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.

Last week we talked about our purpose in life: to live for Jesus…as 1.21 says, “to live is Christ and to die is gain” -- this week we begin to understand how to live for and through Jesus Christ, as we begin to think and act as He does

HUMILITY ENJOINED: PHILIPPIANS 2.1-4

As we read this in context -- right through the chapter break -- it’s almost startling to see how Paul transitions his thought so quickly into expanding the idea of living a life worthy of the gospel of Christ

Paul could have begun this passage on what it means to live as Christ with any instruction…he could have said that believers were to be more holy, for God is holy…he could have said to live more righteously, to match God’s moral character…Paul could have said to be more loving, for God is love…he could have said to pursue and live in peace, for God is the giver of the peace that surpasses understanding…or Paul could have been said that we were to experience joy, for the joy of the Lord is our strength…but the Spirit told Paul to write something very specific -- for us to be humble

This was a completely foreign idea to the Greeks…much as they valued lofty rhetoric over simple preaching, the Greeks valued pride and even arrogance over what we would call humility…to them, such an attitude was weak and worthless, to be despised in others or in oneself, not sought for and encouraged…it was so foreign to the Greek culture that there was no word in Greek for the idea of “humility” -- some scholars believe Paul actually invented the word which he uses in this passage to describe what the Spirit laid on his heart to say…it’s extraordinary that there was such a wide chasm between the culture of the world in that place and time, and the heart of God…or maybe that’s normal

Paul begins this passage with a call for the Philippians to remember from whence they have come…nearly all commonly used English translations begin the four phrases that make up the first verse with the word “if”, but “if” makes the phrases sound uncertain…”if” there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy…

A better, and just as accurate, translation is “because” -- which would begin Paul’s thought with a certainty of the rich blessings of God that the Philippians and we have experienced…it’s as if Paul is saying, “look back in your life and relive for a moment, go back to the touchstone and renew the manifold blessings of God…be filled again with the awe and wonder of all that God has done in your life…these thoughts would have triggered memories for the Philippian believers, just as they do for us: “encouragement” renders ‘paraklesis,’ closely akin to the name of the Holy Spirit, the ‘paraklete,’ the “One who comes alongside” -- “comfort” represents the sense or feeling you have when a dear friend consoles you -- “participation” is the Greek word ‘koinonia’ usually translated “fellowship,” here linking us in fellowship with the Spirit of God -- and “sympathy” conveys the sense of compassion 

When you string these four phrases together, it’s almost like a string of pearls, or the facets of a diamond…the incomparable beauty of living in Jesus…every believer in Christ can relate to these blessings…

And because of that Spirit-filled life, Paul says, take the next step: 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 

Follows with another four-fold description of Paul’s desire for unity in the fellowship: maybe the most poignant of all is the word translated “being in full accord” or “full agreement” -- it’s the Greek word ‘sympsychos’ -- the prefix ‘sym’ meaning ‘together’ or ‘one’ -- and ‘psychos’ from the root word for “soul” -- putting the compound word together renders “one-souled” -- be of one soul with each other…what a beautiful description of what it means to live together in the close-knit fellowship of the body of Christ…of the same mind without the same thoughts…strong unity without bland conformity…as Ephesians says, “fitted together”

Paul then speaks very directly in imperative words in verses 3 and 4, negative instruction first followed by positive injunction: 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or rivalry 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.

The first two motives -- selfish ambition and conceit -- when joined together make a toxic, even lethal, mix…they blend a strong drive for personal success without any moral inhibitions about how the success is achieved, with disregard, and even hostility, for others…and “conceit” is one of those Greek word pictures…renders ‘kenodoxia’ being unduly vain or characterized by misplaced vanity…but the giveaway in the word is the last part…closely related to two other words: ‘dokeo’ to think, and ‘doxa’ glory, the word that gives us the name of a familiar chorus, the Doxology, but in this case, instead of giving glory to God, this is a twisted, perverted effort to bring false glory to one’s self 

This describes a person who acts to benefit self, based on a near-insatiable desire for achievement or recognition at the expense of others, if necessary, including hostile action toward them, because they are motivated by a strong desire for glory and applause, trying to take credit for themselves, even if those efforts are based on false and delusional thoughts; you don’t have to look far for examples…try an hour or two on social media/news 

Paul is clear: “Do nothing” from that motive…don’t even let that motive enter your mind and heart…that single-minded selfishness will eat you alive inside

