BIG IDEA:
THE PATTERN FOR BOTH HUMBLING OURSELVES AND BEING
EXALTED BY GOD IS JESUS CHRIST
1 Peter 5:6 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time."
Otherwise, if we try to exalt ourselves, God must come along and humble us.
Remember the Greek people were a proud people and the Jews were filled with nationalistic pride.
Gromacki: "Paradoxically, he illustrated exhortation with doctrine, whereas most preachers try to make their doctrinal sermons practical."
I. THE PATTERN FOR HUMBLING OURSELVES IS JESUS CHRIST (:5-8)
A. Humbling in Mind -- Christ’s Mindset Chose Service to Others Over Personal Rights (:5-7)
1. We must keep on thinking like Christ
"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus."
speaking of that inner disposition to seek the prosperity of others
2. We cannot hold on to our personal rights
"who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped"
Jesus’ existence did not begin in the manger in Bethlehem or even in the womb of Mary.
Pentecost: "If these Greeks should think they have a superior vantage point, how much superior was the vantage point of the Son of God, for He was not the most exalted among men, He was the eternal Son of the eternal God. If any had a right to consider Himself, a right to express His own rights, it was Jesus Christ."
Wycliffe: "Though in His pre-incarnate state he possessed the.essential qualities of God, he did not consider his status of divine equality a prize to be selfishly hoarded"
morphe, form, in verses 6 and 7 denotes a permanent expression of essential attributes, while schema, fashion (v8), refers to outward appearance that is subject to change
Our Lord was in the form of God. Thus the outward expression of His inmost being was as to its nature the expression of the divine essence of Deity.
context is speaking of the outward expression (not the inward possession) of the divine attributes
3. We must empty ourselves in order to serve others (seek their prosperity and welfare above his own personal interests)
"but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men."
Christ did not empty himself of His Deity, but of the rights and privileges and full manifestation of that Deity
Wycliffe: "unlike the first Adam, who made a frantic attempt to seize equality with God (Gen 3:5), Jesus, the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:47), humbled himself and obediently accepted the role of the Suffering Servant"
Active process of humbling himself began with the Incarnation but extended much further
Gromacki: "Christ surrendered the independent exercise of His divine attributes. In the incarnation, he yielded His will to that of the Father. He was God
manifest in the flesh. Therefore He possessed the attributes, but He used them only under the control of the Holy Spirit and within the will of the Father for His earthly life."
B. Humbling in Action -- Christ’s Obedience Was Absolute and Humiliating (:8)
1. The mindset must be accompanied by the action
a. the mindset -- "having been found in likeness as a man"
b. the action -- "He humbled Himself "
the word means "to make or bring low"
2. Christ’s obedience was Absolute -- "unto death"
"up to the point of" -- not obedient to death, for He remained the Master of all and willingly yielded up His spirit substitutionary atonement for sin
3. Christ’s obedience was Humiliating -- "even the death of the cross"
II. THE PATTERN FOR BEING EXALTED BY GOD IS JESUS CHRIST (:9-11)
A. God has Exalted Christ to the Position of Absolute Supremacy (:9)
"Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name"
B. The Lordship of Jesus Christ Will Ultimately Be Recognized by Universal Submission to the Glory of God (:10-11)
(cf. Is. 45:23)
Wycliffe: the totality of created rational beings will pay due homage.
1. Bowing Down in Worship
"that at the name of Jesus eveery knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth"
2. Confession of Lordship
"and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father"
Application: if each one would set aside self in the same way and humble himself, the church would achieve true unity and be effective in its proclamation of the gospel
* * * * * * * * * *
DEVOTIONAL QUESTIONS:
1) What are some specific examples from your chronicles of your own church interaction where a larger dose of humility and the mind of Christ could have helped to smooth over some rough times?
2) In what ways can we empty ourselves and take on the task of being a servant to others in the church?.3) In what way is the "name of Jesus" exalted above every other name? How is the common use of the Lord’s name in vain especially distressing?
4) How am I living in such a way that my life is professing the Lordship of Jesus Christ?
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