The Source of Humility

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 69:19-36

Psalm 69:19–36 ESV

You know my reproach, and my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to you. Reproaches have broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. Let their own table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually. Pour out your indignation upon them, and let your burning anger overtake them. May their camp be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents. For they persecute him whom you have struck down, and they recount the pain of those you have wounded. Add to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from you. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous. But I am afflicted and in pain; let your salvation, O God, set me on high! I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. For the Lord hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners. Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them. For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it; the offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 53:10-12

Isaiah 53:10–12 ESV

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Sermon:

Well, good morning church. I was glad when they said to me, let us go and worship in the house of the Lord.

As we read through the book of Philippians, you may have already noticed. It's a very rich and dense book. Paul has carefully packed. A whole whole lot into a very small amount of words. And because of that, I would say. There's even more Beauty and depth To what he says, sometimes when we're forced to— For whatever reason — Say more with less. The less we say sometimes our words Carry a deeper weight.

By way of example. I think we know this. But just by way of example, when Desiree and I first started dating It was actually probably pretty soon. Maybe a couple months after we started dating. I was smitten. I knew I was in love with this girl. She's great. I knew it, I knew I didn't want to follow after date, anyone else. I wanted to be with her forever. I just, I knew that But here's the problem when you're in college. And you've dated someone for like, two months. You can't say that, right? That's just a little bit weird. You don't just dive head first into that. And so here I am struggling to find out how do I Communicate my feelings without. One scaring her away, but I actually think, to justify this, even a little more. It's important. We are careful because some words and some things we say we can never take back. And so you need to be careful and move forward with wisdom and discernment. So here I am feeling these feelings, but not knowing what words I can say to express it. So here's what I said to her, I remember we were walking to her car. We were leaving my apartment. I was walking her to her car. And I said to her, You mean the world to me.

Well, what did I mean by that? I mean, I love you, I would do anything for you. I'm willing to sacrifice for the sake of you. I'm saying I love you, but I want to be careful and not say those words yet. And so, for us for Desiree and I, you mean the world to me Means a lot more than just those words put together.

Well, Paul in Philippians chapter 2 verses 5 through 11. Will say quite a few things that mean more than just the definition of those words strung together. He will be giving us deep and Rich. Theological. Truth. But even before we read it, I want to remind us. How incredible it is that we would find even that sort of thought HERE.

When you think of deep theological truths, you think vastly sweeping beautiful theological language immediately. We usually think of the book of Romans rightly, so, Romans is often called. Paul's magnum opus, his crowning work where he downloads all of the deep rich Theology in this letter to the church in Rome. And yet, here in Philippians, In a thank you, note. Written to a church, he loves In the middle of talking about why they should be humble. Paul will hit us with the most lofty. Loaded language that you will find almost anywhere in scripture. And it's beautiful and it's wonderful. And it's what we will turn our attention to today.

Just to remind us. Once again, Philippians 2, 1-11 is one section broken into three sermons because there is so much here. And so I'm going to read the whole section. We are going to spend our time this morning, looking at verses 5 through 8. But to read for us, Philippians 2, verse 1.

Philippians 2:1–11 ESV

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, 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. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

These are the words of the Lord for us this morning. Let's open. With the word of prayer.

Our Father in Heaven, we thank you for the precious gift of your son. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The one who is. God and King ruling and reigning. We thank you. That he would. Condescend down into creation live the life. We can never live to offer himself for us that we might find Redemption, hope, and healing. Thank you for this precious truth. That is the gospel. Help us to see clearly the beauty of your son. Give us a ears to hear and eyes to see. Help us to see and know who you are. Truly, as we study your word, given to us, We pray that your Holy spirit would work in us. Teaching us these things. It's in Jesus name that we pray. Amen. And amen.

Last week we discussed. What's the motivation For our humility. He says the gospel. It's what the gospel does, it's it's how the gospel changes us, okay? But then, what does that look like? Well ultimately, it looks like unity and care and love for one another. Okay. Now today we look to another important question: Where's that come from? How do we do that? What's the source of that humility. How can I Foster and increase that thought in my heart and mind and life?

So, Paul will tell us What the source is and Where it comes from. I'll give you a hint. It's not from you.

Its NOT from YOU

I tried to make this slide clear. I want to make sure you get this point. It's not from you. You do not have in yourself, the ability to be as humble as you are called. To be, it doesn't come from your own strength and might and working. No one is humble enough. No one is good enough. No one is righteous enough. No one has enough in them to be the source of this humility for themselves. It's not from you. Paul says, verse 5 have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, and we can't move on past here till we wrestle with this. What does this verse mean. Well a lot, but importantly it means that it is not your mind!