Then Paul turns to the positive: in “humility” --- Paul introduces this unique word, ‘tapeinophrosyne’ --- the disposition of valuing or assessing oneself appropriately, especially in light of your own sinfulness (tap - ee - no - phro - soo - nay) … translated in five of the seven NT uses as “humility”

I Peter 5.5: Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (I Peter 5.5)

Colossians 3.12-13: Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  (Colossians 3.12-13)

Ephesians 4.1-2: I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, (Ephesians 4.1-2)

These scriptures are clear: a cornerstone of our relationship to each other within the body of Christ is humility…it’s a fundamental part of our life in the body of Christ…linked to ideas like compassion, forgiveness, meekness, kindness, gentleness, and patience, it’s meant to describe what life in the church is supposed to be like

Paul elaborates by telling us what humility looks like in action

It’s when you actually care for other people -- their needs, their interests, their concerns -- more than you do your own

It’s when you leave the close parking spots for others

It’s when you ask about the interests and welfare of the other person first in the conversation

It’s when you don’t turn the conversation back to yourself at the first opportunity but show genuine interest in your brother or sister in Christ

It’s when you speak an encouraging word or send an encouraging text or email to someone else just because you thought of them and wanted to lift them up

It’s when you see someone sitting alone in church or standing alone in the lobby and you take the time to meet and speak to them

It’s when you choose to help someone even when it costs you time or energy or money, and no one else will ever know about it

But beneath the actions are the thoughts…

It’s when you find yourself thinking about others first without consciously making yourself do it 

It’s when it becomes your nature to trust yourself to God and focus on ministering to other people

It’s when you stop wondering if others are thinking about you and what they’re thinking about you 

Think of people you know that you consider humble…what do you see in their attitudes, actions, words? Can we as a Fellowship commit to acting in humility toward each other?

Perhaps one of the best passages on humility is the parable Jesus told in Luke 18.9-14

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

The more conscious we are of our own sinfulness, the more we tend toward humility and away from pride…and the opposite is also true, as we see in the Pharisee…the more we fail to see the sinfulness in ourselves, the more we will fall into the lethal trap of pride and arrogance and fail to live in the place of quietness and trust that we would call “humility”

Now that Paul has given us some instruction about humility, he calls us to turn to our Example of the life of humility: our Lord Jesus Christ

HUMILITY EXEMPLIFIED: PHILIPPIANS 2.5-11

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.

Verse 5 is the transition as Paul moves from humility enjoined toward us to considering humility exemplified in Jesus

Paul gives us this clear direction as an imperative command -- “have this mind…” which is yours in Christ Jesus…for we already have the mind of Christ…interestingly, in English this sounds like a noun -- “have the mind” -- but this word in Philippians 2 is a verb, ‘phroneo’ which means ‘to think’ -- another way to say it might be this: “think like Jesus”

We have the “mind” of Christ -- noun -- so we can “think” like Christ -- verb

“How can I do that?” By immersing your mind in the word of God, the Logos, Jesus Himself

Now Paul soars to one of the pinnacles of all the NT -- a passage called “the Christ Hymn” or sometimes the ‘kenosis’ passage as he shows us the perfect humility Example, Jesus Christ

In verses 6 through 11, Paul takes us on a journey with Jesus from His exalted state as God the Son, to the humiliation of Jesus as He endures the incarnation as a man, and back to exaltation as He returns to the right Hand of the Father, having completed all the Father gave Him to do

In His exaltation from eternity past, Christ now receives the Father’s direction to serve as our substitute, to atone for the sins of His people, even though Jesus as God the Son is in the form, or morphe in the Greek, a word suited to our understanding as humans, it means “shape” or “outward appearance” -- but also carrying the sense of “being”

In obedience to the Father’s command, the Son did not “grasp” -- ‘harpagmos’ -- “retain by force” -- the prerogatives of deity, captured in Hebrews 1.3

3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. (Hebrews 1.3)

Instead, Paul writes this: Philippians 2.7

but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 

This is the ‘kenosis’ verse…”emptied” renders the Gr word ‘kenoo’ (long “o” sound) which English speakers have adapted into the English construct “kenosis” 

It means to empty, deprive, render null and void…used also in I Corinthians 1.17  For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

The verb is an aorist, active, indicative…not going to just offer you a grammar lesson, but it matters to our understanding, and here’s why

Aorist tense tells us this is a snapshot in time -- not an ongoing action -- this happened once, and is not in any sense continuing to happen

