Philippians 2:8; Humbled to Death ~ 20231112 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
11/12 Philippians 2:8 Humbled to Death; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20231112_philippians-2_8.mp3
Last week we began to look at the Christ Hymn in Philippians 2. Paul uses it as an exhortation to unity, for us to think this way; to consider others as above ourselves, to each not look out for our own, but also that of the others. To stand firm in the one Spirit, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. To think the one thing, that more than anything else, our passion is that Christ be magnified.
Here is a very literal rendering of the passage; we are going to focus our attention today on verses 7 and 8.
5 this think in yourselves, which also in Christ Jesus
6 --- who in form of God existing
-----------not grabbing he considered the to be equal with God
7 -----------but himself emptied,
---------------orm of slave received
------------in likeness of man became,
-----and in appearance found as man
8--------------humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death
------------------death even by cross
9 ----Therefore also the God him super-exalted
---------and gave to him the name, the above every name
10----------that in the name of Jesus every knee bow
-----------------in heaven and in earth and infernal
11-------------and every tongue confess that Lord Jesus Christ
--------------------to glory of God Father
The Incarnation
Verses 6 and 7 point us to the incarnation; that God who eternally existed in the form of God did not consider the glory of his equality with God something to be selfishly held on to to but rather emptied himself by taking the form of a slave; remaining what he was, he became something he had never been; he became in the likeness of man.
Today we are going to look at Jesus’ second step down.
His first step down is what we celebrate at Christmas. Eternal God, second person of the triune God, equal to his Father, did not become less than he had always been (God cannot change; Mal.3:6) but took to himself a human nature. As John put it ‘the Word who was with God and who was himself God ...became flesh and pitched his tent among us’ (Jn.1:1,14). As the angel in Luke’s gospel put it ‘…
Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
There are a number of verbal links in this passage: Form in verse 7 answers form in verse 6; existing in the form of God now receiving or taking the form of a slave. Likeness in verse 7 answers equality in verse 6; being equal with God he became in the likeness of man.
Found in Appearance as Man
Verse 8 (or the end of verse 7 depending on your translation) summarizes the first step and then moves to the next step down. The first word ‘and’ gives the starting point for this next step.
And being found in human form or appearance (this is a different word than the ‘form’ in verses 6 and 7). ‘And in appearance being found as man’ shows how Jesus in his incarnation was perceived by others. All the evidence pointed to his humanity. They found him to be a man. Mary and Joseph knew the baby’s supernatural origin, but they experienced his birth in the natural way (Lk.2:6). The shepherds found a human baby wrapped in strips of cloth and placed in an animals trough. Luke (2:21) tells us that Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day and I’ll leave it to you to draw the implications of that for his humanity. Luke also tells us of the boy Jesus that:
Luke 2:40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
Jesus the boy developed physically and mentally as a normal human. Jesus became hungry and thirsty and tired (Mt.4:2, 21:18; Jn.4:6-7;). He ate and drank (Lk.7:34). He slept (Lk.8:23). He experienced real human emotions; compassion (Mt.9:36), anger, grief (Mk.3:5), strong desire, agony (Lk.22:15,44), sorrow, love (Jn.11:33-36). Even after his resurrection, his disciples were able to touch his physical human body and see that he was no ghost or apparition (Lk.24;39).
The eternal Son of God became really and truly human. In form, in likeness, in appearance, he was man; fully human. Just as he had eternally existed in the form of God, he now took on himself the form of mankind.
The hypostatic union (or the union of two natures, human and divine, in the one person, Jesus) is at least as mysterious as the Biblical truth of the Trinity (that the one and only God exists eternally in three distinct persons, Father, Son and Spirit). The Chalcedonian Definition, from the council of Chalcedon in 451 AD attempts to explain it like this:
We, then, following the holy Fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable [rational] soul and body; consubstantial [co-essential] with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence (hypostasis), not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the beginning [have declared] concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy Fathers has handed down to us.
Two distinct natures concurring in one person.
Humbled Himself
If this first step, God becoming human, was infinitely great, bridging an unfathomably wide chasm, his second step was miniscule in comparison.
Philippians 2:8 And being found in human form (appearance), he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Self-humbling here answers the self-emptying of verse 7; the word order there prioritizes who that self was who himself emptied. Here the priority is on the humility; he humbled himself.
His self-humbling took the form of obedience. Becoming advances the becoming of verse 7; having emptied himself by becoming human, he humbled himself by becoming obedient.
