Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. The name
of the message is Christ's Humility. Christ's Humility. Philippians chapter 2. Now one
of the strongest characteristics of our fallen nature is selfishness. The one desire of fallen unregenerate
men is to gratify themselves. And the believer struggles with
it still. We still struggle with it. And
we will struggle with it until the day we go home to be with
the Lord. But man's action in the unregenerate
states, before the Lord saves them, they willingly and unwillingly
have selfishness so ingrained in them that it controls their
actions and their thoughts. And again, even after we're saved,
we struggle with selfishness. But praise be to God, one day
we will no longer struggle with it. And we will no longer struggle
with sin. Paul, in Philippians 2, verses
19 to 22, writes these words, But I trust in the Lord Jesus
to send Timotheus shortly unto you, verse 19, also may be of
good comfort when I know your state. For I have no man like-minded
who will naturally care for your state, for all seek their own."
Now he's writing about believers here. Not the things which are
Jesus Christ. But you know the proof of him
that as a son with the father he has served with me in the
gospel. Now this is a serious charge
Paul brings forth. But unfortunately it's true.
And not all ministers are genuinely interested in the glory of Christ
and the good of all their congregations. Unfortunately, some seek their
own gratification or seek the preeminence. They seek to rather
advance their own interests. Now Timothy, we read here, he
had a heart and a soul like Paul's. He desired to preach the gospel
of God's free grace. He desired to see the gospel
go forth. For God's glory. He didn't seek
his own comfort. He didn't seek his own praise. He didn't seek the praise of
the saints for himself. No, he sought that God would
be glorified. And that's the heart of a preacher. We desire
that God would be glorified. That he would be magnified. We
have to constantly beat down self. Constantly. Timothy, like a faithful gospel
preacher, cared for the spiritual welfare of the people. that God
had placed him providentially over. And he prayed for them,
and he labored and studied to preach Christ. And against this thing, therefore,
Paul cautioned the Philippians in the most affectionate manner,
besieging them with all earnestness to fulfill his joy. Look at verse
two of this chapter, fulfill ye my joy. He prayed that they would all
be of one accord, verse 2, and of one mind. See, Paul's talking
about unity here within the body. He exhorts them to esteem others
better than themselves, verse 3. And not to look every man on
his own things, but also on the things of others. To give greater
weight to his exhortations, he reminded them of the condescension
of Christ, which is what we're going to look at tonight. and
how Christ Himself took upon Him the form of a servant, being
obedient to the Father's will. Let's read Philippians 2, verses
1-11, and our text will be found in verses 6-8. If there be therefore any consolation
in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the
Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfill ye my joy that ye be
like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and
of one mind. So Paul here brings forth unity,
the unity of the believers, that were to be like-minded, having
the same love and being of one accord and of one mind. Brother
John and Brother Tim and Sister Bonnie and I were talking about
that after service on Sunday. how we're one here, and we go
forth with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says here,
let nothing be done through strife or vain glory. Don't seek your
own glory. But in lowliness of mind, let
each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man
on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Let
this mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus. The Amplified
Version reads this way. Let the same attitude and purpose
and humble mind or spirit be in you, which was in Christ. And in verse six, it says this
about Christ, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery
to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and
took upon him the form of a servant. It was made in the likeness of
man. and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things
under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord to what? To the glory of God the Father.
