The Lord helping me this morning,
I would direct your prayerful attention to Philippians chapter
2 and verses 5 to 11. Philippians chapter 2, verses
5 to 11. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus. 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 men, 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 the glory of
God the Father. It was back in December, December
the 25th, in fact, that we looked at verse 5 of this passage. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus. And I would remind you that the
apostle had given four exhortations to the believers there at Philippi
in the first part of this epistle. He had exhorted them to unity,
He had exhorted them to patience and fortitude in the face of
suffering and persecution. He had exhorted them to meekness
and humility, or loneliness of mind. And he had exhorted them
to mutual care and concern, or love. And Paul points to the
Lord Jesus Christ as the example which believers are to follow. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ is concerned
for the unity of his church. See how he prays in John 17,
that they all may be one. As thou, Father, art in me, and
I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world
may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou
gavest me I have given them, that they may be one, even as
we are one, I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in one. now this unity of course is in
the spirit and it is the spirit of truth this unity must be in
the truth of the gospel we are not to seek unity with Rome or
with Arminianism no the Lord Jesus Christ has
a concern that his people might be one but it is a unity in the
truth and you know the Lord Jesus Christ died that his people might
be one. For he is our peace, who hath
made both one, that is, Jew and Gentile, and hath broken down
the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished
in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained
in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man. So making peace. and that he
might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having
slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to you
which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him
we both, Jew and Gentile, have access by one Spirit unto the
Father. The Lord Jesus Christ is concerned
for the unity of his church, so much so that he would die
that his people might be one. The Lord Jesus Christ was patient
in suffering, for even hereunto were ye called, because Christ
also suffered for us, leaving us an example. that ye should
follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found
in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. The Lord Jesus Christ was humble.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, For I am meek and lowly
in heart, he could say. And the Lord Jesus Christ was
full of love for that church which he came to redeem. Christ
also loved the church and gave himself for it. Paul, as a servant
and an apostle of Jesus Christ, would provoke the believers at
Philippi unto love and to good works, and he sets before them
the Lord Jesus Christ as the supreme example which they are
to follow. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus. He then goes on to describe more
fully the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. You
see, if we are to be true followers of the Lamb and truly follow
the dear Lamb of God, then we must know who He is and what
He has done. We must know Him. And so Paul goes on, doesn't
he, here to speak of the person and the work. of the Redeemer,
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 men,
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 that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Here is pure Christology. Here is the pure doctrine of
Christ. He is, here is theology proper, here is perfect, spirit-inspired
theology. There is set before us here in
this passage three things, and these should be our headings
as we proceed this morning, I trust with the Lord's help and with
his blessing. Firstly, we should consider the pre-incarnate glory
of Christ. And secondly, the humiliation
of Christ. We see also in this passage We
won't come to it this morning. I trust we shall come to it in
the future, where we see thirdly here the exaltation of Christ.
This morning we shall consider just the first two of these headings.
