The Mind of Christ: Humility, Obedience & Exaltation

Tonight we're going to continue where pastor left off in the book of Philippians, the letter to the Philippians in chapter 2. He did the first four verses and we're going to continue in verse 5 to 11. If you are able, like I normally ask, if you are able, please stand as I read the holy word of God. keeping Philippians 2 verse 5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself to be of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Wherefore God also had highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. That is the name of Jesus. Every that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth. and the and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Thank you so much, Father, for allowing us this time to come together. We praise you for the many things that you are doing through our lives and we thank you for your holy word. We thank you for allowing us this time to come together to examine a particular passage.

And I pray for open minds, open hearts, father. And I pray for clarity as well. I thank you again for who you are. We love you. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you. Please have a seat. So, as I mentioned, tonight we're going to be looking at one of the most beautiful and powerful passage in the Bible. Many Bible scholars consider this passage uh to be the greatest description of the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. In these verses, Paul shows us both who Jesus is and how we are to live as his followers. So, I begin tonight with a reminder of that Paul wrote Philippians while he was in prison.

Despite being in prison, the letter is filled with joy. One of the major themes is Christian unity. In the first four ver uh verses, Paul urges believers to put aside uh pride, selfish ambition, self-promotion and he rather urges believers to put others before self and pursue unity. Unity. That in itself is really hard for most of us. Naturally, we we're not like that. Okay. But we are to put others out. Naturally, we are always looking for number one. And as we really start to follow Christ and understand his his doctrine, you'll find that it's not about you. It's about him. So, our sermon tonight centers around four simple truths that I'm going to share with you.

And hopefully these truths will kind of give you some way of kind of think about the passage and think about what we can do to learn from it. So, the first one is we must have the mind of Christ. We must have the mind of Christ. And you see this in in the first verse of our passage, verse five, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Before Paul speaks about what Christ did, he tells us how he thought his thought process. The word mind here refers to our attitude and perspective. Paul is saying essentially this. Think like Jesus, love like Jesus, serve like Jesus, and humble yourself like Jesus.

See, if you kind of consider this, this is the answer. This is the answer to the problem that Paul had brought up in the first four verses. Pride destroys unity. Let me say it again. Pride destroys unity. Church unity. But you know what builds it up? Humility. Humility. I had the hardest time after I got saved to come off that mountain of pride in really understanding how we should be humble and why. A qu a a good question for everyone or every believer should be how would Jesus respond in this situation in this passage. Well, we know that Jesus did not demand recognition. He did not insist on his way his own way.

He willingly humbled himself and served others. I think that's one of the reasons why this passage is so powerful is understanding who Christ is, how he lived, and how we ought to follow. As followers of Christ, we are called to do the same to be humble. The Christian life begins with transforming, transformational thinking. when you got saved somewhere in that process how you think comes from self to him there's a there's a step there's a process there so the Christian life uh begins in that aspect of really transforming how we think we must have the mind of Jesus the second truth is crisis humility and obedience obience crisis humility and obedience.

You know, I I know I I just mentioned humility, but boy to understand how to get to where we need to be, we need to understand verses 6 and 8. Let me read it again. Verse six. who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to unto death, even the death of the cross. See, Paul begins by reminding us who Christ is. This this phrase being in the form of God means Christ possessed the very nature and and essence of God.

Yes, Jesus was not merely a man, a good man who became God. Rather, it's the other way around. Jesus is God who became man. In John 10:30, the Bible says, "I and my father are one." That's our Lord speaking. I and father of my father are one. Turn to John chapter 14. John chapter 14 verse 7-2. Let me read it to you. Verse 7. If you had known me, you should have known my father also, and from henceforth you know him, and have seen him. Philip said unto him, Lord, show us the father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus said unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet thou has not known me, Philillip?

He that hath seen me with hath seen the father. And how sayest then thou then show us the father? Believest thou not that I am in the father and the father in me? The words that I speak unto ye speak unto not of myself but the father that dwelleth in me. He doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the father and the father is in me. Or else believe me for the very s works sake. Verse 12. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do also, he do, I mean, I do shall he do also, and the greater works than these shall be, shall he do, because I go unto my father. The important thing here is understanding that the father and the son are one and the holy spirit.

