“What Jesus Gave for Christmas” Philippians 2:6-11

Some of the best ways to teach is by examples. Many math books will teach a new aspect of the particular math being studied, then give several example equations for the student to follow before trying to solve equations themselves. Art classes will give examples of how the subject should be painted or drawn. Examples are a great way to show us how to do the things we are being taught.

It’s true in life as well. As we were growing up, we often followed the examples of our parents or other significant adults we looked up to. We learned how to do things by watching and asking questions. Sometimes, we simply observed in silence, picking up life lessons along the way.

In today’s passage, Paul reminds the Philippians that the best example of how to live out the Christian faith is to see the example Jesus gave.

Background

Paul’s letter to the Philippians is written in a familiar, friendly tone. Of the letters written by Paul, this is one of the most intimate in means of demonstrating his obvious affection for the church at Philippi.

The reason Paul was writing was because of small factions that were starting to grow in the church. Wanting to address the potential trouble, Paul wrote them with instructions on how to overcome differences and grow in unity as one body in Christ. Toward that end, Paul drops references to unity and partnership throughout the introduction to his letter, writing of his “joy because of your partnership in the gospel” (1:5) and how “all of you share in God’s grace” (1:8).

Paul is also writing to assure them that he’s doing well though he is in prison. These two emphases of the letter are written in a familiar pattern, as if he was talking with some old friends.

In the passage we are looking at today, Paul prefaces this wonderful passage about Jesus with a call to unity. In 1:1-4, Paul writes about being united in Christ, of fellowship with the Holy Spirit, calling on them to be like-minded, being one in spirit and purpose. He tells them, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others” (vs. 3-4). In writing this paragraph, there is a clear call to unity and some evidence of what is causing the rifts in the fellowship.

Having set out the instructions, Paul now writes out what some commentaries consider to be the central point of the letter. These words are different in the rest of the letter in that they are carefully laid out, poetic in nature. Some consider that Paul is reciting a hymn familiar to the early church, but it so closely fits the preceding verses and what follows that it is more likely that Paul wrote the verses specifically for the purpose of the letter.

Why or how Paul wrote these few verses, we find in them a wonderful summary of Jesus’ ministry from John’s declaration of John 1:-2 (“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning), and takes us to Calvary and beyond. In setting out these words, Paul gives a clear example to the Philippians and us of what it means to humbly consider others’ interests in our actions and words. He concludes the instructions with the words, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:” (v.6).

Before we consider the passage, a few things need to be cleared up. Paul is writing this letter in familiar Greek, and the translators try to match the Greek as much as possible with words that are similar in English. While the English may reflect accurately the original Greek word, sometimes the English loses the meaning behind the Greek word. We will see it in the way Jesus is described as being “in very nature God,” “considered equality with God” and “taking the very nature of a servant.” The translation alludes to the fact that Jesus may have only seemed to be God or seemed to be human, and some controversial ideas have arisen out of the translation of these verses.

Paul does use the Greek words for “form” in this passage, but Greek meaning and English meaning are somewhat different. When you and I think of “form,” “likeness” and “appearance,” we often refer to something not quite being what it seems. In Greek thought, the idea of “form” had two meanings. One is seeming to be something it is not, the other is that the form accurately reflects the reality of what is.

For example, when I was living on the Texas coast, I would often have to drive inland. It wasn’t unusual to drive away from the shore and see a bank of clouds that, in the distance, seemed to be a line of mountains. In this instance, the clouds had the form of a mountain range, when in fact it was only clouds. That’s what’s behind the first meaning of “form” in the Greek. The other meaning—the form reflecting the reality—is similar to seeing something coming out of the shadows or the distance toward the light or toward us. As the form becomes clearer in our vision, we see that the form is accurately reflecting who or what the form is.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at today’s passage.

Central Truth: Jesus’ gift for Christmas was to show us how to live in Him.

Jesus’ gift involved:

1. Humbling Himself (6-7)

One of the most striking characteristics of Jesus is His humility. In Matthew 11:29, Jesus says, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” When I was in 7th grade, a classmate told a joke that has stayed with me all these years. The joke is, “I used to be conceited, but now I’m perfect.” Recently, a presidential candidate told a national news reporter in an interview, “I am the most humble person you’ll ever meet.” In both these last two examples, the conceit of the speaker is obvious. The difference with Jesus in stating that He is humble in heart is that His life demonstrates that humility.

Look at Jesus’ ministry, and the humility is evident. He taught that we come to the kingdom as children, that the greatest among us must be least, and He lived out these truths in His life. It’s hard to lovingly wash someone’s feet without a sense of humility being present.

That’s what Paul is writing about in these two verses. Jesus was equal with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus was the very nature of God, the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being (cf. Hebrews 1:3). Seeing Jesus is the same as seeing God (cf. John 14:9). Jesus was and is the presence of God, yet He had the opportunity to grasp for greater power, only He refused. Jesus didn’t hold on to His divinity with clutching hands, didn’t refuse to yield His divinity, but willingly surrendered His rightful place in the Godhead to become a human being.

