Introduction:
A. A tv show I enjoyed watching in the seventies and eighties was the sitcom called The Jeffersons.
1. The show featured an African American family who became wealthy and moved out of a run-down area in Queens to a luxury apartment in Manhattan.
2. The theme song for the show was a catchy tune that included the words “movin’ on up,” and went like this: “Well we're movin on up, To the east side. To a deluxe apartment in the sky. Movin on up, To the east side. We finally got a piece of the pie.”
B. Whenever we speak of advancement or promotion, we tend to think of it as upward motion—climbing the ladder, breaking the glass ceiling, getting on top of the heap, upgrading, elevating, etc.— but nothing says it better than “movin’ on up.”
1. “Up” is the direction everyone wants to go, for the path upward seems to be the path to fame, fortune, honor, and glory.
2. But isn’t it interesting that many of earth’s most precious substances can be acquired only by digging deep down?
3. The person who is willing to go very low could become very wealthy.
4. Engineers also understand that if they want to raise a tall building, first they need to go low and lay a deep foundation.
C. The same is true with spiritual promotion – the way up is down.
1. Jesus said, “He who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).
2. The low path of humility is the only way to promotion with God.
3. D.L. Moody said it well, when he said, “The beginning of greatness is to be little, the increase of greatness is to be less, and the perfection of greatness is to be nothing.”
D. This is the message that Paul communicated to the Philippians in chapter 2 of his little letter.
1. Today, as we look at Philippians 2:5-11, we come to one of the greatest and most moving passages ever written about Jesus.
a. Some believe these verses were an early Christian hymn.
2. I am almost breathless before such a passage and I tremble at the thought of commenting on it for fear that I will say too much or too little and detract from the truth and power of this passage.
3. As we will see, these verses trace the life of Jesus from eternity past, through his birth, death, resurrection and ascension.
4. This is Paul’s theology about Jesus, and yet Paul did not share it with the Philippians for intellectual or systematic reasons.
5. Rather, Paul shared these truths about Jesus so that the Philippians could practically apply these truths to their lives and to the problems in the Philippian church.
6. As we saw in our sermon last week, Paul was pleading with the Philippians to live in unity and harmony with each other.
7. Paul challenged them to shed their personal ambitions and to put the needs of others ahead of their own.
8. And to give his plea the greatest motivation of all, Paul turned to the example of Jesus and challenged the Philippians to be like Jesus.
9. And what we will learn from today’s lesson is that the way up is down and when we follow the example of Jesus it not only leads to a blessing for others, it is the way to be blessed by God.
10. Let’s notice Jesus’ path to God’s blessing.
I. The Position Jesus Held (2:5-6)
A. Paul wrote: 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped (Phil. 2:5-6).
1. This passage clearly states that Jesus was co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father.
2. The phrase “being in very nature” or “form” means “the real essence of a thing.”
3. The phrase means that whatever it takes to make God God, Jesus possessed that same essence.
4. Whatever you can say about God, you can also say about Jesus.
5. Jesus was all that God is and possessed all that God had – He was and is 100% God.
B. Jesus was truly “equal” with God, which makes the next statement all the more remarkable – Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.
1. Jesus did not consider his position as something to be clutched and selfishly held on to.
2. Jesus was willing to let go of his position – to lay it aside.
3. There was no compulsion, no argument, no pleading with His Father to send someone else.
4. Rather, Jesus voluntarily traveled the distance between heaven and the bloody cross.
II. The Position Jesus Took (2:7-8)
A. Paul wrote: 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! (Phil. 2:7-8)
1. Theologians call this the “Incarnation” – God’s coming to earth in human flesh.
B. Paul used five phrases to tell us what Jesus did.
1 First, “he made himself nothing.”
a. Some translations say, “He emptied himself.”
b. In contemporary terms, we might say that Jesus “became a nobody.”
c. When Jesus came to earth, he laid aside his “divine insignia.”
d. It would be like a general taking off his uniform and walking the streets in civilian clothes.
