Today we
are going to examine the concept of humility found throughout Paul’s letters
but particularly in today’s passage of Philippians 2:1-11. It is certainly no
secret that God’s people are called to humility, but what is the foundation
upon which that calling is based? This passage of Scripture might be familiar
to many believers, but I would encourage you to allow it not only to enter your
ears but to also let it penetrate your heart and change your attitude in all
circumstances so that the humility of Christ is exemplified in your personal
life. The reason we are called to humility is because it is in the very
character and nature of God himself, realized through the person of Jesus Christ,
which Paul here gives a vivid description of.
Paul, in
writing to the Philippians from prison, meant to encourage the Church at
Philippi by pointing to Christ as the fulfillment of the Law. Like many young
churches in the 1st century AD, the Philippians found it easy to
incorporate the authority of the Law along with the authority of Christ. Paul,
in this letter, desires to move his readers away from that practice and into a
realization that Christ has been given all authority and has fulfilled the Law;
we, therefore, are now under his grace. But this is a grace that should not
give us freedom to do anything we desire apart from Christ; it should rather
cause us to live lives of holiness as Christ continuously conforms us into his
image. Part of that conformity involves having the same attitude and mind as
Christ Jesus. This is the manner of humility which we are to walk and live in.
Philippians
2:1-11 (ESV)
Christ's Example of
Humility
2 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. 9 Therefore God has highly
exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
There are four aspects to godly
humility I would like to examine here: 1) the mind of humility, 2) the model of
humility, 3) the mode of humility, and 4) the mandate of humility.
The Mind of Humility
(vv. 1-5)
Paul discusses the mind of humility
in the verse five verses of this passage. Paul begins with a rhetorical
statement. “If there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any
participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy” is not intended to
show his wondering of those elements. He knows and is, in fact, implying that
they do indeed exist in the body of Christ. They exist not by themselves and
apart from Christ but, in contrast, only because of Christ. He is essentially
saying that because these exist in Christ, do the following. He asks the
Philippians then to make his joy complete by being of the same mind. In the
Epistles, we often see Paul’s concern for the people he is called to minister
to. We see it so much so here that he concludes his joy is made complete in the
Philippians’ humble love for each other. How often do we make ministry about us
rather than about Christ? All believers are called to serve, but when service
becomes about us rather than about the Lord, we need to refocus. Paul receives
joy not from compliments but from the people he ministers to being so
profoundly affected by the gospel that they are conformed into the image of
Christ.
What then is the mind Paul mentions
here? He makes clear that those who bear the name of Christ are to live in
humility, thinking of others first because this is indeed the mind of Christ.
If we are to be like Christ, we must have the same mind. As impossible as that
may sound, Paul says elsewhere in 1 Corinthians 2:16 that we have the mind of
Christ. Understand that this is not our own doing though. Apart from Christ,
there is nothing good in us. The concept that human beings are good by nature
is a lie from Satan. There is nothing good in us except for Christ, which is why
conforming to his image is so crucial. As Christ lived and walked in humility,
so we should too.
The Model of Humility
(vv. 6-8)
Paul does not stop with the mind of
humility; he goes on to give us a model for humility seen in Christ. It is made
clear in verse 6 that prior to the incarnation, Christ was in the form of God.
The Greek here implies the preexistence of Christ in human form here on earth.
It is made clear that Jesus was equal to the Father, is equal to the Father,
and always will be equal to the Father. The model we see in Christ then is that
he emptied himself. In Greek, the word, empty,
can mean to empty or pour out, but it can also mean to “give up status or
privilege.”[1]
This, in no way, means that Christ was not God while here on earth; nor did he
give up being in the “form of God.” Rather Christ gave up the privileges of
being God to serve here on earth and ultimately to be the atoning sacrifice to
the sins of his bride, the church.
Humility is a topic that we discuss
often in the church, but we rarely take it seriously enough to move away from
our futile attitudes of entitlement. We often hear of Gen-Xers and Millennials having
entitled attitudes, but I would dare say that everyone does to some extent. Do
we remember Christ’s example of humility when someone makes us angry? When the
restaurant server does a horrible job when we are out to eat? Or when we
somehow think that we are better than people of other religions because we are
Christians? Do we need to be reminded that we once were lost in our
transgressions to and that only by the blood of Christ and nothing of our own
doing are we saved? We would do well to remember the humility of Christ. He is
the very model.
The Mode of Humility
(vv. 9-11)
In these last few verses, Paul
reveals the mode of humility. A mode is a way in which something occurs or is
experienced of practiced. How do we practice humility? We have the model in
Christ so how do we put it into play? The answer might seem a bit simpler than
you realize. We practice humility by exalting Christ as Lord. Verse 9 begins
with, “Therefore God has highly exalted him…” “It was precisely Jesus’
humiliation that became the grounds for his exaltation. By humbling himself on
the cross out of love, he demonstrated that he truly shared the divine nature
of God, who is love.”[2]
What was the purpose of this love; what was the purpose of this humility? It
was all for the glory of God, namely that at the name of Jesus, every knee
would bow and every tongue would confess he is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. Did you know that every person in the history of this world will
glorify God? We will either do so through receiving Christ’s atoning sacrifice
on the cross or by receiving God’s wrath in an eternity apart from him. Christ’s
humility made it possible for us to not have to endure God’s wrath though. He
was our substitutionary atonement, but even in Christ’s atoning sacrifice on
the cross, his ultimate aim was the glory of God. In other words, it was his
own glory. The first time I realized this, I was shocked. To think that God was
all about himself and his own glory made me think he was stuck on himself. The
harsh reality [to some] though is that he is stuck on himself. Do you realize
that God is all about himself and his glory? He is not stuck on you or me or
someone less. That may seem contradictory to the humility of Christ, but even
in the love of Christ on the cross, the purpose and aim was the glory of God,
and it now because of his exemplification of God’s character in love that he is
exalted. The way then that we live in humility is to remember that our very
lives exist for the God’s glory, not our own.
I used to read these verses and
think that the name referred to is the name of Jesus, but that is not what Paul
says. He has been given the name above all names, but that name is not Jesus;
the name is Lord. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus
is Lord. There is a huge difference in making Jesus our Savior and in making
him our Lord. When he is Lord, he quite literally is the master of our lives. I
think if we examine our own lives, we would all find areas where Christ is not
Lord. When he is Lord, we live in holiness even when it is tempting not to;
when he is Lord, we live in humility no matter how difficult that may be or how
much we want to boast, be arrogant, or act in anger toward those we disagree
with. The mode by which we live in humility is the exaltation of Christ so that
we can say through any circumstance and any trial, “Christ is enough. He is my
joy. He is my strength and salvation, and my heart will rejoice in my
sufferings, for his glory is the issue above all pleasures of this world.”
The Mandate of
Humility
Our
call as Christians is not to defend Jesus; he does not need defense; nor does
he need us, but we have the privilege of serving him. We can become so worked
up over political issues that we forget to live as ambassadors of Christ, which
means living in humility. It is not our job to convince anyone; it is our job
to reflect the character and attitude of Christ. Certainly, we fail at it
sometimes because we are not yet perfected, but we must ask ourselves if Christ
is making us more like him including in our mind and attitude. We have been
given a mandate to live in humility, and until we completely sell out to Christ
with him as Lord, we will fail at that responsibility. Perhaps it is time to
give up all areas where Christ is not Lord so that he reigns supreme in all
facets of our lives and we begin to live as Christ has called us to in
humility.