The pre-incarnate glory of Christ. And then secondly, the humiliation
of Christ. So let us consider firstly then
the pre-incarnate glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see it
here in this sixth verse. Who being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Christ has an
existence before he was manifest in the flesh, before he was made
in the likeness of men, and you know this could be said of none
other, this can be said of no other man, this cannot be said
of one who is a mere man, who being in the form of God, God
is eternal. That is, He has an eternal existence. He is from eternity and to eternity. Before the mountains were brought
forth, or ever thou hast formed in the earth and the world, even
from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. And to the unbelieving
Jews, the Lord Jesus declared, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Before Abraham was, I am. Before Abraham was, I am. Before Abraham had any existence
or any being, I am. He declares to them his deity
and he declares to them his eternity. Before Abraham was, I am. And so Paul says here, who being
in the form of God. You know the use of the present
continuous tense of the verb here, who being in the form of
God, who being in the form of God, there never was a time when
he was not in the form of God, he was and he is and he always
will be in the form of God, who being in the form of God, What
is meant by the words in the form of God? It means that He
is very God. He is of the very nature, of
the very essence, of the very substance of God. In the beginning
was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God,
John says. Christ is of the very nature
and of the very essence of God. He is God. He is Lord or Jehovah. He is the I Am. And without controversy, great
is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Now, of course, you must ever
be born in mind that there is a distinction of persons in the
Godhead. It was not the Father who was manifest in the flesh,
it was not the Holy Ghost, it was the Son. 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 then later on in
John we read there and the word was made flesh and dwelt among
us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten
of the father full of grace and truth it was the word who was
made flesh that same word who was with God and who was God
There is a distinction of persons in the Godhead, and each of the
persons of the Godhead are of the same divine essence, or substance,
as nature. The Father is fully God, the
Son is fully God, and the Holy Spirit is fully God. And yet
there are not three gods, but one God. Again, we read of the
person of Christ as he is manifested in the flesh, as he comes into
the world, for in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily." All the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Christ is
fully God, who being in the form of God, and it is in the person
of the Son that we behold the Father. No man hath seen God
at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. Paul in his epistle to the Colossians
says that he is the image of the invisible God. To the Hebrews
he says that he is the brightness of his glory and the express
image of his person. And so the Lord Jesus said to
his disciples, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Theologians sometimes speak of
the first person and the second person and the third person of
the Godhead. Referring respectively to the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. But I really think it's
not a very helpful way of expressing the doctrine of the Trinity.
You see, there is no superiority or priority and inferiority in
the Godhead. There's no anteriority and posteriority,
none is afore or before, and none is after or behind another
in the Godhead. There's not that superiority
and inferiority between the persons of the Godhead. In the words
of the Athanasian Creed, and if you've not read it, you should
read it, every Christian should be familiar with the Athanasian
Creed. It states that in this Trinity,
none is a for or after, none is greater or less than another,
but the whole three persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. Now, of course, the Athanasian
Creed is not Holy Scripture. But it is firmly based on the
doctrine which we find in the Holy Scriptures. we see it here
in the words of our text, who being in the form of God thought
it not robbery to be equal with God the Son is co-equal with
the Father and with the Holy Ghost in the eternal Godhead is the Father glorious? the Son
is of equal glory is the father to be worshipped, the son likewise
is to be worshipped. Paul in Hebrews says, and again
when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith,
and let all the angels of God worship him. Christ receives the worship of
angels and he receives the worship of men and women too. We see
them in the Gospels. We see them many times coming
to the Lord Jesus Christ and worshipping Him, it says. And
worshipping Him. And never does he rebuke them. He rebuked Satan, you remember?
Get thee behind me, Satan, for it is written thou shalt worship
the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve. Christ is to
be worshipped. as God. Remember how Thomas worshipped
him. And the risen Lord received his
worship. And Thomas answered and said
unto him, my Lord and my God. Have you been brought to that?