He gets all the glory. He gets all the honor. So what
a wonderful portion the scripture we have here before us. It shows
us the humility of our wonderful Savior. Who is God incarnate
in the flesh? The Lord Jesus Christ. And what
can bring us peace right now is knowing that our Lord Jesus
Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father right now,
ruling and reigning. Let's consider verse eight. It
says in being found in the fashion of As a man, he humbled himself
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Even the death of the cross. Here before us, in this text,
we see the astonishing humility of Christ. Previous to His incarnation,
He existed in a state of, one commentator said, inconceivable
glory and bliss. He had a glory with the Father
before the world was made. He was in the bosom of the Father
from all eternity. He was the brightness of the
Father's glory and the express image of His person. It was in
Him and by Him that God on various occasions appeared to men. We
looked at one of those last week when He appeared to Joshua as
a Christophany. And this is why the Apostle calls
Him the image of the invisible God. not only because he was the second
person of the Trinity, but chiefly because the Godhead, which was
never seen in the person of the Father, was seen in the person
of Christ. So let us marvel, let us marvel
that Christ the Word, the second person of the Trinity, who was
with God in the beginning, and who was God, let us marvel at
this fact, that he should clothe himself with our flesh. That he should clothe himself
with our flesh. This is infinite humility. Think of that. God himself became
a man. Fully God, and yet fully man. This is infinite humility. Nothing
compares to it. Nothing compares to it. God himself
becomes a man. God himself. Think of this, for Christ, one
commentator said this, for Christ to be made flesh was more humility
than for all the angels to be made worms. This was infinite
humility on display. On full display. He stripped himself. of the robes
of glory, and covered Himself with the rags of our humanity. And yet He is perfect, and He
is sinless, and He is God incarnate in the flesh. Fully God, and
fully man. In Christ's humiliation, how
He humbled Himself, consisted in His being born here upon this
earth. He was really a man. Not just in appearance, but in
reality. He lay nine months in a womb. He lay in a manger. When he was
alive, he knew hunger. He knew thirst. He knew weariness. He knew grief. He knew sorrow. He knew pain. And beloved, he
knew death. Brother Mahan comments this way.
His real submission and obedience from the cradle to the cross
is our example. Not only our righteousness, but
our example. He was fully submissive to the
Father's will no matter what happened. Turn if you would to
Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. So what humility
we have here on display before us in these verses. As I said,
we have infinite humility on full display. Christ Himself,
the Word of God, becomes flesh and dwells among us. In Romans
5, verses 12-21 says this, Wherefore as by one man sin entered into
the world, and death by sin, so when Adam fell, we all fell
in him, beloved. And so death passed upon all
men for that all have sinned. We come into this world, the
seed of our fathers. Remember, Christ is the seed
of the woman, the seed of our fathers, right? And our sin is
inherited by our father. So we come into this world dead
and trespasses and sins. That's what scripture declares.
And it says right here for that all have sinned for until the
law. Sin was in the world, but sin
is not imputed where there's no law. Nevertheless, death reigned
from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned at the
simmetude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that
was to come. But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For
through the offense of one, many be dead. So we all fell in Adam,
and we're born into this world, dead in trespasses and sin. That's
a fact. That's a scriptural fact. But
look at this, much more The grace of God and the gift by grace,
which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. Now
note it doesn't say all, but it does say many. It does say
many. Praise God, it says many. And
we know that the Lord's people are a number that no man can
number. And it says this, "...and not as it was by one that sinned,
so as the gift of the judgment was by one to condemnation. So
when Adam fell, we all fell with him, and we were condemned in
him. But the free gift is of many offenses unto justification.
For if by one man's offense death reigned by one, much more they
which receive abundance of grace in the gift of righteousness
shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ." Salvation is only in
Christ and him alone. Therefore, as by the offense
of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation. Even so,
by the righteousness of one, the free gift that came came
upon all men unto justification of life. So in Adam all fell. But righteousness comes in and
through Christ alone upon all his people. For by as by one
man's disobedience, many were made sinners. So there it is.
By Adam's disobedience, we were made sinners. So by the obedience
of one Christ and not being Christ, shall many be made righteous.
And God's people are made righteous by the sacrifice of Christ, by
what he did his life, living that perfect life and and his
dying upon the cross. And this is all part of his humiliation.
This is why he came to the world. to save his people from their
sins. So we see the reason for the
infinite humiliation that Christ might come and purchase his people
by the shedding of his own precious blood. Moreover, the law entered
that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, look
at this, grace did much more abound. It's super abounding
grace, beloved. that as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. There's only eternal life through
Christ, and Christ himself is the believer's righteousness.
