The passage for May is Philippians 2:1-11:
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)
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Throughout each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of understanding regarding our text (see the archive links on the lower right of this page for review). Today we will discuss...
Living to the Glory of God
Paul showed how he tried to live Christ-like as a leader in the early church (Phil. 2:22-26). Then Paul encouraged us as individual believers to live in the broken world in a Christ-like manner (Phil. 2:27). And Paul applied the idea into how we Christians are to live as the local church and the church worldwide in a Christ-like way toward each other and to the not-yet-believers around us (Phil. 2:27-3:4).
Now, Paul continues the theme, by driving home WHAT exactly Jesus did for us and WHY Jesus did it. He does this to clarify what example we should ultimately follow.
WHAT Jesus Did for Us and WHY
WHAT?
Though he was in the form of God - Jesus had eternally enjoyed perfect fellowship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. And, from the time of the creation of the angels, Jesus had received all of the praise and honor and love that was due to Him in the Heavenly realm.
(HE) did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. - Jesus did not cling tightly to what was due to Him as God the Son, but in a way let loose of His equal position with God the Father and emptied Himself of His right to praise and honor from everyone he encountered, and came to the broken, wicked earth. Jesus emptied Himself and took on the form of man.
WHY?
There was a problem. Sin had entered the world and with it death. And not simply death, but the eternal death of Hell.
Jesus had a bride and she was in trouble. If Jesus did not sacrificially love her, she would be doomed to perish like the rest of the sinful human race.
Jesus became fully man, because only the perfect life of a human could be credited to our imperfect human account.
WHAT?
In human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. - Not only did Jesus sink to our level, He allowed Himself to serve us, even though we were created to serve Him. He served us ultimately, not by healing a person here and there, not by washing His disciples’ feet. Ultimately He served all of us who will believe, by giving His life in our place at the cross.
WHY?
Jesus not only had to live a perfect life in our place He also had to die the death we deserved for our sin. The wrath of God is set to be unleashed to EVERY sinner. IF Jesus had not absorbed the Wrath of God for us at the cross, we would still have to take it ourselves.
For generations past, animals were sacrificed to cover the sins of God’s people. Now, Jesus has offered Himself as the once-and-for-all sacrifice. The blood of bulls and goats could never fully pay the sin debt for humanity. Only a human could pay the human debt. And only a perfect human at that.
If Jesus had sinned - even once - then His death would have simply been what was due for His sin.
However, since Jesus was sinless, His death could be credited to our account. We were born into sin because of our spiritual and biological lineage back to Adam. But we can be born again into a new sinlessness through our faith in Jesus Christ.
As the Apostle Paul says, “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)
WHAT is the RESULT of what Jesus Did for Us and WHY
WHAT?
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord - Jesus was able to do this hard and shameful work because He was able to look past the shame and see the result of His efforts (Hebrews 12:2; Ephesians 5:25-27). The prize at the end of the suffering included Jesus’ authority over all creation, as well as the guarantee that His bride - The Church - would be safely delivered to Him at the end of this age. Also, not only would Christ’s Church honor Him as Lord, but EVERY person who ever lived will bow their knee and confess Jesus is Lord.
WHY?
To the glory of God the Father - Jesus’ ultimate reason for everything He has done was to bring Glory to the Father. It is a difficult concept to understand, but it is true. Everything, including your decision to put your faith in Jesus or your decision not to do so - EVERYTHING and everyone brings glory to God.
God will be glorified in His perfect mercy given to everyone who places their faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. On that day, when all of us bow, we will bow and confess with gratitude and joy that our King has returned for us as promised. We will joyously declare, “Jesus Christ is LORD!”
God will also be glorified in His perfect justice given to everyone who denied Him in their lifetimes or tried to escape Hell by their own merit. On that day, when all of us bow, the unbeliever will bow and confess with terror and complete understanding that they have committed treason against our perfectly righteous King who came back to defeat sin and cast the unforgiven away. They will wail and woefully confess, “Jesus Christ IS Lord!”
Today, while there is still time, do not mistake Jesus’ kindness as a weakness. Do not mistake His patience as slowness. Thank Him for His humble saving grace and turn to Him as your savior and Lord today, all for your good and to the Glory of God.
