He Became Poor

Philippians 2:5-7 (KJV)

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Philippians 2:5-7 (NET1)

5 You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,[9]

6 [10] who though he existed in the form of God[11] did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped,

7 but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave,[12] by looking like other men,[13] and by sharing in human nature.[14]

We are in a sermon series I have called the Christ of Christmas. In this series I want to explore four amazing things that Paul reveals to us about Jesus in Philippians chapter 2. Last Sunday we spoke on verses 1-4 where Christ became humble or how he Loved us. Today we are going to look at what that love did, how it was more than a feeling of affection but it produced one of the greatest acts of love and sacrifice of all time. I want to look at verses 5-7 at how He Became Poor.

This passage that I have read in your hearing can be split into two thoughts

What He Was - Paul is reminding us that Jesus has always been, in fact Jesus himself taught this when he expressed in that famous passage, "before Abraham was, I AM!" That was not a question or a statement, it was a declaration of his eternal existence. There are many other scriptures that point to his being equal with God

John was a great believer and propagator of this great truth,

John 1:1-3 (KJV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 3:13 (KJV)

13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. (Or as this should be translated - John 3:13 (NET1)

13 No one[28] has ascended[29] into heaven except the one who descended from heaven — the Son of Man.[30] )

And many other which I don't have time to deal with right now.

There is the symbols of Jesus in the Old Testament -

Melchizedek Isaac The Serpent on the Snake The Theophanies of Christ in the OT

Some believe anytime the phrase "Angel of the Lord" is used it is referring to the appearance of the pre-incarnate Christ

Abraham- the appearance of the guest to Abraham The Angel who wrestled with Jacob The Captain of the Lord's Hosts who met with Joshua However it was - Jesus was God - immortal, invisible, all powerful, all knowing, almighty God. Working in creation, cooperating with the God head in all glory honor and power.

What He Became

He became poor - He did not think that being God was something to take advantage of - and so he left it emptied himself is the thought in this passage Made Himself of no reputation can be translated He emptied Himself. Charles Wesley wrote in that beautiful hymn And Can It Be

He left his Father's throne above

(so free, so infinite his grace!),

emptied himself of all but love,

and bled for Adam's helpless race.

'Tis mercy all, immense and free,

for O my God, it found out me!

Notice the theological soundness of Charles Wesley, He never even hints that He left his power. Christ became man, but He was still God His attributes, power, and might were simply veiled by His flesh.

What Did He Leave –

His Royalty – If we could get a glimpse at the glory and splendor of heaven we might be able to understand this. He was the Son of God and was and is and will forever be for eons and eons but for a short span of time, He left His royalty behind, left His Palace as it were behind.

Made himself of no reputation – Simply means he was humble He humbled himself Took on the form of a servant Took on the likeness of men and was found in the fashion like a man Remember Even though He exchanged the outward form of God for that of a human slave, He never stopped being “very God of very God,” as the old creed expressed it. Defender Study Bible His Recognition – John 1:10-11 The world knew Him not, and His own received Him not”

But Dear Simion and Anna knew who He was John The Baptist knew who he was (Even before he was born) The Wise men Knew who He was The Shepherds knew who He was He knew who He was Compared to the masses of people he was unknown as His true identity His Wealth – Again we would need to understand the wealth and grandure of Heaven. When we think of Heaven now as described by John the Revelator what people are scrambling for right now, the Chineese and the country of India are stockpiling Gold is used as paving material. He never had to endure pain, suffering, agony, loneliness, doubt, lack of faith, sin, a body that aged or even death. He left his wealth behind.

The songwriter sums it up when they wrote, “ He left it all, Not His robe, Not His crown,

Not Ten- thousand bowing down

Not one piece of Jasper wall

He left it all

Why Did He Leave – One word - US!!!

Each Christmas day at 12:00 noon where ever Paul Harvey's Program is played on the radio, Paul tells this story in such a dynamic way that it is sure to touch the heart of any person who listens to it.

You know, “The” Christmas story, “God born a man in a manger”, and all that, escapes some moderns. Mostly I think because they seek complex answers to their questions, and this one is so utterly simple. So for the cynics and the skeptics and the unconvinced, I submit a modern parable.

Now the man to whom I’m going to introduce you was not a scrooge, he was a kind, decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men, but he just didn’t believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas time. It just didn’t make sense, and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus story about God coming to earth as a man.

“I’m truly sorry to distress you”, he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas eve”, he said he’d feel like a hypocrite, that he’d much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. So he stayed and they went to the midnight service.

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later, he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another. And then another; sort of a thump or a thud. At first, he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They had been caught in the storm and in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.

Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter if he could direct the birds to it. Quickly, he put on a coat and goulashes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn.

He opened the doors wide and turned on a light. But the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow making a trail the yellow lighted, wide open door to the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flop around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them. He tried “shooing” them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms. Instead, they scattered in every direction except into the warm lighted barn.

Then he realized that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could let them know that they can trust me. That I’m not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led, or “shooed” because they feared him.

“If only I could be a bird”, he thought to himself “and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe warm ----------

(Sudden recognition)

---- to the safe warm barn, but I would have to be one of them so they could see and hear, and understand.”

At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. He stood there listening to the bells, O Come All Ye Faithful. Listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow.

What about you this morning, has it sunk in that he became one just like you, to redeem you, to save you, to bless you.