And his righteousness is imputed to us. And our sins were imputed
to him. What a glorious Savior. See, if he hadn't have come to
earth, If he hadn't have condescended like he did, we'd never be saved. But praise be to God. He came
to save his people from their sins, and he did it. He did it. My goodness. In Job, the question
is asked this. How then can a man be justified
with God? How can a man stand before a
holy and righteous God who cannot have sin in his presence? How can a man, we saw it, we're
all born sinners. How can a man then stand in the
presence of a holy and righteous God? The answer is only in Christ. Because justification is an act
of God's free grace and love whereby He, through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord, has freely forgiven the sins
of all His elect and He accepts them in Christ. This is wonderful news for sinners. Wonderful news. He has freely
forgiven the sins of all his elect. And he accepts the believer
in Christ as perfectly just and righteous. Isn't that wonderful? Now, some might say, again, we've
talked about this before. Well, I believe I'm saved now,
but what about all my sins in the future? Christ paid for all
my sins, past, present, and future at Calvary's cross. And if you're
a believer, that's what he did for you. And that is absolutely
wonderful news. Wonderful news. Doesn't give
us a license to go crazy, does it? Because the love of Christ
constrains us. But beloved, we are perfectly
just and righteous in Christ. This is wonderful news. So let
us marvel at this precious truth, which is put forth in our text
tonight in verses six to eight. We see that our justification
is in Christ alone. We saw that in Romans five and
that God himself, God himself, the word of God is pleased to
condescend and become a man and not just any man. but the God-man
mediator and the substitute for his people, both in life and
in death. Look at our text again in Philippians
chapter two, verses six to eight, who being in the form of God
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant. Look
at that. He took upon him the form of
a servant, beloved. and was made in the likeness
of man, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh, yet he's
perfect, he's sinless. And found in the fashion as a
man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. And he is pleased to clothe himself
with our flesh, beloved, to fulfill all righteousness, which we could
never do. and to fulfill the law in our
place and to satisfy God's justice in our place. He subject himself in the flesh
to death and the curse of the law by paying all our debts and
by satisfying divine justice on our behalf. So God himself, the Lord Jesus
Christ, becomes our righteousness and our justification with God.
It's wonderful. And he's done it all. There's
nothing left for us to do. Not that we couldn't do anything
anyways to save ourselves. Christ has done it all. He's
done it all. For He hath made Him to be sin
for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. Our sins are imputed to Christ
and His perfect righteousness is imputed to us. And God is
satisfied with the sacrifice of Christ. This is good news
for sinners. Wonderful news for sinners. And
He did all this freely. He willingly went to the cross.
He willingly left the glories of heaven. without any deserving
on our part, without any merit on our part. This beloved right
here before us is pure grace, pure, free and sovereign grace,
and it has been bestowed upon the believer in Christ. In Christ. One writer said this. And that in a poor condition
in His undergoing, the miseries of this life, the cursed death
of the cross and the wrath of God, this did He all in the place
of His people. Willing. Now what was the primary cause
of Christ's humiliation? What was the primary cause of
Him coming to this earth? Love. Love was the motive. The core motive, beloved. Christ
came because of his people whom he loves. Out of pity and love,
grace flows from God to us. And he comes to this earth as
a result of God's love for his people. And think of this, he
chose us in eternity, right? We know that from scripture,
Ephesians 1.4 says that very clearly. And he chose us when
we were in our sin. He saw us in our sin. There's
no merit based upon that at all. There's no deserving. My goodness. This was all a design of the
free grace of God and motivated by his pure love for his people.
Look at our text again. who being in the form of God
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant. It
was made in the likeness of man and being found in fashion as
a man. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Now see where it says, but made
himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant
and was made in the likeness of man. Now, the word reputation. In verse seven means in the Greek,
this doesn't mean what we think it means. It means to empty,
to empty, to evacuate, to divest oneself of one's prerogatives, to abase oneself. John Calvin comments on this
verse, and I love this. I saw this and I had to bring
this in. He says this, this emptying is
the same as the abasement as to which we will see afterwards.
