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You can turn in your Bibles to 
Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1. Our focus 
over the course of the next number of Lord's Days will be a passage 
in Philippians 2, Philippians 2, 5 to 11. Recently I preached 
down at Pastor Barcelos' church in Palmdale, and I had five points 
for a sermon I was preaching on Philippians 2, 5 to 11, and 
I only got through two. So I thought here at Free Grace 
Baptist Church, we could work through the passage, slowing 
down, examining the anatomy of a hymn to Christ as to God, these 
glorious riches that we have in Philippians 2, 5 to 11. Before we read the passage, though, 
there are conquests notable in the history of Philippi. Remember, 
the letter of Paul to the Philippians is a letter by Paul to the church 
at Philippi, and there are notable conquests in the history of that 
city. The namesake of the city itself 
comes from Philip II, the king of Macedon, father of Alexander 
the Great. In the 4th century, he conquered 
the Thracians, the wolves of the mountains, as they were called, 
and he set up that city as a prominent place under Macedonian rule. Acts 16 tells us that Philippi 
was a chief city, a foremost city of Macedonia, a Roman colony. And this is in large part due 
to Caesar Augustus. You remember Caesar Augustus 
is that same Caesar Augustus of Luke 2.1. He is also known 
as Octavian, the adopted son of Julius Caesar of that Shakespeare 
story fame. He conquered Philippi, or he 
won a battle on the plains of Philippi in 42 BC against those 
who conspired to murder Julius Caesar, and he set up a Roman 
colony there. We have greater victories there, 
of course, with regards to sacred and religious things. In Acts 
16, Paul and Silas come on Paul's second missionary journey, and 
there's a slave girl there spirit of divination, a spirit of python, 
literally, a demon, possessing her, giving her foresight and 
making her handlers money. And Paul comes and, annoyed, 
the text says, a wholesome burning indignation against the demon 
that had possessed her, casts the demon out in the name of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Greater still, of course, though, 
is the victory undergirding that one. That victory being the doing 
and the dying and the rising again of the Son of God. The 
condescension, the conquest and the coronation of Jesus Christ. And Philippians too. These Philippians 
who had all of that history in their background. These Philippians, 
Paul brings their minds to the point of reflection upon an early 
Christian hymn that he could have penned himself. And He calls 
their minds to reflection upon the doing and the dying, the 
rising again, and the glorious coronation of Jesus Christ, the 
Son of God. Well, let's read, beginning in 
Philippians 1.27, and finishing at Philippians 
2.11. Once again, the Word of God, beginning in Philippians 
1.27. 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. 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. Let us go again to our 
God in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you 
now for this time in worship and the preaching of your word. 
We would pray again, Lord God, that you would help us to have 
our minds focused upon your word. We pray that we would rejoice 
in it, that we would learn from it, that we would learn from 
you, that we would be taught of God. We pray, Lord God, for 
the preacher, that you would give me that aid from on high 
to handle well the word of truth, We pray, Lord God, for those 
gathered here this morning, that saints would be uplifted, Lord 
God, that sinners would be saved, and that once again a gathering 
would have been carried out, would have been completed. that 
our gathering here would have been for your glory's sake and 
once again that Jesus Christ would be honored in this place, 
that he would be named because it is possible with you by every 
tongue who leaves these doors this morning. We pray be with 
us now for your glory's sake through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen. Well if we were to ask the question 
of the Bible what populated the pages of the hymn books of the 
early church. We would get, without hesitation, 
a very quick answer. It would be the doing, the dying, 
and the rising again of the Son of God. That was the content 
of the hymn books of our early saints. That was the content 
of creedal Christianity in the first century. In fact, there's 
a wonderful account. There's letters exchanged in 
and around the year 112 AD by Pliny the Younger, a governor 
of Pontus and Bithynia. An exchange of letters between 
him and Emperor Trajan, the ruler of the Roman Empire at that time. 
And you see what was going on was that Pliny the Younger, this 
governor, was charged, he was tasked with going in and investigating 
and interrogating Christians. And he would come across those, 
perhaps, charged as being Christians, and he'd ask them if they were 
Christians. If they weren't, he'd ask them to prove it by 
worshipping a statue of the Roman Emperor and by cursing Christ. And if they said that they were 
Christians, he would ask them to do the same thing. And if 
they did do the same thing, then he would realize, okay, these 
probably aren't Christians, they're not Christians. But if they didn't 
worship the statue of the Roman Emperor, and if they didn't curse 
Christ, he would eventually put them to death. And there's an 
interesting account. He's been given testimony by 
those who said they were Christians and were not, and he remarks 
after what Christians did in the early church. And he notes 
this. They all worshipped your image, 
that is, Emperor Trajan. And he's not talking about Christians. 
He's talking about those who said they were but weren't, or 
those who denied Christ. They all worshipped your image 
in the statues of the gods and cursed Christ. Now, one thing 
that's very interesting is that he says this, they all worshipped 
your image in the statues of the gods and cursed Christ. I'm 
going somewhere with this. But previously he remarked, he 
wrote earlier in the letter that true Christians, it is said, 
cannot be forced to do these things. I'm going to read this 
more in a moment, but do you realize that a pagan governor 
in the first century realized the truth, in a sense, of the 
perseverance of the saints. He remarked that true Christians 
cannot truly curse Christ and worship the image of the Roman 
emperor. 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 a God, and to bind 
themselves by oath, not to 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. If you're tracking with 
what I just read, do you see what Christians did 2,000 years 
ago? 1,900 years ago? They did what 
we do every Sunday. You see, they respected the Sabbath. 
