Good evening to everyone. Welcome to Free Grace Baptist Church. For any visitors with us this evening, it's a joy uh to be in the house of the Lord for the worship of our great triune God. You can turn in your Bibles with me as we have our call to worship, a reading of Psalm 63. You can turn in your Bibles to Psalm 63. We're going to read from verse 1 to verse 5. Psalm 63, beginning at verse one. This is the word of God. A psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. Oh God, you are my God. Early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you. In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. So I have so I have looked for you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory. Because your loving kindness is better than life. My lips shall praise you. Thus I will bless you while I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips. Amen. Well, let's stand together as a church. We're going to sing 282, hymn number 282. Let's stand and sing together. [Music] I sure [Music] redeemer. I only trust and savior of my heart. Who made his thunder? Go for my forsake. I pray from our hearts all year to sing. Thou art the king of mercy and of praise. Rain in the river and in every place. The following our holy sun shine on us with the light of your day. [Music] are the life we shall live and all our substance and our strength receive. Oh my wording death are approaching so hard to face my heart. How has the children perfect [Music] gent and no bitterness bring us to taste the sweet grace found in thee and ever Stay in my [Music] sweet. Our hope is in your mother. Our faith is film free. Oh, grant to us such stronger hope and sure that we can holy coner [Music] and let's go to our God in prayer. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this Lord's Day. We rejoice in this Lord's Day evening that we can gather together now as the saints of Christ to worship you to worship our great God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We pray that you would help us by your spirit to hallow your name this evening. We pray Lord God that we would worship you a right in spirit and in truth. And we do pray unto that end and giving us uh measures of your Holy Spirit that we would be able to cast off wandering thoughts that we would be solely focused in this place on the worship of our God. And uh in sweet reflections upon our savior the Lord Jesus Christ that one who came into this world sinners to save. We rejoice in that blessed reality that in the fullness of the times you did send forth the son of God born of a woman born uh under the law to redeem those who were under the law. We thank you so much for the incarnation. We thank you for his perfect work of salvation. That he lived a life of obedience unto your law in the place of all who believe in his name. That he bore on the cross the the curse that he uh bore and offered up that sacrifice that substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all who believe in him. And we rejoice in that resurrection, that victorious rising again the third day and his subsequent ascension to your right hand and the fact that he ever lives now to intercede for his people. We do pray that you'd help us to glory in our savior to rejoice in our God and to sing the praises of amazing and victorious grace. We pray that you would forgive us by virtue of the perfect bloodshedding of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you that in him we have an advocate with you, that just one who forgives us from all of our iniquities, having borne the curse upon the tree. We do pray, l uh Lord God, that you'd help us uh as we sing, as we read the scriptures, as we engage in that central act of worship, the preaching of your word, that we would be focused, that you would help Pastor Butler when he comes up here to preach your word, to know the aid of God in this pulpit. As we often pray, the ministers of the gospel don't rest upon their own strength, intelligence, ingenuity, but they rest upon the triune God. The fact that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit gird up those ministers of theirs in the pulpit uh and and cause them to to be able to set forth and to proclaim and to to richly declare the things of the gospel of saving grace. So, we do pray that this evening. We pray Lord God that uh those saints of yours in this place tonight would be strengthened, would be nourished, would be fed by the word, by the spirit attending it. And we do pray Lord God for for any and all young or old who came into this church this evening outside of Christ in damning unbelief that they would by amazing grace by the power of the Holy Spirit leave singing the praises of Jesus Christ our savior. We just would pray as well, Lord God, for those unable to join us, those traveling, those sick, uh those uh those injured and dealing uh with physical issues. We pray that you'd strengthen them, watch over them. You'd cause them to know safety, to know healing, to know strength and uh gains in strength. And we pray, Lord God, for those struggling spiritually that you'd lift them up in the inner man and uh cause them to to be returned unto the joy of their salvation and unto those those high places of Christian reflection and joy. We do pray that you'd be with those who rule over us, those who rule over the nations. We pray that Lord God, they would rule in righteousness and proper justice. We pray that those who would seek to to propagate and uphold wickedness in the land would be cast down. We do pray for the the the victory of the gospel throughout the nations that that many presently opposed, many presently uh engaging in tyranny and and anger and enmity and persecution against the church of Christ would be converted, would be saved by the power of the proclamation of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit. We do pray, Lord God, for those rep probate who would remain in in reprobate opposition to the truth, to the church, to the risen and exalted Christ, that you would cast them down, that you would cause them to no longer be able to to bring violence against the church of Christ. We do pray then again as we return to to our own uh to our own moment that you would be with us now in worship. Help us to worship you again in spirit and in truth. Uh do uplift your saints and do save sinners unto the praise of your glory. We pray in Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Let's stand and sing again as a church. This time it's going to be 152. 