Philippians chapter 1. We're going to start reading in Philippians 1 at verse 27, and we'll read to chapter 2 and verse 11. The text of focus will be Philippians 2, 5 to 11. But the context is helpful to see what the point of the apostle is in bringing forth the Lord Jesus Christ as the chief exemplar for Christian people.
So Philippians 1, beginning at verse 27, this is the word of the triune God. 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, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me, and now here is in me. 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's pray.
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time once again in worship. We thank you for this particular exercise of worship, the preaching of your word. We would ask yet again that you would be with us in worship. Help us by your spirit to glory in your truth.
Help us by your spirit to rejoice in Jesus Christ, our precious Savior. We do pray, Lord God, that that Christ would be exalted upon this gathered assembly, that you would receive all honor and glory, and that you would bless us now in this exercise of worship. Help us to be conformed to the image of Christ, and help us, Lord God, to leave this place rejoicing in so great a salvation. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen. Well,
Introduction
this is a particular address of Holy Scripture that I know I've come to a fair bit. In fact, Isaac and I often talk about the fact that I did three sermons on just these six verses way back in 2017. So you won't have to worry, this will be one sermon and it won't take three hours. But it's a blessed passage of Holy Scripture that sets forth in a summary fashion really what the point of creation and providence is.
It summarizes really what the point of the Bible is. And that is, it encapsulates the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because it is the case that both creation and providence serve that redemptive perfection. And it is the case that the Bible as a whole, Old Testament and New Testament, chapter after chapter, page after page, point forth to this Christ.
Who came into the world sinners to save and it's interesting here. You see the Apostle Paul doesn't use it as a polemic To argue against those who reject the deity of Christ He simply cites the deity of Christ in order to set forth his humility and taking on humanity The Apostle Paul doesn't use it as a polemic to argue for the true humanity of Christ he simply cites the true humanity of Christ in order in order to again set forth his humility and But, in the history of the Church, this passage of Holy Scripture has been used as a polemic, and rightly so, to argue against those who would cast Christ down into the mud of idolatry and madness, arguing against His deity, arguing against His true humanity, and casting the perfection of His salvation into the dirt of unbelief. But it's a blessed passage, and it is that the Apostle Paul here is most likely citing this as his own early Christian hymn that was utilized by Christians, even contemporaneous to the Apostle Paul, to sing forth in congregated worship the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's an interesting letter that you see this passage, Philippians 2 verse 5 to 11, Has been called the hymn to Christ as to God and in a letter in 113 ad By Pliny the Younger a Roman unbeliever to Emperor Trajan, of course a Roman unbeliever There is a citation of Christian worship You see Pliny the Younger was charged to investigate Christians and find out what are these?
What are these Christians all about? What are they doing and more importantly for the Roman Empire? What should we do to them? and so he he is You know engaging or tasking his spies along with himself to find out what Christians are doing even even confronting these Christians who were gathering in Christian worship forcing them to forcing them to pledge allegiance to Caesar as their God and curse Christ and then he would from those false Christians gain information about what these Christians are doing And notice the report. These false Christians he's talking about, they asserted, however, that the sum and substance of their fault or error had been that they were accustomed to meet on a fixed day, before dawn, and sing responsibly a hymn to Christ as to God, and to bind themselves by oath, not to do some crime, but not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called upon to do so.
When this was over, it was their custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of food, but ordinary and innocent food. It's a wonderful summary of what Christian activity was in the early first century and truly what it should be True truly what it should be today, but notice they gathered at a fixed day the Lord's Day Sabbath before dawn We don't do that because we're not slaves in the Roman Empire most likely they had to serve their masters at a certain time And so they gathered on the Sabbath before dawn they sang responsibly a hymn to Christ as to God so if we were to ask the question what populated the the hymn books of the early church what populated the creeds and confessions of the early church it was Philippians 2 verse 5 to 11 now the larger context here notice in verse 27 of chapter 1 there are some orders given orders given for conduct and for the Philippian Christians, only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. Most likely what was going on is they were being marked by pride. That's why we have verse 1 to 4 and the example of Christ in 5 to 11.
