

Who wrote the book of Philippians?

Paul of Tarsus, the persecutor of the church who was converted on the Damascus road

Who was the original audience of this book?

The church in Philippi, which Paul planted.

Why was the book of Philippians written?

To help us understand that “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus” (1:6)

What’s going on?

REMIND

Paul, after encouraging the Philippian believers to be unselfish toward one another and to live among each other as citizens of heaven, grounds that encouragement in Christ’s unselfishness to us. Paul then makes the explicit connection again, as he did in 1:27-2:4—Christians act the way they do because of who Christ is to them.

TODAY WE’LL LEARN

Jesus humbled himself, taking on human flesh and giving up His seat at the right hand of God, in order to be Emmanuel, God with us. He died for our sins to make us acceptable before God.

Because Jesus gave up what He had to secure our status as children of God, we also should live in light of what He has gained for us, being lights to the world.

Philippians 2:5–30 (CSB)

5 Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,

6 who, existing in the form of God,

did not consider equality with God

as something to be exploited.

7 Instead he emptied himself

by assuming the form of a servant,

taking on the likeness of humanity.

And when he had come as a man,

8 he humbled himself by becoming obedient

to the point of death—

even to death on a cross.

9 For this reason God highly exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus

every knee will bow—

in heaven and on earth

and under the earth—

11 and every tongue will confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

12 Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. 14 Do everything without grumbling and arguing, 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, 16 by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing. 17 But even if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 In the same way you should also be glad and rejoice with me.

19 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon so that I too may be encouraged by news about you. 20 For I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests; 21 all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know his proven character, because he has served with me in the gospel ministry like a son with a father. 23 Therefore, I hope to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. 24 I am confident in the Lord that I myself will also come soon.

25 But I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus—my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need—26 since he has been longing for all of you and was distressed because you heard that he was sick. 27 Indeed, he was so sick that he nearly died. However, God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 For this reason, I am very eager to send him so that you may rejoice again when you see him and I may be less anxious. 29 Therefore, welcome him in the Lord with great joy and hold people like him in honor, 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up what was lacking in your ministry to me.

II. Questions for Discussion

A. WHAT?

What does Paul mean when he says, “Adopt the same attitude” (2:5)? To what does "attitude” refer?

Paul is connecting this new section to the one just before it (1:1-4). The attitude that he is referring to is one that is unified with the body of Christ in love, mutual support, and affection. He goes on to say, though, that believers only have this mind in Christ. This statement segues into Paul’s meditation on who Jesus is, so this command serves as the link between these two sections.

In what two "forms" does Jesus exist (2:6-7)?

Jesus first was in the form of God, but at the fullness of time, He took on the form of a servant. The word "form" here essentially means something like having all the qualities that this thing (God, or a servant) would have. Paul says that Jesus really became a servant—He really took on our real nature. And if He did that, the same meaning holds for the parallel statement: Jesus really is the one true God, the creator of the universe.

What does it mean that Jesus "did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.” (2:6)?

While Jesus was equal to the Father in all ways—enjoying all the rights and privileges of that equality—He did not consider those privileges something to be held onto tightly; rather, He was willing to give all of that up for the sake of the whole world.

What does Paul mean when he says that Jesus humbled Himself (2:8)?

Jesus left His throne above and took on a human body. He left His heavenly glory and came to earth in order to die a sacrificial death for us, and, what’s more, He died that grisly, ugly death on a cross.

What is the result of this humbling (2:9-11)?

God has bestowed upon Him the name that is above every name (the name Yahweh, God's proper name), so that the whole world would know that Jesus is Lord. Of course, Jesus already had this name as a member of the Trinity, but now it is undeniable that Jesus is Lord.

What is the meaning of “Therefore” in verse 12?

Paul is saying, “because this is the case…” For example, because Jesus is who He is and has done what He has done, you ought to respond by living in a certain way.

How does Paul suggest that we live the life he has set out for us in verses 14-15?

Without grumbling or arguing. “…among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life.” Thus, it seems that the way we live this life of harmony and selflessness is by clinging to the gospel, the word of life, which will make us lights in the world (cf. Berkouwer, Faith and Sanctification, 91).

B. SO WHAT?

Why does it matter that Jesus was, is, and always will be fully God (2:6)? Would it change things if he were a really wonderful human, but not God?