152. Let's stand and sing together. [Music] Take me through another way. God has brought us on our way. Let us now bless waiting in his courts today. They are all the way the best and the eternal rest. While we pray for our grace through the dear redeemer name shows, take away our sin and shame from our earthly and free. May we rest in thee. We come by praise. Let us feel thy presence here. May thy glory be arise while we in thy house. here for us Lord a taste of our [Music] everlasting bring joyful sound [Music] con the fruits of grace abound Make great for all complaints. Thou stay all our fruit till we join the church of [Music] God. Can turn in your Bibles with me to the book of Judges. Judges chapter 4. our Old Testament scripture reading. As we do read every Lord's Day evening through the Old Testament, we're here now the beginning of Judges 4 and we'll read the entirety of the chapter, verses 1- 24. Once again, the word of God. When Ehood was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Cicora, who dwelt in Horesth Hegim. And the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. For Jabin had 900 chariots of iron, and for 20 years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel. Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapedoth, was judging Israel at that time. and she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Rama and Bethl in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. Then she sent and called for be uh uh Barack the son of Abinoam from Kadesh in Naft Naftali and said to him, "Was has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, go and deploy troops at Mount Tabore? Take with you 10,000 men of the sons of Nahali and the sons of Zebulun. And against you I will deploy Cisora, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude at the river Kishon, and I will deliver him into your hand. And Barack said to her, "If you will go with me, then I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go." So she said, "I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the Lord will sell Cisra into the hand of a woman." Then Deborah arose and went with Barack to Kadesh. And Barack said uh called Zebulun and Naphali to Kadesh. He went up with 10,000 men under the command, and Deborah went up with him. Now Haber, the Kenite of the children of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, had separated himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent near the Terabin tree at Zeanim wii uh which is beside Kadesh. And they reported to Cicora that Barack the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. So Cisora gathered together all his chariots, 900 chariots of iron, and all the people who were with him from Heres Hegoim to the river Kishon. And Deborah said to Barack, "Up, for this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Cicora into your hand. Has not the Lord gone out before you?" So Barack went down from the mountain Tabor uh from uh from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him. And the Lord routed Cicora and all his chariots and all his army with the edge of the sword before Barack. And Cicora al lighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. But Barack pursued chariots and the army as far as as far as Heresth Hegoim. And all the army of Cicora fell by the edge of the sword. Not a man was left. However, Cicora had fled away on foot to the tent of Jel, the wife of Haber the Kenite. For there was peace between Jabin, king of Hazor, and the house of Habor the Kenite. And Jel went out to meet Cisora, and said to him, "Turn aside, my lord. Turn aside to me. Do not fear." And when he had turned aside with her into the tent, she covered him with a blanket. Then he said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty." So she opened a jug of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him. And he said to her, "Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and inquires of you, and says, "Is there any man here?" You shall say, "No." Then JL Haber's wife took a tent peg and took a hammer in her hand and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple and it went down into the ground for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died. And then as Barack pursued Cicora, uh JL came out to meet him and said to him, "Come, I will show you the man whom you seek." And when he went into her tent, there lay Cicora dead with the peg in his temple. So on that day, God subdued Jabin, king of Canaan, in the presence of the children of Israel. And the hand of the children of Israel grew stronger and stronger against Jabin, king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin, king of Canaan. Amen. Well, it's a wonderful story of a hero of the faith, JL, who uh who hammered this tent peg through the head of Cicora. And it's a to borrow the language of our confession, it's a it's a it's a moment of farther steps in God carrying along the promise that a hero born of woman will crush the serpent with his heel. The the promise of this skull crushing champion is prefigured in this occasion with JL plunging this tent peg through the head of Cicora. the the wonderful reality that God uses unexpected means that God uses in the case of Christ Christ death in order to put death to death. We have this wonderful story here JL again a hero of the faith and and it's something that comes in in the midst of um once again this cyclical reality where we read the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord sold them into the hand of an enemy. And this prefigurement of a hero who who crushes a skull uh has with it uh brings with it the same prefigurement of God's people being plunged into sin, a deliverer coming, conquering through the crushing of a skull and then uh victory coming upon the heels of that. And we see this constant cycle in the book of Judges. And it is to call us to reflect upon the fact of divine sovereignty in the history of the the nation of Israel and and bringing them forth to the moment where the seed would come forth, even Christ. But we are to see even beyond that the reality of Christ being proclaimed in these prefigurements that there would be a hero coming that would that would come from out of unassuming means and means that we would not really uh always connect heroism too. Coming out born of a woman, born under the law, a son of a carpenter, uh a a meek fellow, but nevertheless a champion