The expression, however, is used more empathetically to mean being
bought to nothing. Christ, indeed, could not divest
himself of the Godhead. So he couldn't separate himself
from the Godhead, right? He couldn't. He's fully God and
fully man. Calvin goes on to say this, but he kept it concealed
for a time, that it might not be seen under the weakness of
the flesh. Hence he laid aside his glory in the view of man,
not by lessening it, but by concealing it. God incarnate in the flesh. He's truly one with the Father
and equal, co-equal in majesty. Co-equal, co-eternal with the
Father and the Holy Spirit. And Christ Himself took upon
Him, it says in our text here, the form of a servant. He really became a man. So previously
to His incarnation He was God. Fully God. Co-equal with the
Father, co-equal with the Holy Spirit. John 1.1 proclaims this,
and it proclaims this precious truth. In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same
was in the beginning with God. So the Scriptures give ample
testimony, and they declare that before He was a child born and
the Son given, that He was the mighty God. God over all, blessed forever.
And therefore, when he became incarnate, he was God manifest
in the flesh. He was a manual. God with us,
John, 114 in the same chapter as John one where it says in
the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the
word was God, the same was in the beginning with God and verse
14 says this and the word was made flesh. The same one spoken of in verse
1 and 2. God was made flesh. And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us. This is by someone who laid his
bosom on the head, or laid his head on the bosom of Christ. We beheld his glory. They saw
it. The glory is of the only begotten
of the Father. full of grace and truth. We went
over that verse before that Christ is full of grace and truth. So
the Lord Jesus Christ in infinite condescension laid aside his
glory that he had with the Father and with the Holy Spirit, not
that he ceased to be God, but that he veiled his deity in human
flesh. He's the God man. Both God and
man. It's called by the theologians
the hypostatic union. Theologians call it the hypostatic
union, which sounds fancy in English, but actually it's quite
a simple term. The hypostatic union is the mysterious
joining of the divine and the human in one person of Jesus. And this is the hypostatic union.
Jesus Christ, one person, fully God and fully man. The God-man
mediator, while he was here on earth. He was man, yet he continued
to be fully God. Turn, if you would, to 1 John
1. 1 John 1. Now John, who wrote what we read
about in John 1.1, pens this in 1 John 1. 1 John 1. And remember, I'll read our text
again, who being in the form of God, thought it not equal,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation and took upon him the form of the servant,
and was made in likeness of man, and being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even
the death of the cross. And then John pens these words
in 1 John, chapter 1, verses 1 to 4, that which was from the
beginning. Well, we know where the from
John one one in the beginning was gone. Or was the word and
the word was with God and the word was God that which was from
the beginning. Which we have heard. They heard. They heard him speak. Which we
have seen with our eyes, they beheld him. They beheld Christ
with their own eyes, which we have looked upon in our hands
of handle of the word of life. For the life was manifest, and
we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal
life which was with the Father and was manifest unto us. That
which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye
may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with
the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. And these things
I write unto you. Why? That your joy may be full. Oh, rejoice, beloved, if He's
revealed Himself to you. Now, I want to give you an illustration
that the Puritans used to use when teaching their children
the wonders of the Incarnation. The wonders of the Incarnation.
And it's a story of the ancient Spartan kings. And I thought,
boy, this is wonderful. It's easy for us to understand.
It really does show that Christ was fully God and fully man. When we keep that in mind and
read this, you'll understand where I'm going with that. It
says this, on several occasions in Spartan history, several kings
reigned at the same time in joint authority with one another. From
time to time, a king was sent to a neighboring state in the
character of a Spartan ambassador. He didn't dress in his kingly
robes. He went to the other kingdom as an ambassador, so that they didn't know who
he was. Did he in any way cease to be
a king of Sparta, although he was clothed as an ambassador?