It is their custom to meet on a fixed day before dawn and sing 
responsibly a hymn to Christ as to God. in the passage that 
we're going to be considering over the next number of Lord's 
Days, that's exactly what Philippians 2.5-11 has been called. A hymn 
to Christ is to God. You see, the blasphemous errors 
of the heretics of our day who say that the doctrine of the 
deity of Christ was something manufactured by Constantine in 
the Council of Nicaea in the 4th century rubs against a pagan's 
witness here. that these early Christians gathered 
together before dawn, probably because they were slaves of a 
lesser class, and they sang hymns to Christ as to God. The early 
church had hymn books populated by this very thing, the doing, 
the dying, and the rising again of the Son of God. We're going 
to look this morning at just the exhortations exhortium that 
is verse 5 alone, but we want to do two things. First, we're 
going to look at the exhortations context. We're calling this whole 
hymn an exhortation, Philippians 2, 5-11, because that's what 
it is. It's the Apostle Paul, bringing forth Christ Jesus the 
Lord as the supreme example, the best example, truly the only 
example of true humility. It's an exhortation for these 
Christians to be unified in fellowship around the Gospel of Christ, 
and the pathway to that is true humility. We're going to look 
at first the exhortations context and secondly the exhortations 
exhortium, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 
Jesus. So, first off then, the exhortations 
context. What is the book of Philippians? What's going on in this book? 
What's our context? Well, we want to note that Philippians 
is a message of thanksgiving. If you have your Bibles open, 
hopefully you do. If you don't, if you could open 
them, you can turn to Philippians 1. If we have fingers moving, that 
will keep us attentive. A message of thanksgiving. Notice 
in Philippians 1, beginning in verse 3, I thank my God upon 
every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine, making 
request for you all with joy for your fellowship in the gospel 
from the first day until now, being confident of this very 
thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it 
until the day of Jesus Christ. Now, hopefully you've noticed 
in your reading of the Bible and perhaps noticing now Philippians 
is a little bit different than some of Paul's other letters. 
You see, in the book of Philippians, there's no hard rebuke and corrective 
like we find in the book of Galatians. In the book of Galatians, there's 
a very short greeting, and then immediately Paul launches into 
a rebuke. Why are you so quickly turning 
away from the grace of God to another gospel, which is no gospel 
at all? We don't find that here. We find immediately Paul launching 
into thankfulness to God for the Philippians. It's a message 
of thanksgiving. It's also a message of rejoicing. 
Notice in Philippians 1.18. I'm just setting the context 
to the hymn to Christ as to God. This is a message of thanksgiving. And it's also a message of rejoicing. 
Philippians 1.18. What then? Only that in every 
way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached, and 
in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice. Philippians 2 and verse 
14, I am glad and rejoice with you 
all for the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me. 
You see, Christians are to be a rejoicing people. And this 
is in the context of them being opposed by adversaries, enemies 
of the gospel of Christ. They're suffering persecution. 
They're not those who are the most welcome in that Roman colony. And yet they are to rejoice, 
whether Paul's in prison or he's free. Whether they're in prison 
or they're free, they are to rejoice in Jesus Christ the Lord. 
You know, this helps us as Christians in the 21st century, or it should 
indict us, perhaps, as Christians in the 21st century, when we're 
not under this sort of persecution in the area that we live. See, 
our Christianity is to be a Christianity that is marked by rejoicing. 
We have the truth, and Reformed churches, Reformed Christianity, 
often, hopefully not boasting sinfully, but we have this pride 
that we have a grip upon the truth as it's been revealed by 
God. We have a strong deposit of faith 
handed down to us, generation after generation. But you see, 
the truth isn't just a stop at rolling around in our minds, 
it is to land upon doxology, and it is to hit our hearts and 
come forth in rejoicing. We are to be a rejoicing people. 
Holy affections after that One who lived, who died, who rose 
again to bring many sons to glory. It's a message of thanksgiving. 