My Lord and my God. Thou art my Lord to serve and
to obey. Thou art my God to worship. Do not the Old Testament Scriptures
declare that Christ is to be worshipped? Psalm 2, for example. Kiss the Son. How plainly we
see Christ here, don't we, in the Old Testament Scriptures.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when
his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put
their trust in him. The Lord Jesus Christ himself declared that all men
should honour the Son even as they honour the Father. It was because the Lord Jesus
Christ had made himself equal with God that the Jews sought
to kill him, you remember. In John chapter 5 at verse 18 We read, therefore the Jews sought
the Moor to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath,
but said also that God was his father, making himself equal
with God. Now you say, well, how can he
be equal with God if he says that God is his father? Well,
if I say that I am the son of a man, that means I am saying
that I am fully human. Christ saying that he is the
son of God, he is saying he is fully divine. This was the basis of their accusation
of blasphemy against him, of course. For a good work we stone
thee not, but for blasphemy, because thou, being a man, makest
thyself God. But you know, this was not a
position which he had usurped. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God. It was not robbery, it was not
a usurpation Why? Because he is God. Because
he is God, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery
to be equal with God? I and my Father are one, he said. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God, unlike the archdemon Lucifer, which we read
of in Isaiah 14, Isaiah 14 verse 12, How art thou
fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou
cut down to the ground which didst weaken the nations? For
thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I
will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also
upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I
will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like
the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down
to hell, to the sides of the pit. Mark that, to the sides
of the pit. Why? Because there's no bottom
to this pit, it's the bottomless pit. Unlike the man of sin also, the
man of sin, the son of perdition, the pretended bishop of Rome,
who opposeth and exhorteth himself above all that is called God,
all that is worshipped, so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple
of God, showing himself that he is God. What a mystery of
iniquity that is! That a mere man should be addressed
as Holy Father! The very words which Christ used
in prayer when addressing His Father in heaven, God, that a mere man should take the
place of Christ and make himself the head of the professing church. That a mere man should presume
to do the work of the Holy Ghost and make a saint. Jesus said the thief cometh not
but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. That's true of
the devil and it's true also of the devil's visible representative
on earth, the Pope. But have not all men been deceived
by the deceiver in this matter? That they can take the place
of God This was part of the devil's
temptation, was it? The original temptation in the Garden of Eden.
And ye shall be as gods. And ye shall be as gods. Adam and Eve were seduced into
taking that which did not belong to them, and which they had no
right to. Not only the forbidden fruit,
but also the very place of God. And you and I, in our natural
unregenerate condition, do exactly the same. We think that we are masters
of our own destiny. Why, if I want to become a Christian,
I'll just do this or do that and make myself a Christian. You cannot take the place of
God. No. the Lord Jesus Christ he
thought it not robbery to be equal with God who being in the
form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God in his high
priestly prayer when the hour approached that he should lay
down his life for the sheep that he should give his life a ransom
for many that he should die for the sins of his church the Lord
Jesus speaks of the glory which I had with thee before the world
was John 17, verse 5. And now, O Father, glorify Thou
me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee
before the world was. So here we see the pre-incarnate
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, who being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Well, let us
go on then to consider in the second place the humiliation
of Christ. but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled
himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross." What a mystery this is! What
a mystery this is, and without controversy, great is the mystery
of godliness, Paul says. That God should be manifest in
the flesh. The mystery of godliness. He
speaks, doesn't he, of the mystery of iniquity. We've mentioned
it already. The mystery of iniquity. What is that? Well, that a man,
the Pope, should make himself God in the professing church.
That's the mystery of iniquity. The mystery of godliness is that
God should make himself man. And without controversy, great
is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
that earth and heaven combined, angels and men agreed to praise
in songs divine the incarnate deity. Our God contracted to
a span, incomprehensibly made man. Oh, what a mystery! And it is unknown except to those
to whom it is revealed. The Lord Jesus Christ, though
he was equal to the Father in glory, and worshipped by angels,
yet he laid his glory by, as it were, but made himself of
no reputation. He emptied himself, as it is
in the original Greek here, he emptied himself. Paul says in
another place, For ye 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. He emptied himself,
