Rev.
Debbie Cato
Philippians
2:5-18
Fairfield
Community Church
October
22, 2023
Holy God, So
far, the Apostle Paul has taught us about joy and hope and unity. Continue to open our minds and our hearts to
all that he has to teach us. Help us to
hear all that he writes to the Church in Philippi and apply it to our lives and
the life of our church. Amen.
Ultimate Servanthood
Although
Paul is writing this letter to the church in Philippi shackled to a Roman
soldier from prison, he writes about feeling joy and being filled with
hope. It has been clear that preaching
the gospel throughout the known world was Paul’s goal. He wasn’t so concerned about the reason why
it was being preached – just that it was preached and heard. He also wasn’t concerned with whether it was
him doing the preaching or someone else.
He just wanted the gospel shared. He wanted it heard.
Last week, Paul admonished the members of the Philippian church to “conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” and we talked about what that meant. To Paul, conduct worthy of the gospel meant to be in united as a body of Christ; to be in unity through the common sharing in the Holy Spirit and the shared comfort we receive from Christ’s love. He wrote that we must love one another sacrificially – love one another in a way that actually costs me something of myself to love you; to put you first before myself. Because, after all, Christ sacrificially loved us.
As Paul continues, he doesn’t stop there. He says we must imitate Christ’s humility. Christ’s humility – perhaps the most incredible thing about Jesus, the Son of God.
Writing about ancient rulers, N.T. Wright, professor of the New Testament and early Christianity says, “When people in the ancient world thought of heroic leaders, rulers, and kings, they often thought of Alexander the Great. At the age of twenty he succeeded his father to the throne of Macedonia, quickly made himself master of all Greece and then set about the task of conquering the rest of the world. By the time he died just shy of age thirty-three, he had succeeded to such an extent that it made sense for him to be regarded as divine.[1] Alexander was worshiped as a God.
In Paul’s world the closest equivalent to Alexander was the emperor Augustus, who had put an end to the long-running Roman civil war and had brought peace to the whole known world. It wasn’t long before many grateful subjects came to regard him, too, as divine. (Augustus too, was worshiped. There was a temple for him.) Only when we grasp this do we see just how deeply subversive, how utterly countercultural, Paul’s gospel message was concerning Jesus of Nazareth, whose resurrection had declared him to be Israel’s Messiah and the world’s true Lord.”[2]
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as
Christ Jesus:
Let’s let that soak in for a moment. It’s incredibly profound.
Christ Jesus – being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (NIV)
The Apostle John calls Jesus “The Word”. His Gospel begins: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Or as Eugene Peterson paraphrases it in The Message:
The Word
was first, the Word present to God, God present to the Word. The Word was God, in
readiness for God from day one.
Everything
was created through him; nothing—not one thing!—
came into being without him. What came into
existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by. The
Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.”
Jesus was God in the fullest sense. Christ is the gift of life. God with flesh, come to earth to life among us. And it is God himself – sovereign over and above any and all creation, including (or maybe especially) all humanity that Paul describes as “being in very nature God. Who did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!
I’ve been struggling with pride the past couple of weeks. I had a difficult interaction with someone in the community who challenged my integrity and identity as a pastor. Besides feeling threatened and angry, I have felt self-righteous. How dare this person question my integrity, my faith and the way I live my life. I’ve struggled to let go of this interaction. I’ve continued to feel indignant a week later.
Writing about this passage, Max Lucado, a pastor and well-known Christian author says, “Paul’s headline is not “Christ the Creator.” It is, “Christ the Incarnate One.” The One who made everything “made himself nothing.” Christ made himself small. He made himself dependent on lungs, a larynx, and legs. He experienced hunger and thirst. He went through all the normal stages of human development. He was taught to walk, stand, wash his face, and dress himself. His muscles grew stronger, his hair grew longer. His voice cracked when he passed through puberty. He was genuinely human.
When Jesus was “full of joy,” his joy was authentic. When he “wept over” Jerusalem, his tears were as real as yours or mine. When he asked, “How long must I put up with you?”, his frustration was honest. When Jesus cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” he needed an answer.
Jesus took “the very nature of a servant.” He became like us so he could serve us! He entered the world not to demand our allegiance but to display his affection. He did not view his equality with God as “something to be used to his own advantage.” He refused to throw his weight around. He divested himself of divine advantage.
When people mocked him, he didn’t turn them into stones. When soldiers spat on him, he didn’t boomerang their spit. When people called him crazy, he didn’t strike them blind. Just the opposite. He became “obedient to death – even death on a cross!”[3]
Crucifixion was the cruelest form of execution in the Roman Empire. It was commonly reserved for those of the lowest class, especially slaves. Max Lucado ends his reflection by saying, “God took the nails. God took the whips. God bore the shame. God felt the tip of the spear. God exhaled a final breath. Jesus descended the ladder of incarnation one rung at a time.”[4]
As I read and studied and wrote this sermon, I was brought to my knees with a renewed understanding of the humbleness of the God I love. Of the humbleness of his whole incarnation and life and ministry on earth. God would do this for us, friends. That is sacrificial love.
We will never be able to be as humble as Christ and that’s just fact. But as His followers, we must work every day – I must work every day, to put aside my pride and sense of self-righteousness and humble myself in all situations. Jesus put up with much more and much worse than we ever will. God is not only with us but He is also in us. He never abandons us. We do not have to scramble around trying to make life work. We can let go of the joy-depleting habit of looking out for “number one.”
Even more, if we are convinced that God is absolutely for us, we are freed up to focus all our attention and energy and efforts on living for Christ by serving others. As humble servants, we can rest assured that He will meet all our needs.[5] We can know that what others think and say does not matter. What matters is who we are in the eyes of God. A God who knows how we feel and what we are going through because He became human and experienced it all Himself – a God who was the ultimate servant. This is the kind of God we worship and serve. This is who we must strive to be as His followers. Thanks Be to God. Amen.
[1] Philippians: 8
Studies for Individuals and Groups. N.T.
Wright. InterVarsity Press. 2009.
P. 27.
[2] Philippians: 8
Studies for Individuals and Groups. N.T.
Wright. InterVarsity Press. 2009.
P. 27.
[3] Life Lessons from Philippians. Max Lucado.
HarperCollins Christian Publishing Co. 2018. P44.
[4] Life Lessons from Philippians. Max Lucado.
HarperCollins Christian Publishing Co. 2018. P44-45. (From Because of Bethlehem)
[5] Life Lessons from Philippians. Max Lucado.
HarperCollins Christian Publishing Co. 2018. P46
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