They were marked by a measure of self-exaltation perhaps, a measure of pride, a measure of being absorbed in self and not putting others before themselves. So the Apostle Paul gives some orders to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. He instills some courage in them in the face of adversarial opposition. They will have enemies.
They do have enemies. And in the course of that opposition, when the enemies are engaging in their opposition, they ought not to fear because that's a proof of their enemy's perdition. That is their eternal damnation. And it is evidence that they have been granted on behalf of Christ to suffer for his name.
So it is a blessed thing. And that's one of the Beatitudes that Christ pronounces upon his disciples in the gospel accounts. Then we have a disposition required as laid out. So what is the disposition?
Confronted wholesomely with the command that they are to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of Christ, and confronted with adversaries, what is the disposition that is to be required on the part The Philippian Christians. Well, it is an others mindedness It is a casting off of self and putting others before ourselves Let nothing be done verse 3 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 You see it is to be a mark of the Christian that we are not absorbed in self and that we're not caught up in self But rather that we put others before ourselves and that that rubs against the the natural human inclination to be all about ourselves we noted this morning that threefold my my my of Nebuchadnezzar as he's purveying the the kingdom that he thought he built when it was actually God that gave it to him as a tool of to be a tool for judgment, but This is the mark of the natural man and it can be all too often even the mark of those of us Christians who have remaining corruption that we don't put others before ourselves but rather put ourselves before others and so the disposition is laid out by the apostle and then the perfect example is given the example is shown the eternal son and the condescension his condescension from the pinnacle of glory to the lowest ignominy, that is shame, to take upon himself man's nature, to execute the task of the second Adam, that is set forth before these Christians as the example for conduct. And notice then, under Philippians 2, 5 to 11, we're simply and quickly going to look at two things here in this hymn to Christ as to God, and that is And those things are the exhortation and the exemplar so first the exhortation and then the exemplar notice the we have this Apostolic urging unto Christ likeness verse 5 let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus This verse functions as connecting back to the previous Verse and verses let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others So let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus Christ was marked by that He did not put himself first Remember he says the Son of Man did not come into this world to be served But to serve and to give his life a ransom for many Christ was not about himself he was about others, coming into this lower shame in order to execute the terms of the covenant of redemption, that is, to save the elect unto perfect salvation by the sacrifice of himself. It also then introduces what follows.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. What mind? Well, the text goes on to speak about that. But we ought to notice here that this is the beautiful hymn to Christ as to God that follows is given in the context of exhorting Christians unto humility and putting others before themselves.
And the Apostle brings forth the best example that he could possibly bring forth in order to humble these Philippian Christians unto conduct worthy of the gospel of Christ. We ought to realize that the Bible very often, we often say, Pastor Butler, myself, and others whom you hear preach, that Christ is not simply an example, only an example, and he's not. When we think of the Lord Jesus Christ, we ought not to first and foremost think that he came into this world simply to serve as an example, because that's far from the truth. He came into this world, sinners to save.
That is the truth of the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, not to serve as simply an example for people to to live virtuous lives. But he came into this world, sinners to save, to live a life of perfect obedience unto the law of the Father, and to die a perfect death upon Calvary's cross, to redeem a multitude which no man can number. But the Bible does very often in recognizing, obviously, and in setting forth the perfection of the work of Christ, use Christ as an example in order to exhort Christians. And so that's what the apostle does here.
We have an apostolic urging unto Christ likeness And this is we we see this in in other portions of Holy Scripture 2nd Corinthians 8 where we have that that wonderful Christological statement about the one who is rich became poor so that we in our poverty might become rich speaking of the incarnation that's given in order to engender a generosity of financial generosity on the part of the Corinthian churches in order to give money for those in need So this is often used by the by the apostolic witness as a tool to encourage Christians So once again, the Apostle urges Christians unto Christ likeness now moving then to the exemplar and this is where we obviously want to spend most of our time here the exemplar that simply means one who serves as an example a person or a thing that serves as a Typical or excellent example or model for a pattern of action or behavior And here we have that, of course, as the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the chief exemplar set forth by the Apostle in order to encourage these Christians to humility and others-mindedness. And there are a number of things we want to observe here. In fact, five things under this title of the exemplar. the Lord Jesus Christ.