It's a message of rejoicing. And getting back to this point, 
there are no apostolic correctives, really, or rebukes issued by 
the Apostle Paul, but there are some exhortations given. We're 
going to start at large and then hone back upon our passage, but 
there are some exhortations given by the Apostle Paul. One of them 
is to rejoice and beware. Notice in verse 1 of Philippians 
3, Rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things 
to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs. Beware of evil workers. Beware 
of the mutilation." It's an interesting coupling of exhortations there 
given by the Apostle Paul. Rejoice and beware. You see, 
their rejoicing is contingent upon their rejection of heresy. He's saying rejoice, but you 
see, that rejoicement That's a real word, you can look it 
up. That rejoicement can be stolen away or rendered anemic or even 
contradicted if you give ear to these heretics. If you give 
ear to these Judaizers who are coming along saying that you 
need to be circumcised, that you need to adhere to the Mosaic 
institutions in order to be justified before God, your rejoicing will 
be rendered null. And boy, rejoice, but beware. There's an exhortation given 
to follow apostolic example and stand fast in the Lord. Philippians 
3.17, brethren, join in following my example and note those who 
so walk as you have us for a pattern. And then Philippians 4.1, therefore, 
my beloved and longed for, brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast 
in the Lord, beloved. So you see, while This letter 
is devoid of those Galatians and 1st and 2nd Corinthians rebukes 
and correctives. There still are exhortations 
given to the church here at Philippi. And getting then back to the 
passage that we read, notice two exhortations that are here, 
leading up to the hymn to Christ as to God. There is an exhortation 
to unity in Philippians 1.27-29. Notice in 1.27, "...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." There's this exhortation in our 
context to unity. The Christians are to seek after 
unity. The Christians at Philippi are 
not to be divided. They're not to be factious. They're 
not to be separate, individualistic Christians. They are to be unified. And Paul wants this to be true, 
not just externally. He wants this to be true at the 
point of Christian integrity. In other words, he wants it to 
be truly true. He wants these Christians to 
truly have a unity. He says, whether I come and see 
you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs. You see, we're 
not just supposed to be Christians before men with this idea that 
we need to show them that we're Christians externally, but when 
the eyes of a watching world or when the eyes of an Apostle 
Paul are away from us, we can then go about living like like 
devils. No, we are to have a Christian 
integrity. Whether we're here, whether we're 
anywhere, we are always to be those who are marked by such 
a conduct, by such a conversation that is worthy of the Gospel 
of Jesus Christ. And you see, that is what is 
at stake. Notice what we have here that 
I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, 
with one mind, striving together for the faith of the Gospel. 
What is the point of Christian unity but it is the very Gospel 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Unity is not for unity's sake. 
Unity is not so that we might just simply feel good as a gathered 
assembly, as a local church. But rather, unity is unto this 
end the faith of the Gospel. It's proclamation, it's defense, 
it's propagation that it would be spread. The very gospel of 
the crucified Messiah is at stake when we discuss church unity. 
And that is why we always ought to seek after church unity. And 
it's not a church unity that is, you know, where we rally 
around the various rabbit trails of sideline doctrines and those 
sorts of things. It is to be a unity around the 
faith of the gospel, the triune God, the deity of Christ, Justification 
by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The perfection 
of the atonement. The amazing reality of God's 
sovereign and victorious grace. We rally around those things 
most surely believed among us. That form of sound words. And 
it's the very Gospel that is at stake. So He exhorts them 
to unity. He also then moves on to exhort 
them to humility. And these things aren't separate. 
One serves the purpose of the other. He exhorts them to unity, 
rally around one another, be of one spirit, of one mind. And what is the way to do that? 
How do we put to death division? How do we put to death disunity? How do we put to death factious 
spirits? Well, we do it like verses 1 
to 4 opens up for us. Therefore, if there is any consolation 
in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the 
Spirit, if any affection and mercy... What he's doing here 
is not... He's saying, when he says, therefore, 
if, Since it is the case that you have these things, since 
there is consolation in Christ, because there is, since there 
is comfort of love, fellowship of the Spirit, affection and 
mercy, then what? 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." 
Man, doesn't that just rub up against our natural humanity, 
putting each other before ourselves? We want our own stuff. We want 
to be satisfied. We want our felt needs met. We 
want everybody to cater to us. It is the natural inclination 
of men to tend towards a self-satisfaction. You see, the Gospel of Jesus 
Christ comes and it says, have the mind of Christ. Have the 
disposition of Christ. Have the attitude of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. who has unmatched glory, and 
as we'll get to in upcoming weeks, but nevertheless, condescended 
to be not the one served, but the one serving, the one who 
serves and gives his life a ransom for many. So this exhortation 
to unity comes by the Apostle Paul to the Philippian Christians, 
and the way to that unity is through humility. They are to 
put others before themselves. They are to have lowliness of 
mind. And they are to be found with humble, not prideful spirits. And what is at the center of 
all of this? What is at the center of all 
of these exhortations? What is at the heart and center 
of the letter to the Philippian church? What is at the heart 
and center of Christianity? Well, it is that One, the Lord 
Jesus Christ, who came into this world, sinners to save. who came 
from heaven to save the sons of men, to bring many sons to 
glory, and to bring glory to His Father. The heart and center, 
the very heartbeat of this letter is verses 5 to 11. This glorious 
conquering King, this Jesus Christ. You see, Philip II of Macedon, 
the King of Macedon, was not to be their hero. Caesar Augustus, 
who planted the Roman colony there, he was not to be their 
hero. However many anthropomorphic pagan deities they had in the 
pantheon of their gods prior to coming to faith in the one 
and only living and true God, they were not to be their heroes, 
but there was to be one champion, one king, and one hero, the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Which brings us then to the exhortation's 
exhortium in verse 5. What is an exordium? It's a real 
fancy way of saying something that begins something. See, kids, 
it's sometimes cool to have long words, to say something that 
we could say much simpler, but an exhortium is something that 
begins something else, and perhaps more specifically, in an oration 
or a discourse, an exhortium is that which begins it. And 
we have that here in verse 5. Some examples, just a brief sideline, 
because some of you might find this interesting, those who are 
men, young men who are perhaps engaged in some wholesome courting. 
