Sermon
Christology
in the Hymn
This
is truly one of the most remarkable passages in our Bible… evidenced by the
overwhelming amount of writing one can find on this passage. The amount of
commentary on these seven verses far outweighs the amount of commentary on the
entire rest of the book of Philippians. (How can we even begin to think we’ll
have a 20-minute-ish sermon?)
Much of the writing has to do
with this unique form of writing. We’ve gone along with the bulk of
commentators who identify this section as a hymn. Some suppose it is
a hymn written by someone other than Paul, some suppose it is a hymn that Paul once
wrote and then incorporated into the Epistle, others a Pauline hymn written on
the spot, and yet others don’t see it as a hymn at all.
And, while that might be
interesting… that’s all were going to say about the form this morning.
Far beyond the discussion
regarding the form, there is a great
deal of writing to be found in the content.
These few verses are packed full of the theology… specifically Christology
(hence the title). It is difficult to find a more cogent Christology in all of
the Bible.
Remember… we’re going to stick
with this very same passage for two weeks. I have it today under the
“Christology” title;
But
before we can pursue these ethics, before we can be
like Jesus, we have to understand.
We need the answers to what could be life’s most important question: Who
is Jesus? Here Paul answer’s the question with clarity and beauty… 6
verses that paint an extraordinary picture of our savior, our Jesus, our
Christ.
So today we’ll focus on this
question: Who is Jesus?
Mel read this familiar passage
to us, it is fresh on our minds… and I encourage you to have it open in your
hands (page _____ in the pew Bible).
Paul
helps us answer the question of the identity of Jesus with the use of a sort of
timeline.
The overview of the passage reveals:
·
Pre-existent Deity (6,7)
From before time
·
Incarnation (8)
In our time
·
Exaltation (9-11)
Through the end of time
From just this overview we see a
profound picture of Jesus that begins to set our thinking right.
First
of all, the text makes it plain to see, Jesus
is God (“being in very nature God”). Jesus is not created by God as a
solution for our problems. Jesus didn’t start as something other than God and then
earn some extra status. Jesus, in His very being, nature, and essence is God.
Christologically speaking, Jesus is divine.
Though God (equal to God), Jesus
demonstrated God-quality by not
grasping, or seizing, ultimate power… but rather made himself nothing. God emptied Himself. Although
rightfully holding all power and authority in His grasp, as God, Jesus opened
His hands and allowed it all to flow from His grasp.
We need to try to get this today… it is truly
extraordinary.
Equality with God, Paul begins,
is something that was inherent to Christ in his pre-existence. Nonetheless, God-likeness,
contrary to common understanding, did not mean for Christ to be a “grasping,
seizing” being, as it would for the “gods” and “lords” whom the Philippians had
previously known… Rather, his “equality with God” found its truest expression when
“he emptied himself” (Fee – 208)
Pay
careful attention to the words here. As to His being, Jesus is God and stands
before time. But He emptied Himself, made Himself nothing, and entered
time by being made in human likeness.
Theologically speaking, there has
been a great deal of debate and writing on that word likeness. We need to be
careful not to misunderstand. This likeness isn’t a sorta kinda like… maybe the
way that a bulldozer is sorta like a lawnmower. That isn’t the meaning here.
Again,
we ought to pay careful attention to the words… especially when we see
precisely the same words.
·
Very nature God: God in Essence
·
Very nature a servant: Man in
Essence
·
Human likeness: Man in Form
100% God, made now also 100% man
in human form.
Jesus stepped into time, taking
on human likeness, but never stepped out of his essence (being) as God. He was God living
out a truly human life.
In
living out this human life, he humbled Himself. Entirely. Beginning like all us humans… and ending
like the worst of all humans. “In appearance as a man” we can see that He
humbled Himself all the way… starting like us. Think of it… God became a
zygote… a clump of cells. Carried full term, He was born like us, and then was
entirely dependant on His creation… a helpless baby… like us. He could have
stepped into time as a full-grown man… skipping childhood, and adolescent… but
He didn’t. He humbled Himself.
He could have zapped into time
as something better than a man (a woman!) or some sort of super hero. But,
rather He came in the regular way and in most ways lived a fairly regular life.