who crushes the head of the serpent and who brings many sons to glory. What a wonderful Bible we have. What a wonderful not a not a smattering together of of ancient stories in a dusty tome, but chapter after chapter, page after page, God pointing us to Christ upon the cross, working out the salvation of men. Praise God for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We rejoice in your goodness to us and uh giving us your word and making us causing us by your spirit to rejoice in the champion of the word even Jesus Christ the savior. We pray that you would help us to love your revelation to the sons of men to avail of the scriptures uh regularly and uh to see with joyful Christian eyes the reality of that hero born of woman who crushed the serpent with his heel. We pray that you would help us in this lower world to have many opportunity to proclaim the riches of Christ to those in need. We pray Lord God that you would cause us by your grace and for your glory to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. And we pray that Lord God this would be unto your glory, unto your praise, uh and even unto the many occasions where we can uh sit with those outside of Christ and proclaim to them the glories of so great a savior. And it's in his name that we pray. Amen. Amen. Let's stand again and sing. Our final hymn before the preaching is Psalm 67A. Let's stand and sing 67A. [Music] Oh God to us, show mercy and bless us in your praise. now to shine upon us the brightness of your face. That's so your way most holy on earth may soon be known. and unto every people your saving praise be sure. Oh God, let all men praise you. Let all nations sing. in every praisees and songs of gladness. For you shall judge the people in truth and rightousness. And through the earth the nations shall your justice. Oh God, let people praise you. Let all the nations see for earth in rich to us her fruit shall bring. The Lord our God shall bless us. Our God shall bless him and all the earth shall fear him to his [Music] most. You can turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2, I'll read verses 1 to 11. Philippians 2, beginning in verse one. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in loneliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondervant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of those in heaven and of those on earth and of those under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father in heaven, thank you for this wonderful passage of holy scripture. We pray that the spirit who gave it by way of inspiration would now now guide us by way of illumination would cause us to reflect upon the glory of our blessed savior as well. May we learn the lessons from his incarnation from his passion and may we apply that in our context as a local church. Help us to be selfless and others minded. Help us to glorify you by pursuing unity and love in this local church. Forgive us for our remaining corruption and sin and those things that oftent times cause us to stumble in these pursuits. Wash us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ as well. God, we pray that you would open hearts and cause there to be sinners looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ in faith tonight that they may know the joy of salvation. And we ask this in Christ's name. Amen. Well, we are in a section of exhortation by the Apostle Paul on how the people of God are to conduct themselves within the context of the local church. If you go back for just a moment in chapter 1 at verse 27, only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. So the apostle wants them to live in a in a particular way that their conduct would be worthy of the gospel. Then in chapter 2:es 1 to4 he gives this exhortation or admonishment with reference to unity and love in the local church. And then that brings us to verses 5 to 11. Verses 5 to 11 is a difficult passage because on the one hand it is absolutely positively simple. It is absolutely positively simple. It is basically Paul saying in verses 1 to4, I want you to live in a manner that is consistent with your calling in the gospel. I want you not to be selfish. I want you not to be conceited. I want you to count the others in the context of the church as more important than yourself. And then he points to Jesus by way of example in verses 5 to 11 and says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." So it's a very simple passage in terms of the context, but it's also a very profound passage in terms of christologology. What Paul does here in showing us Jesus is a compendium of sound theology proper and christologology. And so we're going to move slowly through it because Paul sets forth the divinity of the son in verses five and six. He then highlights the humility of the son in verses 7 and 8 and then the exaltation of the son in verses 9 to 11. Again the broad sort of strokes with reference to good christologology as well. We need to appreciate what Gil says in terms of the specific encouragement in the text. He says put these two together the form of God and the form of a servant and admire the amazing stoop. Basically, you have the superior Christ coming to serve the inferior. And Paul concludes from that that we as inferior to inferior ought to do likewise. We ought to be the kinds of people that do demonstrate that mind of Christ. Well, tonight we're going to just take up verses five and six. I want to make sure that we don't blunt the edge of the particular intention of the apostle. While it is good to ponder the christologology, while it is good to reflect upon his divinity, the humiliation of Christ in terms of incarnation and passion, it's also important that we don't blunt Paul's sword. He wants us to live in a particular way and he wants us to model ourselves after the Lord Jesus Christ. So, we'll notice the divinity of Christ under two considerations in verses five and six. First, the context and then secondly, the content of verse six. But the context as I've already mentioned is the preceding section in verses 1 to4. Paul says, "If there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in loneliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests but also for the interests of others. Now again that is absolutely positively summarized in what Christ does in terms of incarnation and passion. So Paul gives this positive emphasis on unity and love and then he gives a specific prohibition against selfish