Philippians 2:7, He Became Like Me for Me...

Psalm 16:8 “I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”

Paul had organized the church at Philippi on his second mission trip.

Philippi was a strong Roman Colony with strong Roman ways...

As Paul continued his mission journey, he would get updates on how the church was doing..

After hearing some good things but also some disturbing things Paul pens his epistle to the Philippian Church.

And here in our text for the day, Paul is calling on the church to stay unified and in harmony.

How by humbling themselves.

When a person thinks they are better then someone else....look out....TALK, PREACH...

And Paul uses Jesus Christ as a example of humility for the church....

Holman Concise Bible Commentary Christian Unity (1:27–2:18)

In this very significant section of the letter, Paul urged the church members to dismiss their pride and to live and serve together in unity. Anything less falls short of the gospel’s standards. True unity will be realized by authentic meekness and selflessness, ultimately exemplified in the earthly life of Jesus. The attitude the church should exhibit was the one Jesus maintained

Serving Christ together, there is nothing that New Hope can not accomplish.....

yes there will be some disagreements but we all want the same results and sometimes you have to humble yourself to make sure that it gets done.....TALK, PREACH…(my job is too make sure that New Hope is going forward in Jesus)

And as we are about to see Jesus humbled himself so that we could be saved....HE BECAME LIKE ME FOR ME.....

Let’s walk...

Philippians 2:7 “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.”

The more common (and well-known) translation of this is that He emptied Himself. From the ancient Greek word emptied (kenosis) came the idea that Jesus’ incarnation was essentially a self-emptying.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Four: The Great Example (Philippians 2:1–11)

From heaven to earth, from glory to shame

if we look at that word kenosis...This phrase in Greek is kenoo, or, literally, “he emptied himself.” Jesus emptied Himself. Of what? Of His divinity? No. When Jesus came as a Man, He was still divine. Then of what did He empty Himself? He emptied Himself of His divine powers.

The implications of the “doctrine of kenosis” are huge because this means that everything Jesus did—the miracles He ministered, the prayers He prayed, the teachings He gave—were not done in His own power. Jesus healed and prayed and taught through the power of the Holy Spirit as He followed the Father’s directives......TALK, PREACH…(still devine, still king)

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Four: The Great Example (Philippians 2:1–11)

He willingly humbled Himself that He might lift us up!

TALK, PREACH....

Philippians 2:7 “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.”

a slave....

Exalting Jesus in Philippians “By Assuming the Form of a Slave” (v. 7b)

The slave in the Greco-Roman world was deprived of most basic rights. Jesus gave up His sovereign rights and became a slave. The sovereign Creator made Himself nothing. He identified Himself with the lowest of society. Christ “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). In John 13 we have a powerful illustration of Jesus’ servant mentality:

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians B. The Humility of Christ (vv. 5–11)

The Creator chose to serve his creatures

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Four: The Great Example (Philippians 2:1–11)

Have you noticed as you read the four Gospels that it is Jesus who serves others, not others who serve Jesus? He is at the beck and call of all kinds of people—fishermen, harlots, tax collectors, the sick, the sorrowing. “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many

now let’s be clear on something...He willingly laid aside His glory and “put on” the form of a servant. He did not cease to be God, but He did lay aside His glory and the independent use of His attributes as God. His life as the God-Man on earth was completely subjected to the Father.

one of the problems with today’s church, we do not have enough servants.....TALK, PREACH....(not just serving the local assembly but all of God’s people)...

lastly, Philippians 2:7 “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.”

he became me...

he didn’t come down as a prince or any form of royalty, even though He was King....

he didn’t come down as a powerful warrior,

he humbled himself and emptied himself and put on this weak flesh...

Exalting Jesus in Philippians “Taking on the Likeness of Men. And When He Had Come as a Man in His External Form” (v. 7c)

This phrase, “taking on the likeness of men,” doesn’t mean that He merely became like a human being. Rather He, who always was God, became what He was not, a human being. The simple point in this hymn is that when people saw Jesus they saw a man. People recognized Him as a human.

TALK, PREACH...

He became like me for me

verse 8 sums it all up

Philippians 2:8 “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians B. The Humility of Christ (vv. 5–11)

Becoming a man was humbling. Taking the nature of a servant was more humbling. Christ went still further. He humbled himself to the extent of being willing to die like a common criminal on a cross

FOR ME

TALK, PREACH, CLOSE...

Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1992), 563..