In order to help the Philippian believers pursue unity, Paul exhorted them to selfless humility, and then lifted up the supreme example in our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Jesus – The Ultimate Model Of Selfless Humility
Philippians 2:1-11
“Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not [merely] look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, [and] being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Sometimes a major league baseball player may be sent down to the minor leagues. I imagine it must be an extremely humiliating and embarrassing thing for a major league star, who is used to the glory and applause, to be sent down. However, as we will see, that is nothing compared to what Jesus Christ endured when He was sent down from heaven to earth. He who possessed all glory and majesty and honor, willingly humbled Himself like no other. Philippians 2:1-11 focuses on selfless humility which was modeled in Jesus Christ like no other. In this passage, Paul lifts up the example of Jesus Christ as the greatest model of selfless humility that ever was or will be.
In this passage of Scripture, Paul begins with Exhortations to Selfless Humility (2:1-5), then the Example of Selfless Humility (2:6-8), and concludes with the Exaltation after Selfless Humility (2:9-11).
1. Exhortations To Selfless Humility (2:1-5)
2:1-4: “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves.”
Paul begins in verse 1 by saying “if there is any encouragement, consolation, fellowship, affection, and compassion” in Christ, then make his joy complete by doing this, this and this. Now, what does Paul mean by using the word “if”? Are the things he mentions in verse 1 in doubt? Is there a doubt whether is encouragement in Christ, consolation of love, fellowship of the Spirit, affection and compassion? Of course not! This is not the “if” of doubt, but the “if” of argument. You can replace the word “if” here with the word “since.” Since this, this, this and this is true, then make my joy complete by doing that, that, and that. Thank God, there is great encouragement in Christ! There is great comfort from His love to us! There is wonderful fellowship of the Spirit we experience together! There is much affection and compassion that we have for one another within the body of Christ! Paul wants the believers to take advantage of the resources they have in Christ: encouraging one another, consoling one another in love, fellowshipping together, showing affection and compassion, and being united.
Paul’s goal for the Philippians is found in verse 2: being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. In a word, He wants them to experience a spiritual unity together. Same mind, same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. However, Paul also knows that the great enemy of this spiritual unity is pride and selfishness, the two things that seem to be found naturally within the heart of every human being. Pride and selfishness flow from the Fall. Ever since our first parents sinned in the Garden of Eden, every child born into this world has been plagued by pride and selfishness. Paul tells them they must make war on these sins in their life.
Exhortation #1 – Pursue Humility: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit” The phrase “empty conceit” is translated as “vainglory” in the KJV. It’s empty glory or conceit. It’s pride. So, Paul is telling them they must do nothing from selfishness or pride. Instead, “with humility of mind” regard one another as more important than yourselves.” The first virtue which Paul exhorts us to go after is humility. Humility is the opposite of pride. Humility is to voluntarily take the low place instead of insisting on the high place. It is to stoop to serve, rather than climb to be noticed by men. We are exhorted to selflessness in verse 4, which is the opposite of selfishness.
Exhortation #2 – Pursue Selflessness: “Do nothing from selfishness… do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Just as humility is the opposite of pride, so selflessness is the opposite of selfishness. Paul is telling us not to just look out for yourself. Look out for others. The theme of Philippians is joy. Paul mentions “joy” or “rejoice” 16 times in only 4 chapters! Philippians is the Joy Epistle! So, how do we experience joy? The letters of the word give you the answer: J-O-Y. Jesus – Others – You. As long as you have You at the forefront your joy will be empty. It’s only as we live lives centered on Jesus and others that we will experience true joy.
Exhortation #3 – Pursue the Mind of Christ: “Have this mind in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus…” The word “attitude” is the Greek word for “mind”. It appears in 2:2 (make my joy complete by being of the same mind), and in 2:3 (but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves). In 2:2 and 2:3 we have the same Greek word as in 2:5. In those places it is translated as “mind”, but in 2:5 it is translated as attitude. I think it would be better to translate it as “mind” in all three places. Have this mind in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus. What mind are we to have in ourselves? The mind of Christ Jesus. So, what is the mind of Christ like? We find out in verses 6-8. It is a mind that doesn’t regard equality with God a thing to be grasp. It is a mind willing to empty Himself and take on the form of a bond-servant. It is a mind that willingly humbles Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. The mind of Christ is a mind of humility. Believers are to manifest the mind of Christ in their daily lives. When others look at us, and our demeanor, it should be like looking at Christ.
There are Paul’s three exhortations: pursue humility, pursue selflessness, pursue the mind of Christ. But in order to give us a hunger and desire to embody humility and selflessness, Paul turns to the ultimate model of humility and selflessness – the Lord Jesus Christ in verses 6-11.
Here we come to holy ground. Here we come to some of the deepest and richest doctrine and theology in the New Testament. But, remember, Paul did not write this in order to teach doctrine or theology. Paul wrote this to provide a motive and inspiration for Christians to manifest humility and selflessness in their daily lives. His concern was ethical and pastoral, not primarily theological.
