CHRIST'S JOURNEY TO CHRISTMAS PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11

Introduction

Last week we began a journey to Christmas. We are preaching in these days on the four great Christological passages in the New Testament. Last time we observed the prologue to the gospel of John. We learned from that great passage the truth of the incarnation of Christ. Today we are going to continue the journey to Christmas by looking at Philippians 2:5-11. Today we observe the Christ’s own journey to Christmas and beyond.

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There are three truths we want to consider concerning this Christmas journey of Christ.

Christ’s Journey to the Cradle (2:5-6a).

The Bible declares that when Jesus was born He made a long journey. It was a journey that took Him from the splendor of heaven to the sinfulness of earth. It was a journey that carried Him out of eternity into time. It was a journey that took Him out of the ivory palaces into a world of woe. Why would He do that. Only His great eternal love made our Savior go. He made a long journey to an earthly cradle. [read text for this point]

Before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He already possessed the attributes of God. The word form is the Greek term “morphe.” It does not refer to a literal physical shape. Rather, it is a Greek philosophical term that refers to the essential nature of something. In eternity past, Jesus already existed in the “morphe” (nature) of God. Jesus is God because He possesses the very nature of God.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He did not cease to be God and become merely human. There has never been a time when Jesus was not God. Bethlehem marks the time that Jesus was a man and still God. At the time of His birth, Jesus was still equal with God, because Jesus has always been God. Divinity was not subtracted from Christ. Humanity was added to Christ.

Neither was Jesus part God and part man. Jesus was totally God and yet He was also fully man. Divinity and humanity were not divided in Christ. What does all this mean? This means that Jesus is fully God but has added humanity, not mere humanity, but perfect humanity to Himself.

What does all that mean for us today? Wherever you have been, Jesus was there. Jesus is here right now. Wherever you will be later today, tomorrow, one week, one month or one year from now, Jesus will be there. There will never be a tragedy or difficulty that you will ever face alone as a child of God. Why? The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is right there.

Jesus made the journey to the cradle, but He went even further.

Christ’s Journey to the Cross (2:6b-8)

As we consider the cross of Christ, we cannot help but be awestruck by both the attitude and actions of the Lord Jesus Christ. In both attitude and actions we observe abject humility. There are three observations we can make concerning Christ’s journey to the cross.

A. We Observe What He Was Willing to Lay Aside (6b).

In the second part of this verse we read on, “did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped.” This phrase points back to the previous phrase, “though he was in the form of God.” It is the Greek verb “harpagmos.” This term yields a variety of meanings. In the active voice it refers to the act of robbing (taking by force). In the passive voice it can refer to a prize or something to be gained. Here, it is a reference to Christ’s equal status and privileges with God the Father. Thus, Christ did not seek to violently seize or try to hold on with a death grip to the privileges and vestments of His deity. As God He did not have to. Since Christ is co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father by virtue of the nature of His being (He is God), equality with the Father was already His. There was no need to seek to force from the hand of the Father that which He already possessed.

Unlike Satan who at one time was Lucifer, the worship leader of heaven, who tried to seize that which was not his, Jesus, who already possessed that which was His by divine nature, was willing to lay aside the vestments of His deity for the sake of humanity.

B. We Observe What He was Willing to Put On (7).

As we journey out of verse six and into verse seven, we journey from the attitude of Christ to the actions of Christ. This is both logical and chronological. The one automatically leads to the other. The NKJV and others begins this verse by stating, “but made himself of no reputation.” This is unfortunate because based on the original language of the Greek, a better translation would be, “He emptied Himself.” The crucial word in this verse is “kenoo.” It simply means “to empty.” The question now becomes: “What did Jesus empty Himself of?” It most certainly was not the self-emptying of His deity. Most assuredly, Jesus did not become less God in the incarnation. Jesus emptied Himself by adding to Himself. For the sake of our salvation and the ultimate glory of the Father, Jesus was willing to put on humanity. He laid aside the vestments and prerogatives of His deity and picked up and put on humanity.

Yet, this was not the humanity of a sovereign that Christ put on. It was the humility of a slave. Notice the rest of the verse: “by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” He did not don a crown but placed upon Himself the humiliation of a cross. We must confess that Jesus did not surrender His deity. What He temporarily surrendered was His glory. He temporarily gave up the praises of heaven, the position of heaven, and the prerogatives of heaven to take up humanity.

Why did He do it? Jesus journeyed to the cradle and made His way to the cross to make Himself accessible to us. Jesus makes God accessible. The good news of the Christmas journey is that we today can have access to God the Father, through Jesus Christ the Son.

