Paul calls the Philippians to have “this mind among yourself, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” This mindset or attitude is humility, Jesus’ most defining trait. Philippians 2:5-11, which Bible commentators call the Hymn of Christ, describes the incomparable and supreme model of humility: the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
The humiliation of Christ
From His entrance into the world to His departure, Jesus showed a remarkable, humble, and self-sacrificing attitude. Paul chronicles it in four descending steps.
1. Jesus relinquished His equality with God.
“Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.”
From eternity past to the incarnation, Jesus was in the form of God. Form in Greek is morphe, and it means shape, nature, or essence. It’s “an outward expression that embodies essential (inner) substance so that the form is in complete harmony with the inner essence.”
Therefore, Jesus was equal to God in every sense; He had the same authority, power, nature, privilege, attributes, etc. However, he didn’t grasp His divine rights for selfish ambitions. Instead, He forsook His equality with God for the benefit of others.
2. Jesus became a man
“but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”
Next, Jesus emptied himself by becoming a man. The Greek word for empty is kenoo, and it means to deprive of content, be without recognition, or be perceived as valueless.
Paul isn’t saying Jesus gave up His divine nature or attributes. Jesus never ceased to be God; He remained fully God while becoming fully man (Colossians 2:9). Jesus, however, deprived himself of some of His divine privileges or prerogatives.
For instance, He relinquished the glory He had with the Father before time began (John 17:5), His riches in heaven (2 Corinthians 8:9), and His independence (John 5:30). He exchanged His divine rights for man’s weakness and limitations, such as experiencing hunger, fatigue, temptation, and suffering.
And as if that wasn’t humiliating enough, the Son of God came as a slave. He could have been born in royalty and status, but He assumed the lowest rank possible. A slave belonged to his master and didn’t have a life apart from his master; likewise, Jesus’ sole ambition was executing His Father’s will and serving others.
He said, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me,” and, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (John 6:38, Mark 10:45).
Jesus also shows his humility further by being born in the likeness of men. He could have come grown like Adam, but He came as a baby in a manger. Think about it, the Sovereign God of the universe condescended Himself to have His diapers changed! He didn’t skip the less desirable aspects of human life but embraced the complete experience with all its joys and sorrows. He truly became a man.
But He is a different kind of man. The Greek word for likeness is homoioma, and it means made like something. Though Jesus had the same substance as men, He is not an exact copy. He is the new man and last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45-47). A man born of a woman, but not under the curse of sin (Luke 1:35).
3. Jesus became obedient
“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death.”
Before the incarnation, Jesus was in His exalted state in full equality with God. Though He knew obedience, He only experienced it when He became a man. He became obedient to His parents (Luke 2:51), the religious and civil laws (Matthew 5:17, Galatians 4:4), and above all, His Father in heaven (John 8:29; 15:10).
Moreover, Jesus learned this obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8). He didn’t choose a comfortable life. From the manger to the cross, Jesus experienced tremendous suffering. As a child, He had a mortal enemy and had to flee for His life (Matthew 2:16-18). And as an adult, He experienced persecution, rejection, loneliness, betrayal, temptations, and grief. Through all this, Jesus learned to obey, even to the point of death. Even when He was so much anguish about God’s will that His sweat blood, He said, “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).
Jesus didn’t have to suffer; He didn’t have to learn obedience. But He subjected himself to such humiliation to identify with us. So we could have a High Priest who can “sympathize with our weakness, one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15).
4. Jesus was crucified
“…Even death on a cross.”
The last step down in Jesus’ humiliation is the manner of His death. Jesus laid down His life in the worst way. Literally. Crucifixion was a criminal’s death; it was the most shameful, degrading, and painful way to die. Roman soldiers stripped Him of his garments, flogged, mocked, scorned, beat, and spat on Him. Worst of all, Jesus became a curse and was alienated from His Father (Deuteronomy 21:23-24, Galatians 3:13). And from the depth of his agony, He cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”(Matthew 27:46)
Jesus willingly laid down His life and suffered excruciatingly for the benefit of wretched sinners like you and me. The Son of God became a man who suffered and died so men could become sons of God, rejoice, and live eternally.
What a selfless, humble savior we have!
The exaltation of Christ
God promises to exalt those who humble themselves (Matthew 23:12,). Jesus was no exception, and God exalted Him in four ascending steps.