ambition and conceit. Selfish ambition and conceit when it is not the things or or or rather embied by the people of God. That's what kills churches. Unity and love promotes health in churches, but selfishness and conceit destroy churches. So then Paul in verse 5 says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." Have the mind of Christ. Have the mind of Christ in terms of selflessness and others mindedness. Now, most of the passages that deal with Christ typically deal with him in terms of what he's accomplished with reference to his life, death, and resurrection. In other words, the indicative of the gospel, the fact of his perfect obedience to the father's law at every jot, and tit, his substitutionary atoning death on the cross at Calvary, and then his resurrection again the third day. So most emphases in the New Testament are not on the example of Jesus but rather the emphasis is upon the gospel truth that Christ came to save his people from their sins. However, there are instances like Philippians 2:5-11 where Christ is pro uh uh invoked as an example for the conduct of God's people. Another place is in 1 Peter chapter 2. And what Paul is doing is basically the unity and love commanded by Paul will only come through the selflessness and others mindedness commended by Paul. So he points to Christ as the supreme example of that selflessness and others mindedness. In other words, we need to appreciate what or who Christ is according to verses 5 to 11. But we also must live in a manner that is consistent with Paul's admonitions in verses 1 to4 in chapter 2 here. So now we come to the content in verse 6. And there's two phrases we need to spend a bit of time on. First, that's that statement that he's the form of God in verse 6. And then secondly, equality with God in verse 6b. Note what Paul says. Verse six, who Jesus, Christ Jesus, the one you are to have the mind of, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. So there's a lot going on there in verse six concerning the Savior. There's a lot going on there concerning this who this Christ Jesus who's invoked as the example for us and our conduct in the context of the church. Now with reference to that word form, the first thing we need to observe is the eternality of the son. The fact that the son is eternal. Notice he says being in the form of God. He was always in the form of God. He has always been in the form of God. But the being here points to that place that that that status of Christ as the divine son. It's similar to what you see in John 1:14. The word became flesh. So at an instance in time, Christ took on our humanity. Prior to that instance of time, Christ had always been the word. Same with 2 Corinthians chapter 8. You know our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich points to his divinity, yet for our sakes he became poor. He became that which he wasn't in order to function as the mediator of the new covenant. And so the apostle as he begins this sort of christologology to furnish an example starts from the very heights. And I think that as you appreciate the movement in the text, he goes from the heights to the lowest. He goes from the the the the status or the status rather of being praised, worshiped and glorified to coming into this world, assuming our humanity and then going to the cross and dying for sinners. Again, the superior serving the inferior. Therefore, inferiors ought to serve other inferiors. And we ought not to bock at that and think that somehow it's beneath me. The Lord Jesus Christ is way by way of example shows the glory of his incarnation and passion. The explanation of that phrase form of God. I'm going to lean on some of the brothers here because they just do it better. John Gil says, "But this phrase the form of God is to be understood of the nature and essence of God and describes Christ as he was from all eternity." It's just that simple. who being in the form of God simply means he is God. Thomas Aquinus says the form is called the nature of a thing. Consequently to be in the form of God is to be in the nature of God. And then note the parallel expression in verse 7 but made himself of no reputation taking the form of a bond servant. So the form of God underscores the divinity of our blessed savior. The form of a bondervant underscores the humanity of our savior. And we preach this and we teach this and we confess this in second London confession. The Lord Jesus Christ is one person, two natures, the hypothatic union. We have that one blessed divine son who assumes to himself our humanity to function as the mediator of the new covenant to humble himself to the point of death even death of the cross so that he might win us for salvation. It is a wonderful trajectory that the apostle sets forth here as well with reference to this form of God. It's obviously the form of the father, the nature of the father, having the same divine essence as the father. So this teaches the son is consubstantial or of one essence with the father. If he is being in the form of god, all that is true of the father is true of the son. Hebrews 1:3 says, "Who Jesus being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, the express image, the exact representation." Well, he can only be that by virtue of his relation to the father as the only begotten son. John 1:18, no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father, he has declared him. And remember in the upper room discourse, I know that was a long time ago, but in the upper room discourse in John 14:8-10, Philip says to Jesus,"Lord, show us the father and it is sufficient for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long and yet you have not known me, Philillip? He who has seen me has seen the father." So how can you say, "Show us the father? Do you not believe that I am in the father and the father in me? The words that I speak to you, I do not speak on my own authority, but the father who dwells in me does the works. Paul is simply rehearsing what Christ had laid down in his earthly ministry. Paul is only rehearsing what the prophets had foretold. The prophets foretold the divine Messiah. Isaiah 9 6 and 7, Micah 5:2, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. The Old Testament prophesied a divine savior. Psalm 1101, Yahweh said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your foottool." And so the glory of Christ is manifested. The divinity of Christ is set forth as that apex or that highest