Milestones to Glory

Once again, in chapter 2 of the
book of Philippians, where Paul has essentially grabbed a thought
that he introduced in chapter 1, verse 27, that of unity. That was the thought there in
chapter 1, verse 27. And he continues that thought. enlarging upon that great theme,
the need for unity in the church, a subject which he addressed
in all of his epistles. But Paul here pulls out all the
stops, which tells us that in the Philippian church, they had
something that other churches didn’t. Other churches had substantial
doctrinal challenges Paul addresses some doctrinal issues to the
Philippians, but it wasn’t like that they were caught up in heresy.
The Philippians great challenge was that of church unity. The
Philippians great challenge was unity and not unlike the challenge
that most churches face. Paul was gravely concerned about
that. And so for him to enlarge upon
it and to spend the time that he did, almost a quarter of his
entire letter taken up just with this great subject, tells us
the severity of the problems at Philippi. It tells us the
depth of his concern for them in that great struggle with unity
in the church. And when you see the extent to
which Paul goes to argue his point, the illustration that
he uses, that he pulls out all the stops and uses the illustration
of all illustrations, that of Christ Himself. You know that
the problem at Philippi was serious. The subject was introduced, as
I said, in chapter one, Verse 27, where Paul said, conduct
yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. He goes
on to say that he wanted to hear that they were standing firm
in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith
of the gospel. That’s where the subject was
introduced. That’s what Paul wanted, is for there to be a
unity of purpose and a unity of mindset. So that as they advanced
into the world, the world would see them as one. Paul enlarged
upon that in chapter 2 as he opened the chapter there. And
if you would, so that we can get the flow of this passage,
go back to chapter 2, verse 1. We’ll pick it up and take a running
start through verse 11. Paul wrote to them, if there
is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of
love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection
and compassion, Paul wasn’t doubting who they were, who they claimed
to be in Christ. He wasn’t calling into question
their salvation. Paul was stating that those things
should be axiomatic. If those things are and they
should be part of a believer’s life, then this should follow. Make my joy complete by being
of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit,
intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or
empty conceit, but with humility of mind, let each of you regard
one another as more important than himself. Do not merely look
out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of
others. In order to strike a death blow
at vanity, Paul says the steps are very simple. Have a greater
care and esteem for others. Pardon me, a greater esteem for
others and a greater care of them. We are to practically care
for them out of a higher regard for them. Look, if you would,
at verse 5, where Paul now pulls all the stops. And he gives us
the illustration of all illustrations to unity in the church. Have
this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality
with God a thing to be grasped. But he emptied himself, taking
the form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness of
men. And being found in appearance
as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point
of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted
him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow. Of those who are in
heaven, and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father.” That’s the direction that Paul is taking us. He’s
taking us to a super-glorified Christ. He’s taking us to see
Christ super-exalted in the highest place. There can be no higher. As Paul lays it out, he’s taking
us to the glorification of Christ. But there are steps before we
get there. There are, if you will, milestones. You always wonder where the titles
come from. This one came from Kansas. As
I set my sights 50 miles down the road, over and over and over
again, sometimes we need milestones to help us. And in a sense, that’s
what you get as you look at this passage. Paul lays out for us
three milestones. They weren’t accomplished all
at once. Some were done in eternity past. Some were done as Christ
was born. And still others were done as
Christ took Himself to the cross. I want to look this morning at
three steps to glory, three steps to Christ’s exaltation. As I said, the whole passage
is rooted in this consideration of unity, And we see here, once
again, just as we saw on numerous occasions in Peter’s first epistle,
the attitude of a servant, humble, selfless, giving of himself. And no wonder in the context
of a command to humility, what other example, what greater example
could Paul use than that of our Lord? The passage in front of
us is indeed a practical passage. He is exhorting the Philippians
and therefore exhorting us to a very practical truth, that
of maintaining unity in the church. But he enforces or undergirds
in a most emphatical sense the need for Christians to do that
by using the example of Jesus himself. Paul presents, as one
said, the supreme, unparalleled example of humility to serve
as the most powerful motive to move believers to humility. Is
there anything else that Paul could use? No. And I get the
sense from this that this was an all-out effort of Paul to
stop in its tracks what was going on in Philippi, tearing at the
unity that the Spirit had worked into their midst. As one said,
the incarnation here calls believers to follow Jesus’ incomparable
example of humble self-denial, self-giving, self-sacrifice,
and selfless love. Now, we can’t go as far as Christ
went. That’s not at all what Paul is
suggesting. We’re called to humility in and
of ourselves. We can’t go to the cross. We
need not go to the cross. We certainly have already taken
on human flesh because that’s what God gave us from birth.