Did that make him no longer a king of Sparta? No. He was still a king, wasn't he? His role as ambassador did not
divest him of his royal dignity. So Christ, in becoming a man,
did not cease to be God. He continued to be King of creation, as He always has been. His becoming
a man, He became a voluntary messenger and a servant of the
Father. And this in no way altered Him being God. fully God and yet fully man. And we see that in our text,
who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be
equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon
him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man.
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Now think
of this, every creature. Now it says here, in being found
as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death.
And in verse seven it says, but made himself no reputation, took
upon him the form of a servant. Now notice it says, took upon
him the form of the servant. Every creature is by mere fact
of its creation, a servant of its maker. Every creature. Every creature is by mere fact
of its creation, the servant of its maker. It cannot take
upon itself the form of a servant because that's what it already
is. OK. It's not so, though, with Christ. Paul, the beloved. Fossil declares
in our text, but made himself of no reputation and took upon
him the form of a servant. and was made in the likeness
of man and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Now, such language as we see here before us could not be used
in the context of the incarnation of the person spoken of was anyone
other than God. He took upon himself the form
of a servant. He's the creator. and he takes
upon himself the form of a servant and he humbles himself and becomes
obedient unto death to save his people from their sins. It says
even the death of the cross. So let's just marvel at how spectacular
our Lord is, how marvelous our Lord is. He's incredible. He's
like no one else. The word God himself became flesh
for his people. To save his people from their
sins. Now, Christ himself proclaimed this. Before Abraham was, I am. And the Jews knew what he was
saying. Paul wrote this to Timothy by inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
and we'll look at this verse again later on. And without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
That's speaking of Christ, justified in the spirit, seen of angels,
preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received
up into glory. Turn if you would to Isaiah chapter
7, and I want you to keep your finger in Isaiah because we'll
be going to a couple of different places here. Isaiah chapter 7. And then I'll read what the New
Testament says after these. This first one, though, the Old
Testament prophesies that God himself. Emmanuel shall come. Isaiah 714. Therefore, the Lord himself shall
give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive
and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. That means
God with us. Great. Is the mystery of Godliness. God was manifested in the flesh.
And then turn, if you would, to Isaiah 43. God proclaims that
he is the savior of his people. God himself proclaims this in
Isaiah chapter 43. And then I'll read two portions
in the New Testament that correspond with these verses in Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43, 10 and 11. Ye are
my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen,
that ye may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me there was no God formed,
neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord. Now we know that's Jehovah, the
self-existent one. Beside me there's what there's
no Savior and then I'll read to you what it says in 1st John
chapter 4 verse 14 It says this and we have seen and do testify
that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world
and in 1st John 5 20 says this and we know that the Son of God
has come and hath given us an understanding that we may know
him that is true and And we are in Him, that is true, even in
His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal
life. He's our Savior. God Himself
is the Savior of His people. And it's absolutely wonderful.
Turn, if you would, over to Isaiah, chapter 44. God Himself proclaims
to be the Redeemer of His people in Isaiah 44, verse 6. God himself
proclaims this. Thus saith the Lord, the king
of Israel and his redeemer, the Lord of hosts. I am the first
and I am the last. And beside me, there is no God.
And then I'll read again. First Timothy, chapter three,
16. So it says, Thus saith the Lord, the king of Israel and
his redeemer, the Lord of hosts. I am the first and the last.
And beside me, there is no God. And then Timothy. Paul writes
to Timothy and without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. The one spoken of in Isaiah is
manifested in the flesh. Jesus Christ, our Lord. Justified
in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto Gentiles, believed
on in the world and received up into glory. Look at Isaiah 44, 24, God himself
proclaims to be the creator of all things. Isaiah 44 verse 24. It says this,
Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from
the womb. I am the Lord that maketh all
things. He's the creator of everything.