This hymn to Christ as to God moves from deity to humanity to salvation and then on to blessed exaltation and a calling upon people or less of a calling upon people and more of the certain inevitability that every tongue will confess and every knee will bow to the magnificence of Christ. And so first off we want to
The Exhortation: Mind of Christ
notice then under the exemplar His consubstantiality with the Father.
Consubstantiality with the Father
Now you've heard that term before, consubstantiality. It simply means of one substance. Pastor Butler has used it often in his preaching in the Gospel of John, from John 1 all the way through to where he is at now in the Gospel of John, as setting forth the equality with Christ by virtue of his oneness with the Father. So notice that one substance reality that the Son has with the Father is set forth and is the beginning of this hymn to Christ as to God.
Notice verse 6, who being in the form of God. You see the author, the Apostle Paul, wants us to see the journey here moving from the pre-incarnate exalted glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and then moving to the lowliness of his incarnation and humility, and then back up to the exaltation following the perfection of his work. But it starts here with his consubstantiality with the Father. He is of the same substance, of one essence, with the Father, who being in the form of God.
This denotes his essential glory. Everything that makes God, God, Christ has. Everything that makes God, God, Christ is. And there aren't things that make God, God.
God is simple, as you've often noted us to say. He is not composed of parts. He is without body, parts, and passions. but we speak as men in the lowliness of our language, and all that makes God, God, Christ is. There is nothing that the Father, there are no perfections that the Father has, there are no perfections that the Father is, that Christ isn't.
He is not somehow lesser, he is not a small g-god, he is not inferior to the Father, but he is of one substance with him. Christ has essential divine glory. There are two views here as to what form means, who being in the form of God, and the first view is that form here is equal to essence, substance, nature, or being. The second view is that it refers to a visible manifestation of the glory of deity, because it's often used in the scriptures that way.
Most of the early church held the first view And a lot of those in the more modern era held the second view, though a lot of reformers held the first view. Once again, that form here means equal in essence, substance, nature, or being. And that's the view that I hold. I like to side with the fathers whenever it makes sense.
Some commentators say that they were so carried off by their polemics against heretics in the third, fourth, and fifth centuries that They misinterpreted this as being referring to essential glory, but I think they were right. I think they had the wherewithal to discern that they should accurately represent the Word of God when interpreting it. So all of that, to come back to this, that form here means essential glory, that Christ has essential glory with the Father, unmitigated, unmitigated deity in equality with the Father. So he is of one substance. with him who begat him, that is, the father of lights, who being in the form of God.
And this is something that, as we move along, we want to glory in with regards to the identity of the Lord Jesus Christ, because we don't, as redeemed Christians, simply have a human redeemer. Christ did take upon himself humanity, but we have a divine redeemer. Jesus Christ is most certainly God, and we can, with confidence of confidences, open the door to those well-dressed Jehovah's Witnesses who come a-rapping on our doors, and we can, with confidence of confidences, say to them that Jesus Christ is God. With the verity of the Holy Scriptures and with the certainty of divine revelation, Jesus Christ is God Most High, who being in the form of God.
So we have his consubstantiality with the Father, that is, that he is of one substance with the Father. And then, of course, then, we have his equality with the Father. Notice the language goes on. Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.
You may have a marginal reading, or you may have a different version of the Scriptures in front of you, that has or carries with it something like this. instead of did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, something to the effect of did not consider equality with God something to be held on to, something like that. That's the meaning of God. So by virtue of Christ being in the form of God, and therefore being of one substance with the Father, he did not consider that subsequent equality something to be held on to at all costs. We'll move on to the incarnation in a second We want to note that of course is equality with the father if he is of one substance with the father of like essence Of not of like essence of the same essence of the same substance With that essence undivided then he is most certainly equal with the father and this passage very simply and very clearly rubs against what many are saying tragically even in the reformed world today that Christ is in some measure inferior to the father and the doctrine of subordination ism that's going on today that subordinates the son to the father that says the son by virtue of being the son is at a position of eternal submission or subordination to the father and they advocate it not simply as subordination or submission in the act of taking on humanity in the in the nature that he assumes but actually in his divine nature as the person of the son he is somehow inferior to the father this passage comes against that with the weight of a thousand horses when it says did not consider it robbery to be equal with God some quotes from the early church it cannot please the good father if the son be judged inferior rather than equal to his father Ambrose he is in no way inferior to the father Chris Austin.
