The example of Christ

Philippians 2:5-11

Speaker and Audience: Paul speaking to the Christians at the Church of Phillipi. Written to believers

Context: to encourage the believers to unity, to draw attention to false teaching and to refocus the belivers to Jesus Christ and off of the flesh and world

These verses in Chapter 2 start with : LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU!!

We are called to be Christlike. Now this is a process and a work of the Holy Spirit, we cannot accomplish this on our own. But we don’t have too as we have a helper the Holy Spirit. However for the Holy Sprit to be able to work within the believer we must:

Have a new relationship with sin

Be surrendered to Jesus Christ

Deny our self daily

Live a life of humility and obedience to Jesus Christ- the Living Word

Be devoted to living a life of servitude

It is a part of human nature to imitate. From our earliest moments, God has created us to imitate what we see & what we hear. Since our children grew up in their formative years in we imitate the dialect and accents of the people in that region.

Turn with me in your Bibles to Philippians 2:5-11

Now, the world system is telling you that the way to scale the heights is to gain all the worldly pleasures you can, gain all the power and influence you can, gain all the thrills you can, gain all the money and possessions you can. But that’s not what Jesus said. That’s not what Jesus modeled.

If we call ourselves Christ-followers, guess what? We must imitate, model the life of Jesus. Christ followers. Christ-imitators. Christ modelers.

One of the great Christological passages is this one we’ll study today. It’s called “The kenosis” passage because the key word in it is kenosis: to empty.

we must empty onself so that we can be filled with Jesus Christ

1. Humility vs.5-7

Humility- of low status, lowliness, of heart and mind

kenosis. He emptied Himself. What does that mean?

Well think about who Jesus was before His incarnation. Don’t think for a minute that Jesus didn’t exist until 2000 years ago. As the 2nd member of the Triune God, Jesus has always been. Jesus is eternal. John the Apostle wrote in his account of Jesus’ life: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 The last book of the Bible, Revelation has Jesus saying, ““I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8 Alpha the 1st letter of the Greek alphabet; Omega is the last letter. Jesus is saying that everything began in Him; everything will wind down in Him. He’s eternal.

So before His time here on earth as a human being, He lived in the glory and splendor reserved only for God Almighty. Think about that: before the incarnation, Jesus existed with all the best there is in the universe—without limitation. All power. All glory. All beauty. All comfort. All importance. All pleasure. It was His without limitation. He was God and possessed all the rights and privileges that accrued thereto.

But what attitude did He display?. V.7 “Instead”. Underline that word. As God, He had every right to have all that God had and treated the way God should be treated. But INSTEAD, what did He do? “Instead He emptied Himself” He emptied Himself of His rights and privileges as God. He didn’t divest His divinity; He was still God. But He divested Himself of His rights and privileges.

When I was in college, I sat under some teaching on this passage that helped me immensely then and still does to this day. You know why I get irritated at someone? Because I feel they have not treated me right. I have the right to be treated a certain way and when I’m not treated that way, I get angry, I get irritated, I get hurt.

Let me drive this point home: Every pride we have, every anger we experience, every irritation we notice, every injustice we endure, every hurt we feel—can be traced to a right that we are clinging to.

We live in a country that is big on rights and what we deserve. I certainly believe deeply in human rights and treating all people with dignity because every person is bears the image of the living God and therefore deserves respect and compassion.

But in our personal relationships—the reason that we struggle with others is because we are holding on to a right. Marriages fall apart because one or both cling to their rights. Friendships are strained because we cling to our rights. We lose our inward peace because we’re clinging to a right. Jesus modeled just the opposite: Even tho He was God with infinite rights, He emptied Himself of those rights. That is humility, to put others before yourself and to submit yourself to the Authority of God. Recognizing your place

poor and needy

naked and exposed

lost and without hope

powerless

2. SERVICE vs.7- 8

Have you ever noticed as a parent how your children model your actions? When kids would fall, if I was close, brush them off, “You’ll be ok” And most of time, you know what, they’d sniff a bit and continue on. If they fell with mom around, she’d pick them up with this panic look on her face and panic in her voice, “Are you ok?” Immediately start screaming!

As Christ followers, we are to imitate the attitudes/actions of Jesus. How did Jesus act? “by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form,8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.”

Remember in the Upper Room at the Last Supper Jesus had with His disciples? It’s found in John 13. Because people in ancient times walked barefoot or in sandals, and they would walk on the same roads and paths that sheep and cattle and goats did, their feet were filthy. When they arrived at a house, they’d wash not just their hands, but especially their feet. And if they were coming to dinner, that was really important because Middle Eastern tables were about 18” high and you’d lean on your elbow and eat with you’re feet slid right behind the person next to you or with our legs crossed. Either way, stinky feet would be offensive to everyone there. So Jesus is having His last supper with His disciples, and not one of them was humble enough to wash the other’s feet. So what did Jesus do? He got up, poured water in a basin, and began to wash and dry the disciples feet.

When Jesus showed up on this earth, He showed up as a servant. It says that He acted like slave (doulos): totally devoted to the interests of someone else.

This mission He was on, was in obedience to the Father. And His actions of humility and service, cost Him His life: “obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.”

CRUCIFIXION, CROSS OF JESUS/GOSPEL

Is anyone here acting out in such humility and obedience and servanthood that you’re dying? I doubt it. Yet that’s what Jesus modeled for us.

Genuine humility shows up in how we act. Are you acting like a servant to your family members? Your class mates? Your work mates? You are if you’re a Christ-follower.

3. OBEDIENCE LEADING TO AUTHORITY vs.9-11

“For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name,10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth—11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,[b]to the glory of God the Father.

Here’s the thing about God: when we are obedient to Him and serve others, there will be a time of exaltation. The exaltation of Jesus of course was one of a kind; infinitely unique: At His name, every knee that has ever existed and every tongue that has ever been will bow and declare that Jesus is who He said He was.

Our exaltation will not compare in magnitude. But it still will be stunning. One day the servant of Christ will hear these words, “Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’” Matthew 25:23 Can you imagine how wonderful it will be to experience the unhindered, unmitigated, unblemished joy of God? NO! Can’t grasp it. But that’s what awaits those of us who model Jesus.

This is the path of Jesus- A LIFE DEVOTED TO OBEDIENCE, TO DENY ONESELF AND EMPTY ONESELF OF THE WAYS AND THINGS OF THE WORLD- while you empty yourself of pride and rights, He will fill you with joy and peace.

If you’re not serving others, you’re on the wrong path. If you’re not serving here at Mt Zion, you’re on the wrong path. Some of you are serving, all right, but you are gifted and experienced to do so much more.

Parallel Verse to this passage is found in Hebrews 5:7-9

Hebrews 5:7–9 NKJV

7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,

Jesus Christ through His obedience is the author of eternal salvation. Now pay special attention to his obedience scriptures tell us that He LEARNED OBEDIENCE.

Let us also, Jesus was obedient to the Father, let us also be obedient to our Lord and Savior.