1. Jesus rose from the dead
“Therefore, God has highly exalted him…”
The first step in Jesus’ exaltation is His resurrection. Only a handful of people rose from the dead in history. Jesus, however, is the only one who never died afterward. God raised Him to life with a glorified and incorruptible body (Philippians 3:21), and right now, He is at the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:12). Jesus’ resurrection is also His vindication. It proves God accepted His payment for our sins and that His sacrifice was not in vain. He now holds the keys to death (Revelation 1:18) and will one day judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1).
2. Jesus received the name above every other name
“…bestowed on him the name that is above every other name.”
When God the Son became a man, He received the name Yeshua, also known as Joshua or Jesus. In Hebrew, Yeshua means “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation” (Matthew 1:21, Luke 1:31). It reflects Jesus’ earthly mission, which was to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). When God exalted Jesus, He gave Him another name that reflects Jesus’ new exalted status.
This passage doesn’t explicitly say the new name, but many theologians believe it’s Lord (Philippians 2:11). Lord or Kyrios in Greek is the New Testament equivalent of Yahweh in the Old Testament. It’s God’s personal name, the one He gave to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14).
Jesus was always Yahweh, before and after His exaltation. As mentioned earlier, He gave up His divine privileges to become a man. After God raised Him to life, He restored all that Jesus gave up and named Jesus Lord to affirm His authority as the God-Man. God not only restored Jesus’ past privileges, but He also gave Him new ones. For instance, Jesus became our High-Priest who can identify with us, and our mediator who lives to intercede for us (Hebrews 4:15; 7:25).
3. Jesus became the King of kings and Lord of lords
“so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
God put everything under Jesus’ dominion and gave Him all authority (Matthew 28:18). When Jesus walked the earth, only a few people recognized His Lordship.
But one day, everyone will bow the knee to Him and acknowledge His divine authority. This includes angels and saints in heaven, redeemed and rebels on earth, and demons and damned under the earth.
We won’t just bow before Christ; we will also confess He is Lord (1 Corinthians 15:28). The Greek word for confess means to agree or acknowledge. So everyone will admit and truly believe Jesus is the Son of God. Some will confess it with great joy; others won’t. Nevertheless, all of creation will rightly praise Jesus as Lord and King and give Him the glory and honor He is due.
4. Jesus glorified God
“To the glory of God the Father.”
Jesus’ exaltation culminates in the glory of God the Father. Jesus’ utmost delight is to please His Father, and we please God by bringing Him glory. Why? Because God is zealous for His glory. Everything He does from creation to consummation is for His glory, and He commands us to do everything to His glory.
Jesus went to the cross primarily to glorify God (John 17:1), and the peak of His exaltation is glorifying His Father with His life and death (John 13:31-32).
Our unity through Christ’s humility
Before the incarnation, we were lost sheep wandering away from the fold of God towards eternal perdition (Isaiah 53:6). But Jesus came down to seek and to save us. Through His obedient sacrifice on the cross, God forgave our sins, redeemed us, and adopted us into His family (John 1:12, 1 John 3:1).
All those who repent and believe in Christ are baptized into one body and joined in fellowship through the Spirit of God (Ephesians 4:4). Christ, our peace, has broken down the walls that separate us and has reconciled us to God and with one another (Ephesians 2:14-16).
In Christ, we are one, whether we are black or white, male or female, democrat or republican, rich or poor (Galatians 3:28). These distinctions don’t divide us anymore because we are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:19).
He left His Father’s throne above—
And Can it Be, Charles Wesley
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For, O my God, it found out me!
Heart Check
When we study the Bible, we always look for an application, and rightly so. Scripture is, after all, profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). But the primary purpose of the Bible is to reveal Jesus Christ (John 5:39). Sometimes, it’s good to read God’s Word without looking at what’s in it for us but bask in the delightful knowledge of Christ and respond in worship.
What are your thoughts on this week’s study? Share in the comments below!
Recommended resources
- The Model of Spiritual Unity – John MacArthur
- The Humiliation of Christ – John MacArthur
- The Exaltation of Christ Part one | Part two – John MacArthur
- Gentle and Lowly – Dane Ortlund
Next study
Readings
Read and study Philippians 2:12-18
Memorization
Philippians 2:12-18 if you are doing the challenge; if not, some key verses are 12-15.
Questions for reflection
- What does it mean to work out our salvation? What does it look like in your life? What are you doing to grow spiritually?
- In what practical ways you be shine as a light in your area of influence?
- How well do you follow the command in Philippians 2:14? How does God feel about complaints? How can you improve in that area?