He didn't play games. He is in no way inferior to the father ever be spoken among us with boldness that famous dogma of the father's which builds up the churches in the sound doctrine wherein the son is confessed to be of one substance with the father and and the Holy Ghost is ranked and worshipped as of equal honour." Basil of Caesarea. And then Spurgeon, closer to our day, he wrote or preached, "...any doctrine which hath not the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as equal persons in one undivided essence, we cast aside as being unsound, for we are sure that such doctrines must be derogatory to God's glory." So you see here the the the Apostle Paul in again setting Christ forth as an example and not Arguing polemically for the deity of Christ nevertheless sets forth the deity of Christ Who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God or again did not consider equality with God something to be held on to Christ is of one substance with the Father and and gloriously and therefore then he is equal with his father.
Condescension in the Incarnation
Thirdly then in this hymn to Christ as to God we have his condescension the incarnation. So what is the Apostle Paul setting up here? When he's setting forth the glory of Christ, who is in the form of God, and the glory of Christ, who is equal with the Father, what is he setting up? Well, he's setting up this great contrast between the pre-incarnate exalted glory of Christ and the lowliness in coming as a man and taking on man's nature and going about the stuff of salvation.
He was exalted in his pre-incarnate glory as God Most High, exalted in that pre-incarnate glory, the pinnacle of glory, but he lowers himself to the shame and the ignominy of this lower world in assuming our nature. So his condescension in the incarnation. He is consubstantial with the Father according to his divinity, but he is consubstantial with us according to his manhood. The Creed of Chalcedon writes, We then, following the Holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body, consubstantial with us according to the manhood in all things like unto us without sin what does the text say then notice verse 7 with regards to this condescension in the incarnation but made himself of no reputation taking the form of a bond servant and coming the likeness of men.
So we move, we transition in this text to the exalted glory of Christ, his pre-incarnate glory, the Son worshipped by angels, the Son exalted in his heavenly majesty, and then it transitions now to the lowliness of taking on the form of a bondservant, that is, assuming man's nature, but made himself of no reputation, verse 7 says. You may have a a Bible translation with you or that you've read before that says, but emptied himself. That's the language used. Some of the older texts have emptied themselves, and I think some of the newer texts have retained that sort of meaning.
But That rendering is okay, but it can sometimes carry with it the confusion that Christ somehow, as the divine Son, divested himself of his glory and some divine attributes, if only for a time. And that, of course, is Christological heresy. Christ did not, as the Son of God, divest Himself of divine glory. How can God be divested of anything?
God is God, unchangeable. God is God, immutable. He is ever and always the same. And so, the emptying, if we retain that sort of meaning, or if we speak concerning the emptying, it is the taking on of humanity, our nature, and not the divesting of His deity or the temporary setting aside of glory and attributes. the emptying, or this making himself of no reputation, is what the text simply says afterwards.
That clause, taking the form of a bondservant, qualifies what it would mean to say, but emptied himself, or in this case, Made himself of no reputation. So this becoming of no reputation is the taking on of our humanity and this is something Brethren that we we need to rejoice and we need to rejoice in the deity of christ Rejoice in the fact that he is of one substance with the father and equal with him And also to rejoice in his assumed humanity. We we use this language assumed humanity unity We sometimes traffic in a lot of theological language, but hopefully you understand that It isn't it isn't in the absence of glorying and rejoicing in this Christ Reflect upon the fact that the creator of heaven and earth took upon our humanity to redeem us What a blessed what what an unmatchable what what a matchless act in the history of the world that the Son of God would assume our Humanity without sin in order to save us from our sins. What a blessed thing You see if Christ doesn't take on our humanity then we are not saved.
It was a maxim in the early church to say the unassumed is the unhealed. If Christ did not assume humanity, then we as humanity are not healed. We as Christians cannot be saved if we do not have a human savior. We need him to be divine, but we need him also to have assumed our humanity to redeem us.