So we know this about Jesus: He took on this state of being emptied, or laying aside the power that was His as God the Son, for a time, not for always…we’ll complete the journey with Him in a moment to see where Jesus is today, but this humiliation, if you will, was only for a time, for a moment 

Active voice tells us Jesus Himself took this action

So we know this about Jesus: as we link this verb with the word that follows, “Himself”, we understand that this was an action Jesus took Himself; in response to the command of the Father, yes, but He took this action…it reminds us of the truth of John 10.17-18: 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” 

Jesus did this, on His own authority, in obedience to the Father, in order to fulfill the Father’s desire…He laid aside the prerogatives of deity as God the Son in order to take on flesh and redeem mankind…no one could humble Jesus…He alone could do it 

Indicative mood tells us this is a real action; Paul asserts that this event happened just as he is describing it, that in no sense was this only possible but not accomplished, nor contingent on something else or some other event, nor merely intended but not achieved

So we know this about Jesus: this really happened -- He really did come to earth and become a man and die on a cross for us…as we learn in Romans 4.25  (He) was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification

Absolutely opposed to the heresy of the first few centuries of the church that said Jesus only seemed to be a man…no, He was fully God and also fully Man

Why would I belabor this point? Because this is how we learn what scripture actually says…the better we understand what the Bible says about Jesus, the better we can worship and praise Him AND the better we can communicate the truth of the Word to others

One warning here: don’t let Paul’s earthly word choice lead you to believe that Christ as God the Son somehow stopped being God the Son during the time of His incarnation…He laid aside His power, temporarily taking on the form of a man for a season…the truth is this: God the Son emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. It was a positive not negative action…clothed Himself in humility

And then the humiliation of Jesus was made complete: 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 

Here again we find the key word in this entire passage: “humbled” renders ‘tapeinoo’ to be brought low or abased…perfectly accurate, especially considering that for Jesus it meant leaving the presence of the Father and coming to earth 

And as the sacrificial offering for the sins of His people, Jesus became obedient to the command of the Father, even to the point of enduring death on the cross

But now the text turns upward again, as Jesus returns triumphant to the throne room of Heaven: 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.

Jesus now regains all that He temporarily and intentionally laid aside to come to earth in the incarnation as He is highly exalted…Gr ‘hyperypsoo’ (he - pair - eep - so); the prefix ‘hyper’ means just what we’ve adapted it to mean in English: taking something to the extreme…the Father took the exaltation of His Son to the extreme as He returned to Heaven…far beyond in magnitude or scope

He has received glory that is above any other glory, and now He receives the Name that is above any other -- every other -- name…together, His glory and His Name represent everything about Who He is -- His identity, authority, power -- a result He had already described to His apostles at the end of Matthew 28.18 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 

Ultimately, His Name will be the only Name -- the only authority -- the only power -- in the universe, and at that Name every knee will bow…brings to mind the vision of the prophet Daniel in chapter 7 verses 13 and 14

13 “I saw in the night visions,

and behold, with the clouds of heaven

   there came one like a son of man,

and he came to the Ancient of Days

   and was presented before him.

14 And to him was given dominion

   and glory and a kingdom,

that all peoples, nations, and languages

   should serve him;

his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

   which shall not pass away,

and his kingdom one

   that shall not be destroyed.

Every knee will bow -- every tongue will confess -- that Jesus Christ is Lord!! Those who have rejected Him and His lordship, and those who have loved and served Him for a lifetime…all of us, all of humanity across all time and space, will together declare the greatness and glory of our God

But while we’re swept up to glory at the prospect of spending eternity with our Lord, let’s remember why Paul gave us this transcendent view of the exalted Christ in the first place -- to show us the importance and surpassing value of humility

He commands it for us -- and he shows us this most important virtue in the life of Jesus

So our questions have to be this: 

Do I have the same love, the same mind, the same soul as my fellow Christians?

Do I ever -- ever -- act out of a desire to please and exalt self?

Do I really consider others more important than myself -- acting on that truth instead of just saying it or agreeing with it?

Am I willing to forego recognition or reward in favor of letting those things go to someone else?

Like Jesus, am I willing to be humble, low, and abased in order to obey God?

As we close, let’s look at one last scripture passage: perhaps the best picture of what Paul is teaching here…it’s found in John 13 (1-5 and 12-17)

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 

12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Humility isn’t weakness, it’s strength…the strength to quietly do the lowest task, to move past ego and pride to a place of gentle service, to follow in the steps of your Lord even when that means becoming the disregarded servant…to live like Jesus

17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.