We didn’t own deity. So there is no laying aside of
any element of our aspect of God because we weren’t God to
begin with. But we can humble ourselves.
We can humble ourselves and we must. That’s Paul’s point. The
passage, there’s no doubt about it, it is a doctrinal passage.
But initially, first and foremost, it is practical. As one commentator
said, the doctrinal portion comes in quite incidentally. A purely
practical motive has led the apostle to hand down one of the
loftiest expressions of his faith in Christ. But its object is
not to correct errors by giving instruction and doctrine. But
to enforce the exhortations, respecting conduct by appealing
to the conduct of Christ. There is no hint that errors
of doctrine even existed in the Philippian church. The things
which needed correction were rivalries and squabbles. That’s
our observation of this passage and why Paul uses it. Paul didn’t
look to give them a doctrinal treatise. He couldn’t help it
as he began to speak of Christ. But his point, his point to the
Philippians is that they desperately needed a dose of humility. Nevertheless,
doctrinally speaking, as you look at this passage, it is truly
a magnificent passage. One said of it that in many ways,
this is the greatest and most moving passage that Paul ever
wrote about Jesus. Those are incredible words. When
you think of all the totality of everything that Paul ever
wrote, and Paul is a deep guy and wrote some absolutely deep
doctrinal truths, but when it comes to his Christology, if
you will, This is perhaps the most moving passage that Paul
ever wrote. He goes on to say the essence
of it is in the simple statement which Paul made to the Corinthians.
That although Jesus was rich, yet for our sakes, he became
poor. But here for Paul, the simple
idea is stated with a fullness and a richness which is without
parallel. Another said that this is perhaps
the greatest Christological passage in all the New Testament. And
I don’t know that we should ever entertain a contest. There is no doubt this is a rich
and a deep passage. Still another said that it is
a Christological gem, a theological diamond that perhaps sparkles
brighter than any other in Scripture. So you have not just one theologian
or commentator’s take on this passage in history. This passage
jumps off the page as being rich and something altogether unique. James Boyce said this about this
little section. He said here in this brief section,
Paul traces Christ’s life from eternity past, where he was still
in the form of God and equal to God, through the events of
his earthly life to eternity future. It begins in an infinite
past, descends to the point of Christ’s death on the cross,
and then ascends to an infinite future again. These verses are
remarkable for their high theology concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
They cut across all lesser confessions of Christ’s person, showing that
any view that would make Him merely a great teacher or a great
prophet is inadequate. They are also remarkable because
of their doctrine of Christ. That is, this doctrine is brought
forward not for its own sake, but in support of another point
entirely. Paul’s major point is not that
Jesus is who He is, but rather that we should be like Him. There’s one other observation
of this passage. And in this, I absolutely and
humbly agree. It is among the most difficult
passages in Scripture, said one. And that’s why I took an extra
week. If you would, go back to v. 5 of this great passage. We know
the flow of the passage that Paul has urged the Philippians
to unity. And he takes us to Christ. And
he does this. He does this very directly and
very clearly beginning in v. 5. where we see that Jesus was
moved along the path of glory to, first and foremost, a noble
mindset. A noble mindset. Paul said, have