Because it was the first man who sinned, and it is every man after him who has sinned, sinners need a Substitute to pay the penalty not only to provide a righteousness that avails with God but a substitute to take the penalty Our just do in our stead so that we might have eternal life So this emptying is the taking on of humanity or this making of no that this making of no reputation is the taking on of our Humanity remember the language of 1st John 1 1 and 1st John 1 14 the pastor Butler often refers to in his sermons in the gospel of John In the beginning was the word the word was with God and the word was God and the word became flesh and dwelt Among us and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth What a blessed thing that he assumed our humanity There is no. One thing we ought to note here, because it's language that has been often used in the modern church regarding this language of taking the form of a bondservant, and there's been sort of a pithy, or not a pithy, it's sort of a catchy phrase to say that in this act Christ was engaging in addition by subtraction. That's something that we need to jettison from our theological language, because you cannot add to God. Christ did not add to himself humanity, he assumed humanity and therefore united to himself a human nature.
This language of addition is unbiblical and untheological because it says that God can be added to, that there is something perhaps lacking in God to which he can add in order to be made perfect. Nothing, of course, though, can be added to God, and so this isn't addition by subtraction, whatever that even means. The proper theological language to speak with regards to the taking on of humanity, it isn't addition by subtraction, and it's not subtraction and emptying himself as if to divest himself of divine perfections, but rather it is assumption, assuming humanity to himself unto a uniting of that humanity to his deity. in that one person, the Lord Jesus Christ, both God and man. And so his condescension in the incarnation is glorious because of his assumption of our humanity, and he comes in the likeness of man.
And
Active and Passive Obedience
notice verse 8, with regards to his obedience unto death as the reason for that incarnation, 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. Do you see the movement of this hymn to Christ as to God? Again, the pre-incarnate glory, the incarnate humility, and now the reason for that incarnate humility, the salvation of sinners. And so, the one who is in the form of God, the one who has equality with the Father, humbles himself in taking on humanity, and that assumed humanity and humility is unto the perfection of his saving work.
His obedience unto death as the reason for his incarnation being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. This isn't a this isn't a second reference when we read here. He humbled himself That's not a second reference to the incarnation the incarnation was no doubt a humbling But this now specifically has to do with his submitting to his mediatorial task to be the to be the champion of God's elect to be actively obedient unto the law in all points and to be passively obedient in his death and bearing as a substitute the sins of his people. So we have, as we've often noted, two points with respect to the obedience of Christ, and no doubt you hopefully know what those are.
And these are things that we often speak of in theological context, but it is the stuff of blessed worship and rejoicing in our Savior. Christ was actively obedient to the law, positively obedient to the law, Needed a righteousness sinners needed a righteousness Adam fell being disobedient in the garden and thrusted his progeny into Sin and depravity because of his disobedience and that progeny is eternally marked not eternally marked but is always and everywhere marked by disobedience themselves. And so we needed one, a substitute to come and vicariously, that is in our stead, render that obedience that would be right with God. We needed a champion who would come and in our stead obey the law that Adam broke and obey the law that we break daily.
And in that we have, or in Christ we have, that blessed one who was actively obedient to the law of God at all points. You know, as we consider our own sin, and you know, this is something that's good to do. Not an untoward, overbearing focus on our sins such that we lament uncontrollably and cast ourselves into a Roman Catholic guilt fest, but it's good to reflect upon the fact that even as Christians, we do have remaining corruption. We do sin.
It's glorious to quickly move from reflections upon our own sin as swiftly and as quickly as possible to Reflections upon the one who obeyed the law at all points in our stead and one for us a righteousness that avails with the father When we stumble when we fall when we trip in our sin in our remaining corruption We look quick quickly and swiftly with eyes of faith upon the advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous who is the propitiation for our sins, and also the one who bore a righteousness that we could not bear. So in Christ, we have this blessed obedience. He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. You see, Christ's whole life was a life of obedience.
