The Ultimate Example

THE ULTIMATE EXAMPLE

PHILIPPIANS 2:8-9

02/11/95

The following is a true story. I won’t use names because I want to protect the guilty. So that you don’t try to guess most of you do not know this person.

This person was driving home one night. The weather was rather nasty. The rain was coming down very hard and it was very difficult to see. Seeing tail lights ahead of her she followed the car in front. Not being able to see the car in front seemed to be going the right direction. So she stuck with it.

All of sudden the car in front of her came to stop. She began wonder what had happened, perhaps the car in front had it a deer or some thing like that. She began to feel uncomfortable, thinking being stopped in the middle of the road can often times lead to accidents.

Much to her alarm the car in front of her turned off their lights. Her concern was perhaps now turned to anger. Now, knowing this lady as I do I am sure that she had more then one word for this person who had stopped in front of her, words that we are not to use in church under any circumstances. Why was this person stopping in the middle of the road and then turning off their lights.

She was then startled by a knocking on her window. She looked up and there was a man standing in the pouring rain wanting to speak to her. She cracked the window open and asked the man what the problem was. The man replied by stating that that was the question he was going to ask her. She retorted that she was not the one who had stopped in the middle on the road and then turned off the lights. The mans reply was that they were not in the road but in his driveway.

From this story we can see that this woman had chosen the wrong example to follow. She had chosen an example that would not take to where she wanted to go. Many times in life we too are faced with storms and trials and it can be hard to see that road ahead. It is at this time that we need to follow an example of one who can guide us. One who can get us to where we want to go.

May I suggest that the example we all need to follow is of course that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Today we are going to be looking at Philippians 2:6-8. This happens to be one of my favorite portions of Scripture, along with verse 10-11. I think it is also one of the most beautiful verse which describes what that Lord Jesus, did for us, and also who exactly He is. I am going to include verse 5 so that we get the context of the verse.

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."

The week before last we looked at those things in our lives which will bring about unity in believers. Last week we looked at the mind which the believer should have, the mind of Christ. Now what Paul commanded us in words in the first four verses of chapter 2, he now shows by example. That example being found in Christ.

spoke of the three graces which are to work in us, Oneness, as seen in verse 2, we see oneness in Christ as he was one with the Father. We spoke of lowliness as seen in verse 3, today we will look at the lowliness of Christ, and the great example of his humility. And lastly we spoke of helpfulness, as seen in verse 4. We will see today the helpfulness of Christ as be became a servant.

he first thing we see in this passage is the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Now the word incarnation refers to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ, who was God took on the form of the man. In the incarnation of Christ we see the greatest example of humility ever given to man. The humbleness Paul commands in verse 3, he shows be example here.

Something we need to make note of concerning the incarnation in verse 6. The verse states that Christ was in the "form of God". Now what does form of God mean? It means he had the same attributes as God, the same nature as God. It means that Jesus was deity!