2. The Example of Selfless Humility (2:6-8)
He existed in the form of God. Jesus began in the highest conceivable place. He existed from all eternity as God, the second person of the Trinity. Jesus did not begin to exist at Bethlehem. He has existed from all eternity. He never had a beginning. He is the Source of all other things. Here we have one of the strongest expressions of the deity of Christ in the Bible.
Equality with God. Jesus has always been equal with God. Now if He is the first and greatest creation of God, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach, then he could not be equal with God. He would be infinitely lower than God, just as any creature that God has made must of necessity be infinitely lower than the Creator. Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus is the “radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.” Colossians 1:15 says that “He is the image of the invisible God” and Colossians 2:9 says “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” Jesus said “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” Jesus has been and forever will be God of very God.
He didn’t regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. In other words, Jesus didn’t’ cling to His rights and privileges as God. Because of who He is, it was His right to be worshipped and served forever in the glory of heaven by the greatest of His creatures. But He didn’t cling to those rights. He didn’t grasp them. He let go of them.
Emptied Himself. At this point, we start to see Jesus’ deliberate descent. He starts at the highest high that can be conceived – the absolute glory of heaven. He doesn’t grasp to hold onto it. He lets go of it, and begins the plunge downward.
Now, what does it mean that He emptied Himself? We must be very careful here. Some have made the mistake of assuming it means that Jesus emptied Himself of His Deity. Of course, that’s impossible. If Jesus emptied Himself of His Deity, He would cease to exist, because He is Deity. And, since God can’t cease to exist, Jesus couldn’t empty Himself of His deity.
Others have taught that this means that Jesus emptied Himself of His attributes of Deity. I believe that is also a mistake. Philippians 2 nowhere states that Jesus gave up the attributes of Deity. I think He did give up the independent exercise of His attributes in many cases. But He could not totally give up the attributes of deity, because He could not have done that without ceasing to be deity. You can’t be God without also possessing all power and knowledge. Those attributes define deity.
Well then, what does it mean that Jesus emptied Himself? Christ emptied Himself, not by giving up His divine nature, but by adding to Himself a human nature. Thankfully, we don’t have to wonder what it meant for Jesus to empty Himself, because verse 7 and 8 fill in the gaps for us.
Taking the form of a bond-servant. He existed from eternity in the form of God. Now He takes the form of a bond-servant. From the majesty and glory of Almighty God to a slave! That’s the huge plunge Jesus took. Jesus did not come to earth to be waited on and served by man. No, He came not to be served, but to serve, and give His life a ransom for many (Mt. 20:28). Jesus said in Luke 22:27, “I am among you as One who serves.” In Isaiah 52:13 Jesus is called God’s Servant. Jesus was receiving orders from His Father, and executing them. He lived to obey and serve His Father.
Being made in the likeness of men. It was a huge stoop for the infinite, immortal God to be made in the likeness of men. The Bible refers to the likeness of men, because Jesus was not exactly like all other men. He wasn’t tainted by sin, and He was not only a man. He was the God-man. But He was a true man, a real man, a man tempted in all things as we are. What amazing condescension! He was the Self-Sufficient Creator, and He became a baby, dependent upon His mother for all things. For an angel to be cast from heaven and turned into a worm would be great condescension. But the angel was a creature before, and after it had become a worm, it was a still a creature. The distance between the highest and lowest creature is a finite distance. But the distance between God and the highest creature is an infinite distance. “Veiled in flesh, the God-head see; hail the incarnate Deity!”
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself. We might have thought that in becoming a man, He had humbled Himself as much as He possibly could. But we would be wrong. The incarnation was just the beginning of His humiliation. He continues to stoop lower and lower.
By becoming obedient to the point of death. Here is the ultimate act of selfless humility – death. This is the lowest He could go. At this point, He has laid aside every right and privilege He possessed. He was putting the world of lost humanity before Himself.
Even death on a cross. Crucifixion was the lowest and most shameful form of death. The person being executed was stripped naked before a gazing crowd, with his crime written above his head. Jesus was despised and forsaken of men. He was arrested for a crime He never committed. Others spat in His face, and beat Him on His head. He was clothed as a fool or a mock king. He was scourged until He was helpless to carry His cross. He was treated as a common criminal and crucified between two thieves. One disciple betrayed Him. Another denied Him. All else forsook Him. He bore the curse of God’s holy fury against our sins and offenses. We would have thought that when He came to destroy the works of the devil, knock off our spiritual chains, release us from our prison doors, proclaim liberty to captives, and ransom men, that the world would have received Him with shouts of joy and would have kissed the ground He walked on. Instead they hated Him, despised Him, reproached Him, and crucified Him.
At this point Jesus has descended to the lowest point He could go. Not only has God condescended to become a man, but then He was beaten, mocked, scourged, stripped naked, crucified between two thieves, and made the sacrifice which absorbs God’s holy wrath. It’s at this point that everything is about to change!