1. Is he still a general? Yes. Is he in uniform? No.
e. Christ came wearing the uniform of a common man while continuing to be in person God himself.
f. Jesus didn’t cease to be God when He became a man – He was truly the God-man, fully human and fully divine.
2. Second, we are told He took “the very nature of a servant.”
a. Jesus entered humanity at the lowest level – as a humble slave.
b. Notice that he took the nature or form of a servant – He didn’t just appear as a servant, he actually took on himself all that a servant is and does.
c. Jesus didn’t stop being God when he became a servant.
d. He simply put on servanthood without putting off Godhood.
e. Overall, we see that Jesus’ ministry was one of serving rather than being served.
3. Third, we are told He was “made in human likeness.”
a. The word “likeness” suggests that to all outward appearances He was merely a man, but in reality He was more than just a man.
b. He was God in human flesh.
4. Fourth, we are told He was “found in appearance as a man.”
a. If you had seen Jesus in the first century, you wouldn’t have said, “Look, there goes God in the flesh.”
b. Jesus didn’t look any different from anyone else – He looked just like any man.
c. Hundreds of years before Jesus came to earth, Isaiah wrote this about Him: He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. (Isaiah 53:2b)
d. Jesus appeared as a man and not an especially attractive or unique man – the rest of His identity was hidden from view.
C. The last description of the position He took is the crowning example of His humility, servitude and obedience – He allowed Himself to be crucified.
1. The death of Jesus on the cross not only involved intense suffering, but it also involved intense shame.
2. We’ve forgotten what crucifixion was like in the first century.
a. It was a punishment so barbaric that the Romans reserved it for the very worst criminals.
b. No Roman citizen could be crucified except by direct order of the emperor.
c. To the Jews it was the worst possible fate a person could experience – Deut. 21:23 pronounced a curse upon anyone who is hung on a tree (see also Gal. 3:13).
d. In Roman society, the word “cross” was an obscenity you would not mention in polite company.
3. Over the past 2000 years, the cross has become sanitized and domesticated in our minds.
a. We gold plate it and wear it around our necks.
b. We put it on earrings and on our stationaries and tattoo it on our bodies.
c. We hang ornate crosses in our sanctuaries and on steeples.
d. By doing these things, I know that we mean to honor the cross and commit ourselves to be people of Christ who follow the cross.
e. But, unfortunately, I’m afraid that the shock, scandal,l and horror of the cross may be lost to us in the process.
f. The cross was an instrument of suffering and death.
g. A modern counterpart would be like wearing a gold plated noose or electric chair on a chain around our necks.
4. We must feel the impact of Paul’s point – God Himself came to earth in the form of a man and willingly suffered and allowed Himself to be executed on a cross.
a. Why did He do it? Did He do it because He needed it for Himself?
b. No, Jesus was divinely perfect and innocent, so He did not die for Himself and His needs, rather He died for us to save us and to meet our needs.
c. Back to Isaiah 53, Isaiah wrote: But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
d. Jesus served us by taking our place and receiving our punishment!
D. In Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities, he tells of a man named Evremonde (Ev-re-mond), who was scheduled to die by guillotine the next day.
1. A man named Carton, slipped into the jail to help Evremonde escape.
2. Carton convinced Evremonde to allow him to take his place and be executed the next morning.
3. Dickens put these last words in Carton’s mouth: “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done.”
4. Likewise, Jesus’ death on the cross for us is the very best thing He ever did for us.
5. Jesus slipped into our prison, let us go, and then died in our place.
6. But Jesus’ death on the cross was not the end of His story.
III. The Position Jesus Received (2:9-11)
A. Paul reached a crescendo in these final verses about Jesus: 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9-11).
1. Jesus’ exaltation began with His resurrection.
2. When men buried the body of Jesus, that was the last thing any human hands did to Him.
3. From that point on, it was God who worked.
4. Men had done their very worst to the Savior, but God exalted Him and honored Him.
5. Jesus arose from the dead and returned in victory to heaven, ascending to the Father’s throne.
B. Jesus’ exaltation included sovereign authority over all creatures in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.
