PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11

April 29, 2020

THE MIND OF CHRIST:

HUMILITY, SERVANTHOOD, OBEDIENCE, SACRIFICE

Philippians 2:5 (NIV) In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

SUSIE: Paul says to have the same mindset, the same attitude as Christ, in all our dealings with other people. As we will see in the following verses about Jesus’ attitude, this will involve extreme humility and a heart for serving others.

SUSAN: When we are saved, all of God comes to abide, to dwell in the believer in the form of His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit infuses us with the strength of Jesus, empowers us to do His will. It is by this power that we are enabled to exhibit true humility and service first to God and then to others.

Philippians 4:13 (AMPC) I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].

SUSIE: We are not given the strength of Christ in order “leap tall buildings in a single bound.” Rather, we are enabled to have the mind of Christ, to choose humility and servitude when we would rather be selfish. We are made brave enough to go against the worldly way of things and forge ahead on the path the Lord shows us.

Q – Do you pray to have the mind of Christ? Do we tap into the inner strength made available to us by the Holy Spirit?

Philippians 2:6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

SUSAN: In other translations it says Jesus did not consider his equality with God as something to be “grasped.” He did not see as something to snatch up and hold onto for dear life.

SUSIE: Still other translations state that “He thought it not robbery to be equal with God.” In other words, He would not be stealing anything to be equal with God because He has always been equal with and a person of the triune God as stated in John 1:1 (NASB) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus IS fully God and fully man, a concept hard to wrap our minds around. Jesus’ continuous essence even in His earthly body was that of being God. He chose to embrace His humanness in order to rescue mankind from sin’s grasp.

Philippians 2:7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.

SUSIE: Jesus made himself not only human, but a human embryo. He left the splendor and glory of Heaven to be confined for nine months in Mary’s womb, be born in a stable, and live as the son of a carpenter (Luke 2:7).

SUSAN:  Jesus grew up submitting Himself to parents He had created. He learned from His earthly father, and carpentry became His trade until He was 30 years old. At that time, He began the ministry His Heavenly Father sent Him to earth to fulfil.

SUSIE: He did not “empty Himself” of His deity but renounced the display of some of His attributes as God. The Amplified Version makes this a bit clearer.

Philippians 2:7 (AMP) but emptied Himself [without renouncing or diminishing His deity, but only temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His rightful dignity] by assuming the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men [He became completely human but was without sin, being fully God and fully man].

SUSAN: He chose not to enforce His deity, but set aside His privileges, in order to live as a perfect man. Isaiah 53 is a parallel passage to Philippians 2 as we will show in chart form at the end of this lesson. Here is a sample.

Isaiah 53:2 (NASB) For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

Isaiah 53:2 before Him. Though unrecognized by the world (v. 1), Messiah Jesus was observed carefully by God, who ordered every minute circumstance of His life. dry ground . . . no beauty that we should desire Him. The Servant will arise in lowly conditions and wear none of the usual emblems of royalty, making His true identity visible only to the discerning eye of faith.

NKJV MacArthur Study Bible, 2nd Edition Copyright © 1997, 2006, 2019 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

Q – Jesus stooped down to raise us up. Are we willing to stoop down to elevate our fellow man? Can we have the mind of Christ as far as humility and service? We can, but will we?

Philippians 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

SUSIE: Christ confined Himself to the limitations of a human body, experiencing human needs such as food, water, sleep, etc. He chose to be in submission to God the Father even though equal with Him. He obeyed even to the point of becoming the perfect sacrificial lamb to take upon Himself our sin. 

SUSAN: Revelation 13:8b (KJV), calls Jesus, “The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Before Jesus’s death on the cross, before He even was born in the stable, before He even spoke the world into being, He knew what His mission was to be on earth.

SUSIE: Jesus’ arrest, mockery of a trial, and death upon a cross did not come as a surprise to God. It was His plan all along. As a man, Jesus submitted not only to death but to the most excruciating, humiliating form of death known at that time – crucifixion. In fact, our English word “excruciating” derives from the root word for crucifixion.  We use this word to describe the worst pain we can imagine. The Jews would particularly view this as humiliating because according to Deuteronomy 21:23b (NIV), “…anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse…” Jesus suffered this particular death, placed Himself under the curse of our sin, for those who would believe in Him. 

SUSAN: He suffered this punishment in my very place and your very place in order to redeem us. Paul states in Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.'”

Q – Jesus suffered the ultimate humiliation and pain in order to rescue us. Has God ever asked you to do something you thought “beneath you” in order to minister to someone? Did you obey or resist? Does it take strength to be humble?

Philippians 2:9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

SUSIE: Jesus had always been equal with God, but His followers did not fully realize His deity until after His death, resurrection, and ascension.

SUSAN: They only came to understand Him as LORD after He came back from the dead and revealed His true nature to them more completely, as much as they could take in, anyway. 

SUSIE: They were still in amazement as He arose in the clouds before their eyes. After the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they would have a more complete understanding of Christ as the God-Man. Exactly where is the “highest place?”

SUSAN: The highest place is at the right-hand of God the Father. The right-hand is the place of power and authority. Our limited minds cannot truly fathom the idea that Jesus can be side by side with God and yet Himself be the God. However, wrapping our minds around the Trinity, the triune nature of God may have to wait for another day.

Mark 16:19 (NASB) So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

Hebrews 10:12 (NASB) but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,

Philippians 2:10-11 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:10-11 (AMP) . . . so that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow [in submission], of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord (sovereign God), to the glory of God the Father.

SUSIE: This has not been completely fulfilled at this time because, obviously, there is still evil in this fallen world. 

SUSAN: This exaltation of Jesus brings elation to us who have believed and those who will believe in the future, but it will bring pain and sorrow to those that have never surrendered to and trusted Him for salvation. 

SUSIE: Believers, angels, non-believers, and demons will ultimately all bow to Jesus and acknowledge His deity. When Jesus returns in all His glory, this will be done! Those of us who bow in submission to Jesus while still on earth bring glory to God even now.

APPLY THIS TO YOUR LIFE:

  • Pray that the Holy Spirit will enable you to minister to others with the “mind of Christ.” I (Susie) am reminded of the old hymn, “Let Others See Jesus in You.”
  • Is there someone you have a difficult time feeling any sympathy for, or someone who grates on your nerves? Ask the Lord for the strength to show them some kindness anyway. You cannot do this on your own, but the Lord through you can minister to the difficult people in your life.
  • Choose to acknowledge Jesus as LORD now. Even if you have already trusted Him and surrendered your life to His will, it is good to affirm this daily.
  • Don’t keep all this to yourself. Proclaim the deity of Christ and the truth of His Gospel every chance you get!

CHALLENGE

Examine the chart below. Can you draw any additional comparisons between the passage in Isaiah 53 and the passage in Philippians 2? Can you think of other verses or passages that deal with the humility and servanthood of Jesus? Make a list of them or make a chart of your own.