Becoming Obedient
Does becoming obedient imply that he was not obedient before? The word obedience literally means to listen under, as a subordinate heeds the command of his superior. Being equal with God, he was fully of one mind with his Father. He had never had the need or opportunity to subordinate his desires to the desires of the Father, for they were forever in perfect harmony. But now, having become man, he faced temptations that ran contrary to the will of the Father, he experienced natural desires that must be mastered by a higher purpose, and he had to choose the path of humble obedience to the authority of his Father.
Jesus repeatedly said things like:
John 5:30 “I can do nothing on my own. ... I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
John 5:36 ... the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing...
John 7:16 ...“My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
John 8:28 ... I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 ... I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”
John 12:49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.
In John 6, Jesus stated his purpose for becoming human:
John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
After Jesus fed the five thousand, many pursued him to the other side of the sea. This is the context of this statement.
John 6:26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
John 6:35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
As we saw last time, this passage advances our humility by showing us that it’s not all about us; we are not even in view in Philippians 2:6-11 other than every knee bowing to Jesus and every tongue confessing his Lordship. We are not the focus, the glory of God is. But implicit in this passage is why he became human, why he became obedient.
The Greater Adam
Man, created in the image of God, became disobedient to God, attempting to exalt himself to be like God (Gen.1:27; 3:5). The One who had always existed in the form of God, equal to God, came to be in the likeness of man, and humbled himself to become obedient to God. Christ is contrasted to Adam in Romans 5
Romans 5:18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.
Adam was made in the image of God; Jesus always existed in the form of God. Adam in pride was tempted to grasp after being like God; Jesus in humility condescended to become human; Adam was created free and was enslaved by his own sinful desire; Jesus willingly embraced slavery out of consideration for others. Adam suffered death as a consequence of disobedience; Jesus embraced death out of perfect obedience to his Father.
Obedience to Death
To what extent did Jesus’ humble obedience go? In the olive press, in Gethsemane, Jesus ‘began to be greatly distressed and troubled, his soul was very sorrowful, even to death’ (Mk.14:33-34). He prayed that ‘if it were possible, the hour might pass from him’ (Mk.14:35).
Mark 14:36 And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
If possible, let the hour pass from me. Jesus had a natural human desire not to experience betrayal, not to suffer, not to be exposed to shame and humiliation, not to die. Let this hour pass from me. Remove this cup from me. What cup? Psalm 75 says:
Psalm 75:7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. 8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.
The cup is the cup of God’s just judgment, humbling the guilty and lifting up the righteous. Jesus, facing the cup of the wine of the fury of God’s wrath (Rev.16:19), was humbling himself to take the place of the wicked, to bear their guilt.
We cannot fathom the horror it would be to a perfectly sinless man to bear the weight of the sin and shame of another. We cannot comprehend what it would be for one who had eternally enjoyed unbroken intimacy with his Father, to experience alienation, hostility, God’s just and holy wrath.
Isaiah 59:2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
Jesus became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. The cross was an offense, offensive to polite society. It was not to be mentioned, even thought about. Roman citizens were protected from suffering the shame of the cross. To the Jew, the cross is an offense, because the one who is hanged on a tree is under God’s curse (Deut.21:23; Gal.3:13)
The Gospel
All this is heavy. This is weighty. But this is gospel, good news for sinners.
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; ...
John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
Luke 22:42 ...“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Philippians 2
6 __who in form of God existing
________considering his equality with God not selfishly clinging
7 _______but himself emptied,
_________form of slave received
_________in likeness of man became,
8____and in appearance found as man
________humbled himself,
____________becoming obedient unto death
_______________death even by cross
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2023.11.12 Sermon Notes
Philippians 2:8; Humbled To Death
The incarnation; God become human
John 1:1, 14; Luke 1:35; 2:11-12; Philippians 2:6-7
Found in appearance as a man
normal human physical and mental development
Luke 2:6, 21, 40, 52
natural human needs
Matthew 4:2; 21:18; John 4:6-7; Luke 7:33-34; 8:23
real human emotions
Matthew 9:36; Mark 3:5; Luke 22:15, 44, John 11:33-36
Hypostatic union; two natures, one person
Council of Chalcedon, (451 AD)
He humbled himself by becoming obedient
John 5:30, 36; 7:16; 8:28-29; 12:49; 6:38
Jesus the greater Adam
Genesis 1:27; 3:5; Romans 5:18-19
Obedient to death
Mark 14:32-36; Psalm 75:7-8; Revelation 16:19. Isaiah 59:2
even death on a cross
Deuteronomy 21:23; Galatians 3:13
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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org