There was, in the 17th century, a compilation of ways to address 
those ladies that catch your eye. It was called Complimentary 
Exordiums to Amorous Epistles. That just simply means, kids, 
really neat ways of beginning a love letter. And some of those 
exordiums were, you know, to the love of my life, or to the 
flower of my affections, those sorts of things. Some of the 
better ones are to the choice nutmeg of my sweetest 
consolation. That's one of my favorites. Or 
to the fair murderess of my soul. I think my favorite is to the 
empress of my thoughts. Tracy is the empress of my thoughts. You see, you young men, we need 
to recover letter-writing in the goings-on of wholesome courting. You know, our world has been 
reduced to texting WhatsApp. That's the length and the scope 
of our amorous epistle beginnings now. Actually, it's not even 
WhatsApp anymore, it's just S-U-P. We need to return the world to 
letter writing. There you go, man. Get your quills and your paper 
and start writing amorous epistles in a wholesome manner. But getting 
back to the point here, we have an exhortium, something that 
begins a discourse. Notice what we have in verse 
5. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. This beginning of the exhortation, 
which in one sense is the exhortation itself, followed by the ground 
and the foundation and the very motivation for that exhortation. Let this mind be in you, which 
was also in Christ Jesus. We want to do three things with 
our remaining time under our second point, and those three 
things are these. Some qualifications regarding 
Christ as example. Secondly, the Bible's consistent 
use of Christ as example. And then thirdly, the exhortium 
examined. Notice, first off, some qualifications 
regarding Christ as example. The text here reads, Let this 
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Clearly, the 
Apostle Paul is setting forth the Lord Jesus Christ as a supreme 
example, in this case, of humility and lowliness of mind. That pathway 
to church unity. And so Christ is being set forth 
here as an example, but we want to qualify what that means, some 
qualifications regarding Christ as example. We want to notice 
first off that He is not only, nor is He primarily, an example. He is not only nor is He primarily 
an example. You see, the doing and the dying 
and the rising again of the Lord Jesus Christ is not just to establish 
a moral precedent for Christians in the 21st century or any century. There are those out there in 
liberal Christianity and that sort of thing who will say that 
Christ's work really is simply boiled down to this. He serves 
as a moral example. His crucifixion and His resurrection, 
that resurrection which might not even be true, according to 
them, of course it's true, but it just serves as an example 
that we're to follow, a good moral precedent. That is not 
how Christ is to be used. He is wholesomely used as an 
example, but we must qualify it and say that He is not only 
nor is He primarily an example. You see, Christian preaching, 
of Christ is not to be some weak and dishonorable setting forth 
of a model to be followed. Christian preaching of Christ 
is to set forth law and gospel before listening ears so that 
men will be brought low, so that Christ will be lifted high, so 
that men will cast off their sin and self-righteousness and 
own Christ Jesus alone as their King and Savior. And so Christ 
is not only nor is he primarily an example. We are to imitate 
a disposition and not duplicate a work. So you see, when we have 
here this, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 
Jesus, we're not to do as He did, we are to be as He was. And what we mean by that is we 
cannot, of course, because no one can, duplicate the work of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one and only Savior 
of men. He's the one and only mediator 
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. He is the God-man. He is full in deity, full in 
humanity, save for sin. We cannot do as Christ did because 
He is the One who once for all perfected and ratified salvation 
for His people. So we cannot do as He did, but 
we are to be as He was, that is, we are to have that same 
mind that He had. We are to imitate His attitude 
and His disposition, which was what? Well, in the context, the 
Apostle Paul is talking about lowliness of mind. He's talking 
about humility. What is the greatest example 
of humility ever to be executed in God's good creation? It is 
Christ Jesus, the Lord, who came into this world not to be served, 
but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Paul 
rightly goes to Christ, doesn't he, when he speaks with regards 
to, or when he's trying to exhort these Philippian Christians to 
humility. What better place to go than the Lord Jesus Christ? 
What better place to go? If there was this temptation, 
if there was this... You see, what might be going 
on here is that the Philippians are very prosperous spiritually. 
Remember, they don't get apostolic rebuke and correction. They're 
doing okay, they're doing well. They're not the Galatians, and 
they're not the Corinthians. Paul thanks them time and again. He calls them to rejoice along 
with him. It is going reasonably well in 
Philippi. But you see, inches away from 
spiritual prosperity is still pride and self-righteousness. 
And lest they fall into the pit of those sorts of things, and 
lest they seek after disunity instead of congregational unity, 
I'll set before them that prime example. In case you guys are 
tempting the waters or testing the waters of jumping into pridefulness 
and disunity, remember the Lord Jesus Christ. Whose mind are 
you to have? Why is lowliness of mind a good 
idea? And how is that a remedy to anything? 
Well, look to Christ, who departed the praise of angels. who left 
that pre-incarnate majesty to take to Himself our nature, to 
come into our world, this lower shame, this lower place of baseness 
and sin. He came down from heaven to humble 
Himself, and as the text will later say, to humble Himself 
and become obedient to the point of death, even the cross death. 