What was not regular was his
obedience… obedience to death. Not just regular death… despicable death.
It is easy for us to lose track
of the scandal of the cross. It is
right that we have adopted the cross as the symbol
of our faith. We understand the cross to be central in our faith; the cross
paid the price for my sin. Without the cross I would be hopelessly separated
from God.
In adopting the cross as the
symbol of our faith we have romanticized it. We put well lit, smooth crosses on
our walls and on top of our churches, we emboss them on our Bibles, we make
them into beautiful jewelry.
But there was no such
romanticizing of the cross to the first century Philippians. The cross was an
instrument of torture and death. Furthermore, the cross was reserved for slaves
and insurrectionists… no Roman citizen need fear the cross (you might lose your
head in a more dignified execution… but the cross was reserved for the scum of
the earth).
When Paul explained that Jesus
emptied Himself, making Himself nothing, humbling Himself, nothing could more
further punctuate the point than the manner in which He died… on the cross.
Finally,
Paul moves to exaltation, affirming that Christ’s self-emptying and death by
crucifixion revealed true equality with God. God, the Father, validates the
Son’s emptying and obedience.
From time, Jesus stepped into
eternity… and there was restored to the highest place.
His name is the highest name:
·
Jesus – God who became man
·
Christ – Our Savior
·
Lord – Above the mere lords of
men, equal to the LORD God Yahweh
His name is surpassed by none
other.
In the context of eternity,
every knee shall bow. Every creature will pay Him homage.
·
Every creature in heaven
– all the angels, every being created solely to worship God, every angel (even
those fallen angels… every demon) will bow and pay Him homage
·
Every creature on earth
– every living thing on earth at the time of His coming will bow
·
Every creature under the earth
– referring to the dead, even the dead will be raised to acknowledge his
lordship over all
And not just merely the bending
of the knee, every tongue will
confess – every mouth will pay homage acknowledging that Jesus Christ is Lord.
And all of it to the glory of God the Father.
What a great day!
What
a passage! What a marvelous picture of our Savior!
What do we do with such profound
thoughts? How do we apply this today?
How do we answer this familiar
question: So What?
This
morning I would like us to consider:
·
2 Words: Humility &
Humiliation
·
2 Scenes: Cross & Eternity
The 2 words (humility and
humiliation) are very similar, of course, but have entirely different meanings.
Think of that first scene, the
cross. To the natural mind, crucifixion is the ultimate humiliation. Captured,
beaten, tortured, stripped, mocked and then crucified… Jesus was humiliated by
the religious leaders and the Roman authorities. His public murder was a
humiliating death reserved for the lowest of the low.
Only one thing could eclipse the
humiliation…
and that, of course, was His humility. In the grand scope there
really was no humiliation at all… because He humbled Himself.
Now think of that final scene,
the commencement
of eternity when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. As
Christ is exalted, there will be many who are humiliated. Forced to
their knees by the awesome presence and power of the God of all creation. These
are those who will not drop to their knees… they will be dropped to their
knees… and there they will find themselves undone… humiliated.
And I will be there too… and so
will you. And I will be on my knees and confessing Jesus Christ as Lord. But,
with God’s help, I will not be there forced to my knees in humiliation…
but called to my knees in humble adoration.
What a difference on that day!
When we who are His are able to confess our adoration face to face with our
wonderful Savior.
On
that day… nobody will need ask life’s most important question: Who
is Jesus? On that glorious, or terrible, day the answer will be
abundantly clear.
Our posture on that
day, whether that be humility or humiliation, is really
based on how we answer that question today: Who is Jesus?
If we are able to humble
ourselves today and answer that question rightly, confessing Jesus Christ as
Lord… then we escape a terrible humiliation.
Who is Jesus? This passage
answers with such clarity… and the Chapel Singers are coming now to sing these
words to us again.
Who is Jesus? This passage
answers with such clarity.
·
He is God
·
He is Love, expressed in the
ultimate gift of His self-sacrifice
·
He is Christ, our Savior
·
He is Lord
At the Name of Jesus Chapel
Singers
Who is Jesus?
·
Express the answer in praise
·
In prayer
·
In obedience
·
In service
·
In lives that worship in every
way