made himself of no reputation. In heaven he received the worship
of elect angels. When he came to this earth in
human flesh he was mocked, scourged, spat upon and killed by wicked
men. What awful words they are, aren't
they, that we read in Matthew's gospel, then did they spit in
his face. Whereas in heaven his glory was
manifest to all the angelic host, in his incarnation there was
a veiling of that glory. And so we read in Isaiah, he
had no form nor comeliness. and when we see him and when
we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire
him he is despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised
and we esteemed him not what an emptying this is what an emptying
this is Now when it is said that he emptied himself, that he made
himself of no reputation, it doesn't mean that he divested
himself of his deity. Or indeed, that he divested himself
of any of his attributes as God. No. He didn't lay his deity by. He didn't change his divine nature
or swap his divine nature for a human nature. And neither did
he change his divine nature into a human nature. He ever was the
son of God and he remained the son of God even in his incarnation. Some people have a problem with
Charles Wesley's hymn. And can it be? Quite a famous
hymn. We have these words in one of
the verses, he says, he left his father's throne above so
free, so infinite his grace, emptied himself of all but love
and bled for Adam's helpless race. The objection is that Wesley
seems to be saying that in that third line, emptied himself of
all but love, it seems to be saying that Christ emptied himself
of his deity. This is the objection. Well,
I'm going to defend Mr. Wesley here. You see, the Scriptures
declare that God is love. God is love. And so, in saying
that Christ emptied himself of all but love, it could be argued
that Mr. Wesley is actually saying that
the Lord emptied himself of all but his deity. Which is true. It's true. Now, I have to say I have more of
a problem with the fourth line of that verse, and bled for Adam's
helpless race. That seems to me to be saying
that Christ suffered death, that he bled for the whole of Adam's
helpless or fallen race, which is not true. The redemption is
particular, not universal. The scripture speaks of those
who were redeemed from among men. redeemed from among men,
for not all are redeemed. There certainly was a veiling
of the deity of Christ at His incarnation, but not a change
or a laying aside of His deity. As the sun, when it's veiled
by the clouds, is still there. It's still unchanged in its nature,
it's still the sun. So in the incarnation of Christ,
his glory is veiled, but his deity remains unchanged. Interestingly, the ancient Greek
philosopher Epicurus, he used the word kenosis, or act of emptying,
in connection with the waning of the moon. When the moon is
waning, it appears to be emptying itself of its glory, until it
gets to the point that it can't be seen with the naked eye at
the time of the new moon. then it begins to fill itself
up again as it were when it starts waxing but there's no change
in the moon it's just that it's glory is
not seen as it empties itself as it were when it wanes now
having said that the glory of the Godhead did shine through
the sacred humanity of the Son of God on occasions. For instance,
when the Lord Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding
in Cana. John 2 verse 11, this beginning
of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested forth
his glory and his disciples believed on him. And in the Holy Mount,
as Peter calls it, when Jesus was transfigured before the three
disciples, Mark says that his raiment became shining, exceeding
white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them. Matthew
says, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was
white as the light. Luke says, concerning the disciples
that were with him there in the Mount, and when they were awake. They saw his glory. They saw
his glory. All the glory of the Godhead
broke through, as it were, when the veil, broke through the veil
of his humanity. But it was only when the disciples
were awakened, and so it is, surely spiritually speaking,
it's only when men are awakened that they actually see anything
spiritually of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Veiled in
flesh that God had seen, hail the incarnate deity, 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." Paul says in Hebrews, quoting
the 8th Psalm, that he was made a little lower than the angels. Made a little lower than the
angels. Now that's not speaking of degree, but of duration. He was made for a little while,
for a little time lower than the angels considerably lower
than the angels in fact he was made considerably lower than
the angels for a time the angels are all ministering
spirits but Christ comes as a ministering man and took upon him the form
of a servant but I am among you as he that serveth Jesus said
I am among you as he that serveth O see the amazing condescension
of the Eternal Son of the Living God. Though He is co-equal and
co-eternal with the Father, yet for us men and for our salvation,
He voluntarily and willingly came as the Servant of Jehovah. Then said I, Lo, I come. In the
volume of the book it is written of me. I delight to do thy will. O my God, yea, thy law, is within
my heart. It was written of him in the
volume of the book, the sacred scriptures of the Old Testament,
that he should come as the suffering servant. Behold, my servant whom
I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth. I have put
my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
unto the Gentiles. And again in Isaiah, behold my servant shall do prudently
he shall be exalted and extolled and be very high as many were
astonished at thee his visage was so marred more than any man
