The Humility of the Incarnation

Last week Paul challenged us regarding our conduct as citizens of heaven. Paul made it very plain that if we have encouragement and consolation by our union with Christ, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, and affection and compassion, then we are indeed found to be in Christ. And if that is the case, we are to live our lives in humility as our Savior exhibited.

We are to put others before ourselves, not forgetting them even as we tend to our own needs.

Paul now shifts and places before us the ultimate and perfect example of humility. He focuses our attention and our gaze upon the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

These following verses hold some of the most densely packed theology in the NT. I say the most densely packed because in verses 5-11, Paul dives headfirst into the Person of Christ regarding His incarnation in a way that should drop us to our knees whenever we read them. It clearly points out the deity of Christ and that He is in fact, God. And it show us just what Christ was willing to endure for His people.

And he does this in a way that seems it was not his intention to do so, as He is presenting us with practical information to exhort us to live humbly. Paul is speaking to us of our Christian ethic and conduct. But, at the same time, he opens up the nature of Christ to us in a way almost unparalleled elsewhere in Scripture. Paul shows us how Christ lowered Himself to our level and then God raised Him up on high.

Imperative 2:5

Paul opens with a clear and precise command that bridges and connects what he said in the previous verses of exhortation to a perfect illustration. This is the main point of the verses that follow all the way through to verse 11.

He says, “Have this attitude.” This word in the original language is in the imperative mood. Paul again presents us with a command. We must possess this attitude.

And note that he is speaking plurally. He says, “In yourselves.” He is speaking to the Philippian congregation and to the universal church across time. We as believers in the 21st century are commanded to have this attitude.

And Paul is not telling us to have a similar attitude. Or to add this attitude to the many that we might have as though we might lose it among them. A singular and particular attitude is what we are to have. And what attitude is this? It is the attitude which Christ had during His incarnation.

And before moving on with this it is vital to make clear both to the church and the world that the only place where we can discover the attitude of Christ; the only source of truth on the matter; and the only authority on the person and work of Jesus Christ is the Bible.

It’s not our feelings. It’s not the latest prophecies of so-called modern apostles. It is the once-for-all delivered to the saints' Word of God. Praise be to God for preserving His Word for His people.

So, we know that Paul is again calling us to exhibit a particular conduct. And he is going to do so by giving us the single greatest and perfect example of humility, that which was exhibited by Jesus Christ. And that leads to our second heading, that of Incarnation

Incarnation vv. 6-7

Beginning with verse 6, “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.”

This verse begins what many scholars and theologians have called The Christ Hymn. Continuing from verse 6 down through verse 11, the belief is that this portion of the text is actually an extremely early Christological hymn that speaks of the incarnation and work of Christ.

Some scholars notice something of a poetic or song-like quality. Not only that but it appears that Paul is drawing a direct parallel to portions of Isaiah, including the prophets' Fourth Servant song.

Returning to the text. The who is, of course, Jesus Christ. And we see that He existed in the form of God. There are several takeaways from this.

Note that Christ existed in the form of God. This word has been taken out of context for a long time. When we see the word form we tend to have something temporary in mind, as if something were molded into something else. Or we have the idea that if something is in the form of something else then it just simply looks or appears like it. But that is not the case here.

Jesus Christ was not one form before and then one form after an event. Jesus Christ existedin the form of God. This word for existed is stronger than the word normally used for a state of being or existence. The word Paul uses implies a prior existence. So, we cannot come away with the idea that Christ became God at some point.

This idea is a heresy that is almost as old as the church itself. The concept that Jesus Christ was just a man, although a righteous man, and was suddenly chosen by God and divinized has been condemned by the church for centuries at this point.

But the language Paul uses here rules that out. Christ has always existed as God.

And coming back to the word form, we can’t let this trip us up because it too reveals much to us about our Lord. The word used by Paul does not relate to us an idea of shape or mere appearance.

Again, this word has been and is used by many to deny the deity of Christ. They see the word form and assume that Jesus only exhibited the characteristics of God. That he acted like God or how God would have Him act. But again, that is not the case.

There are two words that Paul could have used to describe Jesus being in the formof God. The first is σχῆμα. This appeals to the idea of appearance. It’s a surface-level description. It is something that can be changed. So, if Paul was simply trying to tell us that Jesus appeared to be God, or like God, he could have chosen this word. It would better describe Jesus to be God in appearances only.

