Introduction
We come today to this marvellous passage which is all about the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who made himself nothing by coming to earth as one of us and who was obedient to the point of death, even to death on a cross, before God exalted him to the highest place. It’s a marvellous passage and it’s a passage we return to again and again. I referred to this passage when speaking about the Son’s exaltation in our recent sermons on the Apostles’ Creed. And I referred to it when we were thinking about the incarnation at Christmastime. I’ve referred to this passage in many other sermons over the years. I did a search in my sermons for ‘Philippians 2’ and it came up 46 times. And I’ve also referred to it several times when speaking to the children and when taking services in nursing homes and in other places. Even though this is the first time I’ve gone through the book of Philippians with you, I’ve preached on this particular passage many times. And probably every book I have at home on Christology will deal with this passage, because it makes very clear how the Lord Jesus is God and how he made himself nothing and became a man and that he was obedient and that he died and that afterwards he was exalted to the highest place to receive the name that is above every name. It’s a marvellous passage.
And yet it’s worthwhile asking ourselves why Paul has included this marvellous passage at this point in his letter. Why is this passage here? Last week’s passage was all about how believers need to stand firm in the faith; and how we must do it together in one spirit. Last week’s passage was about how we must contend together for the faith; and we must do it as one man. Last week’s passage was about how we should be like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Last week’s passage was about how we mustn’t do anything out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Instead we must be humble and consider others better than ourselves. Last week’s passage was about how, instead of looking only to our own interests, we should look to the interests of others.
That’s what last week’s passage was about. And so, why does Paul follow that passage with this passage about the Son of God who came to earth to die before being raised to the highest place? Is there a connection between the two passages? And, if so, what is the connection? Has Paul just decided to drop into his letter a little theology? Is this an aside? Is he going off on a tangent? Or is there a connection?
There is a connection, isn’t there? He’s describing the Son’s humiliation and exaltation: how he went down to the cross and the grave before being raised to the highest place. And he’s presenting the Lord Jesus as an example for us to follow.
In fact, if you remember back a couple of weeks, I said that Paul himself was following the example of the Saviour, when he wrote that for him, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Paul regarded death as gain. Dying was not a loss for him, but it was a gain for him, because he knew that as soon as he died, he would go to be with the Lord Jesus, which is better by far than anything else he could imagine. However, Paul did not look to his own interests only. He was also thinking about the interests of his readers in Philippi and how it was better for them that he should remain alive. It would be better for Paul if he died, because he would go to be with the Lord. But it would be better for them if he remained alive, because he could go and minister to them for their progress and joy in the faith. So, instead of looking to his own interests only, he looked to their interests.
In this Paul was following the example of the Lord Jesus, who did not look to his own interests only, but to ours, when he made himself nothing by coming to earth as one of us in order to give up his life on the cross for our salvation. He was not thinking about what was best for him, but about what was best for us.
And Paul wants his readers — and that includes us — to follow the example of the Saviour. Instead of being governed by selfish ambition and vain conceit, instead of being proud, instead of looking to our own interests only, and instead of seeking what is best for us, we should be humble like our Saviour and we should put the interests of others before our own interests, because that’s what our Saviour did for us. And in doing so, we should entrust ourselves to our Heavenly Father, who did not abandon his Son, because, after the Son humbled himself, God the Father lifted him up. And so, we should entrust ourselves to him, trusting that, when the time is right, he will lift us up as well.
And now that we know why this passage is here, let’s turn to it. It can be divided into three parts. There’s the introduction in verse 5, followed by the Son’s humiliation in verses 6 to 8 and the Son’s exaltation in verses 9 to 11.
Verse 5
In verse 5 Paul tells his readers — and that includes us — that our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. More literally, Paul says you’re to have this mind ‘in’ or ‘among’ yourselves. As one of the commentators puts it, Paul’s concern is not cerebral, but social. He’s not so much interesting in what’s going on in our brains. He’s concerned with how we treat one another. He’s concerned with what our attitude is towards one another and how we relate to each other in our day to day lives.
