Who is the Christ of Christmas?
The Humble Servant
Philippians 2.5-11
If God were to come to earth, how would He appear?
- Would God be a great king who would rule and reign over the earth?
- Would He be a powerful military captain who would overthrow nations?
- Or perhaps a world renown doctor who would heal the world’s diseases
- Perhaps a political leader who would establish world peace.
- Or maybe God would be some type of religious guru who would spend His days doing good and being a positive influence on society.
If God were to come to earth, how would you picture Him?
- A stern judge; a loving father; a powerful monarch; a great teacher; a moral example; a positive influence?
No doubt in our human understanding of things, we would think that if God were to come to earth, He would definitely make himself known. People would know who He is and why He has come. If God were to come to earth, surely all of the world would sit up and take notice.
Or perhaps God would not come to earth. For the Deist, God exists beyond and apart from the earth, but not in it. God serves as some type of “absent landlord.” He is absolutely transcendent. We do not bother Him; and He does not bother us.
For the new-age, Shirley McClain pantheist, God is the world and the world is God. They are one and the same. “Each soul is its own God. You must never worship anyone or anything other than self. For you are God. To love self is to love God” (Shirley McClain, Dancing in the Light).
Or perhaps like the Platonic philosophers of old, the world of the gods is separate and distinct from the world of man. God is some type of backstage puppet-master who plays with the actors on the stage. The only time God would come to earth would be to entertain his fanciful desires or to aid some soul in distress.
Or maybe like many modern process and openness thinkers, God is in full cooperation with the world. As the world changes (as people make decisions), God changes. God simply does the best He can do and leaves the rest to us.
So many would suggest that God does not intervene with the earth. He would not come to earth. But what if He did? What if God came to earth? What if we were able to get a glimpse of God on earth? What form would God take? How would God appear to His creation?
This question is what Christmas is all about -- God’s appearance to humanity; God becoming one of us. The Christmas story is about God revealing Himself to us in the form of a man. The truth of Christmas is that God invaded His world. He intervened. He displayed Himself to us. The Transcendent became imminent. The spiritual became material. Deity was displayed. God became flesh.
The previous two weeks, we have examined the question, “Who is the Christ of Christmas?” In attempting to answer this question, we have looked at the Christ of Christmas as: the Preeminent Lord (Col. 1.15-20) and God’s Supreme Revelation (Heb. 1.1-3). In each of these texts, we have been reminded that the Christ of Christmas is God Himself. He is the Creator and Sustainer of the world. He is the One who has existed eternally, God Almighty.
Today, we see a slightly different picture of the Christ of Christmas. In our text today, we focus on the Incarnation. We focus more upon the fact that the Son of God became one of us. He humbled himself and became a human, but not just a human (we have seen that in previous weeks), but He humbled himself and became a servant. Today we see the Christ of Christmas as the Humble Servant.
In the context of our passage, the apostle Paul is encouraging his readers to be like Christ, to have the mind of Christ. And in this challenge to Christ-likeness, we find one of the great christological statements of the NT. Paul’s challenge is that we can be like Christ b/c He became one of us. He revealed God to us. B/c Christ became one of us, we can imitate Him.
From these verses, we learn that the Christ of Christmas is the Humble Servant. We learn how God displayed Himself to the world. We see Deity displayed. How?
I. Deity is displayed in the humiliation of Christ the Servant (6-8).
In vv. 6-8, Paul establishes three truths that reveal Christ’s purpose for coming to this earth.
A. Christ is fully God (6).
In v.6, Paul affirms that Jesus Christ is continually in the form of God and equal with God. Notice some of the key words in this verse:
• “being” (continual participle): He is continually/constantly what God is. The Son of God was, is, and always will be what God is. He is always God.
When Jesus became a man, He did not cease to be God. He was as much God on this earth as He was when He created the worlds. The Babe of Bethlehem in the Creator God of the earth.
* Mary did you know, when you kiss the face of Jesus, you kiss the face of God.
• “form” (morphe) of God: morphe is the expression of being that is essential to one’s nature and character. It is the outward expression of an inward reality. In other words, morphe is that which makes you, you. It is the essentials of your personhood and nature.
The point is that Jesus Christ is the outward expression of the inward essence of God. Whatever it is that makes God-God, Jesus Christ possesses it. In His very nature, person, and character, Jesus is God.