and his form more than the sons of men so shall he sprinkle many
nations these scriptures are fulfilled. These scriptures were fulfilled
in the fullness of the time when God sent forth his Son, made
of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under
the law. When he was made in the likeness
of man. Again, the Athanasian Creed states,
for the right faith is that we believe and confess that our
Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God is God and man of the substance
of the Father begotten before the worlds and man of the substance
of his mother born in the world perfect God and perfect man of
a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting equal to the Father
as touching his Godhead and inferior to the Father as touching his
manhood and that is of course how we are to understand the
words of the Lord Jesus when he said for my father is greater
than I he took the place of a servant in the eternal covenant of grace
and he came into this world as a man he took upon him the form
of a servant and was made in the likeness of men we could
also note and we should note and underscore those words in
the Athanasian Creed of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting this is saying that the Lord
Jesus Christ had a real human soul as well as a real human
body a human soul capable of reasoning and of increasing in
wisdom the Godhead can't increase in wisdom but a human spirit
does or should do And so we read of Christ, don't we, in the Gospel
of Luke? And Jesus' increasing wisdom
and stature. Here is the human soul and the
human body of the Lord Jesus. And we must emphasize these things
because there has been a re-emergence in recent years of the Apollinarian
heresy which says that Christ did not have a human soul or
mind. His flesh, his body was activated
by his divinity. Well, if Christ did not have
a real human soul, then he was not made in the likeness of men,
because you and I have human souls. And if he did not really and
truly have a human soul, if he was not really made in the likeness
of men, body and soul, then he could not really and truly suffer
in the place of men and endure the wrath of God which was due
to men. He could not suffer a real human death. You see how vitally
important this doctrine is. Now this brings us to the deeper
humiliation of the Lord Jesus Christ and being found in fashion
as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Why, was it not enough that he
should humble himself and leave the glories of heaven to come
into this sinful world? No! He must undergo yet further
and deeper humiliation and being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself and became obedient unto death. He was obedient to all that the
Father had commanded and appointed him to do. He was obedient to
all the law of God. For he was without sin, who did
no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. And having perfectly
fulfilled all the holy law of God, he then suffered the penalty
for transgressing the law of God, which is death. This was the great commandment
which the Father had commanded him to do. Therefore does my
Father love me, he said, because I lay down my life, that I might
take it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my Father. Oh, He was obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. It was no ordinary death. It
was no ordinary death. It was even the death of the
cross. Even the death of the cross. It was a criminal's death. It
was a shameful death. It was a transgressor's death.
And he was numbered with the transgressors, being crucified between two thieves.
It was a cursed death, for it is written, cursed is everyone
that hangeth on a tree. He was made a curse for us who
knew no sin. And it was a sacrificial death.
For the transgression of my people was he stricken. Only one who is without debt
can pay the debts of others. Only one who was without sin
could pay the penalty for sin that sinners might go free. and
the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. The debt is paid. That's the
good news of the gospel. This gospel is for sinners. I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, Jesus
said. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners of whom I am chief. Christ died for the ungodly,
Paul says. But God commended his love toward
us. In that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. This Gospel is for sinners. If
you're not a sinner, if you imagine that yourself to be righteous,
then you have no need of the Saviour. And this Gospel is not
for you. You are one of the rich who are
sent empty away. as it is written, he hath filled
the hungry with good things but the rich he hath sent empty away
if however you feel yourself to be a transgressor of the law
of God a sinner before a holy God fallen and unable to save
yourself and you hunger and thirst for righteousness then in the
words of John Bunyan come and welcome to Jesus Christ come
and welcome to Jesus Christ this man eateth and drinketh with
sinners he welcomes sinners he sucks with them he eats with
them he communes with them he saves them this is a gospel for sinners
and he has promised him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. In conclusion, if we are those
who have truly come to the Lord Jesus Christ for life and for
righteousness and for peace, then let us go on to follow the
Lamb, especially in the example that he has set before us. As
the Apostle says here, let this mind be in you which was also
in Christ Jesus, 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 men. And being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Well, God willing, we shall consider
the rest of the passage, I hope, at a future date. 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 the glory of God the Father. Amen.