this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus,
and he doesn’t even tell us what the mindset is. We can concur
and conclude from what he’s already said, that in general fashion,
humility is in view. But he doesn’t even indicate
that. Not immediately. And not even for some time. Have this attitude in yourselves,
which was also in Christ Jesus. And he immediately begins now
to again bring up this whole mindset thing that is so familiar
to the Philippians. As we looked at it several weeks
ago, I think it’s a dozen times in this epistle, 11 or 12 times,
he mentions this mindset that the Christian mind constantly
needs to be readjusted. Literally, he says, be this your
mind. He had addressed their mindset
in verse 3 and verse 8. And here he basically says that
we are to adopt the example of humility into our minds. The
example of the Lord Jesus Christ. Have this attitude in yourselves
which was also in Christ Jesus. As we’ve said from the outset,
the purpose of this passage at its most basic level is practical. It’s an illustration of the humbleness
prompting us to unity. As one pastor summarized, Paul
is pleading with the Philippians to live in unity and harmony,
to lay aside their arguments and their factions, to shed their
personal ambitions, their pride, their desire for prominence and
prestige, To have in their hearts that humble, selfless desire
to serve, which was the very essence of the life of Christ. His final and unanswerable appeal
for unity is to point at the example of Jesus Christ. That’s,
as I said, that’s the whole thrust of this passage. The mind of
Christ, that’s what he wants us to have. which the Philippians
were to include and integrate into their own spiritual lives that ultimately consisted of
a spirit of unity and selflessness that would be an interest to
promoting the unity within the church. And he goes on to detail
how these graces were illustrated in our Lord’s act of becoming
incarnate, taking on human flesh, and becoming the substitutionary
atonement for our sin. For Paul, this is the highest
example of this kind of humility, this self-forgetful, selfless
humility. In Christ, believers have the
perfect example of how they should behave. One of my favorite commentators,
John Eady, said it in just absolutely beautiful terms. Considering
the beautiful summary of Paul’s purpose in presenting the mindset
of Christ here, Eady said this, in his object in the following
paragraph, is neither to prove Christ’s divinity so as to confirm
their faith, nor to argue the perfection of his atonement so
as to brighten their hopes. It is not his intention to dwell
on his manhood with a demonstration of its reality, or to adduce
his death with evidence of its expiatory worth, or to dilate
on his royal glories with a summons that everyone should look up
and worship. None of those things are the primary point of this
passage. His purpose is in no sense polemical. His appeal is not to the merits
of his self-abasement, but to the depth and the spirit of it.
Not to the saving results of his service, but to the form
and the motives of it. Do you hear what he says? He’s
going at the very heart of Christ. He’s looking into his heart and
he’s laying it out for you and I. In short, he concludes, he develops
that mind which was in Christ and which was manifested in his
self-denying incarnation and death. Now, specifically, what
was Christ’s mindset? That’s what Paul’s after. Paul’s
looking to give to us the mind of Christ so that we can include
that and integrate that into our own lives. What was Christ’s
mindset? Look again at the passage as
we begin to move into verse 6. Have this attitude in yourselves,
which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the
form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.