And, of course, he wants the way we treat one another to be modelled on the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to have the same mind as Christ. We are to think as Christ thinks and we’re to treat one another the way Christ treats us. Our attitude towards one another should be shaped and influenced by Christ.
And, of course, despite our sin, this is possible for us, because we’re united with Christ by faith and we have his Spirit, who is continually renewing us in Christ’s likeness. And so, with the Spirit’s help, we’re able to have this mind among ourselves.
Verses 6 to 8
That’s the introduction to this marvellous passage. In verses 6 to 8 we have the Saviour’s humiliation. But what Paul says about his humiliation begins with a statement about his equality with God. Before he made himself nothing, he was in very nature God. And this is what makes his humiliation all the more staggering. Think of the King’s coronation a few weeks ago. When he entered the cathedral, he announced, in the words of the Lord Jesus, that he had come, not to be served, but to serve. And what made those word remarkable is that the one who said them was the king and he had just arrived in a golden carriage; and he was wearing fine robes; and he was surrounded by servants and soldiers who were ready to do his bidding; and he was surrounded by guests from around the world who had come to honour him. What made his words remarkable was the fact that he was the king. And what makes Christ’s humiliation all the more remarkable is that he is God.
You’ll see the little footnote in the NIV beside the word ‘nature’. And the footnote says the Greek word Paul used can also be translated ‘form’. He’s saying that the Lord Jesus has the same ‘form’ as God. In other words, he is the same as God. They have the same form and nature.
As the writer to the Hebrews say about the Son, he is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation or imprint of God’s being. Just as there’s an exact correspondence between a seal and the mark the seal leaves on the page, so there’s an exact correspondence between Jesus Christ and God. Jesus Christ, the Son, is not different from the Father, but is a repetition of the Father.
And this is what makes his humiliation all the more remarkable, because he starts from the highest place. He starts as God. From all eternity, the Father loved him. From all eternity, the angels worshipped him. From all eternity, he was honoured as God. And there is no-one greater than he is. There is no-one over him. From all eternity, he is supreme over all.
That’s who he is. And it is this one who made himself nothing! That’s what makes this so remarkable. And, of course, since he is God and supreme over all, then no-one forced him to make himself nothing. No one made him do it. Instead he did it freely. He did it voluntarily. God the Son, who from all eternity is equal to the Father and Spirit in glory and honour, freely made himself nothing.
And Paul goes on to say that he did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. The English word ‘grasped’ may suggest that he was trying to grasp hold of something which he did not possess. Our dog, Sandy, comes up to us with a rope in her mouth and she wants us to grasp it. But when we try, she turns her head away so that we end up grasping the air, instead of the rope. And so, when we try to grasp the rope, we’re trying to grasp something we don’t already possess. But the Lord Jesus already possessed equality with God. It wasn’t something he did not have and he had to grab hold of. He already possesses equality with God, because he is God.
And so, when Paul says that he did not consider equality with God something to grasp, he means he did not consider holding on to it. When there’s something we love, we grasp hold of it so that no one can take it away from us. Sandy doesn’t want to give up her rope. That’s why she turns her head away. She has the rope and doesn’t want to give it up,. But the Lord Jesus did not think that way about his equality with God. He did not consider it something to be held onto.
Or another way of putting it is that he did not regard his equality with God as something to be exploited. He did not regard it as something he could use to his own advantage. We hear about celebrities who are allowed to take advantage of their fame. They don’t have to queue as other people do. Or they don’t have to pay for things, the way we do, because they’re sometimes given stuff for free. And they expect people to do things for them, because they’re famous. They take advantage of their fame. But the Lord Jesus did not take advantage of his equality with God. Though he is God, and deserves our praise and worship and service, he was prepared to forego all of that, when he came to earth as one of us. Though he is God, and could have come to earth in a blaze of glory, surrounded by armies of angels, he chose not to come that way. Instead of insisting on his rights, he gave them up for us and for our salvation.