In case you're seeking to exalt yourself, in case you're seeking 
to be puffed up in vain glory, remember the Lord Jesus Christ 
who came from glory to this place of vanity in order to give himself 
for guilty sinners. The setting forth of Christ Jesus 
as an example is absolutely glorious, but remember, we're qualifying 
this. He is not simply nor primarily 
an example. Lastly, under that point, this 
is not prescription for salvation, but the prime example for the 
disposition of those who have been given graciously the gift 
of salvation. In other words, see, Paul isn't 
saying here, and if we track with the context, we should never 
arrive at this idea, but he's not saying that the path to exaltation, 
that the path to salvific exaltation is to do as Christ did. He's 
not saying that you need to be obedient like Christ was obedient 
in order to merit the exalted favor of God. That's not what 
Paul is saying. This disposition of mind is not 
the pathway to our salvation. We're saved by grace through 
faith in Christ alone. This lowliness of mind, this 
attitude, this disposition is rather that disposition that 
marks those who have been given graciously the gift of salvation. Secondly, then, under the exhortation's 
exhortium, the Bible's consistent use of Christ as an example. 
This isn't the only place that we find Christ set forth as an 
example by the apostles. There's another place that will 
not only one place, but there's a couple other places that we 
have in Paul. You can turn with me to 1 Corinthians. Excuse me, 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 
chapter 8. In fact, a very parallel passage 
to serve as an example for a different exhortation, but a similar exhortation. In this case, Paul wants the 
Corinthians to give with liberality. He wants them to cough up some 
money, wholesomely, for other churches. And he wants them to 
have that grace of giving. And notice what he says in 2 
Corinthians, what he writes in 2 Corinthians 8, beginning in 
verse 8, I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity 
of your love by the diligence of others. For you know the grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your 
sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become 
rich. You see what, hopefully, the 
weight of this passage did to the Corinthian Christians. If they were gripping with this 
greedy grasp upon their wallet, if they were holding tight that 
and not coughing up and giving with this grace of giving to 
the Macedonian churches, if they were not giving graciously, if 
they were just latching on to that with no grace of giving, 
They would have been indicted, you would hope, if they had regenerate 
hearts, when they're confronted with the reality of this verse. Christ Jesus, who though He was 
rich, yet for your sakes became poor, that you through His poverty 
might become rich. Isn't that glorious? And kids, 
He's not talking about money there, is He? Is he talking about 
Christ giving us money and becoming poor? No. What's he saying? What 
does Paul mean here when he says, saying the same thing that he 
says in Philippians 2, 5-11. that Christ, though He is in 
the form of God, though He did not consider that equality with 
God something to be held on to, nevertheless, He came in the 
incarnation, taking on the form of a bondservant, coming in the 
likeness of men, humbling Himself to the point of death through 
perfect obedience. It's the incarnation, the glorious 
condescension of the Son of God to our lower shame, the lofty 
one, coming low that we might be lifted high. That's what Paul 
is getting at here. He sets forth Christ. And he 
sets forth glorious theology for the simple and express purpose 
of having them cough up money to give graciously to churches, 
but nevertheless, in setting forth Christ as an example, he 
is bringing forth glorious truth concerning his incarnation. You 
can turn with me as well to Hebrews 12. Now, you might be thinking 
of the verse 2, but that's not the passage I'm thinking of in 
Hebrews 12, though it does precede the one I'm talking about. Remember, 
we're talking about Christ as an example. The Apostle, the 
Bible, using Christ in order to exhort Christians unto a Christ-like 
conduct. Notice in Hebrews 12 at verse 
3. Remember what was going on in 
the Hebrew church here, in the church in Jerusalem. What was 
going on among those Jewish Christians. They were being tempted to go 
back to temple worship. Many who said they were Christians, 
but were not, were falling away back. Under the weight of countrymen, 
under the weight of family members, under the weight of unbelieving 
Jewish friends, they're all being drawn back to temple worship, 
and they're casting off this Christ, trampling under their 
feet the Son of God. You see, Christ had come. The 
Promised One had come. The hero born of woman who would 
crush the serpent with His heel. He had come. He had rendered 
salvation. He had brought to fruition and 
fulfillment and brought to an end all of those types and shadows 
that pointed forward to Him. Why would you go back? Why would 
you fall under the pressures of countrymen when they themselves 
are going back to now a blasphemous worship? Because the Lamb of 
God has come. The Passover has arrived. The 
temple, the tabernacle, all the washings and the ceremonies have 
converged now upon the Christ who came and gave His life a 
ransom for many. Don't go back and here is your 
example. Consider Him, Christ, who endured 
such hostility from sinners against Himself. lest you become weary 
and discouraged in your souls." One more text, and then we move 
on. Notice in 1 Peter. This is a glorious passage too, 
and in the context in 1 Peter, he's exhorting slaves to render 
obedience to their masters. Slaves are to exercise a conduct 
befitting their calling by grace, And he sets forth Christ as an 
example. Notice in verse 21, he's talking 
about patiently enduring suffering. Peter is in 1 Peter 2. And in 
verse 21, he writes, For to this you were called, because Christ 
also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should 
follow His steps, who committed no sin, nor was deceit found 
in His mouth. Who, when He was reviled, did 
not revile in return. When He suffered, He did not 
threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously. Who Himself bore our sins in 
His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might 
live for righteousness, by whose stripes you were healed." Take 
time on your own time and read this passage and read the biblical 
texts that are in the background of this setting forth of an example. What do we have clearly in the 
background? The suffering servant of Isaiah. Peter applying that rightly to 
the Lord Jesus Christ. He uses Christ here as an example 
of obedience and humility before masters. In other words, enduring 
suffering patiently. When you're reviled, do not revile 
in return. Isn't Christ the perfect example 
of that? You know, lest we think ourselves something more than 
we are, we need to look at the example of Christ when we think 
people are trampling upon our rights and our delicate sensitivities. Christ Jesus, when He was reviled, 
did not revile in return. When He was threatened, He did 
not respond with threatenings, but He abandoned Himself to the 
will of the Father. We can so often be those who 
when we're reviled, not only do we not revile in return, but 
we quickly jump and we like to counter that reviling with reviling 
that is even worse. That's the disposition of man. 