Christ came and we can say that not only was Christ's whole life from conception to death a life of obedience, but it was from conception to death a life of vicarious or substitutionary obedience in the place of all whom the Father had given to him. There's an interesting, not an interesting, what's in view if we think of Contextual things what's in view with Paul's inclusion of this hymn? Yes It is to set forth the fact that these Philippian Christians are to have the same mind that Christ has Setting force forth this chief example exemplar in this hymn in order that Christians might Obviously not replicate the work of Christ but try to be cut Christ like in their conduct conduct amongst other Christians the people that they find themselves in and around. But it obviously comes with connectedness theologically to biblical truth, biblical narrative, and the history of redemption.
And what we have here is something that is very comparative or Adamic in nature, a comparison of two Adams, the first Adam who failed and the second Adam who was victorious.
The Two Adams: Romans 5
You can turn with me to Romans for a moment, the book of Romans, and chapter 5. Here, the Apostle Paul, the same author that's writing to the Philippians, speaks concerning two Adams, and he speaks concerning obedience and disobedience. And we won't read verses 12 through 17 But it's it's connected to what follows and what follows what we read here is sort of summing it up with this Therefore so Romans 5 verse 18 therefore as through one man's offense judgment came to all men resulting in condemnation even so through one man's righteous act the free gift came to all men resulting in justification of life for as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous so coming back to the hymn to christ as to god the apostle paul the same one who was just engaged in in um in writing that theology of the two Adams, is now setting forth something concerning Christ that is in contrast to the first Adam. You remember what a great measure of that sin was?
It was Adam, in his lowliness and in his humanity, that wanted to be like God in his divinity. Christ we have one who was truly God who took on the lowliness of humanity in order to redeem those such as Adam and all who followed in his stead from their sins there is a reciprocal relationship between Adam and Christ and this is carrying the weight of the glory of the second Adam and Contrast to that of the first this is John Owen who explains it a whole lot better than I just did for our recovery out of this state and condition that is sin depravity the misery of the misery of sin Considering how we cast ourselves into it the way insisted on was found out by divine wisdom namely the incarnation of the Son of God. For he was Lord of all, had absolute dominion over all, owed no service, no obedience for himself, being in the form of God and equal unto him. From this state of absolute dominion, he descended into a condition of absolute service.
As Adam sinned and fell by leaving that state of absolute service which was due unto him, proper unto his nature, inseparable from it, to attempt a state of absolute dominion, which was not his own, not due unto him, not consistent with his nature, so the Son of God, being made the second Adam, relieved us by descending from a state of absolute dominion, which was his own, due to his nature, to take on him a state of absolute service which was not his own, nor due unto him. And this being inconsistent with his own divine nature, he performed it by taking our nature on him, making it his own. He descended as much beneath himself in his self-humiliation as Adam designed to ascend above himself in his pride and self-exaltation. And that's the Apostle Paul's point here.
He descended, Christ did, as much beneath himself in his self-humiliation as Adam designed to ascend above himself in his pride and self-exaltation. You see, he's calling upon these Philippian Christians to not be marked by pride and to not be marked by self-exaltation like Adam was. You have been redeemed by the second Adam, so don't go back to the conduct of the first. Owen goes on, Adam being in the form, that is, the state and condition of a servant, did by robbery attempt to take upon him the form of God or to make himself equal unto him.
The Lord Christ being in the form of God, that is, his essential form of the same nature with him, accounted it no robbery to be in the state and condition of God, to be equal to him. But being made in the fashion of a man, taking on him our nature, he also submitted unto the form or the state and condition of a servant therein. He had dominion over all, owed no 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. 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 finding our way back to Philippians 2, and moving towards a close here, we want to notice not only his active obedience, but also the passive obedience in his death. The language is, in being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. So Christ perfectly exercises obedience to the law of Father in winning that act of obedience vicariously for us. And that obedience then moves to his passive obedience in his death, where he bears the guilt, where he bears the wrath of God in our stead for sins committed.