Sometimes we kind of start trying to break that down and thinking of Christ as just a man. The the phrase thought it not robbery to be equal with God means Jesus did not have to grasp equality with God because he already possessed that equality. Before Bethlehem, Christ existed eternally with the father. Yet he willingly left the glory of heaven and entered this world. Every time I look at this and kind of read about how Christ left and came and why he came, I'm always in awe of who he is. Let's notice let's notice the downward path that he took. He left heaven. He became man. He took the form of a servant.

He humbled himself. And he died on the cross. I want you to understand one thing though. Jesus never stopped being God. But he willingly laid aside the privileges of heaven in order to save sinners like you and I. Mark 10:45 says this, "For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many." Think about that for a minute. How bad we are as sinners. Jesus from the glory of heaven came down died at the cross for you and I. I don't think I'll ever be so, you know, like it's just I'm always going to be in awe as I remember what our Lord did for us.

The creator served his creation. The kingdom of heaven became a servant. Think about that. The king of heaven became a servant. The Lord of glory washed the feet of his disciples. See the phrase made himself unto no of no reputation in verse 7 literally means that he emptied himself. He chose the pathway of humility. We must also remember that Jesus was also healed. Son of man was his favorite term for himself. Thank you, pastor. In Hebrews uh 4:14 and 15, the Bible says here, "Seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast our profession, for we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like us, yet without sin."

Christ was fully human being. He experienced the same things we experienced, the same temptations, but he never sinned. John uh 1:14 the Bible says, "And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we held be beheld his glory and the glory as of the only begotten son of the father, full of grace and truth." When it comes to our Lord, our redeemer, remember this that he is fully God. So we respect him with the kind of respect that God deserves. But he's also fully man. He understands every struggle that you go through. Why is that? I I think the Lord designed it that way so that we know that we can come to him because if it was just God, I don't think we're there's going to be a barrier there.

But he's also man, the son of man. Let me pause a little bit and talk about the cross because we see this in in this passage. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. If you study dispatches, you're going to realize that this verse takes us to the deepest point of our Lord's humili humilization. You know, he was shamed, was mocked. Jesus not only became man, he humbled himself. And this was voluntary, folks. Nobody forced him. In John 10:18, the Bible says, "No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself." Sometimes we have this wrong perspective that man killed Christ, but it's strictly voluntary.

Jesus willingly obeyed the father. What an obedient son. Let me kind of kind of put this in perspective. Let's just compare. Adam disobeyed in a garden. Jesus obeyed in a garden. Adam's sin brought death. Remember Romans 5:12, wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon to all men for all that have sinned. That was Adam's disobedience outcome. Christ's disobedience, however, brought life. Then the latter part of verse 8 tells us, Christ became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. I think why this is mentioned in this passage, we need to understand that the cross was not an accident, folks.

It was God's plan for salvation all along. In Isaiah 53:5, the Bible says, "But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities." You know what? our savior Jesus Christ. He was wounded for our sins. He bore our punishment. He suffered so we could be forgiven. He died so we could have the peace of God. Think about that. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For he had made me sin for us to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made righteousness of God in him." Here's the thing. The innocent died for the guilty. That is the heart of the gospel. The innocent Jesus Christ died for the guilty.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself. Can I think about the words I'm saying? Humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself. Humility is thinking of yourself less. There's a difference. Let me try to put it in a way that I think we all can understand. The world says promote yourself. Yes, Peter. Look out for number one. Jesus says serve others. Serve others. The world says, "Seek greatness. Go out and conquer the world and put your name up there." That's it. Our Lord says humble yourself that so if Christ was willing to serve God in heaven willing to come down and to serve. We all all of us ought to be serving.

I still understand. I call it a combat zone nursery. I still understand that there are still a need for warriors in that combat zone. How about serving the Lord through this ministry of the nursery? We still need teachers. Pastor, there's always a need for someone to get involved in different kinds of ministries. I challenge you. If you understand this whole thing about how the Lord came about and why he came and how he served, we ought to be able to serve. Third truth, Christ's exaltation. We find that in verse nine of our pastors. Wherefore God also had highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name.