C. We Observe What He was Willing to Endure (8).

This verse is the last part of what has been called the “Great Condescension.” Jesus came from heaven to earth. Through the incarnation Jesus the Eternal Word became the God-Man. He became a servant to the very world He created, specifically His human creation. He died a death, but it was no ordinary death. He died the shameful death on a cross. He did this for our sakes.

Death by crucifixion was so shameful and humiliating that the Roman orator, Cicero, admonished other Romans that they neither speak nor think of it. Let us back up to the cradle for just a moment. If the cross was shameful, the birth of Jesus was just strange to the sensibilities of the world. Christ was not born in Alexandria, the intellectual capital of the world. Neither was Christ born in Rome, the political capital of the world. He was not even born in Jerusalem, the spiritual capital of the world. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the capital of nothing of the world. God’s plan was different because our needs were so much greater. Our greatest need is not education. It is redemption. Our greatest need is not social change. It is salvation. Our greatest need is not religious information. It spiritual transformation. That is why Jesus was willing to endure all that He went through.

Love came down to an animal feeding trough in Bethlehem that was transformed into a cradle. That same love took Him thirty years later to a cross outside the walls of Jerusalem. The cross is the evidence that there is nothing that God will not do to demonstrate His love to His human creation. Jesus went all the way to the cross to die an accursed death to become accursed for you and me so that we would not have to be.

The journey to Christmas is not complete until we understand the journey that took Christ from the cradle to the cross. However, we are not done yet. Jesus went even further still.

Christ’s Journey to the Crown (2:9-11).

In the first section of our text, Jesus is the subject. In this section, the subject changes to God the Father. In these verses we will observe how God the Father exalts the Son. This change is seen by the word therefore (oun) in verse nine. This begins the section on the Father’s response to the attitude and actions of Christ’s voluntary obedience and humiliation beginning at the incarnation all the way through His atoning work on the cross. Let us notice the threefold exaltation of the Lord Jesus the Christ

A. He will be Exalted in Position (9).

The phrase “highly exalted” literally means “to exalt above.” It carries the idea of being “super exalted.” This exaltation began at the resurrection, continues to His ascension and to heaven and will culminate in His ultimate glorification. As part of this exaltation, God the Father has also given Jesus the name that is the most exalted name. This name is a reference to the character of His Person and the dignity of His name.

“who being in the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” [Hebrews 1:3-4-NKJV]

B. He will be Exalted in Adoration (10).

The previous verse described the act of the Father exalting Jesus. This verse gives the goal and purpose of that exaltation. There are things to notice concerning this. First, we are informed that at the mention of the exalted name of Jesus, every knee will bow. The bowing of the knee is an ancient expression of worship. It also denotes submission. It is the acknowledgement that Jesus is the ultimate Conqueror. What is important to understand here is the universal nature of that bowing. Every being will bow the knee. All those in heaven will bow. All those on earth, believers, and unbelievers alike, will bow. Even those under the earth, those who condemned themselves to hell, they will all bow.

Paul is looking back to a quote from the Old Testament.

“I have sworn to Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath.” [Isaiah 45:23- NKJV]

In the Isaiah passage, YAHWEH is in view. In our text, it is Christ who is in view. This is not a problem. YAHWEH is Jesus of the Old Testament. Jesus is YAHWEH of the New Testament. Every knee will bow, no exceptions.

C. He will be Exalted in Confession (11).

Not only will every knee bow, but every tongue will voice its confession as to the lordship of Jesus Christ. This too is an expression of submissive worship. Again, this confession will be done by all of creation. This will be done voluntarily by those who claim Christ because of their love for Him. However, those who have rejected and denied Christ will also confess Him by compulsion. For these, Jesus is not their Savior, but their judge.

Pastor Jerry Vines is correct when he states:

“Everybody will make the Christmas journey. One of these days you will have to come to the Lord Jesus Christ and face Him. It will be in one of two ways. It will be in Revelation 6:16, where it talks about the lost facing the Lord Jesus Christ. There it says that they will say, “Hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne.” But those who know Him as their Savior will be Revelation 22:4, “They shall see His face.”

Conclusion

Jesus lived His life as the ultimate example of selfless humility. If we truly let Christ’s mind be in our mind and we think His thoughts, we will understand and see this, and then we will now see that it is God working in us to do His good pleasure. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Christmas is an appropriate time to recommit ourselves to adopt the pattern for living evidenced by Jesus Christ Himself. His is the name every knee will bow to, and every tongue will confess for all eternity: JESUS CHRIST IS LORD! [“That Beautiful Name]