And as I told you last week, every clause Every clause gives
you pause as an exegete to stop in your tracks, fully examine
what is being said before you even open your mouth. Paul begins
by saying that Jesus Christ existed in the form of God. And in so
doing, Paul clearly points to the eternal nature of Christ. He existed. That means He was
already in existence before He ever took on human flesh. The
word exist clearly points to the pre-existence of Christ,
to the period prior to the incarnation. That word lays stress on the
reality of Christ’s existence, as is recorded in so many places
in Scripture. Acts 16, Acts 17, 1 Corinthians
11. All of those places that speak
of our Savior as being eternal in nature. It’s important to note here that
this word existed isn’t The usual word in the Greek language for
being or for existence. It describes what a man is in
his very essence, his being. The part of him that cannot be
changed. What he possesses as part of
the core of his being inalienably. It cannot possibly be taken from
him. One said, it describes the inane,
unchangeable, unalterable characteristics and abilities of a man. In other words, it describes
the part of the man which even though all other chances and
changes take place, in any and all circumstances, there is a
core of him that remains the same. I am the same now at my
age as I was when I was eight. There is a part of me that is
still the same person.” Paul essentially states here that
Jesus was essentially, unalterably and unchangeably God from eternity. Paul’s words here have to be
examined more carefully even, because he says here that Jesus
existed in the form of God. Now, I don’t like to bash Bible
translations too much, but the NIV translate this as
being in very nature God. That’s a problem. Paul was very careful not to
use the word nature here. One Puritan noted, you will observe
that the word nature is not employed here, but form. The reason appears
when we think of the apostles immediate object in referring
to the Savior. which, as we have seen, was to
set him forth as an example for us of kind and self-sacrificing
consideration for others.” Paul was led to choose this word because
he’s thinking of what Christ is laying aside. And if you say
that this is His nature, then Christ must have laid aside His
nature to come down and take on human flesh. And that cannot
be the case. The fact is, there are two words
that can be translated into the English language as form, and
the two words have very different meanings. The two words are schema
and morphe. Schema, your outward appearance
changes. Inwardly, you’re the same person,
but your schema changes. You change from a baby, from
a child to adult, to an elderly person. Your schema changes. Your morphe does not. It is your essential form, which
never changes. It’s who you are internally. One just illustrated it with
a very simple illustration. Roses, daffodils and tulips all
have one morphe. They are all flowers, but in
their outward form, their schema is different. In English, the word form usually
refers to the outward shape of an object that is kind of the
external, what we see with our eyes. And in Scripture, that’s
that is a meaning that is utilized or employed, but it’s a far less
common meaning of that word. Another use of that word really
captures the prominent biblical idea in the use of that word. Sometimes we use it in this way,
we’ll say that someone was in rare form. The day Trey beat
me in croquet, he was in rare form. which means that we take
it to mean not merely outward appearance, but internal fitness.
He was living large. He was far above what he was
normally able to accomplish. Paul says of Christ that he possessed
inwardly and displayed outwardly the very nature of God Himself. The word Paul uses is morphe. And the reason Paul uses that
is he wanted to describe that very being and existence of God,
which can never change. Jesus was unalterably in the
form of God. It was part of his essence. It
was his unchangeable being as God. It is, as one said, that expression
of being which is identified with the essential nature and
character of God and which reveals it. It is the actual, specific
character which identifies each being for what it is. And that’s
how we know people to be who they are, not so much by their
outward appearance, but as we get beyond them, we know who
they are and how they are and how they function. form basically
here is to be taken in its widest sense as the way in which a being
reveals itself. Characteristics, what characteristics
of that being are exhibited? One commentator went on in a
little bit more detail to describe it. And here really becomes the
issue. When he said, form is not the
same as nature, but it designates in man his external appearance. Hence, in the divine being, it
must describe what corresponds to our external appearance. In other words, this was the
expression of the deity. I told you this was deep stuff. It must describe what corresponds
to our external appearance through which the divine presence manifests
itself. God, who is spirit, reveals himself
in his glory, which the apostle here appropriately calls the
form of God. And so when Paul goes on to say
that Jesus laid aside something, I’ll make the case that what
Jesus laid aside was his glory. He left that place of glory. He left that ability to present
himself in that form of God, in that expression of the form
of God. That is glory. The only way to get around that
is to begin to take out of your minds that idea of shape when
you talk about form. Another perhaps explains it even
more clearly when he says, form is that by which we know or distinguish
anything. That means of which objects are
recognized. One person is known by another
by his form. God has no form being pure Spirit. The form of God, therefore, must
signify the mode of divine manifestation. How does God reveal Himself? That by which His appearance
is understood and characterized. It was the bright cloud for a
long period of history in ancient Israel. And you have all kinds
of what were called the theophanies, the appearances of God, the divine
appearance, the pillar of fire, and such. All of those afford
us a glimpse into the meaning of the phrase, the form of God.