We answer reviling with reviling. When we're threatened, oh, do 
we ever threaten back. Why? Because you've trampled 
on my whatever. We need to have the mind of Christ. When He was reviled, He did not 
revile in return, but patiently endured that suffering and committed 
Himself to His Father. Christians, be like your Master 
Christ. So 2 Corinthians 8, 8-9, Hebrews 
12, 3, 1 Peter 2, 21-25. But did Christ ask this? Did Christ preach this? Did Christ 
say that His followers should follow after Him? Absolutely. One text in Matthew 11. And I 
love this text, and you should too, because not only does it 
touch upon our topic this morning, but it is glorious truth. Notice 
in Matthew 11, verse 28, Come to Me, all you who labor and 
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you 
and learn from Me For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will 
find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden 
is light. You see, there is something in 
this where Christ is setting forth a reality that we are to 
gain instruction by looking at His example. Take My yoke upon 
you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart." You 
see, when Paul is saying, be marked, Philippian Christians, 
by lowliness of mind, setting others' interests ahead of those 
of your own and serving others, he has Christ Jesus in mind, 
of course, because he writes v. 5-11. But Christ Himself says, 
learn from Me. And the reason is, for I am gentle 
and I am lowly in heart. What a glorious Christ that we 
have. If you're here this morning, no doubt He is. And He is to 
be appreciated as a terror to you if you remain in your rejection 
of Him. He's that One before whom the 
sinners and the rebels will call upon the rocks and the trees 
to cover themselves from His wrath, from the wrath of the 
Lamb. He goes forth as a valiant rider upon the white steed, crushing 
enemies, under His feet. But you see, to those who are 
His, we have this blessed truth. Take my yoke upon you and learn 
from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will 
find rest for your souls. If you're here this morning, 
you're outside of Christ, you have no rest for your soul. You 
have no rest for your soul presently unless you're found in Christ, 
believing in Him, finding in Him every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Christ. Learn from me, he says, I am 
gentle and lowly in heart. That is a verse that launches 
a thousand sermons. But the point here is the Bible's 
use of Christ as an example. While He is not primarily, nor 
is He simply an example, nevertheless, we find in Him an example. And always, what we find, what 
is the common theme? In those examples that we read, 
that the Apostle Paul, that the Apostle Peter bring forth to 
exhort Christians to do this and that and the other thing, 
what did they have in common? The cross of Christ. This sounds strange. The highest 
act of humility. The most glorious act of humility 
in the history of the world. Christ coming down from the pinnacle 
of glory to our lower shame. to give himself for guilty sinners. 
Shame on us as Christians in this church, as Christians in 
any church. when we think ourselves to be 
something that we're not, when we think that we should be served 
rather than serving others, when we put our interests always ahead 
of those of the church or those of others, when we're not marked 
by lowliness of mind, but we're marked by this self-attending 
attitude where we are all about me, myself, and I. We are to 
have the mind of Christ putting others ahead of ourselves. Lastly, 
then, under the exhortation's exhortium, we want to examine 
the exhortium itself. And the first thing we notice 
is that we are to have a Christian mind. Let this mind be in you, 
which was also in Christ Jesus. You see, there is a negative 
and a positive reality to this. We are not to have unregenerate 
or worldly minds. In fact, the Apostle Paul says 
that himself in the book of Philippians, in chapter 3 at verse 19, Beginning 
though in verse 17, Brethren, join in following my example 
and note those who so walk as you have us for a pattern. For 
many walk, of whom I have told you often and now tell you even 
weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose 
end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory 
is in their shame, who set their mind on earthly things. You see, the setting of a mind 
on earthly things is the mark, not of the Christian, but of 
the unregenerate. They set their mind on earthly 
things. Kids, that doesn't mean that 
you can't think about a yummy cookie or something like that. 
