← Back to sermon library

You can turn with me in your 
Bibles to the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter two. Philippians chapter two, I'll 
read verses one to 11. Philippians 2, beginning in verse 
1. 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 lowliness 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 bondservant 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 guide us by way of illumination to 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 oftentimes cause 
us to stumble in these pursuits. Wash us in the blood of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. As well, God, we pray chewed 
open hearts and caused there to be sinners, looking unto the 
Lord Jesus Christ in faith tonight, that they may know the joy of 
salvation. 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 one 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 particular 
way, that their conduct would be worthy of the gospel. Then 
in chapter two, verses one to four, he gives this exhortation 
or admonishment with reference to unity and love in the local 
church. And then that brings us to verses 
five to 11. Verses five 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 one to four, 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 five 
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 Christology. What Paul does here in showing 
us Jesus is a compendium of sound theology proper and Christology. And so we're going to move slowly 
through it because Paul sets forth the divinity of the Son 
in verses 5 and 6. 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, broad sort of strokes 
with reference to good Christology. As well, we need to appreciate 
what Gil says in terms of the specific encouragement in the 
text. He says, 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 gonna just 
take up verses five and six. I wanna make sure that we don't 
blunt the edge of the particular intention of the apostle. While 
it is good to ponder the Christology, 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 5 and 6. First, the 
context, and then secondly, the content of verse 6. But the context, 
as I've already mentioned, is the preceding section in verses 
1 to 4. 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 
like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of 
one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish 
ambition or conceit, but in lowliness 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 rather imbibed 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 tittle. 
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 invoked as an example 
for the conduct of God's people. Another place is in 1 Peter 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 to 4 in chapter 2 here. So now we come to the content 
in verse six, and there's two phrases we need to spend a bit 
of time on. First, that statement that he's 
the form of God in verse 6a, 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 6 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 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 8. You know our Lord Jesus Christ. 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 Christology 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 status of being 
praised, worshiped, and glorified, to coming into this world, assuming 
our humanity, and then going to the cross and dying for sinners. the superior serving the inferior. Therefore, inferiors ought to 
serve other inferiors, and we ought not to balk at that and 
think that somehow it's beneath me. The Lord Jesus Christ, 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 Gill 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 Aquinas 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 bondservant 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 hypostatic 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, Philip? 
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, verses 6 and 7, Micah 5, verse 2, whose goings 
forth are from of old, from everlasting. The Old Testament prophesied 
a divine Savior. Psalm 110.1, Yahweh said to my 
Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. 
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 towards your fellow. In other words, verse 4, 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 chapter 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 don't have the baptism 
to undergo that I have to undergo. And then he says, yeah, you actually 
do, James and John. You're gonna 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 2028, 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 counter-cultural, 
very much 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 bondservant is distinct from the Father who's 
in the form of God, but did not take the form of a bondservant. 
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. There's 
a new commentary published by Zanke, I mean, it's not new. He was, what, 1600s? Way back 
when. Back when giants walked the earth. 
Anyway, Zanke's treatment on Philippians 2, it's almost too 
much. For a busy pastor, at some point, 
you've got to skim. Because, I mean, he's just dense, 
but theologically delightful. It's just a Christological feast, 
so if you want to get yourself that book, you probably wouldn't 
hurt for it. It would be a wonderful thing. 
Him, Gil, Poole, Aquinas, 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. I'm 
not 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 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'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 usurpation, 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 
wrest 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 bondservant. 
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 condescended unto a state of absolute subjection 
and service for our recovery. Listen to what he says there. 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, or the one were 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 He vacated heaven. The presence or the divinity 
of Jesus is immense. It's always present everywhere. 
It's a literary thing that the Scripture uses in terms of Him 
leaving His Father's throne above to show us that humiliation, 
that state of humiliation taking on the form of a servant. So 
the Son did not have Godhead by usurpation, but by eternal 
generation. For those of you who are listening 
to those, I hope some of you are, listening to those podcasts 
that we record. We did some recently on the conference, 
and Nathan asked about sort of a timeline of classical theism, 
and Pastor Cam made a great observation in his response there. What we 
call classical theism was always called Christianity. We're calling something today 
classical theism, which is helpful, it services the need, but it's 
just Christian thought. Triune, Christologically 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 Adrift. Basically, how did we 
get where we're at with everybody wanting to subject the Son in 
the Godhead? How'd we get here? And he says, 
basically, the last couple of generations have been bad theology. 
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 and the same time the distinction of person and 
the consubstantiality. We got rid of that. We're smarter 
now. No, we're not. 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. 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 or to the Father. He's never been, and that's bad 
theology. It's horrible Christology. 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 
8, paragraph 2, or 2 London chapter 2, paragraph 3. You're a heretic. I know that doesn't feel good. 
I know that that doesn't sound right. And I don't have the big 
papal hat. I could pronounce heresy. I'm 
not saying that. 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 Nicene 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 6 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 Arius, that heretic, denieth. And if the Son be compared with 
the Father, then there is a distinction of persons, which Sibelius, 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 feel bad, because 
when you deny the glory of Jesus Christ, you are not 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 five. John chapter five. 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. It's not quite as much God. Not quite the same as God. He's like him. And 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 five, 
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 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 
eight at verse 57, and the Jews said to him, 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 to 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 robbery to be equal with God. 
So that as he continues in verses 7 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 better than yourself. Do nothing with selfish ambition 
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 
sign, 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 tough doctrines. I guess, 
I think if we asked, you know, where's everybody at on eschatology? 
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'd yell at each other. And I'm right and you're wrong. 
It's just weird to me, but it is what it is. You can be wrong. You can go to heaven as a premillennialist. 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 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 can't be wrong on the Son 
of God. 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's beautiful, it's fabulous. the one living and true God, 
the triunity of persons in the Godhead. And then, if you ponder 
verses six 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 gonna 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 hypostatic union in chapter eight, paragraph two, which is 
a wonderful, wonderful paragraph, the next paragraph tells us this, 
about the suitability. the 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 surety, 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 six 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 humanity 
of our blessed Savior, true humanity. It wasn't 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 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. He 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 to 4 is the very 
reason for verses 5 to 11 in the Apostles' argument. The positive 
emphasis, unity and love, in verses one 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 Corinth. I think he wrote a 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 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. 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 just couldn't. It couldn't 
make it clearer. How do you not get this? Who, being in the form of God, 
did not consider it robbery 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 picture 
that Cam pointed out with JL. You gotta 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 
woman is gonna render that death blow to the serpent himself, 
and you've got down payments with JL. You've got down payments 
with David. How does David best his foe? 
With a headshot. Headshots are conspicuous in 
the Old Covenant. Why? Because the divine Messiah 
is going to deliver a headshot 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, 
others as more important than ourselves. And for unbelievers, 
this Savior that is described here in verses six 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 upbraid them. He doesn't 
buffet them 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, ho, 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, 
ho, 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 into 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 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.