Gospel Humility

David Franks

Gospel Humility

[1] So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, [2] complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. [3] Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. [4] Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. [5] Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, [6] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [7] but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. [8] And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Summary: Paul admonishes believers to follow Christ’s example of humility. In this we see that God exalts the humble. This pattern seems backwards in the world’s eyes but this paradox brings glory to God. The focus is placed upon Christ’s own humility in being born in the flesh and dying upon a cross to reconcile sinful man to God.

The height from which Jesus stooped.

The depth to which Jesus stooped.

The believers source of strength.

Congregation, we come this evening to a most encouraging text. As Paul has already rejoiced in the work of Christ and the promise of the advancement of His kingdom, he continues to teach how we as Christians are to conduct ourselves in light of what Christ has done. A few weeks ago we saw how we are to conduct ourselves as citizens of heaven. And this evening Paul calls us to gospel humility.

But it is important for us to see, as I have been seeking to show throughout the book of Philippians, that Paul grounds these exhortations in what Christ has done for us. So often as we read Scripture, we are convicted of sin. We read how God instructs us to live and can often close our Bible only with the feelings of guilt and shame. And this will always be the case until we realize that we can never obey God in our own strength.

Yet Paul shows us here in this section of Scripture, that our only hope of living truly humble lives, lives that consider the needs of others above our own, is found in the perfect work of Jesus Christ. And as we consider the amazing work of our Savior, Paul turns our attention to Christ’s own humility.

A pastor has summarized this section of Scripture as, “A pinnacle of theological truth, piercing the heavens and probing the mystery of the incarnation. In dramatic movement traces Christ’s redemptive mission from divine glory down into humiliation and death, and then up again to heaven’s heights in resurrection splendor.” And as we see, the Apostle Paul begins by calling our attention to the height from which Jesus stooped in humbling himself. He calls us to focus upon the divinity of Jesus.

We should be amazed at the incarnation of our Savior. He is no ordinary man. Jesus is eternally God. He is the very Word which brought all things into being. “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Jesus Himself said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” Jesus was not simply stating that he existed before Abraham. Rather in speaking those words, Jesus claimed that He was God.

And while there is much confusion over the phrase that Jesus “was in the form of God”, it is meant to only heighten Paul’s argument. Paul is not saying that Jesus was like God but really not. Rather the word “form” here is to be understood as Jesus being in His essence,God. Jesus’ was divine He was truly God in flesh. As Augustine has noted, “Jesus emptied Himself, not by changing His own divinity but by assuming our changeableness.” This is why Paul’s next phrase should be so striking. Jesus, who was and always remains truly divine, loved us to the point of becoming a servant

This alone should be enough to call us to a faithful response if Paul simply focused on Jesus’ incarnation. But Paul, as it were, takes us by the hand and brings us to the depth of Christ’s stooping. He wants us to see the full meaning of Christ’s sacrificial life. As our text says, Jesus did not grasp at His divine rights. He did not use His divinity as something to be used for His own interests.

In fact we know this to be the exact opposite. Jesus so desired to redeem His people that He was willing to empty himself by taking on the form of a human servant. And to be clear, Jesus never lost some aspect of His divine nature at His incarnation. “Christ did not literally empty himself of any divine attribute, instead, he metaphorically emptied himself be revealing the form of God in the form of a slave and in human likeness.”

We see this so powerfully demonstrated to us in . Jesus’ time of crucifixion and ascension to the Father was drawing near. He desired once more to give a clear sign to His disciples of His love towards them. And what do we find there? Some powerful miracle? A grand foretelling of future events? No, rather what we find is the divine servant, bowing down to wash the feet of His disciples.

“Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

And while this already is amazing, it takes on great significance once we understand that the task of foot washing was the job of the lowest of servants. In biblical times men and women wore sandals and their feet would be extremely dirty. After walking many miles each day, an individual would arrive at the destination, and be greeted by the lowest position slave, and have their feet cleaned from all the dirt and grime, before entering the house.

Jesus, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, did not think it was beneath Him, to stoop down and wash His disciples feet. His loved them to much to be concerned about His own needs or how others would view Him for this act.