1. Every person and every creature will bow down to Jesus and confess that He is Lord.
2. Those who bow down to Him and confess His lordship and live for Him during this life, will receive salvation and eternal life.
3. But those who will not bow down to Him and confess His lordship during this life, will bow down before Him at the judgment, but that will be too late to save them.
4. We must fix this truth clearly in our minds: Jesus will have the last word.
5. Jesus will be vindicated before the entire universe.
6. In the end, no opposition will stand against Him, even His enemies will bow before Him.
7. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess – that includes your knees and your tongue, and mine.
8. Our only two choices are these:
a. Either we confess Him and bow to Him now and receive the joy of our Lord and Savior.
b. Or we refuse to confess and bow to Him now, but we will be forced to do so later as we are condemned and sent from the presence of God and from eternal life.
C. But notice the final purpose of Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection and exaltation – it is all for the glory of God.
1. Jesus prayed these words in the garden before His death: “Father, the hour has come; glorify your son, that your son may glorify you.” (John 17:1)
2. And notice the last sentence of today’s passage: “every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:11)
3. Jesus did not seek glory for Himself, but only wanted to glorify His Father – we should do the same.
D. And so we come to the end of this passage, and as we do so, we have come full-circle.
1. Jesus began in a glorified position in heaven, equal with the Father, but He gave up that position, and came to earth to serve us, but then God exalted Him back to His original position.
2. C.S. Lewis put it this way: “In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend. He comes down…down to the very roots and sea-bed of the Nature He has created. But He goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with Him.” (Miracles, C.S. Lewis)
Conclusion:
A. What we learn from Jesus is to have the right attitudes toward God the Father and toward the needs of others.
1. We learn that the way up is down – the path to reward and glory is the way of humility and self-sacrifice.
2. Jesus taught this in Mark 10:42-45: Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
3. On another occasion, Jesus taught: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” (John 12:24-26)
a. Did you catch what Jesus said?
b. Jesus said that the only way to love and to save our lives is to lose and give them.
c. But the person who humbly serves and follows Jesus will be honored by God.
d. When we have the attitude of Jesus and put His attitude into action, then we are blessed by God.
B. Being a humble servant like Jesus was a humble servant is the only way to greatness and blessing.
1. But just like we talked about last week, pride and selfishness can get in the way and bring destruction to unity and harmony in our families, our church and our world.
2. But when we are humble servants, like Jesus, our relationships are much more successful and satisfying.
C. Let me end with this story that reminds us that no matter how good, respected or successful we become, we must remain humble and allow God to bless and reward us.
1. Tom Brokaw is one of the most famous and successful news anchormen of all time.
a. He is retired now, but he remains well known.
2. Brokaw tells the story of something that happened just after he had been promoted to be the co-host of “The Today Show,” NBC’s morning news show.
a. Brokaw thought he had reached the pinnacle of success and was feeling pretty good about himself.
b. He had paid his dues doing TV news in remote places like Nebraska, and now he was on national TV in NYC!
3. One day when he was in a store, he noticed that a man kept watching him.
a. Brokaw thought to himself, “Well, that’s the price you pay for celebrity.”
b. Finally, the man who had been staring at him came over and said, “You’re Tom Brokaw, aren’t you?”
c. Brokaw smiled, stood a little straighter and answered, “Yes, that’s right.”
4. The man asked, “You used to do the morning news back on KMTV in Omaha, Nebraska, didn’t you?”
a. Brokaw really enjoying the notoriety said, “Yes, you’re right again.”
b. The man said, “I would have spotted you anywhere, man!”
5. Then the man got a puzzled look on his face and said, “Anyhow, what ever happened to you after Omaha?”
D. The apostle Peter offers us this important warning: “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ ” (1 Pet. 5:5)
1. The way up is down – we need to be humble toward both God and others.
2. Let’s follow the example of Jesus through humble service.
3. When we do, we will experience peace with God and harmony with others.
4. And we will be “moving on up” in all the right ways.
Resources:
“Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up?” Sermon by Ray Pritchard, http://www.keepbelieving.com
