Philippians 2:1–8
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Prayer: O Christ, You became a servant for our sakes, that we, through Your death on the cross, might live eternally. Grant us this same humble attitude as we seek to love our neighbor. Amen.
Christ’s Humiliation
In Christ Jesus, who humbled himself, that he might pay for the sins of all, dear fellow redeemed!
Christianity is counter cultural. As children of the Western world, we often take for granted that many of our current valued traits and virtues originate with Christianity. One such example comes from our lesson where the Apostle Paul teaches us about humility. Today people admire humility—it is a valued trait. So, it might surprise you to hear that humility was never a valued trait or virtue until the coming of Christ. In fact, in Roman culture humility was seen as shameful and weak. The pagan and the secular idea of manhood is self-assertiveness—imposing one’s will on others. If anyone stooped to others he only did so under compulsion. If you had to lower yourself to benefit someone else, it was not inspiring, but humiliating.
“You come first, everyone else comes last, perhaps they don’t come at all.” This is how the world thinks, but this not what Paul desires for Christians. In his letter to the church at Philippi, he teaches us how we are to act toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul gives the recipe for Christian unity, love, and support: humility. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Paul’s desire for God’s people is ambitious. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves…” To do nothing from selfish ambition means that we have not sought to serve ourselves first—to get our way. It also means that everything we do is not tainted by self-motivation or pride. Even acts of kindness done out of selfish motivation—like wanting to get recognized or getting your way—is lacking humility. Paul says to look out for the interests of others—not just your own. Instead of being concerned for what you want or need, take pains to make sure the interests of others are met. It sounds simple, but can any of us say we have done this? Can we honestly say that we have always even tried? Just think about the problems that would be avoided among brothers and sisters in Christ if we heeded Paul’s words and put them into practice.
The reason Christians seek to follow this pattern of life, why we want to have this frame of mind as we love our Christian brethren, is because we want to have the mind of Christ. Paul, in this section about humility, gives us one of the most important portions in Scripture on the life of Christ and what he did for our salvation. He grounds our desire for humility in Jesus because of what he did for us.
So, what did Christ do? Paul writes, “Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Jesus Christ was in form of God, meaning, he is truly God. But he, though possessing and having all things, did not seek to benefit himself only— “he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” He did not seek to be praised or recognized for his greatness. Instead, out of his great love for us he left his throne on high to become a servant. This is truly an odd statement. Servants are typically forced to serve, but Christ willingly became a servant.
But what was this servitude? Much ink has been spilt over this section of Scripture. This passage has sometimes been misunderstood leading to false and erroneous teachings. Some argue that Christ’s humiliation was that he emptied himself of his divinity. Of course, this is wrong. Jesus was and always will be true God—even while he was here on earth. Others understand his humiliation to be the fact that he became a human being. But this is also incorrect, because Jesus Christ, who now sits at God’s right hand—is still both true God and true man. So, his humiliation was not that he became man.
When we talk about the saving work of Jesus, the Bible teaches two distinct parts: his humiliation and exaltation. We will be talking about his exaltation next week. His humiliation began when he was conceived, but it was not that he became man. Rather, it was that he, as true God, did not use all his divine powers to benefit himself. Instead, Jesus humbled himself by not making full use of all his divine powers or attributes. The example of a dimmer switch is helpful—during Jesus’ humiliation, he turned down the dimmer switch. The light was still on—he was still God—but he did not use all his power. He did not let the light shine brightly like it did on the Mount of Transfiguration.
But why is this important? If Jesus would have made full use of all his divine powers—he wouldn’t have been able to be our substitute, with his perfect obedience to the law, suffering in our place, and dying in our stead. And so, Jesus humbled himself so that he could be our Savior.
So, often we take so that we can live—so that we can benefit ourselves. But Jesus Christ, took the form of a servant, so that he could die in our place and benefit all people. He suffered a humiliating death on the cross so that we might be saved. This is the most noble act the world has ever seen!
Look what the Son of God did for you! He died! Scripture says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” But Christ’s death was full of greater love—because we weren’t friends of God. Because of our sin, we were enemies of God. Every sin committed is like spitting in the face of God. If someone were to offend you with such disrespect, what would you do? Love them? Die for them? Or would you hate them… and begrudge them? Not Jesus. This is why Scripture can say that God is love. The humiliation of Christ shows us the heart of God—the lengths to which he is willing to go to secure our salvation. This is the Savior we need. He is the Lord we want. A loving Lord, whose grace is endless and mercy is new every morning.
It is this love for us—this infinite mercy—which he has shown us, that compels us as Christians through faith worked in us by the Holy Spirit—to love our neighbor. To view them with the mind of Christ. Not seeking to get something out of selfish ambition, but in humility thinking of them as more significant than us and putting their interests first.
As you and I go about this business of loving our neighbor—putting their interests first—we will realize how difficult it is. We will fall short at times. Yet, through this curbing of our sinful flesh and humbling of ourselves, we learn to love Christ all the more.
In a classic Lutheran novel, The Hammer of God, there is a scene where a man is extremely troubled by his sin. On his death bed, he feels like all hope is lost for him. He knows the times he has cheated, lied, been selfish, and angry. The Law had done its job. However, he was troubled that he could not be saved because of the weakness of his human flesh—his lack of love. He thought that he had not repented enough—because there was still sin and weakness in his life. Yet, through the counsel of a friend, he was guided to see that what he lacked was not repentance, but faith that Jesus could and would forgive his sins. At the end of their conversation, the man wondered why he had not received a clean heart, that is, a truly Christian life. The woman simply replied, “That you might learn to love Jesus.”
As we struggle to live the life the Lord calls us to live, we learn to love Jesus, who took the form of a servant, so that we could be saved. Our great comfort is that Jesus, who is true God and true man, has fully paid for our sins. It’s this great sacrifice that has changed the world’s understanding of humility forever. So, God grant us faith to live in humble repentance and have the mind of Christ who saved us. May his humility be our example. As we meditate on what he did for us and how he continues to forgive us, may we learn to love him even more. Amen.