This truth reminds us that Jesus Christ will never cease to be God (part of God’s nature is that He is unchanging and eternal). What He is today, He has always been and will always be, always possessing what is required for Him to be God.
* This truth guarantees God will never turn evil. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
• “equal” with God: As a human, Jesus Christ never ceased to be equal with God. The Word of God in John 1.1-2 never ceased to be that Word. He is equal with God. The Babe of Bethlehem is the God of the universe--100% God.
So, Paul establishes the Deity of Christ.
B. Christ is fully human (7).
In v.7, Paul answers our questions, “Would God appear to us? And if so, how would He appear?”
1. He became a man. He became one of us (“coming in the likeness of man”: He became like us).
God the Son became a man. He took upon Himself human flesh. He did not subtract Deity. He simply added humanity. He became 100% human. While on earth, Jesus was 100% God and 100% man at the same time. As God He never laid aside His nature, personhood, or attributes. He had all of the power and authority of Deity, but as a man, he had to be nursed, he cried, and he grew hungry.
This is the great mystery of the Incarnation / Christmas: How could Jesus be both God and man at the same time? How could God the Son become one of us and yet maintain His divine nature and attributes? How could God become dependent on man?
Here is how Augustine expressed the paradox:
Man’s maker was made man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witnesses, the Teacher beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.
Hence we discover that when God appeared on earth, He took the form of His creation. The Son of God became the God-man. The Creator became the creation. He possessed both the morphe of God and the likeness of man. He was both God and man, the God-man. 2 natures; one person.
But what type of person did God become? Surely if the Son of God came to earth, he would don the flesh of royalty. Surely he would be a great king, political ruler, or some type of dignitary. What form of humanity would God adopt?
2. He became a slave.
No doubt many would have expected him to be a part of the elite of society, the upper class, a king or prince born to royal parents, yet Paul tells us that God became a servant / slave. For this reason, many rejected Him. He was not the Messiah they wanted. He was not a king but a servant.
He laid aside the glorified status of Heaven to become a slave! You see his purpose was not to be recognized or praised. He did not seek the accolades or prestige of this world. His aim was not to win the approval of others. His goals were not self-promotion or glorification. No, instead, He made Himself of no reputation and took upon Himself the form of a slave. He had a choice and He chose servant-hood.
But why? Why did God choose to become a servant? Notice a third point in Paul’s description of Christ’s humiliation. Not only does the apostle establish His deity and humanity, but ...
C. Christ was obedient (8).
The reason for the Son of God’s choice to become a servant was so that He might fulfill His ultimate calling: to die!
Paul writes that “He humbled Himself” which carries the meaning, “He emptied Himself”, but of what did He empty Himself? Already, we have affirmed that as God, Jesus could never cease to be God (even temporarily), thus He did not empty Himself of any of those characteristics that make God who He is. He did not lay aside His deity or His attributes.
What then? Of what did Jesus empty himself? You may notice in the text that the emptying is linked to the addition of humanity. Christ emptied Himself by becoming a man. Christ’s emptying was not a subtraction of His deity but an addition of His humanity. He became a man, and by becoming a man, He emptied Himself of something, but what?
By taking on the form of a man, the Son of God emptied Himself of His heavenly glory. He temporarily laid aside His glory to become one of us. He made Himself submissive/obedient to the Father. He became obedient. His purpose was to fulfill the Father’s demands. The Son of God had to become one of us in order to die for us. He had to take upon Himself human flesh in order to die in our place. To provide for the creation, the Creator had to become one of his creatures.
Not only that, but He also had to live a sinless live. He had to fulfill the law’s demands of a perfect righteousness. He had to obey God’s demands. As sinners, we have each broken God’s law, but Jesus Christ lived in perfect obedience to God’s requirements. He became obedient even unto death, and not just any death, but the death of the cross. Jesus came to do what we could not do, He became the perfect obedient sacrifice for sin.
And that is the essence of the Christmas story. God became a man for the purpose of dying. He came to die. If you see the Babe in the manger but fail to recognize the servant on the cross, you have missed the focus of the Christmas story. Christmas is about God’s invasion into the world in order to save His people from their sins. Even the angel’s announcement to Joseph that he was to name the boy Jesus reminds us that His purpose was for redemption. His name shall be called Jesus, the Lord saves, for He shall save His people from their sins.
