Philippians 2:5-11

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 emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

                                        Philippians 2:5-11

In addressing one of the letter's primary themes, namely, that the church should be united, Paul turns now toward providing an example or a template for believers to follow. This directly follows his exhortations toward unselfishness and the communal good in v3,4.  "Do nothing from selfishness," he calls, and, "do not merely look out for your own personal interests." Here, Paul now turns to the 'why' of such behaviors. 

Before examining the example given through Christ, we must first address why we even need an example at all and, more specifically, why Paul urges us to 'have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.' Due to our a) sin and b) limitations of human wisdom, our human efforts to love others will either be rooted in selfishness (though it will be cleverly hidden) or will fail when pressed upon. Paul alludes to this when he writes to the Colossians, "We give thanks ... since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love of which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven." The Colossians were able to love because of that eternal hope of heaven. Mere earthly hope, wisdom, and even good intentions are not enough to shield us from the strains of selfishness that creep in upon our efforts. In an of ourselves we do not have the resolve or the godliness to love others truly. Only in Christ is that well of compassion found. 

Paul turns now to the prescription to our condition. He informs us how we are to have the kind of unity that he is imploring us to have. His prescription is Christ. As in all things, the answer dwells in the person of Jesus Christ. Specifically, as we attempt to foster the unity among believers, the image and example of Christ provides an explicitly vivid template. The more we know Christ; the more we see and understand who Jesus is, the more we will naturally begin to exemplify His nature. 

An interesting contrast can be made between this description here in the letter to the Philippian church and Paul's description in Colossians (most likely written around the same time as Philippians) which emphasizes Christ's divinity and takes a decidedly more cosmological tone. In the letter to the Colossians, Jesus is shown to be a) the image of the invisible God b) the firstborn of all creation c) integral in the creation of all things and d) necessary for salvation. Whereas here in Philippians, Paul puts on display Christ's condescension. Here, Jesus sheds such divine attributes (temporarily), willingly subjecting Himself to human limitation, frailty, and ultimately the humiliation of death upon a cross. 

By viewing Christ through both of these lenses, we can see just what that obedience cost Him and how paltry our own sacrifices (or lack thereof) are compared to our Lord. This gulf between the fully realized Son as part of the godhead and the beaten and bloodied servant being led to Calvary should inspire us to subject every area of our own lives in obedience to the Lord and to one another.

There are a few observations we can make here in Paul's description of Christ. 

Christ was in very nature God

As we look at these specific verses in Philippians we can face some rather confusing terminology. The confusion comes from three similar words used throughout this passage. 

In verse 6, "[Jesus] existed in the form of God

In verse 7, "being made in the likeness of men"

In verse 8, "being found in appearance as a man"

By isolating any one of these phrases, we can easily be led into a number of heresies ranging from Arianism (Jesus was subordinate to the Father) to Docetism (Jesus only seemed to be human). The corresponding Greek words actually do little to clarify Paul's intent.

For verse 6, "form" is the word, morphe, which is defined as, "form, shape, or outward appearance."

For verse 7, "likeness" is the word, homoioma, which is defined as, "a likeness, form, similitude."

For verse 8, "appearance" is the word, schema, which is defined as, "fashion, habit, form, or appearance."

If the intent of Paul's Greek usage here was to push a particular Christological platform, it actually appears a bit muddled. Morphe in verse 6 might lead one towards Docetism while the usage of homoioma and schema in verses 7 and 8 would seem to lean towards Arianism. Surely, Paul was not intentionally contradicting himself in subsequent sentences. In my opinion, the best way to understand this passage is twofold: first, by assuming that Paul simply used different synonyms to describe similar ideas and second, by remembering that we must read Scripture as a complete unit rather than isolating particular verses that seem to support one particular cause or theological bent. By looking at the thrust of Paul's discussion here and by viewing other corresponding verses in Scripture we see that Jesus Christ was God with all of the attributes and honor therein (as somewhat described in Colossians). 

Christ made Himself nothing

Even though Jesus Christ was, "all the fullness of deity [dwelling] in bodily form" (Col 2:9) and existed in the form of God, He was not content to wield that power while on this earth. Paul uses a stream of phrases to express the way that Christ condescended to humanity:

-      He emptied Himself

-      took the form of a servant

-      was in the likeness of man

Christ first emptied Himself of the rights and powers available to Him in the Godhead. He chose to relinquish those rights for the sake of the Father's will. He knew, within the framework of the Father's sovereign will, that a righteous sacrifice was required--- an acceptable offering was needed. As it was the Father's desire to demonstrate His grace by bringing the unworthy and the unrighteous into the fold of God; He desired to adopt those who were not His children to be His children, Jesus obeyed. To this end, Christ, the Son, subjugated Himself in three specific ways:

-     Jesus Christ became human. Jesus, who had existed eternally before the creation of the world, physically became a human being. He was born. He ate. He slept. He felt pain. He wept. He suffered all the indignities of the mortal life. Since only a perfect offering could fulfill the justice of the Lord (and the Mosaic law), Jesus chose to become the righteous sacrifice.