It is not the divine nature, but rather the display of it,
which enables men to comprehend it and prompts them to adore
it. It’s not God. It’s the appearance that we see
of him. Finally, one said, the form of
God is thus, in fact, His nature seen in His attributes. And that
Christ, before He ever stooped to our life to take on human
flesh, He was nothing less than the full bearer of the attributes,
the full bearer of the divine attributes. In other words, God
Himself. That’s exactly what 2 Corinthians
4.4 says. 2 Corinthians 4.4 says that He
bore the image of God. Colossians 1.15, He is the image
of the invisible God. It was the Father’s good pleasure
for all the fullness to dwell in Him. Hebrews 1.4, one of my
favorite passages, He is the radiance of His, that is, God’s
glory. The exact representation of His
nature. He was deity. That’s what Paul
wants us to know. That he was very God. He existed in the form of God
because he was God. One Puritan urged it in Most severe terms. He said in
the Lord’s taking human nature into association with the divine.
Therefore, there is nothing even approximately immutable. That’s
why I read some commentators that, you know, wanted to make
this three steps to humility for us as if we can emulate. In any kind of perfection, the
steps that Christ took. To his glory. There’s no doubt
that this whole thing is an illustration of us to be humble, but to say
that we can follow Christ in any sense in these steps is silly. And the Lord’s taking human nature
into association with the divine. Therefore, there is nothing even
approximately immutable by us that has regards to surrender
for the good of others, of wealth, of ease, of rank, of reputation,
of even life itself. There is an infinite. Those are
at an infinite distance of Christians following their Lord. It is to
these points, accordingly, which there is an analogy between the
case of Christ and of His people. In other words, Christ humbled
Himself with all of this at His disposal, with Godness as being
His, and glory being His realm or His domain. Yet, He humbled
Himself. And we won’t pick up the chairs.
Or we won’t sign up for the committee? Or that particular task is beneath
me? Or how is He to talk to me like
that? Paul says there is nothing. There
is no point of humility for the Christian. If God Himself can
condescend and come and take on human flesh for us, is there
anything that you won’t do for Him? That’s Paul’s point. But he’s not done. Paul continues
his consideration of Christ’s mindset. We’re still on point
one. Have this attitude, verse five, which was also in Christ
Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard
equality with God a thing to be grasped. There’s another one
of those clauses that has caused great discussion and argument
and consternation in the church for centuries. What do you mean
He didn’t regard equality with God a thing to be grasped? This equality speaks of divine
prerogatives. Jesus certainly had the right
and privilege to stay right where He was and enjoy the glory as
God Himself. Christ had always been, will
always continue to be God by His very nature, the express
image of God. But He didn’t regard equality
with God a thing to be grasped, and that’s the thing that hangs
a lot up. A lot of people get hung up there. What does that
mean? And it isn’t helped by the fact that the word grasped
occurs only here in all of biblical Greek. And only one other time
in secular Greek. So it’s not like we have a big
database from which to build an understanding on what this
word means. It literally referred to a seizing
or a robbery. And so from time to time, you’ll
get your translations depending on what you’re reading. It’ll speak of a thought it not
robbery or a didn’t seize hold of. There are basically two potential
thoughts here. Jesus either did not need to
snatch at equality with God because he already had it as a right.
That’s one possible suggestion. And they’re not altogether different.
The other option here is Jesus didn’t clutch at it. He didn’t
clutch at equality with God to hold it jealously to himself
and not ever let it go. I personally think that’s the
direction that you go, given the flow of the passage that
Jesus didn’t hang on to it as if, you know, like on the kindergarten.
No, this is mine. It’s not something that Christ
still had to acquire. He had it. It was His. It’s not
like somebody was threatening to take it away. He offered it
willingly. That’s the point of this whole passage. We’ll consider
exactly what He let go of perhaps next week. But as one said, He
didn’t treat His co-equality as a prize or a treasure to be
held only for Himself. But rather, He made it an occasion
for an infinite act of self-sacrifice for others. It wasn’t something
to be graspingly retained. You ever play that game on the
playground? You got something in your hand, a coin or something
small. You know, people are prying your
fingers and are trying to get in at it. And it’s graspingly
retained. You’re hanging on to it. What was Christ’s mindset? One
pastor laid it out for us. He said this was the choice that
set incarnation into motion. He willingly suffered the worst
possible humiliation rather than demand the honor, privilege and
glory that were rightfully his. He had all the rights and privileges
of God, which he could never lose, yet he refused to selfishly
cling to his favored position as the divine son Nor would he
view it as a prized possession to be only used for himself.”