In the Greek, this is even more difficult. Paul says “this mind in you also in Jesus”, that's all the Greek words there. This mind. in you. Also, in Jesus Christ.

The ESV translators try to help us out “have this mind among yourselves. Which is yours in Christ, Jesus.” This mind in you.

Is yours in. Christ, Jesus. The NIV translators try to help us out this way they say, “Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus”, in other words, that your mindset has to be the same one That's Jesus is. again it is not originating in you, Jeuss is first so it's not yours.

We could go on. Ol trusty as i like to call the KJV: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” it is the same mind. it is in you and ALSO it is in Christ, but again, importantly, where does it start from. NOT you.

and the point here is if the mind is not from you the humility is not from you either!

So what's the source of our humility? It's not from you. It's from the mind that Jesus has, that is now inside of you. The source of your humility. It's not from you, it's from Jesus. And this is so incredibly loaded, right? We're in the first verse. And what Paul is saying is, It's not just that we're in Christ, right? That in Philippians, that's been the message “in Christ... in Christ. You're in Christ, when you're in him, that we are hid in Christ” right? That's been Paul's message have joy because you're in him, be together because you're in him together. Do these things because you are in Christ.

But now interestingly that same thought is turned Not throwing out the old but showing us that it even goes deeper your hid in Christ, but then Christ is in you. And your mind is the same mind that he has. You have the ability to have and to live out what you are called to. why? Because you have Christ's mind. And the mind comes from him and the humility comes from him and the goodness comes from him, it doesn't come from you.

What's the source? The source is. Endeavoring to Live. And look. Like Jesus.

How do we live humble lives? Step one. Stop trying to do it in your own strength and mind. You can't. You're not good enough. Just think about it, it makes sense. Even from just like a If if what we're called to do is be humble. How can we do that? Remember last week, I told Desiree. I don't know how to feel about this. I try to say a joke from time to time here at the pulpit. I don't always get a lot of laughs, probably because I'm not that funny. The most laughs I've probably ever gotten is when I started by saying. I am so very humble. I don't know how to feel about that. But the point I was trying to make, and the point that stands is When you try to be humble in your own strength and might you're proving, you're not humble, because you think you're good enough, strong enough. All of these things

And so in some sense it just makes sense that humility can't come from ourselves. You throw on top of that, our sin nature, and our inability, to be righteous on our own accord. our fallen sin nature. It seems pretty clear the source of humility, can't be me. Instead. I must look to Jesus. I looked at Jesus who he was, but I also looked to Jesus who he is in my life and what he has given to me.

So what's the source? have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus!

The mind of Christ in you. This is what is the source of your humility.

And so now I would like to spend The rest of our time together. We will get to. How do we apply this? What does this look like, all these other things? We'll get there. But for the most part today, I just would like to spend our time looking at the humility of Christ.

A Look at the humility of CHRIST

This is where. Paul begins to unpack Truth. And Beauty at an unprecedented rate into this passage.

The things that Paul says here, you will spend the rest of your life wrestling with and trying to fully understand and trying to grasp and then the more you grasp these things, the more beautiful Jesus becomes and the more incomprehensible the grace of God expands to in our minds. We... In Ephesians, Paul prays, for the Ephesian church, he says. And I pray that you together with all the saints would understand the height and depth and width and breadth of the love of God in Christ Jesus. Our lord. Which is Paul says, in Ephesians unknowable. He prays I pray that you would know the unknowable well in Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 through 8, Paul will try to explain to us the unexplainable and the more we grasp and wrestle with his words, the more we find. But you can spend your whole life looking at the humility of Christ and still being in awe and wonder, You will never get to the bottom of the depth of these truths. This is why the book of Philippians is so beautiful. And so Paul then spends the rest of us. Five through eight explaining the humility of Christ.

This is one of those, not so explicit application sermons. Your application, as we work through this. I'll just tell you. Your application is to have awe and wonder and a desire to imitate Christ. It's all we can do here. You will not be able to live up to this standard. So awe and wonder and then try to imitate Christ.

Paul says, have this mind among you, which is yours in Christ. Jesus be as humble as Jesus. You won't make it here. This is an impossible standard but We look at his humility. With awe and wonder. And then we try to mimic imitate Christ in his humility in what ever little ways we can that grows us. The bad news: yopu cant do this in your own strenght and might, the good news, you have the mind of Christ in you, so walk in that!