Again, the Lord being Jehovah, the self-existent one, that stretched
forth the heavens alone, that spreaded abroad the earth by
Himself. So God proclaims that He is the Creator, right? And
then in Colossians 1, 16 and 17, we were just studying that,
it says, for by Him being Christ, were all things created. that are in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him
and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things
consist. This is speaking of Christ. Christ, God incarnate in the
flesh. And Christ has demonstrated His
love. Turn, if you would, to Romans
chapter 5. Romans chapter five, Christ has demonstrated his love
for his people and that well, we were sinners. Well, we were
sinners. He took our nature. He became
a man. He died the sinless one for sinners, the just one for
the unjust. My, what a savior. Dying for
sinners, Romans chapter five, verses six to nine. For when
we were yet without strength, we can't save ourselves. In due
time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet peradventure for good men. Some would even
dare to die. But God commandeth his love toward
us. Oh, beloved God, commandeth his
love toward his people. And that while we were yet sinners,
look at this marvelous four words. Christ died for us. He really lived. And he really
died. Much more than being now justified,
we can stand in the presence of the holy God clothed in the
perfect, spotless righteousness of Christ, and only because of
that. We shall be saved from wrath through him. God's wrath
has been appeased for the sins of his people upon Christ. That's good news. That's good
news for sinners. And we are saved from wrath through
him. One commentator phrased it this
way. Christ assuming our human nature was a masterpiece of wisdom. And it was a monument of God's
free grace. So here we have before us in
our text, the infinite love of Christ for his people. God himself
leaves the glory and splendors of heaven to become a man and
to save his people from their sins and consider where Jesus
came from. He came from heaven. He left the glories of heaven,
angels falling down before Him. He's ruling and reigning in absolute
sovereignty over everything. Do you see why it's infinite
humility? The King of kings and the Lord
of lords becomes a man. And let us consider those for
whom Jesus came. Sinful men who had rebelled against
Him and proclaimed, we'll not have this man rule over us. And
we did that by our actions and by our sins. And yet He came
to redeem His people, to save His people from their sins. And
to do that which was impossible with man, we could never save
ourselves. But oh, what is impossible with
man is possible with God. God Himself becomes a man to
save His people from all our sins, beloved. Not just some
of them, but all of them. All of them. And why did He do
that? Because He's loved us with an everlasting love. And He loved
us before we ever loved Him. And we marvel at this precious
truth that the motive of the incarnation was love. Love, which Christ has for his
people in everlasting love, flowing from the free grace of God in
Christ to his people. One preacher brings this forth
of old, one preacher of old brings this forth, if he had if if he
would come to any, why not to the fallen angels? Right. The
angels are of more noble origin. more intelligent creatures, more
able for service, right? But behold the love of Christ.
Behold the love of Christ. He did not come to the fallen
angels to redeem them. He left them in their fallen
state. The motive of the incarnation
was love. He came to save His people, sinful
people, by birth, nature, and choice. Those which the Father had given
Him in eternity came to save His people from
their sins. In what precious truth this is
for you and I who believe. We who are the beloved of God. He came to save poor, bankrupt
sinners who could not save themselves. Now consider this, too. In what
manner Christ came. He did not come in the majesty
of a king, did He? And this is the King of kings.
And the Lord of lords. He didn't come in the majesty
of a king. He didn't come attended with royal servants and an entourage
of royal servants, did He? This is the King of kings and
the Lord of lords. But He became poor, that we might become rich. rich by his free and sovereign
grace. The scripture declares this and
we're closed with this verse right here. For you know the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for
your sakes he became poor. That ye through his poverty might
be rich. What a Savior. What a Redeemer
is Jesus Christ our Lord. Heavenly Father, we come before
Thee in awe of the condescension of our great God and King, the
Lord Jesus Christ, in awe that You sent Him to die and to live
as our substitute upon Calvary's cross. And, O Lord, may we ever
keep this to the forefront and how wondrous the love which motivated
Christ to come is the everlasting love of God in Christ. Your love
for your people, which were given to Christ before the world was.
And to think that our great King left the glories and splendors
of heaven, emptied himself, was made poor that we might be
made rich, rich in Your free grace. O Lord, let we who believe leave
this place marveling in the wonderful salvation we have in Thee, Lord
Jesus. And may we consider and meditate
upon the preciousness of what You've done for us. And we pray
in Your name, Amen.