-     Jesus Christ became a servant. Not only did Christ condescend to humanity by becoming one with mankind, He also became a servant to other men. He came down among lowly men and set about to serve them. Far from the expected Messiah who would come with pomp and circumstance and the rod of justice, Christ came to serve, and not just to serve the 'righteous' and the noble, but to serve the lowly and sinners. This image is most vividly demonstrated when He washed the feet of His disciples. He touched the untouchable. He associated with those who respectable men did not associate with. He taught the masses.

-     Beyond even these powerful abdications, Christ became obedient to the point of death. The key word here is obedience. It is the heart of Jesus' engagement with humanity. Jesus, who was so far above mankind, became a man. He did not however settle into a place of power or a seat of authority. As a man, He came to serve the lowly, to put Himself beneath those who were, by rights, so far beneath Him. This though, was not enough. Jesus, who was righteous, wholly perfect, came under unjust condemnation of imperfect men. The greatest injustice in the whole of history fell upon the holy Son. Not only did He receive condemnation but He suffered and was killed. At the core of every human is the seed of self-preservation even at the neurological level. We are wired to avoid pain and yet Jesus, now living in fully human flesh of a man, willingly subjugates Himself to an ignoble death at the hands of ignoble men for unjust rationale. He felt pain He didn't deserve to feel. Why? Because He was obedient to His Father's will. He put His Father's will above His own comfort, when few of us are willing even to sacrifice any measure of comfort.

Application

All of this paints a wondrous and impressive portrait of Christ, and that is Paul's point. He has been exhorting his readers to willingly give up their own claims on self for the claims of others and for the ultimate aim of unity within the church. The example of Christ shows us the very attitude we must maintain as we seek to be united. Four applications spring to mind.

1.     First, and most importantly, the example of Jesus' obedience should drive us to worship when we consider the place from which Jesus descended--- a place of power and authority, and what He stepped down into--- mockery, subjugation, and death. The gulf between the two and the price of Jesus' obedience makes us pause to consider how we ought to respond. Even the coldest, most cynical heart is driven to its knees by the marvelous and powerful obedience demonstrated by Jesus. Many of us attend a service on Sunday morning. Many of us sing songs during those services but how many truly worship? We often participate corporately for emotional reasons or for experiencing unity (not that those are bad reasons outright) but fail to truly worship, to pour out our adoration on our Lord. The remedy for this absence is manifested in the person of Jesus. As we realized the scope of Jesus' obedience, the door is opened to wonder which in turn moves our hears to awe.

2.     The second application is the notion that obedience is better than forced compliance. Though some debate the peccability or impeccability of of Christ (whether Jesus could have sinned if He had wanted to) the fact remains that Jesus was obedient. He chose to obey. Paul chooses to use the word hupekoos, which communicates to the reader the ideas of listening to, obedient, and submissive. It is better that Jesus chose to be obedient to the Father's will rather than simply following the script. It is better that we are allowed to choose whether to obey than operating as automatons. There are days, as we wrestle with sin, doubt, and uncertainty, when we (if we're honest) would prefer to be programmed to obey. However, just as information is most effectively internalized through experience, trust is best (if not solely) expressed through obedience. Faith is demonstrated through struggle and struggle cannot exist without choice. Even though we often fail and waver, the meager faith we posses cannot occur without the choice to obey. 

3.     Naturally flowing from this is the application that this life is a continual series of opportunities for obedience. Every decision we make is a choice to obey the Lord, either in action or intent. Whether we acknowledge it or not we are consciously or unconsciously making decisions all the time about what and how we will live our lives. In every conversation, for example, we are given the choice to a) speak intentionally to honor God b) speak intentionally to dishonor God, or c) to abdicate the responsibility. [By the way, we most often choose A or C, with C being tantamount to choosing B]. Understanding that every moment is an opportunity to pivot toward Christ or away from Him forces us to do two things. We must a) be aware of the choices and b) actually make a choice. As difficult as it often is to choose to make those pivots toward Christ and Christ-likeness, it requires almost more courage, practice, and prayer to be cognizant of those decisions before wemake them. We need to be praying, as consistently as we are able, that the Holy Spirit would make us aware of those moments.

4.     The final application is the consummation of all of this: we must submit the way Jesus did. This is intimidating. It should be intimidating. Jesus condescended to us. He stepped down to earth. He got His holy feet covered with dust. He did it all to be obedient to the Father's will. he was willing to endure things beyond our scope of comprehension. Paul highlights this to inspire us to do the same for the sake of others. It hurts to submit our desires to the Lord. It is a struggle to submit our lives and our choices. The process is both supernatural in that our submission is facilitated by the Holy Spirit working to fill the deficiencies in our spirits but it is also a gradual strengthening of our faith muscle. We need to be in constant prayer that the Spirit would provide us the strength to submit our lives. We must also be forcing ourselves into positions and situations where we feel incapable. Only that kind of radical dependency will build our faith. Exercise hurts. All submission is difficult. Submitting our very wills bucks against the core of our human, sinful desires.

It will hurt,

but it is what is required of us and what we see demonstrated in the life of Jesus.

His submission hurt.