We need to be clear that Jesus did not lose His divine nature when He chose to be born on earth. He was and is fully God. By taking on the fully human body He did, though, Jesus of necessity agreed to limit some of His divine nature. By becoming a person, Jesus was no longer able to omnipresent (the eternal presence in all places). He tells us that He surrendered His omniscience (knowing all things) when He tells His disciples only the Father knows when He will return. He curbed His omnipotence (supreme power) by refusing to turn stones to bread when tempted in the desert. In that sense, Paul is right—Jesus made Himself nothing in order to become fully God in a fully human body.

It’s also interesting that Jesus took the form of a servant. When a God comes to earth, we might expect Him to come as a Caesar or a man of great means, wealth and power. Jesus instead was born into a carpenter’s family, a family so poor that the thanksgiving offering made for His birth was not the required lamb, but the accepted two doves for a family that could not afford a lamb. At one point, Jesus tells a would-be disciple that Jesus had no place to lay His head. There is no record of Jesus owning anything more than the clothes on His back. The God of the universe took on the body of a servant, of a poor man, rather than that of the accepted powerful in our world. Jesus became nothing to be able to fully identify with us and to humbly seek the Father’s will.

Jesus’ great gift to us for Christmas is the example of humility and service. We would do well to follow His example.

2. Walking in obedience (8)

I told you a couple of weeks ago of the first day of track practice at Whitehouse High. Coach John Wills gathered the quarter-milers together and instructed us to run the lap in 90-second paces. We were going to do that six times, with a minute of rest between laps. One of my teammates and I thought we knew better and didn’t obey the coach’s instructions. We learned very quickly that the coach really did know what he was talking about as the two of us were heaving up our lunch after the third or fourth lap.

It’s not always easy to follow orders or to be obedient. There are times we believe we know better. Jesus, divine in nature, did know so much more than anyone else around Him, yet Jesus demonstrated what it means to walk in obedience.

He walked in obedience to Joseph and Mary, His earthly parents. We see that when the parents find their 12-year-old son in the Temple, discussing spiritual matters with the teachers of the law. We see it when Mary told Jesus to take care of the situation at a wedding when the wine ran out. Jesus was an obedient son to His earthly parents.

Jesus was also an obedient Son to His heavenly Father. Jesus said, “My teaching is not My own. It comes from Him who sent Me” (John 7:16). Jesus never did anything without the Father’s instruction and blessing. We see that most vividly, Paul reminds us, in the events that led up to and at Calvary.

In the garden, Jesus prayed for an alternative way of achieving God’s plan. When it was clear in His prayer that the cross was what awaited Him, He willing yielded to the Father’s will. Jesus allowed Himself to be taken into custody, to be brutalized at the hands of the Roman guards and to be hanged on the cross. At no time did Jesus have to endure this, but the obedient Son of God allowed Himself to do so. He laid down His life for our sins, because it was what the Father determined needed to be done in order that we might find cleansing from our sins and eternal life in Him.

This Jesus—the Word made flesh (cf. John 1:14)—took on the humble nature of a servant, walking in obedience to the One He served, and the result is that Jesus willing died on the cross at Calvary.

By His example, Jesus gives us the way to walk in obedience to Him and the Father through the direction of the Holy Spirit. He is our example, and how can we do any less?

3. Being exalted (9-11)

In Jesus’ priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus says, “Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You” (v.1). Paul’s words in vs. 9-11 speak to the glory of Christ as a result of His humble obedience.

Remember that Paul wrote Jesus chose not to grasp equality with God? Now, Paul tells us that as a result, Jesus is now exalted to the highest place. That is, Jesus is now back in His rightful place, only with greater esteem and glory. Because of Jesus’ humble service, God gives Him the highest name there is. There is no one greater than Jesus, nor will there ever be. Jesus is unique in that He willingly emptied Himself of His rightful claim and place in order to become a servant in the body of a human being, walking with that same humility and obedience that was demonstrated in His initial decision to make Himself nothing.

Now, Jesus is exalted above all, with a name worthy of worship and praise and surrender. The Bible tells us “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (vs. 10-11).

Already, there are those who proclaim Jesus as Savior and Lord. These are those who have come to know Him by faith and given themselves to Him. These people are the Church, the body of Christ on earth. We are called to serve and walk with Him, with the same humility and obedience He demonstrated for us.

But there will come a day, soon, when all will acknowledge Jesus’ true nature and glory. There will come a day, soon, when Jesus will stand before our world in full glory, the Son of God returned to the world He came to save. When that time comes, and I believe it will be soon, then every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. For many, that acknowledgment will come too late. They will make the confession after the time for salvation has passed. Those who are alive, those who are dead and those who serve in heaven. Everyone will know that this Jesus, who became nothing, who became an obedient servant, who willingly followed God’s will to Calvary, is now the One who is above all. He is Jesus. He is Christ. He is Lord.

Even here, Jesus is our example. If we will follow His lead, we, too, will be exalted. No, we won’t be given a name that is higher than all others. Instead, we will hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. . . Come and share your Master’s happiness” (Matthew 25:21). We will spend eternity with the One who is our example, our Savior, our Lord.

Conclusion

This year, as we’re celebrating Christmas, let’s commit to looking to Jesus, to follow Jesus’ example of humility and service.