What a blessed and perfect act that the son engages in a twofold act of obedience, active and passive obedience. He was obedient to the point of death. the one who is exalted in his pre-incarnate glory, the one who is lifted up, if you will, in his pre-incarnate glory, takes upon himself humanity, and in his substitutionary curse-bearing is lifted up, is exalted, in a sense, upon the cross of Calvary, where he cries out that cry of dereliction and bears the wrath of God in the stead of all his people. Again, as we reflect upon sins committed, isn't it a blessed thing that we have such a Savior? such a divine Savior who assumed our humanity, and He goes to the cross in our stead to die the death that was due us, to bear the wrath that was due us. Our minds can never exhaust, our minds can never wrap themselves around fully the glory that is found in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
One man put it some way like this, you know in contemplating the mystery of Christ and his incarnation and his cross death said something like if we could take all of the the neurons in our brain and string them together and somehow wrap them around the the the blessed mystery of the incarnation of Christ in salvation by him we might Congratulate ourselves for our cleverness, but we'll never worship In other words, we cannot exhaust the mystery and the majesty and the glory of such a son of God coming down into our lower shame, assuming our humanity and dying upon a cross for us. We sing the praises of this Christ. We know the truth. We can read it from the scriptures.
We can meditate upon it. We can take it in in the act of preaching. And again, we rejoice in it above rejoicing, but we can never fully exhaust the glory that is found in the cross. But don't let that discourage you, that should encourage you that the glory of the cross is immeasurable.
We cannot plumb the depths of that glorious deep that is the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. And the blessed result of the perfection,
Exaltation of the Mediator
fifthly and lastly, the blessed result of the perfection of Christ's mediatorial work we find in verses 9 and following. There's a very important therefore here that begins verse 9. This therefore is basically saying or introducing what then comes upon the heels of the perfection of Christ's work. This blessed mediator has come into the world, has perfectly executed the work that has been given to him.
And so what comes upon the heels of that? Well, this is what comes upon the heels of his victorious, salvific work. 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. You know, as Christians, as we, you know, reflect upon when we reflect upon that bloody massacre upon Calvary's cross, as we reflect upon our Christ spit upon and bruised, as we reflect upon Christ whipped 40 times minus one prior to his crucifixion, as we reflect upon Christ, the nails in his hands and his feet, So we reflect upon the miserable condition of his opposers, the wickedness of those who were before the cross mocking and ridiculing him.
And as we move past those physical things and think about the weight of the turmoil of his soul as he bore the wrath of his father, in the stead of all his people, as he's suffering there, not for his own sins, but for the guilt of his people, for the guiltiness and the sins of his people. Isn't it a blessed thing? We see him there, no doubt, and we glory in Christ there. But to see the picture now move to his exaltation, he was not a defeated Savior, because a defeated Savior is no Savior at all.
But much rather, the picture moves from the blood of the cross to the glory of the resurrection and the exaltation. This one, bloodied upon Calvary's cross, emerges on the third day victorious and in glory in the resurrection, and then he is exalted to the right hand of the Father. He has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, King of kings and Lord of lords, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth. of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Shouldn't that populate our prayers? You see, it is the case that this includes every man and woman, every boy and girl that there ever was, that there is now, and that there ever will be.
Those who bend a knee, and those who confess with the tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord. For God's elect, for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is with a voluntary knee and it is with a joy-filled tongue. For those outside of Christ in damning unbelief, it is with a forced knee and with a tongue forced by the weight of infinite justice to confess that the Lord Christ is God, that Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. On that great day of judgment, Christ's own will be brought into brought into their rest and into his glory, into Emmanuel's land, confessing that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
On that same day of judgment, though, those who are opposed to Christ, those who did not obey the gospel, those who do not believe in him, will confess and will bend the knee before they're cast into the lake of the fire reserved for the devil and his angels. But isn't it the case that it should populate our prayer That every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father to the weight of this That God would by his grace by his word and spirit save a multitude throughout the earth So we gather together on Lord's Day mornings for the hour of prayer. It's a blessed thing to to hear reports It's a it's at the same time a blessing but at the same time it's very grieving to hear of the persecution that goes on throughout the world against Christ's people But it's a glorious thing to know that in other parts of the world there are Christ's people. In China, in India, in Pakistan, in Eritrea, in Africa, Asia, all around the world, we have brothers and sisters in Christ.