You know the word wherefore, I love this because pastor likes to do this. The word wherefore points us back to everything that Paul has just said. Because Christ humbled himself, because he obeyed the father, and because he willingly died on the cross, God the Father highly exalted him. Before I was when I was studying this, just right in the time Pastor John was, you know, he he he wrote to me and say, "You know what? I've seen this passage before. There was a pastor who who preached about this passage and he kind of used a picture of the ladder." I said, 'Yes, Pastor John. I I can see that if we think about Christ being up there and then he descends, God also highly exalted him.

I'm not sure if you're paying attention to the words, but the phrase highly exalted means to exalt to the highest possible position. You cannot go further than that. So yes, our Lord's descent, he went all the way down to the deepest and then the father exalted him to the highest point possible. The cross was not the end of the story, folks. I know you know this. The grave was not the end. The tomb was not the end. Death was not the end. God raised Jesus from the dead, seated him at his right hand side, and crowned him Lord of all. Lord him all. Turn to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 20 and 21.

The Bible says, "Which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality in power and might and dominion. And every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come." Jesus rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and now sits at the right side of our God. James 4:10 reminds us of this. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up. Our Lord, our Savior, humbled himself. What happened to him? God the Father raised him up. Think about that for a minute. Today, our Christ reigns as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, right on the right hand side of our Lord, our father.

Many reject him now. Yes, many. I know. I've been out there. I I've tried passing tracks. Oh, no. Many reject our Christ. But get this, his victory is already secured. It's a done deal. Last point. If anything, I want you to pay attention to the last point. The last truth here is every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. As I was studying this, I learned something that I in my past studies and when I think about this, I made some really bad choices in my thinking. And I hope that you can listen to what I'm going about to say here. And when we go to verses 10 and 11 of our passage and it say that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of the things in heaven and the things in earth and the things under the earth.

and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. After showing us Christ's humility, his service, and his sacrifice, Paul now shows us his ultimate victory. Folks, a day is coming. A day is coming when every knee will bow before our Christ Jesus. Not some knees, not most knees, but every knee. Those in heaven, those on earth, those under the earth will acknowledge his authority. Every angel will bow. Every ruler will bow. Every nation will bow. Every unbeliever will bow. Even those who rejected him throughout their lives will acknowledge that Christ Jesus is Lord.

And then get this. I thought I was done. Verse 27. The latter part even went further. And he said that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. See today many people disagree about who Christ is. Some worship him. Some completely ignore him. Some reject him. Some even mock him. But one day there will be no debate. One day there will be no debate. Every tongue will confess the truth and the truth is Christ Jesus is Lord. Isn't that clear? See, this confession does not mean everyone will be saved. Scripture teaches that many reject Christ and face judgment. But it does mean that every person will ultimately recognize who Jesus truly is.

The question is not whether we will bow. The question is when will we bow? See, we can we can bow before him today, right now. Willingly in faith and receive his grace or we can bow before him later as a judge. Today is a day of salvation, folks. Today is the day to trust him. If you don't trust him yet, if you don't know that, tonight is the time. Today's the day of con to confess him as Lord. And notice how the passage ends says to the glory of God the Father. I'm not sure if you got this, but when Jesus is honored, the father is glorified. The father's plan was to send the son. The son obeyed the father and the father exalted at the son.

and everything that Christ accomplished ultimately bring glory to God because I'm running out of time so I'm not going to give you a rundown of the review of what we learned. I hope you kind of you kind of uh kept that in mind but this fashion gives us a beautiful picture of the gospel and that's why I think it's really so awesome. I read it again and again and again. Pastor John, Pastor Wayne, they gave me points about this message and and I really do appreciate what you said, what you what you, you know, the scripture that you pointed out and the picture of the latter because it helps. See, see, we see the glory of Christ.

We see the humility of Christ. We see the service of Christ, the sacrifice, the exaltation, and the victory of Christ. The one who left heaven came to bury it for us. The one who took the form of a servant died for us. The one who wore a crown of thorns now wears a crown of glory. The one who is mocked by men is worshiped by angels. The one who has humbled himself, who humbled himself, had been exalted above everything and everybody and every name. Church, let us have that mind of Christ. Let us walk in humility. If you're still growing in the Lord, it will take time. But let us walk in humility. Let us serve others. Let us trust fully in his sacrifice. Let us boldly proclaim that Christ Jesus is Lord. See, one day, perhaps, one day, I know, not perhaps, I know, one day, we will join the great heavenly multitude with the joy as we declare, "Worthy is the lamb that was slain." Amen. the dead. And