And you begin to get an absolutely stunned feeling at the extent
of Christ’s humility that Paul here is using as an example for
us. That Christ let go of this? That Christ opened His hand to
come down so that He would have the privilege of going to the
cross for you and I. This wasn’t such a treasure to
Christ. This being in glory wasn’t such
a treasure that Christ was willing to keep it at all costs. In other
words, as one said, He was willing to waive His rights to those
things if the necessity arose, and it did. as soon as Adam and
Eve were planted in the garden. Jesus didn’t hold this thing
as being such a valuable possession or a thing to be grasped, which
desperately clung to at all costs. But rather, in His love and grace,
He was willing through His incarnation to enter into another more humble
manner of existence to take the form of a servant.” You see,
compared to the opportunity to provide salvation for a dying humanity, for Christ it
was an easy decision. But if He didn’t open His hand
and let go of His glory in heaven with God, we perish. We perish. That’s how infinitely
practical this passage becomes in its doctrine. One pastor urged the consideration
of these things in these brief terms. He said that this begins
the tale of Christ’s humiliation by referring to the state of
mind which led to it. That’s Paul’s point. He wants
us to know Christ’s mind. Because there’s no way that we’ll
ever take on a mind of humility without it. begins the tale of
his humiliation by referring to the state of mind which led
to it. And we look on the clause as having the prime emphasis
laid upon it, as virtually asserting that he did not regard his own
things, as saying in connection with the preceding phrase what
his own things were and what his feelings were towards them.
Though the form of God was his, he did not regard it with a selfish
and exclusive attachment. but he laid it aside and became
a man.” Christ’s great goal, friends,
was to identify Himself with us, with humanity, to take on
human flesh. Not to come and necessarily appear
exclusively as divine, but to come and to take on human flesh
so as to appear as human. And in coming into the world,
he came in to emphasize his equality with God, his Godness. And had
he done that exclusively, the world would have been amazed,
but not saved. If he came only as God, everybody
would have been in awe. But they wouldn’t have been saved.
Hundreds of years of ministry to the Israelites prove that
much. All those theophanies, all those presentations of Himself, they fell, as it were, on deaf
ears, on a stiff-necked people who were really just characteristic
of us. But Jesus didn’t grasp that. He didn’t graspingly retain
that. Rather, He counted humanity as
a great prize, a greater prize even still. Because of that,
He laid aside those conditions of His pre-existing state. The
glory of God. He came down to take on a great role, a role that we’ll begin to consider
next week. That is his selfless mitigation. As we begin to just process this
and apply it even to our own lives, is there anything that
can stand in the way of you humbling yourself? Is there anyone to
whom you can’t yield? Is there anything that is beneath
you to stoop to as a servant of saints and of Christ Himself? Is there any argument that is
so worth arguing to the hilt that you’re willing to split
families and churches and friends? Is there any greater example
of humility? There isn’t. And that’s why Paul
put forward Christ as our great example. Let’s pray. Our merciful God, we are so humbled, not even necessarily laying claim
to a divine work done in us, But we’re humbled to see how
proud we are in comparison with Christ. If there was ever one
who didn’t need to be humble, possessing all of the attributes
of God, being God Himself, dwelling in glory, Christ didn’t need
to humble himself. Lord, we do. Father, we are ashamed
at the pride that we carry about. We are ashamed at the fact that
we are separated from others that were created in Your image
that are no less, no worse than us. We are ashamed at our lack of
humility when we see how humble was our Savior. God, grant us
the grace. Bring us to humility for the
sake of the church, for the sake of Christ, our humble Savior.
It’s in Christ’s name that we pray. Amen.