Downward Leads to Upward
(Philippians 2:5-11)
1. Most of us have heard of Reverse Psychology….
Tom LaForce describes it:
“When using reverse psychology, you ask for or do the opposite of what you want and through the magic of human nature, you end up with what you really wanted.”
2. There is a lot of reverse psychology in the Bible:
“He who finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it.”
“ Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
Matthew 23:12, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
3. With God’s reverse psychology, the way up is down; the way to be first is the last; the way to be wise is to forsake the world’s wisdom.
4. It really is in our best interest to be humble: arrogance, and it’s cousin, stubbornness, are destructive forces:
In the summer of 1986, two ships collided in the Black Sea off the coast of Russia. Hundreds of passengers died as they were hurled into the icy waters below. News of the disaster was further darkened when an investigation revealed the cause of the accident. It wasn’t a technology problem like radar malfunction--or even thick fog. The cause was human stubbornness. Each captain was aware of the other ship’s presence nearby. Both could have steered clear, but according to news reports, neither captain wanted to give way to the other. Each was too proud to yield first. By the time they came to their senses, it was too late. Closer Walk, December, 1991.
3. The text before us describes the opposite of pride, the great humility of Jesus Christ our Lord. Because of its poetic style, some commentators have thought these words part of an early hymn that was circulating throughout the churches, and that Paul is here affirming the truth of that hymn. Others think Paul is simply writing eloquently, as he did in I Corinthians 13. Whatever the source, Paul’s seal upon it means it is true.
MAIN IDEA: If you want God to exalt you, you must humble yourself. But what does humility look like? Jesus’ example demonstrates humility to an infinite degree. Although we could not possibly be as humble as Christ was, we can be humble to a lesser degree.
I. A Humble Person Does Not Pull RANK (5-6a)
A. If you have NOTHING to give up, it should be EASIER to be humble
He’s quite humble--but he’s got a lot to be humble about.
• But not always: sometimes people have an inflated picture of themselves:
The little boy was innocently talking to the arrogant pastor. "Today my dad taught me all about Babylon."
Really? replied the pastor. And how did he explain Babylon?
He said, "Babylon is what our pastor does ever Sunday morning."
B. We will never be called to GIVE UP as much as Christ gave
• we do not have as much to give up as He had
---Christ was “in the form of God"--- explain His pre-existence
• we will never be as low as He was
• Christ became our CURSE; we can never get that low….
C. Yet Paul tells us to let the attitude of Christ, His mind, characterize us. According to 1 Corinthians 2:16, “we have the mind of Christ.” But we need to let this mind control us.
• Part of us longs for the freedom to do this; we have inhibitions from our upbringing, our society, even perhaps fellow Christians
• When Boone & Julie left the boat shop; when Matt and Janet left Delco…
If you want God to exalt you, you must humble yourself.
II. A Humble Person Does Not GRASP (6b)
A. The idea of grasping implies clinging to SECURITY
1. The Son had equality with the Father---has always had; He did not have to grasp for it because He had it;
2. But He did not hang onto that status of equality; although He did not cease being God when He became man, He submitted Himself to the Father; the Father became functionally superior. He worked His miracles with the Father’s permission and with the Holy Spirit’s power…
3. 2 Cor. 8:9, Paul wrote, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
B. We may work hard to gain POSITION, but it should not go to our HEADS
C. Worldly people find security in what they OWN; Godly people find security in CHRIST.
If you want God to exalt you, you must humble yourself.
III. A Humble Person CHOOSES to Humble Himself (7-8)
A. Christ EMPTIED Himself
• The Greek word kenosis, made Himself of no reputation
• The emptying was not Him being less than God; it is, rather, the emptying of position….from reigning on the throne to that of being a servant ; He emptied Himself of His glory.
• In John 17:5, Jesus is praying to the Father, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
• Likeness of a man meant that He was like us…He resembled us because He was one of us…His deity was not turned into humanity, but humanity was added to His deity….
B. Christ HUMBLED Himself
1. But why did Christ empty and humble Himself?
2. At least two reasons reflect others-centeredness: to glorify God and because of His love for us
3. Not only did He become a lowly man, but He died a lowly and shameful death…the death of the cross…
• This was the ultimate test of obedience and humility
• “Only a divine being can accept death as obedience; for ordinary men it is a necessity!" R.P. Martin
• There was no limit as to what God would do to redeem us
• God’s power is seen in the humble service of the cross, not merely the glories of the resurrection
• Paul tells us, “When I am weak, then I am strong.”
4. “The ancient Greeks considered lowliness of mind to be a fault, not a virtue. "The pagan and the secular idea of manhood is self-assertiveness, imposing one’s will on others; when anyone stooped to others he did so only under compulsion, hence his action was ignominious [disgraceful]. The Christian ethical idea of humility could not be reached by the secular mind; it lacked the spiritual soil." (Lenski)
C. Have you notice that the Bible commands us to humble OURSELVES?
1. Matthew 23:12 says, "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
2. James 4:6:, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
3. I Peter 5:6 reads, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time…"
4. When we confess our sins, that keeps us humble; when we compare ourselves to God, that keeps us humble; when we compare ourselves to others, that makes us arrogant...
5. So humility is a choice; a chosen way to think; absorbed with self & own world or share that world with others; compete with others or enjoy others.
D. Humility actually promotes a good self-esteem. Interestingly, people who serve others and socialize have higher esteem than those who isolate themselves and mope over their low self-esteem
If you want God to exalt you, you must humble yourself.
IV. A Humble Person Does Not Sing His Own PRAISES (9-11)
A. The Father exalted the Son
1. This portion is based on Isaiah 45:23: “I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath.”
2. Some will bow in joyful worship; others, painful constraint, but all will bow
B. The nature of the TRINITY: One person glorifies the OTHERS.
1. The Son of God ends up being glorified further than He was before His humbling Himself.
2. He now has a spiritual family He has redeemed who will be His special companions forever, who will love Him in a way they could not have loved Him had they not experienced redemption
C. For the believer, humility is a TEMPORARY state; for the lost it is a PERMANENT condition
1. That’s the irony: the arrogant now will be humiliated in eternity
2. Those who humble themselves before Christ and cast their lost condition upon Him will be exalted for eternity. But among this second category, those who continue to humble themselves will be rewarded in a greater way than fellow believers who live for themselves alone.
If you want God to exalt you, you must humble yourself.
CONCLUSION
1. Humility, Rick Warren reminds us, is “not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.” (Jim Kane)
2. We are all very special, but none of us are so special that we are above humanity:
During the days when Mohammed Ali was a great boxer, he would go around in his arrogance and say that, "He was the greatest." Humility was never his strong suit. One day, back in his prime, he was on an airplane and the plane was ready to take off and the flight attendant had repeatedly told him to put on his seat belt. He finally told her, "I’m superman and superman don’t need no seatbelt." The flight attendant didn’t hesitate a minute but shot back with, "Superman don’t need no airplane either, now buckle up."
3. If you want God to exalt you, you must humble yourself.
