Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
June 17, 1984
The Attitude of Christ
Philippians 2:5-11, KJV
Today is Father's Day. If you are a father you will be given extravagant gifts like bookmarks, tie-clasps, maybe some aftershave. Father's Day doesn't really have the emotional commitment that we give to Mother's Day. The same thing can be said for fatherhood itself. Sociologists have come up with an ingenious way to see how Americans view the role of fathers - they analyzed television shows. After watching several hundred episodes of "Leave It To Beaver," "Father Knows Best," "Eight Is Enough," and so on, they came to some conclusions. They found that fathers were generally portrayed as bumbling incompetent airheads. Their kids manipulate them to get what they want. Their wives superficially defer to them, while really running the show behind their back.
The popular image of fathers may be that they are bumbling fools but the reality is far different. Think of the power men possess in society. They dominate industry, politics and the military. That's why we're satisfied with piddly gifts - we already have everything. When we get home we let our wives think they're in control because that keeps them happy. By deliberately lowering ourselves into carefree oblivion, everything runs a little more smoothly. You probably realize that I'm talking with tongue-in-cheek - somewhat - but the principle is behind today's passage. Paul says that Jesus had great power and status but he gave it up so he could serve others.
These verses give one of the greatest summaries about Jesus' life that you'll find in the Bible. As a matter of fact, many scholars believe verses 6 to 11 form a hymn because they are laid out like a Greek poem. The hymn exalts Christ and honors him as the lord of the universe. But first of all we should notice why it was written. It wasn't written just to tell us who Jesus was or how he relates to God. It was actually written to illustrate the attitude people should have if they claim to be a Christian. Last week we looked at verses 1 to 4 which discuss the love, harmony and humility that is needed to keep the church united. Verse 5 ties both passages together by saying:
"Let this mind (or-attitude) be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."
This great passage on Jesus is meant to have a practical application to our lives. If we say Jesus is our Lord, then his attitude should be reflected in our lives.
With this introduction, Paul proceeds with the poem or hymn. You might notice that it is constructed like a "U". In verse 6 Jesus is exalted as being equal with God. Verse 7 shows his descent, the humility of becoming a human. Verse 8 is the bottom of the "U", and climaxes the poem with the most humiliating act of all - the death on the cross. Verse 9 returns to the theme of exaltation, which peaks in verses 10 and 11, with the whole universe worshipping him as Lord. Let's go back to verse 6. Paul says Christ was in the "form of God". This is one of the clearest Bible verses which proves the deity of Christ. The word "form" does not mean he just resembled God. The Greek word used means he really was God. It was his essential nature and will never change. Even the second word in the verse, "being" has special significance. The best way to paraphrase it would be, "From the very beginning, Christ was God."
Many people today want to bypass this. They want to say lovely things about Jesus but they don't want to call him God. They think calling him a great teacher or rabbi is good enough but it's not. If Jesus is not God, many of the statements in the Bible become false and Jesus comes across as a liar. This is why the belief in the deity or divine nature of Jesus has always been a fundamental doctrine for real Christians.
I think the reason many people have problems with the divinity of Jesus is they are confused about the Trinity. The Trinity is hard to understand and even harder to explain. Basically, the Trinity means there is only one God. This one God exists in three components - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each component is completely God. For example, the Holy Spirit is not 33% God, he is 100% God. But when you add up the three components you don't get 300%. That would mean you have three gods, which Mormons believe but Christians don't. Humanly speaking, the Trinity is impossible to understand completely and so a lot of people reject it. But according to the Bible God nature is not limited to what our little minds can understand. As it says in Isaiah 55:8:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord."
Just like many of the principles of modern science, the deity of Christ cannot be proven. It has to be accepted by faith, on the basis of the statements in the Bible.
Look at the second part of verse 6 - "he thought it not robbery to be equal with God." The Greek word for robbery means something that you seize forcibly, or hang on to. Even though Jesus was God he didn't feel that he had to hang on to his equality with God, the Father. Paul goes on to say:
"But made himself of no reputation."
A better translation would be, "he emptied himself." The great statement about Jesus Christ is this - he really was deity, and his deity was equal with that of the Father but he did not hang on to that equality. Jesus was prepared to lay aside all this glory and take the form of a human. Jesus didn't just appear one Christmas morning. He has always existed as God but he emptied himself of these divine privileges and humbly became a human.
Once again we get into a mysterious area. We're talking about Christ being 100% God and 100% human at the same time. And he didn't just become any kind of human. Verse 8 says he took the form of a servant. The word is actually much stronger than that - he was a slave. As a member of the lowest class of humanity, Jesus experienced the most humiliating event of all - crucifixion. The Romans only crucified barbarians and other scum, which is exactly how they viewed the Son of God.
It is this humble obedience which makes Jesus an example for Christians to follow. The world is in a mess because everyone is sticking up for their own rights. Everyone does what's right in their own eyes and everyone insists on being number one and everyone expects the rest of the world to recognize this fact.
To accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior means you turn the world's attitude upside down. The attitude of Jesus is to humble yourself and serve others, instead of expecting them to serve you. Having the attitude of Jesus means you don't insist on your rights. You accept being wronged, as long as God is honored by it. A true Christian can accept this kind of attitude with cheerfulness. It's not that we deserve abuse because we're scum, it's that we put up with it because God can use us better. The most important thing in life is not what people think about us but what God thinks about us.
After his humiliating death, God the Father resurrected Jesus and set him on the throne of heaven. According to the Bible, the day is coming when every creature in the universe will bow before Jesus and confess he is Lord. This doesn't mean everyone will be saved in the end - far from it. It means that on the Judgment Day even his enemies will be forced to acknowledge the truth - Jesus really is God.
Everyone here will make this confession before God. The only question is - Will you make it by your own choice now and be saved? Or by his choice later? Jesus wants us to willingly accept him as Lord and Savior. This means we repent of our sins and ask him to forgive us. It also means we try to follow his teaching and attitude toward life.
It was the plan of God to become a man and die for us. He could have come in all his glory but we would be instantly burned up. Instead he came in a very humble form, so that we might look upon him and believe in him for salvation. Have you taken that step of faith?
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Typed on October 30, 2005, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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