But Paul chooses a different word that makes all the difference. He uses the word μορφή. This word describes what could be called the essential property of something. And the way Paul is applying it here makes the clear statement that Jesus Christ is God. Jesus did not become God or resemble God, Jesus was and is God.

We see other passages that back this up. 2 Cor. 4:3-4 says: “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

We are also familiar with what is found in Hebrews 1:3 where the author writes, “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.”

This makes what follows all the more astounding when we see what Christ, being God, did for his people. But before we get there, I want to take us back to the word although.

It is something that must be kept in mind as we continue through the text. What Paul is basically saying as he moves into what follows is, “Jesus Christ is the eternal God. But, despite that, He did this.” And with that information in our minds, what we will see is astounding.

So, even though Jesus was God. He is the one who created all things. He is the only begotten of the Father. Very God of very God, as the Nicene Creed says. Despite all of this, Jesus Christ “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.”

What an amazing statement. I mentioned last Sunday that if there was anyone in history who had the right to hold themselves above others it was Jesus Christ. And we looked at how the characteristic of humility we are to follow is to be looked for in the character of Jesus Christ.

And yet here Christ Himself did not find this fact to be something to be grasped. We are not simply applying the designation of deity to Christ 2000 years later in the 21st century. Jesus Himself asserted the fact that He was God. In John 8:58 Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” And still, Jesus did not cling to this.

This word “grasped” could be understood to mean “to selfishly cling to or exploit.” Jesus would not exploit the fact that He was God and use it to His own advantage.

We can see this as something of an introduction to the humility of Christ that we encounter in this portion of Scripture. It is the first of three examples of Christ’s humility in verses 6-8.

And the second is the emptying of Himself in His incarnation. Paul writes in verse 7, “but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”

As we come to this we must understand what Scripture is saying and what it is not saying if we are to understand what took place in this ultimate act of love, humility, and obedience.

Paul and the rest of Scripture are not saying that Christ emptied Himself of his divinity when he came in the flesh. We again run into another long-lasting heresy when we come to this passage.

You can look up the idea of what is Kenosis Theory. This belief gets its name from the Greek word that is found here that means emptied, and that word is κενόω. So we see where Kenosis comes from and the basic belief of this theory is that in order for Jesus to truly be human and to accomplish what He had to He needed to cease being God, or at the very least set aside His divinity.

I don’t think I need to spend any real time on why this is, frankly, nonsense. On the face of it, it should cause us to cringe to think that at any point in the history of the universe Jesus Christ stopped being God. Frankly, it is a revolting thought that Jesus could be anything less than who He is, and that is the Son of God, God Almighty.

And also, if we think about this for more than a few seconds, we see the utter nonsense of it. We know that God is a Trinity. That is who He is. Period. And if any person of that Trinity ceased to be God, then God ceases to be God. And if that happens, then honestly, it’s over folks. God upholds the universe with the Word of His power and if He is gone, everything is gone. The very fabric of existence would unravel. Thankfully, we need to fear this.

So, Kenosis, the subtracting of divinity from Jesus is off the table. So, if this is what Scripture is not saying, that Jesus emptied Himself of His divinity, but Jesus did in fact empty Himself, then what is Scripture saying? It is saying that Jesus emptied Himself by taking something upon Himself, and that is taking up the role of a servant and coming in the likeness of men.

This is the second example of Christ’s humility. He became a man. Now again, let’s be careful. Taking upon Himself human flesh did not change Him. God did not change. But Jesus in His incarnation has become what theologians call the God-man. Truly God and truly man. One person with two natures.

There is obviously a theological and doctrinal rabbit hole we could follow right now, but we would never come out. At least not in a reasonable amount of time. So, we won’t get into it. But we must keep these two things in mind here: Jesus became a servant and came in the flesh.

Please note the words form and bond-servant­. This word form is the same word used in the previous verse where it said Jesus existed in the formof God. And if you remember, we established that it speaks of the true nature of something.

When Jesus said that He came not to be served but to serve, He wasn’t kidding. He came to be a servant, and he was the perfect servant because He had to be if He was to save His people.

