The Heavenly Example of Humility

Not too long after Booker T. Washington had accepted the presidency at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, a wealthy white woman saw him out walking one day. She asked if he would like to make a few extra dollars and stop and cut her some wood. Without hesitating he agreed, rolled up his sleeves and began cutting the woman some wood. He took the wood inside and stacked it neatly beside her fireplace. Shortly after that she was told who the man was who had cut the wood for her. Embarrassed, she rushed to his office at the Institute to apologize, but he assured her it was alright because every now and then he enjoys a little manual labor and he was glad to do something for a friend (http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/h/humility.htm). How refreshing it is when we can hear stories of humility. Booker T. Washington is not the only example of humility in history, as there are many others. However, Paul gives us the ultimate example of humility in Philippians 2:1-11, which reads:

"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 

Paul wanted the Philippians to display humility like that of Christ. We too should realize that humanity should heed the heavenly example of humility.

First, Paul focuses on Emulating Christ's Humility.

He begins this section with a rhetorical question: "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy" (1). If? The resounding answer to all of these questions is YES!!! There is absolutely no reason to doubt anything Paul has asked in this passage. Since there is no doubt to all of these, Paul next makes a request for unity. Same mind, same love, full accord and one mind are all aspects of unity. This is an expectation for Christians as we're all in this together as God's people in the church. If you look at the text in Eccl. 4:9-12, it is clear that Solomon understood the value of unity. Paul elsewhere describes the platform of unity in the church in Eph. 4:1-6. Unity must take place among God's people. 

Paul next addresses what it is that makes unity possible, and that is humility. Humility has a great deal to do with our view of others. Paul gives us a couple of ways to view others from a humble perspective. First, he says "count others as more significant than yourselves" (3). We ought never to think that we are better than anyone else. We could probably all find someone in this life that we are better at something than they are, such as sports, career, financial standing, but someone else could do the same thing with us. It doesn't matter who you are, there will always be somebody who's better at something than you are. If you are tempted to think that you are better than somebody else, stop and consider what I've just said. It will humble you real quick. Whereas humility will allow us to view others as more significant than ourselves, rivalry and conceit will not. We've probably all known people who have attitudes like this, and their pictures are not listed under the heading of humility in the encyclopedia.

Second, Paul says look "also to the interests of others" (4). Humility will allow us to take the focus off of ourselves and see what is of interest to others around us. Nobody likes to be around a person who talks about them self all the time. A person who mentions the names of their best friends as me, myself and I will not be interested in others. There is no place for this in the church, and Paul makes sure to let the Philippian church know they need to be looking at the interests of others instead of always focusing on themselves.

The ultimate example of humility that Paul gives as the goal is Christ. He says "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus" (5). The name Christian means Christ-like; if we're going to wear that name then we need to live up to it. There is no better example of humility for us to emulate than that of Christ Jesus. When you are tempted to consider yourself as more significant than someone else, think like Christ. When you are tempted to look to your own interests, think like Christ. We are to emulate His humility.

Second, Paul focuses on Examining Christ's Humility.

He conveys the idea of Christ's submission to the Father by saying "...though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped" (6). The word translated as form means the essence of a thing (http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/New_Testament_Greek/Text/Trench-Synonyms.pdf). In Jesus' response to Philip who wanted Jesus to show the disciples the Father, Jesus said "...Whoever has seen me has seen the Father..." (Jn. 14:9). Christ was not the same being as His Father, but he was in the form of God. They are both divine. We do see though that his divinity did not deter his destiny, for he was to submit to his father by leaving the glory and splendor of Heaven to become flesh and make his tabernacle among men (Jn. 1:14). We read nowhere of Christ hesitating to do what had to be done on our behalf; He willingly submitted to His Father.

In order to become the Savior he had to become a servant.  The word for servant used here means a slave or bond servant, even sometimes used of one who is devoted to the interest of another, putting his own interests aside (http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/doulos.html). It has also been said that it is "frequently indicating subjection without the idea of bondage" (Vine 1019). He did this by "being born in the likeness of men" (7). Christ did not immediately come down to earth in human form as an adult. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Mt. 1:20), he was born and laid in a manger (Lk. 2:7), he grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man (Lk. 2:52). What an adjustment that must have been for the Son of God to put on flesh on this earth compared to what He had in Heaven! This had to be done in order for him to be a servant, and we know this was part of his mission. "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mk. 10:45). You may even recall the scene where Jesus took up the towel after the institution of the Lord’s Supper in John 13 and provided the disciples with an example of service by washing their feet. Jesus was truly a servant.

With this in mind, he became the suffering servant, which was pictured in the book of Isaiah in chapters fifty-two and fifty-three. Perhaps the cruelest death a person could die at that time was that of crucifixion. Christ became obedient to His Father by suffering on the cruel cross of Calvary. He made it clear beforehand that no person made this happen: "For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father" (Jn. 10:17-18).

As is ably noted by my good friend and preacher, Brian Gregory, we can examine the humility of Christ as He submitted to His Father, He served as a human being and He suffered on the cross.

Third, Paul focuses on Exalting Christ's Humility.

God did marvelous things with the humility of Christ. Having humbled himself before God, Christ was highly exalted by His Father. Looking at this passage, I tend to view this in two ways. First, Christ was highly exalted in his position. The Greek scholar A.T. Robertson says that Christ was exalted to a position that was above or beyond what he had before his incarnation (http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/robertsons-word-pictures/philippians/philippians-2-9.html). However, not everyone agrees with this, as it has been said this is not necessarily implied by the language used by Paul in this passage. It could simply mean that Christ was exalted “to the highest possible degree (Fee 221).  Regardless of which view is right, we know for sure that Christ was exalted back to Heaven when he ascended out of the sight of his disciples in Acts chapter one. We really can’t grasp what all this entails, but God rewarded Christ with a highly exalted position because of his humility. Second, Christ was highly exalted in his authority. He was given the name above all names, where every knee should bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. The idea here is taken from a passage in Isaiah 45:23 which states “By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’” Jehovah God was using this of himself, but here in this text I think it shows that Christ is worthy of our worship.

When we think about the idea of God highly exalting Christ, consider the passage in Ephesians 1:20-22: “…he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” It seems that this passage helps us get a clearer picture of what Paul is discussing in our passage from the Philippian letter. God’s exaltation of His Son should result in our acknowledging His lordship. We have two options: we can do it now in this lifetime voluntarily, or we will do it under compulsion in the next lifetime. Paul quotes the previously mentioned passage from Isaiah to show that every knee will bow to Christ at the final judgment (Rom. 14:11).

The crux of the matter for us knowing that God has highly exalted Christ is what we decide to do with it. Paul told the church at Philippi that they were to emulate the humility of Christ by looking at others’ interests instead of their own and considering others as more significant than themselves. He also provided an examination of the humility of Christ where he showed his submission, service and suffering upon this earth. He finally revealed to them the exaltation of the humility of Christ to which all of us have a decision to make in this life. We sing the song at times “What Will You Do with Jesus?” We are to have the mind of Christ by being humble individuals. We are to realize what his humility prompted him to do for the sake of humanity. We are to acknowledge what God has done with His Son because of His humility. Jesus is Lord whether we acknowledge Him or not, but if you’re not a child of God now is the time to respond to the exalted Savior. Humanity should heed the heavenly example of humility!