Congregation I want us to see here in the great condescension of our Lord, His love towards us. When Jesus sees our need, when He looks upon our helplessness, He acts. He considered our needs above His own. This is true humility. This is what it means to count others greater than ourselves. If anyone could have demanded that such acts were beneath Him, it would have been Jesus. But He is gracious and kind, always better than we deserve. We are the ones who deserve to be brought low. We deserve no greater position in life than to wash feet.

As our catechism helpfully reminds us it is not this one act but rather the whole of Jesus’ life that was one of stooping low to serve.

Q. 27. Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist? A. Christ’s humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.

And Paul goes on to describe Christ’s greatest act of service, the most amazing display of His humility. Jesus was not only willing to be incarnate in our flesh, not only obeying the law of God perfectly for us, but most graciously dying on the cross for our sins. Jesus was willing to do everything necessary so that all who believe in Him would be saved. This meant stooping to the point of death.

Having a good example would not satisfy the requirements of a holy God. If Jesus only showed us how to live, we would still have no hope. Not only would we fail to follow Him as we should but we would still be guilty of all of our actually transgressions. In thinking of the humility of our Savior, we are reminded just how lacing in humility we are. We often think only of our own needs and desires. We do not desire to put others above ourselves. And so often, if we are honest, we use others just to get what we want. We manipulate and smooth talk others so they do what we desire. We perform outward acts so that others think highly of us. Congregation, if Jesus were only an example, it only serves to show use how sinful we are.

But praise be to God, that our faithful Savior, did all that was necessary to save sinful, manipulative, people like us. Paul says that Christ not only became a servant, who obeyed His Father perfectly, but he died upon the cross. Jesus, the truly humble One, considered our salvation more important than His own rights. Bearing the shame of the cross, He died so that we may live. In our place, condemned He stood so that we may be reconciled to God.

With every hammer blow upon the nails that fixed Him to the tree, Jesus’ love for us is displayed. Jesus Himself said, “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?” No one forced Jesus to the cross. The rebellious Jews and the Roman Empire could have been completely destroyed with one single word. But Jesus came into the world to save sinners, in order that the Scriptures would be fulfilled. The cross not only displays the humility of our Lord, but greater still, His love for us. A love that would stoop so low and do everything necessary to fully and completely save sinners.

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil to turn stones into bread to satisfy his hunger, He refused. Yet when seeing the hungry of a great crowd, our Savior had compassion upon them and turned five loaves and two fish into an abundance to satisfy their needs. Jesus as our divine servant, never sought to fulfill His own needs, as He came into the world to serve and not be served. “He had no place to lay His head; but He never built Himself a house. He was thirsty, but He provided from Himself no drink. He was assaulted by all the powers of hell; but he did not call on his legions of angels. The power which carried the world, stilled the waves, and raised the dead was never used to make His own conditions of service easier.”

And it is this mindset that Paul calls us to this evening. The mind of Jesus, the divine servant, was to put the needs of others above His own. There was no act of service, great or small, that was beneath Him. Believer, this is yours in Christ Jesus. You have been made alive in Christ. You are freed from the prison of self-service, a life consumed with your own interests. Jesus has provided EVERYTHING you need. Do not worry about tomorrow, about what you shall wear, or eat. You have no need to be worried about fulfilling you own needs because your Father in Heaven has promised to provided for you. You are now able to live to serve others.

Not only do you have no need to be worried about your physical needs, more importantly, as Paul teaches here, Jesus humbled Himself by fulfilling the laws demands and dying on the cross so that you may be saved. You are free from the constant worry of desiring to save yourself. If salvation was left to our own works, thing about the heavy burden you would bear. Trying to do more but realizing that even your best efforts are not good enough. Jesus died to free you from an endless works based system of trying to earn you salvation. As Martin Luther has said, “God doesn’t need your good works, but your neighbor does.” What a freeing truth it is to know that Jesus has done everything so that God is now pleased with me and that now we are free to give ourselves to the service of others.

As we, by the Holy Spirit, put to death our self serving desires, and put on the mind of Christ, we clearly demonstrate the confidence we have in our God. We show our trust in our Father, who provides everything we need and abundantly more. In serving others, we say to the world, I have been set free by Jesus Christ, to serve you. He has served me and provided me everything I so desperately needed and now, in His name, I can serve you.