point. And then from that trajectory, Christ humbles himself. He assumes our humanity. He goes to the cross on our behalf. And the great theme in this section is be that way toward your fellows. In other words, verse four, let each of you look out not only for his own interests but also for the interests of others. I cited the text this morning from Matthew 20 and verse 28. In that context, the disciples are jockeying for position. Lord, grant that we may sit on your right and on your left when you come in your kingdom. Jesus says, "You don't know what you're asking. You you don't have the baptism to undergo that I have to undergo." And then he says, "Yeah, you actually do, John uh James and and John. You're going to you're going to suffer for sure." But he invokes the example of the Gentiles. He says, "Don't be like the Gentiles. They like to lord things over those underneath them." He says, "I want you to understand that firstness in the kingdom comes by being last. that greatness in the kingdom comes by being leased. And he makes that glorious declaration in 20:28, for the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. So Paul in the context of Philippians 2 1:4 wants us to have that mind of Christ so that in the context of the church, we're others minded. We're selfless. We're not conceited. It's not all about us. I know this world preaches that gospel, that bastard gospel, that it is always about you. You're everything. You're the center of the universe. If you do it right, you can influence people on Instagram and make a living. It's insane. But in the kingdom of God, in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are to put others first. Again, very countercultural, very much an uh uh uh uh what's the word I'm thinking here? uh uh anti what we have in our own hearts. But this is the admonition of the apostle. So this form of God simply underscores that Jesus Christ is God and there is that distinction from the father. The one being in the form of God who took the form of a bondervant is distinct from the father who's in the form of God but did not take the form of a bondervant. So you've got equality, you've got consubstantiality, and you've got distinction among the persons of the father and the son and the spirit. That brings us then to this statement, equality with God. Notice he continues in the text, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. It's an interesting phrase and this is the way that I understand it. And I'm leaning on some big guns here, so I must be right. Kidding. Just kidding. Um, there's a new commentary published by uh Zanki. I mean, it's not new. He was what, 1600s, way back when, back when giants walked the earth. Anyways, Zanki's treatment on Philippians 2, it it's almost too much for a busy pastor. At some point you got to skim because I mean he's just dense but theologically delightful. It's just a christoologgical feast. So if you want to get yourself that book you probably wouldn't you wouldn't hurt for it. It would be a wonderful thing. Him Gil Pool Aquinus those are my guys. So the meaning of the phrase who did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. We'll look at the equal with God in a minute. But what is this? Did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. The meaning of the phrase is simply a violent seizure of property. A violent seizure of property. And guys go different ways in terms of interpretation. And suggesting everybody else is wrong. But I think this is what the apostle is highlighting. The son did not seize equality with the father by unjust means. He didn't usurp this equality with God, but rather he has it by nature. And there are two personages in in the Bible that did try to usurp godness from God. Lucifer in Isaiah chapter 14 and Adam in the garden. The son is contrasted with the devil who did attempt by robbery to seize equality with God. That's what he wanted. That's the pride that at least the prophet points out there in Isaiah 14. And the son is contrasted with Adam who did attempt by robbery to seize equality with God. Remember the nature of the temptation in the garden. Oh yeah. God God's a big cosmic killjoy is what the devil says. He doesn't want you to have fun. He doesn't want you to enjoy. And he knows that you will be like God. That is what captivates the heart. You will be like God. So when Eve takes that fruit and hands it over to Adam, there is this wanting to be like God, this usurppation, this stepping out of the lane of creature and wanting to be creator, wanting to participate in things that was not for him. Adam in the form or the state or condition of a servant did by robbery attempt to take the form of God. I'm leaning on John Owen here specifically volume one. Christ in the form essential form the same nature of God counted it no robbery to be equal with God. He didn't seize it. He didn't rest it from him. It was his by virtue of eternal generation being the same nature. Christ in the form of God and equal with God took on our nature and was a bond servant. Again the passage flows the divine one assumes our humanity and with that humanity not with like it's a package but in that humanity goes to the cross for us men and for our salvation. So for us in the church let nothing be done out of selfish ambition or conceit. Let each one of you esteem others as better than himself. Have this mind in you which was in Christ Jesus who though being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God humbled himself assumed our humanity lived for us died for us and was raised again. So Christ in the form of God and equal with God took on our nature and was a bondervant. Here's Owen now. He says, "Christ had dominion over all, owed service and obedience unto none, being in the form of God and equal unto him, the condition which Adam aspired unto, but he cons condescended unto a state of absolute subjection and service for our recovery." Listen to what he says there. Christ condescended unto a state of absolute subjection and service for our recovery. Use that as a check against selfish ambition and conceit. Use that to destroy any uprising of thought and heart which would esteem yourself as better than everybody else. If Christ does what Christ did and he is the mind of the one we're to have that mind which was in Christ Jesus, death to our flesh, death to our lusts, death to our selfishness, and death to our conceit. He goes on to say, "This did no more belong unto him on