What it means is that their minds are governed, their minds are 
fascinated, their minds are entrenched in everything the world has to 
offer to the exclusion of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and the 
glory of the Gospel. having minds corrupted, having 
minds bent on their corruption and sin, they seek earthly things 
and not those things of heaven. What follows after that? Verse 
20, For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly 
wait for the Saviour. The Lord Jesus Christ who will 
transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to his glorious 
body according to the working by which he is able even to subdue 
all things to himself. We are to have not unregenerate 
or worldly minds that seek after earthly things, but we are to 
seek after those things that are above. where Christ is. It's an interesting text in 2 
Corinthians 11 3 and I want to very briefly relate it to what 
we'll cover in future Lord's Days concerning this hymn to 
Christ as to God. Turn to 2 Corinthians 11 3 on 
this idea that negatively we are not to be marked as Christians 
by an unregenerate or a worldly mind. Notice in 2 Corinthians 
11, 2 Corinthians 11, End verse 1. Oh, that you would 
bear with me in a little folly. And indeed, you do bear with 
me, for I am jealous for you with godly jealousy, for I have 
betrothed you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste 
virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow as the 
serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted 
from the simplicity that is in Christ. See here, firstly, we 
have this reality that our minds are not to be corrupted by the 
deceitful things of this world, by those that the unregenerate 
follow after. We are not to be. I fear, he 
writes, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, 
so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in 
Christ. Now bear with me for just one moment. Many have seen 
in Philippians 2, 5-11, not simply, though still gloriously, but 
not simply a rehearsal of the doing and the dying and the rising 
again and the exaltation of Christ, but the reality of the two Adams, 
the first Adam and the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ. 
You see, we are not to have minds as that first Adam who was deceived 
by Eve through the deceiving of the devil, and thrusted mankind 
and his progeny into sin and death. But we are to have the 
mind of Christ. And in this case of Philippians 
2, we are to have a mind that seeks to be lowly, that seeks 
to be marked by humility, that seeks to put others before ourselves. When we get to a more consideration 
of the obedience rendered by Christ in this hymn of Christ 
as to God, we'll make more of a remark after the first and 
second Adam, but it is interesting there. We're not to put on a 
mind that is to be like Adam's. the mind of Christ. Do not be 
such as have minds poisoned by the deceitfulness of sin, but 
rather those who are invigorated, who act after the things of Christ 
and the things of His truth. We don't have time, but you can 
make a note positively, of course, this means a regenerate and renewed 
mind that contemplates and acts upon the truth of God. In Philippians 
1.27, Philippians 2.2-3, Philippians 3.15-16, and Philippians 4.7, We have the Apostle Paul bringing 
that contrast out, that we are to have the mind of Christ, a 
mind that is regenerate, Christian, contemplating and acting upon 
the truth of God. Now secondly, under examining 
this exhortium, we want to note that the Christian mind finds 
its prototype in Christ Jesus the Lord. This is John Eady. 
He writes this. He says, This humility is one 
of the distinctive features of Christianity. for it rests in 
absolute dependence upon God for everything. Some of the heathen 
sages might arrive at its meaning, so far as creaturely relations 
could teach it, but that meaning is unworthiness, excuse me, but 
that meaning is immeasurably deepened by the aspect of a sinner's 
relation to a Redeemer. who died for Him in His state 
of utter unworthiness, bestows upon Him blessings to which He 
has no claims, and notwithstanding all His demerits, maintains the 
spiritual life within Him. See what he's saying here, the 
humility that is to mark us is marked by ones who have, the 
foundation of it is seen in the fact that we have a Redeemer. 
Not just some general revelatory aspect that it's good to be humble. but rather that we have a Redeemer 
who went before us, who gave Himself for our sins, and we 
are to be like that prototype. Our Lord Jesus Christ. E.D. writes 
in another place. Now, the example of Christ is 
living legislation. Law embodied and pictured in 
a perfect humanity. Not only is this your duty because 
there is precept for it, but it is your duty because there 
is the noblest of all models for it. You see there, everybody, 
pay attention here for a moment. Our duty to have this lowliness 
of mind is not only found in that the Bible sets it forth 
as a precept, but in what he says here, that we have the noblest 
of all models for it. We have a dual motivation. The 
fact that God commands it, and it ought to be our cheerful compliance 
to have this lowliness of mind, but also because we have the 
noblest and chiefest of examples in Christ Jesus the Lord. We 
are to be humble because our Master was humble. We are to 
have lowliness of heart because the redeeming King was lowly 
in heart. And lastly, the specific disposition 
of mind in view, of course, is lowliness. Generally, we are 
to have Christian minds Generally, we are to be marked by regenerate 
minds that seek after the truth of God, that act upon it, that 
contemplate it and put it in action. But the specific disposition 
of mind and view is lowliness. 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. Just two places before we close 
and then pray. Notice the consistency of the 
Apostle Paul here with this declaration, with this exhortation, with what 
he wrote in the book of Romans. You can turn to Romans 12. You know, there's a simple application 
here before we read from Romans 12. There's a simple application 
here for all of us. You know, very often the passage 
of Scripture just speaks for itself, and the preacher oftentimes 
maybe doesn't have to go overboard and approach 1230 with things, 
but in a simple application, brethren, hopefully you can roll 
this around in your minds as you leave church, well, actually, 
as you talk to one another before you leave, and as you leave and 
go about your week and return next Lord's Day, here's the application 
where to have the same mind that was in Christ. There's the application, 
where to have lowliness of mind. The specific disposition in view 
is lowliness. Not to be about ourselves. We're 
not to come into church, and the first thing reigning in our 
minds is not to be, you know, what do I get? What do I want 
to see? What do I want to change? What 
do I want to have them do up there? What do I want other people 
to give me? What do I want the Joneses to 
bring to the family fellowship luncheon. You can think that. You can send them an email and 
have them bring one of their best meatballs. You see the point 
here? The point is we're to be marked 
by a lowliness of mind. The unbelieving world is not 
marked by that. The natural inclination of men 
is marked not by lowliness of mind, not by... A perfect example 
is what we see in the streets recently. We all want to be vindicated. We all want our rights and whatever 
our thoughts are, whatever our felt needs are, we want to be 
vindicated. So much so that we'll trample 
on other people. To have lowliness of mind. Search 
your Bibles, read your Bibles, find Christ there, and in Christ 
find your blessed and chief example. Notice this lowliness of mind 
is brought forth by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12, beginning 
in verse 14. Bless those who persecute you. 
Bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, 
and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one 
another. Do not set your mind on high 
things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your 
own opinion. You see, he's saying the same 
things here. Be of the same mind toward one 
another. There's a unity that should be 
there. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with 
the humble. Maybe you can think about this 
now. Your best company that you've ever been in, is it with prideful 
people? It's really annoying to be around 
people who are just full of pride. You know, this illustration has 
been used a lot before, but you're telling a story, you're opening 
your heart, and you can just see them. They're either not 
looking at you, which, when someone's talking to you, kids, adults, 
look into their eyes. I gotta tell you, I'm easily, 
and perhaps sometimes, sinfully annoyed. When I'm talking to 
somebody, and genuinely, I'm not just talking, hey, the weather, 
hey, the Canucks, but talking to somebody, and they're looking 
over there like that, oh yeah, and they're looking away, don't 
do that. Don't do that. But when you're talking to somebody 
and you're opening up your heart or it's a serious conversation, 
you can see them just itching to tell you all about themselves, 
to wait to one-up your story. My fish was bigger, my boat was 
shinier, my car is faster, my wipeout on a bike was bigger. 
Everything's all about themselves, the prideful, the boastful. Everybody's 
awesome. Don't be that way. Do not set 
your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Be 
one of those people that people want to associate with. Be humble. 
Put on the mind of Christ. Wear the heart of Christ. Set 
yourself low. What does the Bible say? Those 
who set themselves low and humble themselves, they will be exalted. 
In fact, that's one of the points of the Apostle Paul. Not that 
we'll be exalted by virtue of meritorious deeds done in obedience 
to God, that if we humble ourselves, God will reward us with a salvific 
exaltation, but the humble will be exalted. The last will be 
first. Humble yourselves. Be like Christ, 
who came into this world not to be served, but to serve, and 
to give His life a ransom for many. The next few Sundays, we'll 
open up this hymn to Christ as to God. And as we open it up, 
hopefully in the back, in the four of your minds, you'll be 
thinking about that Christ. First and foremost, what He did 
for you. First and foremost, His doing 
and His dying, His rising again, His glorious exaltation. But 
also, brothers and sisters, how can I be more like that Christ? 
How can I be humble, lowly of heart, lowly in mind? How can 
I be like my Master? And if anybody's here this morning 
and you don't know this Christ savingly, You've never confessed 
Him as your Lord and Savior. Rejoice in Him. Believe in Him. 
Know Him. Know this, that there was that 
time where the Lord Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on a colt, 
the foal of a donkey, gentle and lowly in heart. It will be 
a time coming, though, where as this hymn to Christ as to 
God ends, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess 
that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Some like 
you, if you're unbelieving, will be forced, in the presence of 
His majesty and in His glory, to confess Him as Lord and to 
bend your knee before He casts you into the lake of fire reserved 
for the devil and his angels. Don't wait until that day to 
see that righteous and furious Christ, wholesome in His anger, 
rebuke you and cast you into the lake of fire. Forsake your 
sin. Believe on the Master, the Lord, 
our redeeming King, the Lord Jesus Christ, the better than 
Philip II, the infinitely better than Philip II and Caesar Augustus, 
the glorious champion of Philippi and every other place that names 
the name of Christ. Believe in Him, and you shall 
have everlasting life. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, 
we thank you for this text of Scripture. We rejoice in what 
it discloses to us concerning the majesty of Christ, and also 
the point, the condescension of Christ to that point of humility. 
We pray that you would help us, Lord God, in our doings, in our 
goings about in this lower world, in our dealings with one another 
in this church, that you would help us not to be puffed up in 
vain glory and to be selfish, but rather to have that mind 
of Christ, lowly in heart, lowliness of mind. Help us to manifest 
that, Lord. And we do pray that you would 
go with us now to strengthen your people throughout this day. 
We pray, Lord God, that you would save sinners, that your word 
being proclaimed by a fallible preacher, but the Word itself 
being infallible, you being glorious in your sovereign power, might 
you open hearts, might you change hearts, and might you change 
unregenerate minds to those minds by your saving grace who lay 
hold of the riches and the excellencies of so great a King and Redeemer, 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in His name that we 
pray. Amen.