And so, though he was in very nature God, he did not consider his equality with God a thing to be held on to tightly or a thing to be used for his own benefit. Instead he made himself nothing. Other translations say that he emptied himself. And people often wonder what did he empty himself of? And some theologians have argued that he emptied himself of his divinity. That is, he gave up his divine nature in order to take on a human nature. Or he gave up part of his divine nature in order to take on a human nature. People think to themselves that it’s not possible for one person to be both divine and human at the same time. And therefore, he must have given up some of his divinity in order to become like us.
The problem with that argument is that God is immutable. He cannot change. And since he cannot change, then he cannot cease to be God. And so, Paul does not mean that Jesus Christ emptied himself of his divinity. What Paul means when he says the Lord emptied himself or that the Lord made himself nothing is explained by the following words. He made himself nothing, or he emptied himself, by taking the very nature of a servant and being made in human likeness. So, he emptied himself, not be subtraction, but by addition. Instead of taking away his divinity, he added to himself the nature of a servant and the likeness of humanity.
And when Paul says that he was made in human likeness, he doesn’t mean that the Lord Jesus only looked like us. He’s not saying that he only appeared to be human, but he wasn’t really a human. He doesn’t mean that, because the gospels are clear that the Lord Jesus possessed a human body and soul like our own. He was made like us in every way, apart from sin. He was both God and man in one person. And so, when Paul says that he was made in human likeness, he means that we are alike in that he and we share the same human nature. We are not different, because we are like one another. And when Paul goes on to say in verse 8 that he was found in appearance as a man, he means that he was seen. He appeared visibly, so that people were able to see him and hear him and touch him. He did not remain in hiding, but he appeared visibly to the people around him.
And he took on the very nature of a servant. So, although he is God, who has from all eternity been loved by the Father and worshipped by angels, who are his messengers, whom he is able to send here, there and everywhere, nevertheless when he came to earth as one of us, he was not born in a palace and he did not have servants to serve him and to fulfil his every need. No, he came as a servant. He was born in humble circumstances. His parents were not important or influential. And when he began his public ministry, he made clear that he had come not to be served, but to serve. So, when people came to him, he asked what he could do for them. When he was fasting, he refused to turn stones into bread. In other words, he refused to use his power for his own benefit. But when the crowd of 5,000 was hungry, he was willing to use his power for their benefit and to turn the loaves and fish into a feast. When he was in that room ith his disciples, he was prepared to get down on his knees and wash their feet, which was a job for lowly slaves to do. And above all, he was willing to give up his life in obedience to his Father’s command.
When Paul says he took on the nature of a servant, some of the commentators think Paul has in mind what Isaiah said about God’s Suffering Servant, who was despised and rejected by men and who was a man of sorrows, who was familiar with suffering and who was pierced for our transgressions. However, it’s perhaps more likely that he was thinking of the slaves in Roman society, who, in a sense, had no will of their own, because they were required to do their master’s will. And so, the Lord Jesus took on the nature of a servant, because he had come to do his Father’s will. Or as Paul says in verse 8, he humbled himself. That is, he made himself God’s humble servant.
And God’s will for him was for him to give up his life and to die. And not only was he to give up his life and die, but he was to die the cruelest of deaths, and the most humiliating of deaths, which was death on a cross. Though he was God, and could command an army of angels to come and rescue him, he refused to think of his own interests only, and to save himself from suffering and to save himself from death. Instead, he looked to our interests, and to the glory of God the Father, and he submitted himself to the pain of death on the cross to pay for our sins with his life and to cleanse us of our guilt with his blood. And though he is from all eternity the Son of God the Father, he lost all sense of the Father’s loving presence, when he was hanging from that cross. And on that cross, he bore all our sin and he suffered the punishment that you and I deserve for a lifetime of sin and rebellion.
And the one who suffered all of this is the one who is in very nature God, equal to the Father from all eternity, equal in power and glory and who deserves all our praise and worship and adoration. And yet, instead of looking to his own interests, he looked to our interests and to the glory of the Father and he gave up all his rights and privileges and made himself nothing so that he could suffer and die for us. This is our God.