his own account than it belonged unto Adam to be like unto God or equal to him. Wherefore it is said that he humbled himself unto it as Adam would have exalted himself unto a state of dignity which was not his due. So he left his father's throne above assumed our humanity. It wasn't by local motion. It's not that the the the the that he vacated heaven. The presence of or the divine or the divinity of Jesus is im immense. It's always present everywhere. It's a convection or con uh uh uh literary uh thing that the scripture uses in terms of him leaving his father's throne above to show us that that humiliation that that state of humiliation taking on the form of a servant. So the son did not have godhead by usurppation but by eternal generation. For those of you who are listening to those um I I hope some of you are listening to those podcasts that that we record. We did some recently on the um on the conference and Nathan asked about sort of a timeline of classical theism and and pastor Kim made a great observation in in his response there. What what we call classical theism was always called Christianity. This this we're calling something today classical theism which is helpful. It services you know the need but it's just Christian thought triune christoologgically correct and orthodox thought in probably what is one of the best chapters in his book simply trinity by Matthew Barrett the first chapter is called trinity a drift it's basically how did we get where we're at with everybody wanting to subject the sun in the godhead h how did we get here and he says basically Basically, the last couple of generations have been bad theology. We we haven't emphasized the eternal generation of the son. We haven't used that absolutely crucial thing that the scripture sets forth and that the creeds and the confessions picked up on to show at one in the same time the distinction of person and the consubstantiality. We we we got rid of that. We we we're smarter now. No, we're not. We're we're not smarter now. But listen to what Barrett says. If the son is not begotten from the father's divine essence from all eternity, they argued then that the son is not equal to the father in deity. The doctrine not only distinguished the person of the son from the person of the father but ensured the two were co-eternal and co-equal in divinity, power, will, glory and authority. And now he expands or he makes a larger statement. What pastor Cam basically said to affirm eternal generation was equivalent to confessing oneself to be a Christian. Right? You you don't have this divergence of opinion amongst the orthodox when it comes to is Jesus eternally subordinate to the son. No, he's not eternally subordinate to the son. He's never or to the father. He's never been. And that's bad theology. It's horrible Christologology. So Barrett says to affirm eternal generation was equivalent to confessing oneself to be a Christian. And a Bible believing Christian at that. To deny eternal generation was to align yourself with heresy. That's really that simple. You don't confess 2 London chapter uh 8 paragraph 2 or 2 London chapter 2 paragraph 3. You're a heretic. I I know that doesn't feel good. I know that that doesn't sound right. And I don't have, you know, the big papal hat. I can pronounce heresy, you know. No, I'm not saying that. Pronunc uh uh pronouncement of heresy is an ecclesiastical thing. It is an ecclesiastical declaration which interestingly ecclesiastically the church has done that for 20 centuries. The great ecumenical creeds, how do they end? If you don't believe what we're saying here, may you be anathema. Doesn't sound very ecumenical to me. Absolutely positively it's ecumenical. We're not just trying to bind together based on some vague notion that there might be a god. We are trinitarian through and through. We affirm the consubstantiality of the son. We affirm the nyine creed. God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, one in being with the father, through whom all things were made, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. Note the emphasis in this particular phrase, verse six at the end. He did not consider it robbery to be what? equal with God. Jesus Christ the son is equal with God the father. The Geneva Bible here at this place says if the son be equal to the father then is there of necessity an equality which Aras that heretic denieth and if the son be compared with the father then there is a distinction of persons which selius that heretic denieth. We just don't like to make such pronouncements today because it makes people feel bad. Well, brethren, some people might need to be made to be feel bad because when you deny the glory of Jesus Christ, you are not functioning functioning functioning as a biblical Christian. Notice the affirmation of this proposition by the unbelieving Jews. And the unbelieving Jews got what Jesus was saying. Go back to John's gospel, John chapter 5. John chapter 5. Intriguing. We have those within Christianity or professing Christianity that do not recognize the equality of the son with the father. They have to qualify it. He's not quite as much God. Not quite the same as God. He's like him. And in in the Godhead, even he's still subordinate in some way. No, he's not. He's just not. Notice that the unbelieving Jews picked up what Jesus was putting down. John 5:18, "Therefore, the Jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was his father, making himself equal with God." And in the rest of chapter 5, Jesus doesn't back it down. Jesus doesn't say, "Oh, you know, unbelieving Jews, you've got me all wrong. I would never say or uh uh suggest such a thing." He doubles down from 5:19 all the way to the end of the chapter. He pounds that nail over and over and over and over and over again. Notice in John chapter 8 again a disputation with unbelieving Jews. John chapter 8 at verse 57. Then the Jews said to him, "Have you are not yet 50 years old? And have you seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." They understood what he was saying. They knew what he was speaking about because they took up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by. Notice in John 10, John chapter 10 specifically at verses 30 31-33. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from my father. For which of those works do you stone me?" The Jews answered him, saying, "Excuse me, for a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy. And because you being a man make yourself God. So the apostle Paul as he's pointing to Christ as the exemplar on how we are to conduct ourselves in the context of the church tells us that Jesus being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. So that as he continues in verses seven and 8, you'll see the state of humiliation. You'll see the state of condescension. you'll see what the son went through in order to save us from our sins. So go thou Christian and do likewise with reference to others. Let each of you esteem others as as better than yourself. Do nothing with selfish ambition or or conceit. Don't be demanding that the church be all about you. That is absolutely contrary to Christian ethics. It is absolutely contrary to the mind of Christ. That mind which is displayed in the divine son assuming our humanity and going to the cross on our behalf. This, my brothers and sisters, is the foundation of the Christian religion. You can be wrong in some things. I'm not suggesting you should be, but you can be wrong in some things. There's some things that are hard to understand in the Bible. There are some do tough doctrines. I guess I think if we asked who, you know, where's everybody at on esquetology? however many people are here, we'd have that many views and then we'd fight about it and we'd scream at each other and we yell at each other and I'm right and you're wrong. It's just weird to me. But but it is what it is. You can be wrong. You can go to heaven as a premillennialist. You you can. It's a beautiful thing. God is so good, so kind, so gracious. And for any premillennialists out there, it's just good-natured ribbing. Please don't don't cry. Don't get upset. I'm not trying to trigger anybody. You can be wrong in things. You really can. You can't be wrong on God. You You can't be wrong on the Son of God. You You have to get this. This is really what it's all about, brethren. Who is God? And what does God do? God is triune and God saves sinners. The Father elects, the Son redeems, the spirit applies. Three gods, one God, inseparable operations, glorious and wondrous but works appropriated to each of the persons. So we see something about each of those persons. It it's beautiful. It's it's fabulous. The one living and true God, the triunity of persons in the Godhead. And then if you ponder verses 6 to 11, the perfect suitability of Jesus Christ as the mediator. There's no one else who could do what Jesus did. The divine son assuming our humanity to live for us, to die for us, and to be raised again for us is precisely what guilty, vile, helpless sinners need. If we are going to be accepted in the beloved, the beloved must take on our humanity. The beloved must live for us. The beloved must die for us. And the beloved must be raised again for us. In our confession, after highlighting the hypothatic union in chapter 8, paragraph two, which is a wonderful, wonderful paragraph, the next paragraph tells us this about the suitability, the fitted uh fittingness of Christ for this work of mediation. It says, "The Lord Jesus in his human nature, thus united to the divine in the person of the Son was sanctified and anointed with the Holy Spirit above measure, having in him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, in whom it pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell to the end that being holy, harmless, undefiled, and full of grace and truth, he might be thoroughly furnished to execute the office of mediator and shity, which office he took not upon himself, but was there unto called by his father, who also put all power and judgment in his hand and gave him commandment to execute the same. Our souls rely upon verses 6 to 11. Without verses 6 to 11, and again it's an exemplary passage. Do like Jesus. But without the truth of verses 6 to 11, there's no salvation. We need to confess this savior. We need to acknowledge his divinity, his equality with the father. We need to acknowledge the the humanity of our of our blessed savior. True humanity wasn't a phanto fan f a phantom apparition. He didn't just kind of appear to be a man. No, he took on our humanity with all the essential properties and the common infirmities thereof and yet without sin. Why? So he could live for us. So he could die for us. So he could be be raised again for us. And in this context, the strength of Paul's argument, Paul really wants us to pursue unity and love. How do we know that? Because he grabs the biggest gun in the armory that he has to call us to pursue unity and love. He doesn't say, "You know, brethren, look at me. I really try to be a guy who goes after unity and love." You've all heard about the Apostle Peter. He's a great guy. He really loves unity. Really loves love. We can learn from Paul. We can learn from Peter to be sure. But when Paul wants to grab the consciences of the people in Philippi with this pursuit of unity and love, he goes to Jesus. He goes to the divinity, the incarnation and the passion of the son of God as that model by which we are to renounce selfish ambition and we are to renounce our conceitedness. Well, in conclusion, in terms of the unity of the church, we mustn't forget that context, we are tethered in the context. And verses 1 to4 is the very reason for verses 5 to 11 in the apostles argument. The positive emphasis, unity and love in verses 1 and two, the prohibition that you see there in verses three and four, nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. And then the paradigm, what paradigm or sort of pattern or overarching concern do you think Paul has? Well, practically and pastorally, Paul had seen what a lack of unity and a lack of love did to the churches. He saw it in Corenth. I think he wrote uh Corinthian epistle before he wrote Ephesians. So, he knew what was going on when churches were not expressing unity and love. So pastorally and practically he observed the the the horrible effects of a group of people doing things with selfish ambition and completely conceitedly. But I think as well theologically he jives with our Lord in the section that we will eventually come to in the high priestly prayer. Jesus prays, "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And the glory which you gave me, I have given them that they may be one just as we are one. I in them and you in me that they may be made perfect in one. And that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. Christ says that when the church does what the church is supposed to do, that it actually gives off a message to a watching world. Paul says that with Christian marriage as well in Ephesians chapter 5. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. Wives, submit to your own husbands as unto the Lord. The way the church submits to Christ. Why? Because when we do that as a Christian married couple, we are declaring something of truth concerning Christ and his bride. When the church functions with unity and love, when we actually care about each other, when we esteem others as better than ourselves, when we put to death our selfish ambition and conceit, we actually send off a vibe. I know that sounds super charismatic. Don't know how else to say it, but we send off a vibe. And it's something true concerning the father and the son and the spirit. We have a part to play in terms of Christian witness. Yes. through proclamation, through the declaration of the Christian gospel, but by our conduct. Jesus assumes that when a watching world looks upon a church properly functioning, it learns something of the very mission of our Lord. They'll know, father, that you sent me into the world. That's an amazing reality. I would suggest secondly in terms of the example the importance for Paul to begin with Christ's divinity. He could have just started with incarnation and passion. And there's enough there to bind every one of our consciences for a thousand eternities. But he doesn't start at incarnation. He starts with divinity. who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God but humbled himself. So he starts with divinity moves to incarnation and passion as the supreme exemplar of what it is for us to do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit. And then that trajectory is obvious. The one who is in the form of God, the one who is equal with God has for eternity always been the object of praise, adoration and worship. That superior assumes our humanity to serve the inferior. And when it comes to inferior to inferior, we need to be like the superior when it comes to no selfish ambition or conceit. And then finally, the divinity of Christ. Verse six. You know, you hear it with Jehovah's Witnesses. You hear it with other Christ denying heretics. Oh, the Bible doesn't teach a divine son. I don't know how the Bible could better teach a divine son. It it just couldn't. It It couldn't make it clearer. How How do you not get this? Who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be to be equal with God? How do you be equal with God? Well, you're the son of God. Each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided. The Bible unequivocally teaches that Jesus Christ is God. And we see that, as I said earlier, in the prophets. The prophets foretold, the prophets prophesied, the prophets announced and declared, the prophets promised a divine Messiah. I love that that that picture that Cam pointed out with JL. You got to read Judges that way, brethren. That sturdy girl with the tent peg in hand is a type of Messiah. The skull crushing seed of the the the woman is going to render that death blow to the serpent himself. And you've got down payments with Ja. You've got down payments with David. How does David best his foe? With a head shot. Head shot conspicuous in the old covenant. Why? Because the divine Messiah is going to deliver a head shot to the to the very enemy of God and his people. The prophets announced it. The apostles reveal it. And the creeds and the confessions emphasize that reality. Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. So, brethren, as the people of God, let us pursue unity and love, let us do nothing with selfish ambition or conceit, but let us esteem each other uh uh others as more important than ourselves. And for unbelievers, this savior that is described here in verses 6 to 11 is the only savior for sinners. And the good news is is that this savior receives sinners. He doesn't cast them out. He doesn't castigate them. He doesn't upgrade them. He doesn't buffet them or or resist them. But he says, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." This concept that gets some traction in churches where you know you can't really come to the savior because he doesn't want you to. Why does he say what he says? The Bible that unequivocally declares his divinity also unequivocally declares his approachability. Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. Or if you like in the prophet Isaiah, look to me all ye ends of the earth and be ye saved for I am God and there is no other. Isaiah 55 everyone who thirsts, let him come. You who have no money, come buy and eat. Get the water, the refreshment of the gospel, get the wine, the exhilaration of the gospel. Get the milk, the nourishment of the gospel. All comers, all sinners, everyone. Oh, everyone who thirsts, let him come. And that God satisfies. This Christ gives salvation. This Christ brings forgiveness and a righteousness by which we enter in to the presence of God. So don't wait. Don't resist. Don't talk yourself out of it. Well, you know what about this? Come to the Savior and be saved. It is most blessed. It is most wonderful. It is the most glorious thing that there possibly is being in Christ. Well, let us pray. Our father in heaven, thank you for what you say concerning your beloved son in the pages of holy scripture. We thank you that he is altogether lovely. He is chief among 10,000. He is the savior for guilty sinners. We confess him as lord and as savior. and we love you and we praise you and we adore you for all that you have given us in the Christian gospel. We pray that wherever this gospel is preached, the spirit of God would attend and open dead hearts to receive living truth that sinners may close with Christ by by God's grace through faith and repentance. We ask that you would go with us in this coming week. Help us to glorify you. Help us to pursue unity and love in the context of the local church. And let this mind be in us which was also in Christ Jesus. and we pray in his most blessed name. Amen. Well, we'll close by singing the doxology that can be found on page 568 in your hymbooks. 568 will stand as we sing praise to God. from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here. Praise him above the host. Praise Father, Son, and Hol. [Music] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. Well, please be seated for a brief time of meditation upon the glories of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