There are three ways Paul will show the humility of Christ, each one of them, beautiful and incredible and worth our time and attention. He starts. By showing us the humility of Christ in heaven.

In HEAVEN

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ. Jesus verse 6. Who. Though he was in the form of God. Did not count equality with God. A thing. To be grasped.

This is. One of the most important verses. In all of scripture. This verse, Teaches us. Probably more...More clearly. I'll even take out the probably. I'll go to bat for this one. More clearly than any other verse. That Jesus Is God.

Anyone who will deny the Divinity of Christ, that Jesus is fully God. that every bit of who Jesus is, Is God has to wrestle with? Philippians 2:6. Because Jesus Paul says, was in the form. Of God.

We don't use the word form very often. But if you've ever taken any level of philosophy class, the word form might make you think of this guy named Plato. May have heard of him, he was a Greek philosopher. Coincidentally, Paul's writing in Greek. Plato. Spoke a lot about the forms and now I don't want to get into. This is not a philosophy class, not a philosophy lesson, I don't want to wrestle with sort of Plato's allegory of the cave and all of those things they're interesting. They're not our Point here today. But when Paul says form, this is a loaded word. And in it, he means that everything that makes God God is in Jesus.

The idea of a form is there are certain things that by definition are essential characteristics for something to have. For example. What makes a chair a chair. This is the question you'll start with if you take basic level vlogging what makes a chair. A chair. And a lot of things, you think of Are not. What makes a chair. A chair, right. You're sitting in one that's blue. It didn't have to be blue. So blueness isn't what? Makes a chair chair turns out four legs, right sometimes. Well, it has four legs. Four legs isn't what makes a chair a chair. It's a difficult question. Actually to answer, what makes a chair chair. It involves sitting on it and that's its purpose and design but what then makes a chair different than a bench, right? You had to work through these things. But there are things that make a chair a chair. Such that, here's the We can usually just look at something and say yeah, that's a chair. Right. Maybe what makes it a chair is hard but that's definitely a chair, right? You're sitting in a chair, this is a table and there's a difference. We know that. And that's a piano and this is a Pulpit, right? Each thing has things that make them Those things, that's what I'm trying to say. To say that Jesus is in the form of God means, When we look at him. Just, He's God. Those things that make God, God are present in every way in Jesus. Jesus is God.

But Paul brings this up. Not to show as Jesus is God… though That's the deep rich truth. He brings us up to show us how humble he was that even Before the foundation of the world, when it was just God, the Father Son and the spirit. The Holy Trinity existing in perfect, love Fellowship and unity before they decided to create the world, right? When in the beginning, God... Jesus, even there Exhibited humility. He did not count equality with God. A thing to be grasped. Though, he was God. And could claim every right and privilege and high standing instead. He humbled himself.

Jesus humility starts before there was even A universe. He did not count equality of God. A thing to be grasped.

In heaven. For all time before creation, for all eternity after time is over. Jesus, exhibits humility. Because though he has all the essential characteristics to make him God, He still prayed to the father. There's still a deferment. My father knows things, only the son doesn't know. There's, There's a humble deferment. Within the very nature of Jesus. Again, this is difficult and hard to grasp and we have to wrestle through some of these things. Here's the point. As short as I can say, Jesus. Fully God. Yet. Did not count equality with God. A thing to be grasp. Instead, he humbled himself. Seen most evidently in the fact that Jesus would condescend from To Earth we call this. The Incarnation.

In INCARNATION

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God, a thing to be graphed. So we start Jesus showed his humility in heaven. Verse 7, but he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness. Of men. Jesus. The second person of the Trinity fully God. Entered into creation. And now somehow by some miracle that only God can do. And in all honesty, only God can fully understand… if you want me to explain this, to you, in a way that makes every single logical sense at all, times to all people. I can't do it… No one can. But why would we expect this?

God is greater and bigger than us. Of course, he can do and say and be things that we can't fully understand and we cannot Force God, to make sense to us. That's idolatry. Instead we read what God has said and we understand this to be true. And so what do we know to be true? That Jesus was humble in heaven? Because though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God. A thing to be grasped and Jesus showed his humility by entering into creation. And the one who is fully God is also fully man note the same exact word is used here verse 7, but he emptied himself by taking the form. Of a servant. then in verse 8 “being found in human form”

So this is what we have in Jesus. One who is fully God, everything that makes God, God is in Jesus, and he is also fully man. Everything that makes a human being. A human being is in Jesus. He is both. At all times.

