Phil 2:5-11

Well we didn’t get all the snow they were talking about

Thank you again for having us

Beth and I are very encouraged just to be with you

*****Pray******

Today lets try something different

When I have a verse that we are to read out of the Scripture I would like a responsive reading.

I will read the Scripture reference and then someone in the congregation can read the Scripture out loud.

You can let me know if you enjoyed this or not later after the service.

Ok lets try it...

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Philippians 2:5–11 “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.”

Have this mind among yourselves - We are told to have this mind which means we are to have this attitude among ourselves. This is not targeting individual believers but the church as a whole. Having this mind of humility you might should be part of “church policy” as this is a standard for the church as a whole because the opposite of this mindset is selfish ambition and vein conceit which will brings division and dissension. Christ is our ultimate standard in all things and here we are being shown the ultimate standard of what it means to be humble. We were just told in verse 3 to do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than ourselves. Here in verses 5-7 we will see the ultimate expression of how our Lord Jesus Christ displayed humility.

The next three verses are perhaps the grandest description of the incarnation of Jesus Christ in all of Scripture. The miracle of God becoming man is the central miracle of in all of Christianity, it is the miracle of miracles. While these three verses are brief they are like dynamite exploding with every word as they reveal a deep theology surrounding the greatest event ever to take place in history. Because of the great truths these verses reveal to us about the character of God, the apostle Paul uses them to express to us how our minds must become like Christ so that we too reflect this character in our lives. The character he is emphasizing here again is the humility which Christ displayed in the incarnation and by which he came to us for our sake and for our good.

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Philippians continues...

though he was in the form of God - This is the exalted position in which the Son of God came from. The apostle Paul affirms the divinity of Jesus Christ and that he has eternally been God. In fact the apostle uses a specific Greek word here to emphasize that prior to his incarnation He was in His very essence and continuous state God. The Greek word that is used expresses an essential form which never changes. Both before he became man and after he became man Jesus Christ was fully God.

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John 1:1 READS … “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Jesus himself told us Himself that he existed with the Father in all eternity.

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John 6:45–46 READs ...“It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.”

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John 8:58 READS ...“Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.””

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Did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. - From this exalted position of being God and face to face with God the Father, the Son of God’s first step in humbling himself as Jesus Christ was to not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped. The word for grasped here means to cling to. The Son of God refused to cling to the full use of his omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence that He had in His exalted position of glory. While He never actually lost them as a man he willingly subjected himself to be fully man under the governance of man and the curse He Himself had placed on mankind. An important note on this is that the Son did not give up his equality of BEING God, but rather that He was willing to put down his state of glory and exaltation. The Son of God forsook the adoration , worship, and service of angels he had in heaven. He was willing to forfeit his divine privileges as God and lower himself into His own created order.

What does this look like for us? It means being willing to take an attitude of putting down our status driven lives. This is the first step we must be willing to take toward humility. We need to surrender our competitive urges to be outdo our neighbors or brothers in the things of this world. The whole idea of keep up with the Jones’s is a status driven life. We need to let go of thinking that the accolades and accreditation of men are what bring value to our lives. Somehow believing a certificate, license or title gives you more value and makes you a better person needs to be put down. Rather our value must come from our identity in Christ and the person he is making us to be. One analogy that Bible teachers sometimes use is what would happen if you as a human became an ant to try and explain to ants what a human was, yet you were limited in your ability to do so because you could only do things ants could do. What one truth would you try and tell the other ants?

While the analogy itself is limited, it begins to get you thinking about how an eternal, all powerful, all knowing, ever present God lowered himself to exist in the form of a man within the very created order of space and time that He made.

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John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

While he was in human form Jesus never in any way was less than fully God. As we mentioned earlier He maintained the form of God which is a form that never changes. Jesus Christ was never diminished in his absolute equality of being God and equal with the Father and He spoke with authority on this issue.

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John 10:37–38 “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.””

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John 14:9 “Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

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One time when the apostle Peter was being overly protective and stubborn and wanted to stop Jesus from being crucified and Jesus told him.

Matthew 26:52–54 “Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?””

Just so you understand, a Roman legion was known to be 6000 men at the time of Christ. Jesus is telling Peter that He has the power to ask the Father and 72,000 plus angels. And the Father will take them their current stations and come to his side and fight this small group of Roman soldiers if he wanted.

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but he emptied himself,

As we mentioned before the first step in our attitude toward humility was being willing to put down our status driven life. The second step the Son of God took toward in humbling himself as Jesus Christ was to empty himself. While Jesus was fully God while he was here on earth He fully put down His glory of being the supreme authority over all creation so that he could fully became man and be subject to the law of God as a man. He completely fulfilled that which we all fail to do every day, and in so doing He was the perfect sacrifice for sins which none of us are in any position to do. This exemplifies the second attitude of humility as Christ genuinely helped others without a demand for anything in return. For us this second step means once we are willing to put down our status driven lives, we must do it. We must take steps in our own minds and hearts to remove our selfish habits and personal demands that are meant to bring us status and personal glory. We must replace that with a mind that desires to help others toward Christ, without needing to be honored or thanked for it. We will begin to understand that our possessions are God’s, and to be used for His Kingdom. In the same way if we have any position of power or privilege we must acknowledge is from God and not for our glory. Rather we take every opportunity in them to glorify God and not ourselves. To put it another way, it means to stop building up our own glory with the things in this life and instead seek the glory of God through the gospel of Jesus with all of our life.