So, Jesus emptied by becoming a servant, but he also did so by being made in the likeness of men. Again we cannot get mixed up with the words used here otherwise we miss the importance of the work of Christ. Jesus did not just look like a man while He walked on the earth. He did not just appear to be human but was something else. Jesus Christ was truly man in every way. Every way, that is, but without sin.

And this is why this is so very important for us to understand, concerning both the manner in which our salvation was achieved by Christ and also in understanding His humility. Only a man could pay the price of our sin, but only God could endure the punishment and wrath of God.

For God’s people to be saved, only one could achieve it. It had to be a man. It had to be God. It had to be Jesus Christ.

I would commend to you the book, Why the Godman by Anslem of Canterbury for an excellent explanation of why Jesus had to come as He did in order to save His people.

So, Jesus humbly refused the privilege of His position as God to become a servant and a man on behalf of His people. God Almighty stooped for us.

And we could easily think, at this point, that there is no further example of Christ’s humility for us to try and comprehend. Jesus has refused to jealously cling to the privilege of His deity, to grip His throne, and to affirm his divine prerogative. He has willingly taken up the role of a servant when He is the one deserving of being served. And He has taken upon His person that which should not be put on the divine, that of mortal flesh. Where could we go from here? Look at verse 8, and we come to our final heading: Obedience.

Obedience

Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

We know that Christ has already taken upon Himself the appearance of man. He now possesses the nature of man. This reminds me of what is found in Isaiah 53 in that amazing piece of prophetic Scripture that foretells the coming of the Messiah. If you would turn to Isaiah 53, and maybe keep a thumb there as we will come back to it in a moment.

It reads in Isaiah 53:2, “For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.”

He was a man. Pure and simple. If we had walked past Him on the street at that time and not known who He was, we likely would not have given Him a second look. I know some might take that the wrong way, but Scripture is telling us that He was in the appearance of a man without stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. I think this is meant to make the point that He was truly a man.

But moving on we now come to the third example of Christ’s humility, and that is of His obedience to the point of death. And not just any form of death, death upon a cross.

The word used here for humbled was used to speak of a loss of prestige or status. It can be used to describe the literal leveling or reduction in height of something. Jesus brought Himself low. The Son of God came to regard nothing as beneath Him.

He was obedient to the will of His Father, which, by the way, was also the will of the Son. John 10:18 says, “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

Jesus was not coerced into this role of servitude unto death. He did not go to the cross begrudgingly. He did not mount the hill of Calvary bearing the instrument of His death regretting His lot in life. He lovingly and willfully followed the path He took in order to save for Himself a people.

So, Christ was humbly obedient to the point of death. Again, we are met with the purely astounding. Jesus, the Son of God. The King of Kings. The Lord of Lords. The one to whom every knee will one day bow and every tongue confess as Lord died. And what’s worse, He died the death of a cursed criminal.

Was it not enough that He selflessly denied His royal and divine privilege? Was it not enough that He became a servant? Was it not enough that took up mortal flesh? But now Christ must die? And He died for the most unspeakable of crimes, that of our rebellion against God. He died because of our treason against Him.

That’s not how being a king is supposed to work. It’s the traitors who must be put to death but here it is the King of Kings. Why?

Go back, if you will, to Isaiah 53. Beginning in verse 3 [read through verse 5]. The King died to save His people.

And now, here’s the crazy thing. At the end of all this. After everything that Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit has hit us with in the person and work of Jesus Christ, this is the attitude of humility we are to have. Go back to verse 5. “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”

Have this attitude, that was also in Christ Jesus? Yes.

Paul has leveled us with this broadside of Christ’s love and humility and now says, “If the Creator, upholder, and King of the universe can do this, surely you who were made from the dust of the earth could try to do the same.”

This is what it is to be like Christ. To love and to serve to the very end. For many if not most of us, the end of that service will not be a martyrs death. But it could be, and we must be willing to let it be.

Conclusion

I know this feels like something of a down note. Yes, we see that Christ has saved us. But it was done at a tremendous cost. An infinite cost that can never be repaid. It was done by the blood of the Son of God.

But there is a beautiful and glorious silver lining. A silver lining of glory, praise, and exaltation. But for that, you’ll have to come back next Sunday. Let us pray.