From the moment of the Incarnation. Now, we look forward to Eternity. This, this is why things like the resurrection and Jesus resurrecting and then appearing to the disciples are so important. In fact, one of the favorite stories of the of the Resurrection, right? One of the disciples gets a bum rap. His name is doubting Thomas. What cures doubting Thomas of his doubts? He places his hands in the scars in Jesus hand and in his side. Why is that story important, one? It shows us that Faith required and we get to hear. Thomas blessed, are you? Because you've seen these things, more blessed are those, who will believe without seeing, but two it illustrates, for us. Clearly, that Jesus still has some sort of physical body such that Thomas can touch it.

And now forever, as he ascends to heaven forever, he lives to intercede on our behalf. The writer of Hebrews cares. A lot. A lot about Philippians chapter 2, verse 7 that he is in the form of ma so that Jesus found in the likeness of man that Jesus being in human form. Is our great intercessor. But this shows us, Jesus humility.

He is the form of God yet. He didn't count equality of God. A thing to be grasped. That's humble. But he's so incredibly humble that he was willing to lay aside, all that was in heaven to condescend down into creation. And so in Jesus we have God, man. Both fully and completely. Such that. His divinity in no way lessens or takes away from his Humanity and his Humanity in no way lessens or takes away from his divinity, he is both God and man fully Forever. That's the point. Jesus humility. Is him laying aside that which he rightfully could grasp. And being willing to subjugate himself to the Brokenness of this world. How much? By showing us his humility. In death.

in DEATH

He emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of man. And being found in human form. He humbled himself. By becoming obedient to the point of death. Even On a cross. Jesus humility. Is such that. God became man and he suffered and died in the most humiliating painful way possible. The humility of Jesus is such that. The highest most lofty, most praiseworthy most honorable most beautiful, most incredible. Jesus. Would suffer and die. The most painful shameful accursed death mankind. Could think of That's humility.

The source of your humility is to know, and understand that there is no exaggerating the depth of humility of Jesus.

By way of to try to get us to understand what's going on here.

How much love? Does God have? I think this one's easy for us, they're infinite. God is love. There is no end or limit to his love. Great. How much Justice? Does God have? He's infinitely, just And righteous and holy. He will judge all people for all things that they have all done. There is no, there's nothing that gets past his ability to see and know and rightly judge his Justice is infinite. Okay you kind of understand that. His Mercy. Sure, because he's God, he has these things infinitely How about is humility? He's infinitely. Humble.

From the highest highs of though, he was in the form of God to the lowest lows, he became obedient to the point of death. Even death on a cross. The gulf between those is unfathomable I could stand here for all eternity. Trying to describe the depth of the humility of Jesus Christ. And I could not do it.

SO In these few words. Paul loaded so much meaning. And the biggest meaning that he has put in here is the hope and truth of the Gospel. Why must we be humble? Because it unites us. Sure. because all of this... sure. Why must me be humble? Because our savior in his humility saved us.

We only have salvation. Because Jesus was willing to Enter into Humanity... God himself took on human flesh. And his divinity… thinly, veiled. Lived and taught and healed performed Miracles. Proved that he was in fact, God. Paul can say though, he was in the form of God because Jesus, proved it. And yet they hated him.

And though Jesus had all power and authority, he could call down Angels. He could command Legions of the Heavenly Army. When they came against him, he could have with, with a mere word. Prove them showed them taught them. Instead, he humbled himself And though he was God and could perform great miracles. And as they're mocking him and saying, You saved others? Why don't you save yourself? Come down from that cross. He could have Instead, he humbled himself. As they they reviled him and they cursed him, He cried out. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. He humbled himself. And then upon crying out. My God, my God. Why have you forsaken me? He breathed out his last. He died. He humbled himself.

A preview of what we will get tomorrow… but here just know that this is not where the story ends… And then Jesus. A rose and glorious Victory. Because he was in the form of God, death could not hold him.

And we can then rest in this truth, Our Savior and King rules and Reigns forever.

But if he's willing to be humble, Shouldn't we too be humble?

If he was willing to lay aside the riches and Treasures of Heaven to come into this broken world, And he was willing to lay aside his power Authority. And and suffer under the unjust hands of this Pharisees and the Sadducees, the Sanhedrin and Pontius Pilate, he's willing to endure, all of that. How can I not be humble to?

That's the point. We rest in Christ. And in doing. So may we imitate His humility. Let's pray.

PRAY