Application
And this is his will for us. He wants us to have among us the same attitude as Christ. So, instead of being ruled by selfish ambition and vain conceit, he wants us to humble ourselves as Christ humbled himself. And he wants us to consider others better than ourselves, so that instead of disregarding their interests, we consider them and look to them and watch out for them.
This doesn’t mean that we will do absolutely anything and everything other people want. Wise parents know that they must not give their children absolutely everything they want, because there are plenty of things children want which are not good for them. But wise and loving parents will give their children what they need. They will give them what is for their good. And the Lord wants us to be the kind of people who are not self-seeking and selfish, but who seek what is good and right and proper for others. Instead of putting ourselves first, we will put others first. Instead of thinking only about what we want and need, we will think about what others want and need. And so, we will make ourselves nothing; and will make ourselves servants. And instead of exalting ourselves over one another, we will seek to outdo one another in loving and serving each other. And in this way, we will be able to stand firm in the faith in one spirit and contend together for the faith as one man. Instead of being divided by selfishness, we will be united by love.
Verses 9 to 11
Let’s turn back to the text and to the third part of today’s passage, which is verses 9 to 11. And as we move from verses 6 to 8 to verses 9 to 11, notice how the subject of the verses changes. Verses 6 to 8 are all about Christ and what he did for us. So, he is in very nature of God. He did not consider his equality with God something to be grasped. He made himself nothing. He took the nature of a servant. He was made in human likeness. He was found in human likeness. He humbled himself. He became obedient to death on a cross. It’s all about him and what he did. But verses 9 to 11 are about God the Father and what he has done. And so, he is the one who exalted the Lord Jesus. And he is the one who gave the Lord Jesus the name that is above every name. The Lord Jesus did not exalt himself. Instead, the Lord Jesus made himself nothing. He humbled himself. He became obedient. The Lord Jesus did not exalt himself, but God the Father exalted him. And the Lord Jesus did not give himself the name that is above every name, but it was God the Father who give him the name. God the Father bestowed this honour on the Lord Jesus. So, the Lord Jesus was not self-exalting and self-honouring. And we should have the same mind among ourselves, so that we do not exalt or honour ourselves in any way.
When Paul says that God exalted him, he means God the Father raised him from the dead and raised him up to sit at the highest place, which is on God’s throne in heaven. There is no-one higher than God and there is no throne higher than his throne. And God has given him the name that is above every name. It’s not entirely clear what the name above every name is, but the most likely option is that it’s the name or the title, ‘Lord’. But whatever the name is, the main thing about it is that it is higher than every other name.
And the time will come when every knee will bow before Jesus Christ and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. As God, he has always been Lord. But now he is Lord of all, Lord over all, as one of us.
And the day will come when everyone will confess this. Those who belong to him and who trusted him, will confess it gladly. Those who were his enemies and always doubted him will also confess it. And they will come to see how wrong they were; and they will come to see that they should have believed in him.
And when every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord, it will be to the glory of God the Father. By honouring Jesus Christ, they will glorify God the Father.
Application
And the point of this part of today’s passage is to reassure us that we can expect God the Father to lift us up. While we go on living on the earth, we’re to make ourselves nothing and we’re to humble ourselves and we’re to serve one another and we’re to look to the interests of others. That’s what we’re to do, while we go on living on the earth. We’re to have the mind of Christ among us and we’re to follow his example.
And we can also look forward to the day when we will be raised up and exalted. So, we’re not to raise ourselves up. We’re not to exalt ourselves. We’re to leave that to God. He may exalt us in this life or he may leave it until the life to come. But that is his responsibility; and we’re to leave it with him.
And so, we’re to live a different kind of life to those who do not believe. Among those who do not believe, there are many who spend all their time and energy in exalting themselves. They want to reach the top in their place of work or in their clubs and societies or wherever it is that’s important to them. Everyone wants to be the man at the top and they don’t mind who they step on to get there. But the followers of Christ are to be different. We’re to humble ourselves and we’re to serve one another. And, though it’s hard — because by nature we’re the same as everyone else — nevertheless we can look to the Holy Spirit, who lives inside us, to renew us more and more into the likeness of Christ, so that his mind and his way of thinking becomes our way of thinking too.
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