JESUS: OUR GREATEST GIFT
Philippians 2:5-11
A local radio show recently asked their listeners to call in and tell them about the greatest gift that they had ever received for Christmas. The callers reminisced on their childhood and mentioned bicycles, trains sets, dolls, basket balls, footballs, baseball gloves, engagement rings, cars, etc. Others were more sentimental, they mentioned receiving a favorite pet, children being born, or soldiers returning home from war.
You can probably remember certain gifts that you received that were a little more special than the rest. But without a doubt, the greatest gift that any of us could ever receive is salvation through Jesus Christ.
God has provided us with a gift that is beyond compare. In Philippians 2:5-11 Paul reveals many reasons why the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ is far above anything else one could ever receive. I would like to examine this passage and consider “Jesus: Our Greatest Gift”
It is important for us to comprehend the reality that God planned the birth of our Savior before the world was ever created. His plan is fascinating, it is comforting, and it is a plan that provides us with great hope and assurance. I would like to begin in verses 6-11 and see that:
I. OUR GREATEST GIFT INVOLVES A PERFECT PLAN v6-11
God's plan for saving lost mankind was not an afterthought. The Father did not have to quickly devise a plan of redemption when Adam sinned. God knew before He created Adam and Eve that they would fall into sin. Thankfully for us, God's plan of salvation was (and is) an eternal plan. In Revelation 13:8 Jesus is described as, “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world".
God declared that those who would be saved would be saved through His Son, Jesus Christ. There never has been, nor will there ever be any other means of salvation. In the beginning God created a perfect world. In time, Adam & Eve sinned in the Garden and their sin has been passed down to you and me. Paul said in Romans 5:12, “…by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
One of the many devastating consequences of sin is that man was separated from God. God is holy, righteous, & just and His holiness requires punishment and atonement for sin. Sinful mankind was in desperate need of a perfect, spotless, sinless sacrifice. The only one worthy and able to make such an atonement on our behalf was the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
For thousands of years the prophets proclaimed that a Messiah would arrive to deliver men from their sins. In accordance with God’s divine timeline, a young virgin named Mary gave birth to His Son in a little town called Bethlehem. In His incarnation, Jesus came to fulfill God's perfect plan. This glorious birth that we celebrate each year eventually led to a cruel cross and then an empty tomb, and it all started with a perfect plan.
- As we continue to examine this passage we will also see that:
II. OUR GREATEST GIFT INVOLVES A SUFFICIENT SAVIOR v6-7
When we read Luke’s account of the birth of Christ we see a baby wrapped tightly in swaddling cloths. But God saw a sufficient sacrifice; He saw the Savior of the world! Our selected text reveals some of the many glorious attributes of our Savior. In Philippians 2:6 Paul references:
A. JESUS’ DEITY
"(Jesus) Who, being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant”
Jesus Christ is God! He is infinite, eternal and unchanging. Jesus was God before He came into this world and Jesus was God throughout His time here. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, God literally and physically came into this world and dwelt among men.
- In verses 6-7 we also see:
B. JESUS’ HUMILITY
The simple definition of humility is “the state of being humble”. There is no greater example of this in history than the fact that Jesus humbled Himself and became a man. When Jesus came into this world, He "took upon Him the form of a servant".
When Jesus walked the earth, there was no halo around His head, He did not have a glowing countenance that would have caused Him to stand out from the crowd. To the common Jew who passed Him on the street Jesus would have looked just like any of the Disciples who followed Him. This is actually something that Isaiah prophesied about long before Jesus’ arrival. Isaiah 53:2 says, “He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him”.
The God of the Universe humbled Himself and took on the form of a servant. Though He was God, Jesus sacrificed his privileges in order to make a way for us to be redeemed.
- The scriptures also have much to say about:
C. JESUS’ NATIVITY
v7 (He) was made in the likeness of men"
When the time came for the Redeemer to come into the world, God sent the angel Gabriel to confront a virgin named Mary. (Luke 1:30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”)
Ceasar Agustus sent out a decree that “all the world should be registered”. Mary and Joseph traveled Bethlehem to obey this decree and while there, Mary gave birth to Jesus. (Luke 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.)