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Matthew 6:19–21 ““Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

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taking on the form of a servant, the likeness of man

The third step the Son of God took in humbling himself as Jesus Christ was to take on the form of a servant. Jesus came to us as the servant of servants. He was born in a feeding trough, he grew up as a carpenters son, he owned no land, no house, no business, no horse or carriage. All he had were the clothes on his back as he trusted his master, his heavenly father for everything. The Creator of the cosmos who could call anything into being by the power of His Word, who had all the “time and riches of eternity” became a servant not owning anything. He even had to borrow a donkey to ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, borrow a room for the Last Supper, and was buried in another mans tomb. The entire life, ministry and death of Jesus was the life of a bond servant.

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Matthew 20:28 “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””

Christ’s example of becoming a servant is the third step for us toward true humility. Jesus came to do the will of His Father and serve the people of God. So we are to live out a life we too must live as servants for the Kingdom of God and His people. Once we have successfully prepared our hearts and minds to be rid of a status driven life in this world the third step toward humility for us is to take on the form of a servant for the kingdom of God.

Does this mean we need to sell everything, leave our jobs, and go on the mission field? No, but maybe! What has God called you to do in your life? What are your gifts in the church? Are you using them to serve the local body? Maybe God has called you to be a godly mother and a wife? Maybe God is calling you to be a godly business man and husband to help provide for His people. Maybe God is calling you to teach a Bible study or help with children's ministry. Or maybe God is calling you to sell everything and become a missionary. That is between you and the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the one who equips and gifts his church. Is there something in this life that is keeping you from living out serving the body of Christ with what God has called equiped you to do?

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Matthew 10:24 ““A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.”

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he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The fourth step the Son of God took in humbling himself as Jesus Christ was to become obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. The key phrase here is that “he humbled himself by becoming obedient”. The unchangeable, eternal Son of God became not only obedient to the Father, but obedient under the law of God, and subject to the governing authorities as a man. In His obedience to the will of God in the created order, he was put to death, even death on a cross.

As I mentioned last week this isn’t about sacrificing our obedience with God while claiming we are laying down our lives for the sake of someone else. This isn’t about destroying something that honors God for a self righteous victim or martyr mentality. Rather this is being willing to stand in faith and obedience to God no matter what that may bring. To stand with God our Father and obey His Word in our life in the face of opposition, that is humility. Jesus was not helpless a victim at the plans of evil men. Jesus willingly and obediently went to the cross according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, so that you and I could come into a good relationship with the Father.

*********SLIDE 11************ Acts 2:22–24 ““..., hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

What this teaches us is that the fourth step in humility for us will bear the fruit of becoming obedient to the will of God.

Lets review the steps toward humility again. The first step is to become willing to put down our status driven lives. Second we actually become intentional about taking steps to abandon that life of personal glory and status. Third we will become servants to others for the sake of God’s Kingdom. The final step in this growth of humility will be obedience to God’s Word and His will for the sake of His people.

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Philippians continues…

Philippians 2:9 “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,”

Jesus’ example to us of humility ends with how the Father highly exalts him for his humility and obedience after he was raised from the dead. If this is true for the Son of God, how much more true is it for His followers?

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Matthew 23:12 “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

We as believers have been given Jesus Christ as our example to follow. Jesus is the supreme example of humility and serving His body, the church.

Now we are going to quickly look at the different ways in which our LORD and Savior was exalted after his life of humility. As we already mentioned God loosed him from the pains of death because he could not be held by it. That began the exaltation and glorification of the Son of God back to his rightful place.

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And after Jesus rose from the dead He was crowned the King of Kings and Lord of Lords by the Father as he was given all authority.

Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

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Furthermore after being given all authority, Jesus was taken into heaven in front of His disciples as He ascended from this earth through the clouds.

Acts 1:9 “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.”

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Now, since that time,Jesus Christ reigns forever, being given a name that is above every name because God the Father has put all things in subjection to Him.

1 Peter 3:22 “who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.”

*********SLIDE 15a************ Our verses in Philippians conclude...

Philippians 2:10–11 “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.”

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Jesus Christ is the supreme and sovereign authority over all creation and will judge all things. He is coming again. He is coming soon.

John 5:22 “For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,”

This two verses in Philippians describes three groups of people that will bow their knees and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

The first group is those who are in heaven. This includes both the holy angels and all of the redeemed saints from all time. The second group is those who are on earth, both the saved and unsaved people as well as the devils and demons who roam about the earth. The third group are those who are under the earth, speaking of the unredeemed dead who are awaiting the final judgement. The third group would also include “the spirits that are in prison” or the demons that are bound in the abyss until judgement day.

Every human being that has ever lived, every angel in the heavens and every demon both on the earth and under the earth will answer to Jesus Christ on judgement day. Every one will bow before Him and confess that Jesus is Lord.

The confession on judgement day will not be an opportunity for any salvation because at this time grace will have been forfeited by those who are now standing before the judgement throne.

However there is still time today. If you have not confessed Jesus as your LORD and Savior, today is still a day of grace and salvation. In his first coming Jesus did not come to judge and destroy the earth, he came to save it.

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”” Confessing Jesus as Lord and bowing your knee is not something you want to wait until judgement day on, but something you can do today.

Lets pray....