He was born to die. And as we reflect upon His birth, we cannot overlook His death. For w/o the death of Christ, there is no Christmas. If Jesus was born in a stable, wrapped in swaddling clothes, laid in a manger, had grown up doing good, yet did not suffer on Calvary’s cross, there would be no reason for Christmas. There would be no reason to hope.
Christmas all points to Calvary. It reminds us of the babe who grew up to become the sacrifice for sins. His birth points to His sacrificial death. Thus, Deity is displayed in the humiliation of Christ the servant, but Paul continues ...
II. Deity is displayed in the exaltation of Christ the Savior (9-11).
Because Christ was obedient unto death, b/c He completed what He was called to do, Christ the Savior has been exalted by the Father.
When Christ laid aside His glory to become one of us, He did so temporarily. While His humanity is permanent, His humiliation was only temporary.
As the angelic hosts praised the Babe of Bethlehem, as the shepherds knelt in adoration, as the magi fell down and worshipped him, even so Christ will be exalted throughout eternity. Yet, the worship given to the God-child is only a glimpse of what awaits King Jesus.
Paul describes a 3-fold manner of God-ordained exaltation that has been appointed for Christ, the obedient Servant:
A. Christ has been given Him an exalted name (9).
The name of Jesus stands above every name. No matter how great the name is, no name stands above the name of Jesus.
He is: Alpha & Omega; the Beginning and the End; He is the King of kings and Lord of lords; He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; the Door; the Good Shepherd; the Vine; the Bread of Heaven; the Living Water; and the Light of the world. He is the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of peace. He is the Lamb of God; the Lilly of the valley; the Rose of Sharon, and the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is the Messiah, Immanuel, Son of God and Son of man. He is Lord, Savior, and Redeemer, the Rock of our salvation. He is the King of glory and the great I Am. He is master, ruler, and the hope of our salvation. Truly, God has given Him a name that is above every name.
- Acts 4.12: There is no other name given among men by which we must be saved.
1 Tim. 2.5: For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
His name is the only name whereby sinful persons can be made whole. It is His name that is exalted above every name.
B. Christ has been given an exalted position (10).
Paul confirms that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow. There is coming a day when not only the magi, the shepherds, and the centurion at the cross will kneel before Christ. There is coming a day when every knee shall bow before His lordship.
Many have reviled, despised, rejected, ridiculed, ignored, and overlooked Jesus, but there is coming a time when all will kneel before Him in adoration. The skeptic will bow, the atheist will bow, the agnostic will bow, the one to busy for God will bow, the unbeliever will bow. Every knee will bow in allegiance to his lordship.
While we gather around the manger at Christmas and kneel to the Christ-child, there is coming a day when Christ will stand, not as the innocent Babe of Bethlehem, but will stand as the Mighty Lord and Judge of the universe, and every knee will bow in surrender to his Lordship. Truly, God has exalted Him in adoration.
C. Christ has been given an exalted status (11).
Paul asserts that not only will every knee bow in adoration before Christ, but every tongue will confess Him as Lord. The vile mouth that cursed Him, the skeptical tongue that mocked him, the unbelieving tongue that denied Him, all will confess His Lordship. Every tongue will attest to His sovereign Lordship.
“Christ is Lord” is the quintessential, foundational phrase of Christianity. To know Christ as Savior is to confess Him as Lord.
* Christians would give their lives rather than to say “Caesar is Lord.” To do so would be to pay homage to one other than the true King Jesus Christ.
As we commemorate Christmas, we celebrate the Lordship of Christ. Yes, he is the Babe of Bethlehem, but He is also the Lord of all. See Him as the Babe but do not miss Him as Lord.
Deity is displayed as we see Him exalted as Lord.
Have you experienced the true meaning of Christmas? It is not about Santa and his reindeer, nor Frosty, nor Rudolph or the Grinch. Christmas is not about George Bailey running down the streets of Bedford Falls crying, Merry Christmas everybody. It is not about shopping, presents and family. It is really not even about giving gifts and sharing. When it comes down to the very heart, the core essence, of what Christmas is all about, it comes down to God becoming a man, not so that we can display a manger scene. Not so we can perform a pageant or cantata. Christmas is about God coming to provide life, to offer hope. God becoming one of us, to live among us, and to die on a cruel Roman cross. Christmas is about life, the eternal life that is only found in Christ Jesus, the Savior, the Servant, the Lord. Do you know Him as Lord. That is truly what Christmas is all about.
Ill. The prince and the pauper
Who is the Christ of Christmas? the Humble servant