This gospel has gone out to the uttermost parts of the earth. There are those in every nation under heaven that bow the knee and that confess with their tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father in saving belief. What a blessed thing to know that. But there are millions more that stand outside of Christ that are enraged against him and his people that are opposed to the truth and it ought to constitute our prayers to bring forth to God the plea that he would ride victoriously by spirit and gospel. and make more of those who bend the knee voluntarily and who confess with joy that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
What a blessed picture. This begins with exalted glory and it ends with the exaltation of the mediator. Jesus Christ set forth as the perfect exemplar for his people. So
Application
in the span of just a couple minutes, three things in closing we are to exercise humility. We're to learn from this passage. We're to learn, we're to reflect upon our own behavior and conduct as Christians and self-assess, are we those that conduct ourselves worthy of the gospel of Christ? Or are we acting in such a manner or caring about ourselves in such a manner that we are not marked by proper and true conduct as Christians?
If so, we need to repent and we need to have the mind that is in Christ Jesus and not be marked by self-exaltation but by self-abasement and setting others before ourselves. We are to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, exercising humility, not looking out for our own interests, but for the interests of others. Calvin puts it this way, since then the Son of God descended from so great a height, how unreasonable that we who are nothing should be lifted up with pride. Isn't that a wonderful statement?
Well, He says we're nothing and we are relative, of course, to the Son of God. Since then, the Son of God descended from so great a height, how unreasonable that we who are nothing should be lifted up with pride. The one who is perfect in his exaltation took on humility, and we who should ever and always be humble put on pride. We're often, very often, the reverse of Christ.
We're like that first Adam. We are in a position where we ought to be marked by the greatest humility, and yet we so often put on pride. Our blessed exemplar was in a position of exalted glory, the pinnacle of glory, yet he lowered himself to our to our lower shame in the height of humility. We are to reflect upon the person and work of Christ.
It's a repeated emphasis that comes from this pulpit, but our joy as Christians is found in the knowledge of God and of his Christ. We come to passages like this, and you can perhaps be carried off by the commentaries, carried off in a good way, carried off on subject matter books that touch upon the true deity and the true humanity of Christ. What a blessed subject to study. No better science, no better school than that of the triune God and His Christ.
And lastly, we are to worship Him and confess His Lordship. Notice that the culmination of this hymn, the crescendo builds and it comes to this point. Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name. And we are to bend the knee and we are to confess with our tongues that He is Lord to the Father's glory.
And so let us do that as Christians, as we gather together as Christians, wherever you find yourselves, we have multiple occasions throughout the week. And this special set aside occasion in the week to glory in our triune God, to glory in our Christ, to sing the praises of the one who is of one substance with the father, to sing the praises of the one who is equal with the father, to sing the praises of the one who took upon our own humanity. the one who redeemed us and the one who was exalted upon the heels of his perfect work. Let's all rejoice in that Christ and leave these two doors singing his praises. Well, let's pray.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time in worship. We rejoice in your goodness to us that we can gather freely in this place to rejoice in our Savior, to sing the praises of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to be influenced, Lord God, by spirit and word. We do pray that you would help us now as we leave, that you would be with us, that you would guard us in this upcoming week, that you would cause us to come often to the throne of grace, that you would cause us to come often to contemplations of our blessed God and our precious Christ. So do go with us now and help us to return in one week's time, rejoicing in you and ready to worship Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen. Well, you can stand with me and sing as our doxology hymn 564 in your hymn books 564. Let's stand and sing that together. ♪ Israel ♪ ♪ You hold me dear in wondrous words ♪ ♪ In glory God excel ♪ ♪ You hold me dear in wondrous words ♪ ♪ In glory God excel ♪ ♪ Blessed be his glorious name to all eternity ♪ ♪ The whole earth and his glory hear, amen ♪ Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen. Heavenly Father, go with us now.
Help us to rejoice in you. We thank you once again for this occasion of worship. We pray that we would conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ as we go about our various stations. We pray, Lord God, that we would, as Christ, with a mind similar to his, that we would cast ourselves down in a manner and exalt others before ourselves, that we would seek the interest of others in addition to our own, that we would put others before ourselves, and do help us to reflect upon the fact that Christ is not only an example, but Lord God, one who gave himself for guilty sinners, and help us daily to rejoice in this precious truth.
We pray in Christ's precious name. Amen. Well, please be seated. We'll have a brief time of prayer, and when the piano's finished, you're dismissed.