3. The Exaltation After Selfless Humility (2:9-11)
For this reason also. Because of what Jesus did, this is what the Father did. The Father’s exaltation of Jesus is His reward for His sufferings and humiliation. In verses 5-8, Jesus has been doing everything. He emptied Himself. He took the form of a bond-servant. He was made in the likeness of men. He humbled Himself to the point of death. But now, the Father is the One doing everything in verses 9-11.
God highly exalted Him. The Father did not just exalt Him, but highly exalted Him. God raised Him from the dead, caused Him to ascend to heaven where He sat down at the Father’s right hand. God gave Him all authority in heaven and earth. He was far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named. One day He will return as the Judge of the living and the dead and assign every person their eternal destiny. Jesus prayed in John 17:5, “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” God certainly answered that prayer!
And bestowed on Him the name which is above every name. Jesus didn’t seek a name for Himself, but God gave Him the name which is above every name. So, just what name did the Father bestow on Him? There are two options. The “name” may be Jesus, or it may be Lord. You might think that this name must be Jesus, because the very next line says, “so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow…” The problem is that the name Jesus, was given to Him at His birth. However, this name which is above every name was given to Him after His death. I believe the name that is above every name, is given to us at the end of verse 11, “every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The Greek word for Lord is kurios, which is the word that is the translation of the sacred Name of God in the Old Testament – either Jehovah or Yahweh. Truly, Lord would be the name which is above every name. There should be absolutely no confusion as to who Jesus is. The Father has bestowed the name Lord on Him. Jesus is Jehovah. He is Lord and God. While Jesus walked the earth, He was Jehovah incognito. Only a few saw His glory. Most were blinded to it. Now the Father is openly manifesting His true identity before the entire universe as Lord and God.
So that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow. When God the Father identifies Jesus as Lord, every creature will bow.
Of those who are in heaven. Angels
And on earth. Men
And under the earth. Demons.
Angels, men and demons will all bow their knees to Christ as Lord!
And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. The fact that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, does not mean that every creature will be saved. These lost men and demons are not bowing their knees and confessing Jesus is Lord willingly. They are being compelled to do so. Lost men will still be lost, but will be forced to own Jesus for who He is.
In six short verses the apostle Paul has taken us Christ’s pre-existence, to His incarnation, to His crucifixion, to His ascension, to Judgment Day!
Notice what we have here. We have Christ in His pre-existent glory. Then we have Him humbling Himself to become man, then a bond-servant, then going to the very death of the cross. Then we have Him exalted to heavenly glory, with the highest name in the universe. Glory – Humiliation – Glory.
Conclusion
Believers: Behold your God! Jesus held the supreme position in all the universe – God over all. What did He do? Did He selfishly cling to His rights as God? Was He filled with empty conceit? Was He only concerned with His own personal interests? No! He gave up His rights and became a servant. He condescended to assume human nature. He went further and humbled Himself to the point of a cursed, shameful, painful death. How did the Father respond? He highly exalted Him to the highest place again!
What does this mean for you? You must follow in the steps of your Lord. Remember, that this whole passage was given to help the church at Philippi dwell together in unity. The church was in danger of division. They needed to be of the same mind, maintain the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. But all of them by nature are selfish and proud. Selfishness and pride are the enemies to unity in the body of Christ. How can they make war on selfishness and pride? Go back to verse 5, “Have this mind in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” Look to Christ! Look at His example. Have His mind in yourselves. We, like Jesus, must do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. We, like Jesus, must look out not just for our own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. We must be willing to sink lower and lower, but as we do, we will find that by sinking we actually rise! The way up is down. James 4:10, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” 1 Peter 5:6, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.” He will raise us from the dead. He will make manifest that we are the children of God before a watching world on Judgment Day. We shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father. We will be glorified with Him, sit down with Him on His throne, and be His majestic Bride to reign with Him.
But folks, the cross precedes the crown. Humbling precedes exaltation. How can you regard one another as more important than yourselves? Maybe it is by being willing to be inconvenienced by others. Maybe it is by taking on the tasks that no one else wants. Maybe it is looking for ways that you can serve someone else, rather than waiting for others to come up and serve you. Live this out in your home! Live this out at your workplace! Live this out in your neighborhood! Live this out most importantly in the church!
Non-Believers: Does this passage have anything to say to those that are not followers of Jesus Christ? Absolutely it does! I have a word for you too. You must realize that Christ came the first time as a Savior. He laid down His life to wash you of your sins. He promises to save all those who come to Him in repentance faith. But, one day He will come again, not as a gentle Savior, but as a King and a Judge. All who have not voluntarily bowed the knee in repentance now, will be forced to bow to His sovereign rule then. But it will be too late. You will be cast into the lake of fire, away from the Lord and the glory of His power. There is still a door of mercy, but it is beginning to close. One day you will beat on that door, but it will be too late. You will only hear, “Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity, I never knew you!” Come to Jesus today. Bow your knee, submitting your life to Him. Receive Him and find eternal life!
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