Jesus' Humility - 4th in Philippians Series

Philippians 2:5-11 (NKJV)

[5] Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, [6] who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, [7] but made Himself of no reputation taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. [8] 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. [9] Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, [10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The wonderful nature of Christ Jesus must be at the root of all we do. Paul was instructing the church at Philippi to live in unity. He interrupts this concern with the significance of Jesus – that He came in humility as both fully God and fully man. God could have come in the fullness of His power. He can destroy the world and conquer kingdoms, yet Jesus chose to enter the world in all humility. Through His humility, He then has all authority and power. By being both fully man and fully God, Jesus can relate to us. He is Immanuel which means God with us.

By coming as a servant, Jesus fulfilled prophecies. Everything that happened was the intricate plan of God. Indeed, He had the power to call down angels from heaven to rescue Him. This could have made both his accusers and the Romans believe that Jesus truly was the Messiah. Still, Jesus knew that this was not the perfect will of God. Without His spotless sacrifice, our sins wouldn’t be paid for. Glory to God! The Prince of Heaven chose to surrender His throne for a moment and be obedient all the way to death for our sake.

This mysterious working of Jesus creates a wondrous power in His name. God exalted Jesus. Before this, all spiritual things had to be done through the priest. Now, all authority has been placed in Jesus. At His name, all authority resides. We must recognize this power. The awesome authority of Jesus Christ must be the focus of our lives. It has the power to change our lives. I believe that as we strive to integrate this realization into our daily lives we can, in turn, become even more like Christ. Instilling wonder into our actions can create a humility that we must have to be like Jesus.