It was at this moment in history that God became a man. This leads us to another attribute of our Savior. Let’s take a moment and consider:
D. JESUS’ HUMANITY
“(He) was made in the likeness of men"
In the beginning God made man in His image (Genesis 1:26). When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, God made Himself in man’s image. Though He was God, Jesus was born as a man, lived as a man, suffered as a man, and died as a man. Our Lord experienced pain and comfort, He experienced grief and joy, He experienced loneliness and friendship, He experienced peace and turmoil; He laughed and He cried. Jesus was God and Jesus was man! This is a supernatural work that is difficult to comprehend, but it is true, nonetheless.
Not only did Jesus take on a robe of human flesh, in due time that earthly body faced great agony and pain. This leads us to the next truth that we will consider and that is the fact that:
III. OUR GREATEST GIFT INVOLVES A CRUEL CROSS
v8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Though He was God, Jesus willingly became obedient unto death. The "resurrection and the Life" humbled Himself unto death. Jesus went to the cruel cross of Calvary and died for our sins. Paul says Jesus "became obedient unto death... even the death of the cross."
Jesus Christ stood before Pilot and was condemned to die. He was brutally beaten & scourged. He ascended a hill called Golgotha carrying a wooden Cross. Once there He was stripped of His clothes, the soldiers cast lots for His vesture and after this they covered Jesus with a scarlet robe. They violently shoved a crown of thorns into His brow. They placed a reed in his right hand and then mockingly bowed before him saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They drove long spikes through His precious hands and feet securing Him to the cross. The chief priests mocked him, the crowd ridiculed Him and the soldiers blasphemed His name. For six hours Jesus hung on the cross suffering for our sins. Then, when all things were accomplished, He cried "It is finished"! Following this He bowed His head and yielded up His spirit.
When we think of events that took place in that stable in Bethlehem we often see in our mind’s eye a precious Baby in a manger. Though that is part of the story, never lose sight of the fact that even before He was born, God saw His Son on the cruel cross of Calvary.
As Christians we are certain that God sent His Son into the world. We know that it was the Father who placed His Son into the hands of Joseph and Mary as a baby. However, we must also remember that it was God the Father who put His only begotten Son on the cross so that we could be redeemed.
We who are in Christ have ample reason to celebrate this Christmas. We can rejoice in the perfect plan, the sufficient Savior, and even the cruel cross. This is because we have received an outstanding opportunity to receive salvation through Jesus Christ. In conclusion, I would like for us to consider the reality that:
IV. OUR GREATEST GIFT INVOLVES AN OUTSTANDING OPPORTUNITY
There is a reason for God's plan of salvation. There is a reason for Jesus' humble sacrifice. There is a reason for the cruel Cross. We are the reason that He came, lived, died and rose again!
Jesus came so that we could be reconciled to God and adopted into His family. That is a outstanding opportunity and it is one that is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ. In Philippians 2:9-11 Paul declares that Jesus Christ is the Sovereign Lord:
“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so 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”.
You have the outstanding opportunity to bow and confess that Jesus is Lord and receive everlasting life. I encourage you to humble yourself at the feet of Jesus, call upon His name, and surrender to Him as your Savior and Lord. The Bible declares that if you will do this, you WILL be saved. (“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” - Romans 10:13)
You have the opportunity to receive the greatest gift of all time this Christmas. In fact, you don't have to wait until Wednesday, you can receive eternal life right here, right now.
I am sure that there are some in attendance today who have rejected God’s offer of salvation time and time again. There may even be some who profess to not believe in Him at all. There will be a day when you will stand before Him in Judgment and you will humbly bow before Him and confess that He is Lord! Tragically, When that day comes it will be too late. I invite and encourage you to surrender to Him while there is time. Come and receive “Jesus: Our Greatest Gift”.
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