If, and only if, Jesus is God, His sacrifice is infinitely worthy to save all of His people. In other words, if Jesus is merely a man, He can’t even save one other person. He would only have saved himself, because a perfect life is what God requires of us anyhow. But if He is God, His life is worthy to save all of those who come to Him.

Why is it important that Jesus is also a man (2:7-8)? Would it change things if He were God living on earth, but without taking on humanity?

In order for Jesus to redeem our nature, He must take it on. Jesus could not have saved humans if He had not lived a human life. Humans have sinned against God, so the one who redeemed humans must be human Himself.

In the Well

Show the students a picture of a well. Ask them to imagine being stuck at the bottom of it, and to describe what they think that would feel like.

When you’re stuck in the bottom of that well, how can you get out?

You can’t climb out yourself, you need some help from someone else who is not in the well.

Who/what can help you, a dog or maybe a horse?

No, you need a human, someone like you, who can think of a way to get you out and to pull you up.

What position must that human be in?

That person can’t be in the same position as you, they have to be above you to pull you out. Similarly, Jesus has to be a man so that He can redeem us humans, but also He must be God, so that He has the power to pull us out of this well.

Why do you think Paul includes the bit about Timothy and Epaphroditus after 1:27-2:4?

Timothy and Epaphroditus are two of Paul's ministry or church planting apprentices. Paul updates the Philippians on his two counterparts with the idea that they will all rejoice with news of each other. These two are an example of what living in a manner "worthy of the gospel of Christ" that Paul described in 1:27-29 can look like. It is also an example of what it means to be lights in the world, as he references in 2:14-15.

Why is Paul concerned that Christians be lights in the world (2:14-15)?

Paul notes that Christians are to be lights amid a crooked generation. Christians, then, constantly show forth God's love and the beauty of Christ to the world around them.

What does it mean to work out one’s salvation with fear and trembling (2:12)?

It’s important to read this phrase in the context of 1:6, where Paul has already made clear God’s role in saving us and shaping our lives so that they are "worth of the gospel of Christ." It’s clear in 2:13 that God’s work is what causes and empowers us to work out our salvation. That said, “salvation” here is not only referring to justification, but to the whole of the Christian life, which includes our own growth in holiness. That growth requires effort on our part, but not to earn God’s favor (Silva, 140). In fact, the issue is not even one of cooperation, as if God does His part and we do ours. Rather, “the relation is that because God works, we work” (Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied, 148ff). The Christian can't bring about his/her own justification. However, he/she can, by God's grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, grow in his/her love for the person of Jesus, and thus become more like Him.

C. NOW WHAT?

When you read 2:5-11 and meditate on Jesus’ person and work, how does it make you feel? What thoughts and emotions does it evoke?

What are some ways that God is working in you for His good pleasure (2:13)?

Paul speaks with the Philippians about being a child of God in the midst of a crooked generation. How does your identity as a child of God influence the way you live in your current generation?

For Paul, this meant persecution in the form of prison sentences and physical punishment. For many of us throughout the world, it means those things as well. For some of us in the West, though, it likely means that we might be made fun of for refusing to drink before we turn 21 or abstaining from sex before marriage. In either case, Paul says the same thing: the problems we experience in this life are nothing compared to the joy we have in Christ.

Main takeaway

Because of Christ’s person and work for us, we are able to respond to Him in gratitude by living as lights in the world.

III. Closing

REMEMBERING THE GOOD NEWS

Jesus, through His life, death, and resurrection, has already made us right with God. In addition, Jesus also sanctifies us, or makes us holy like He is. The good news here is that the Christian life is all Jesus—Christ is causing us to grow, not asking us to furrow our brows and gain merit for ourselves to get into heaven.

Jesus Christ came to earth in love for you personally (insert names of students here). He has done everything to ensure your salvation, so go forth, bask in His love and grace, and respond to Him in gratitude, as lights in the world.

CLOSE IN PRAYER

Lord, You have loved us with a great love. You left your glorious throne to come to earth and live and die for us, Your ungrateful creatures. But now, You’ve brought us back to Yourself. Give us a spirit of joy and help us to live our whole lives as if we’re living them to You.

Supporting Resources

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

How is God working in your life right now (2:13)?

How can you be a light in this crooked generation (2:15)?

What does “holding fast to the word of life” mean to you (2:16)?

QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS

In what areas of your life has God been at work?

Who is Jesus to you?

How do you experience joy and gratitude in Christ?