In our last study we saw how the Philippians were exhorted
by Paul to put away the self-centered divisiveness among them which detracted
from the gospel message they were claiming to be so eager to share. Now in 2:5-11, Paul raises the example of
Christ Himself found in the words of an early Christian hymn often called the Carmen Christi—or Hymn to Christ.
Many scholars have noticed that the lines in verses 5-11
appear to be quite metrical in Greek with perhaps a few of the original lines
edited by Paul (or his amanuensis) to suit his teaching purpose. In any case, these verses admirably
illustrate Paul’s point. Even the Lord
Jesus Christ gave up His Own prerogatives, and submitted His will to the
Father, even to the point of death. He
is not asking us to do anything He did not do Himself.
Philippians 2:5 Attitude Adjustment
So, Paul exhorted them to have the same attitude toward one
another that Jesus had. Not to copy
everything he did but to copy His mindset—His attitude. Their own attitude was self-centered and not
always a demonstration of submission to God’s will for them. That needed to change. And, more than an attitude, Jesus’ actions
demonstrated this mindset, as should ours. So, what exactly did Jesus’ attitude
look like?
Philippians 2:6 The God Who Did Not
Assert Himself
While this Hymn to
Christ does provide much insight into that branch of theology called
Christology, that is not Paul’s primary purpose here. Yes, Jesus had existed for all of eternity as
God. Yes, He was more than a functionary—He
was the expression of God. If you want
to know what God is like you can look at Christ, the Son of God. Paul
acknowledges this point briefly only to move on quickly and point out the
incredible truth that Jesus, in His incarnation, did not forcibly assert
Himself—even though deity was His. This
is a mystery that scholars have wrestled with for eons, so Paul allows the next
line of the hymn to explain this a bit further.
Philippians 2:7 Emptying by Addition
In verse 4, Paul complained that the Philippians were
concerned only about their own interests, but they needed to be concerned about
the interests of others as well. This would
be quite a change—not by ignoring their own interests—but by adding the interests of others. And
here, this is exactly what Jesus did when he “emptied Himself (NET).”
The Hymn says He “emptied Himself” enumerated by three
participles: “by taking on the form of a slave,” “by looking like other men”
and by “having a human appearance.” Some
versions translate this last phrase as “sharing in human nature.”
This emptying comes from a Greek word kenao from which we get
the theological term kenosis—the
emptying. While scholars continue to
debate the full connotation of this word, here the Hymn makes clear that the
emptying involved first of all “taking on the form of a slave.”
The emptying did not mean He was no longer the expression of
God (or “having the form of God” as some versions have it in verse 6) but
rather that he added another form. Now,
God is spirit, Jesus said in John 4. And
a spirit does not require a body. But
God has expressed Himself at times in the Old Testament as a man and as an
Angel of the Lord. Many theologians have
proposed that these expressions involved the “preincarnate Christ” revealing
God in a “theophany.” But, here we have
God expressing Himself in the “form of a slave.” (This is consonant with Isaiah’s
prophecy about the coming Servant of God).
But notice He did not cease to be God.
Rather He chose to reveal Himself as a slave—literally a willing slave
or a bondservant. He wasn’t enslaved, He
took it upon Himself. It involved His
willing submission.
He also took upon Himself the appearance of a man—a human
being. This was quite a condescension
for God to take upon Himself the appearance of a created being. Not only the appearance of a man but the
actual frailties of a man—a finite creature with a definite beginning in a feed
trough in Bethlehem.
Some false teachers of the past called Docetists thought that Jesus only appeared to be human but
wasn’t really human. They believed that
the flesh is sinful and so God could not have any part in it. Now later Paul does use the term “the flesh”
as a metaphor for a sin principle that dwells in every son or daughter of Adam
that causes us to resist God but, for humanity (as well as Jesus), our “flesh”
is also literal not just metaphorical. Of course, Jesus did NOT have a sin
principle dwelling in Him, either. So,
it is literally true that Jesus took on flesh.
Jesus was 100% God and at the same time He also became 100%
man. He was totally divine and totally
human at the same time. He could now
become hungry or weary or be strengthened or weakened or even die. This was emptying by addition. He emptied Himself by adding human frailty.
Though not mentioned here, some writers point out that He
also emptied Himself by veiling His glory and the prerogatives of deity. He chose to become like a man by depending on
the power of the Holy Spirit. Although
He continued to have His divine prerogatives He willingly chose not to use them
for Himself.
Philippians 2:8 Humility to the Point
of Death
The final result was His death. He was still God and His humanity did not
have to die if He had willed it. He knew
what was happening beforehand and could have avoided or overcome every opposition,
but He chose to follow the path the Father laid out for Him which was to live perfectly
the same life the Father had commanded of His chosen people Israel—who had
failed miserably—and then to allow Himself to be put to death by these same
people—for showing them up. This was
submission to God on an absolute basis.
Of course God cannot die in the sense of “cease to exist” but neither do
we! But when Jesus died, He was separated from His body like we do when we die. And on the cross, He was also separated from
the Father like we are – in our sins.
Romans 5:8 tells us, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for
us—meaning He died in our place because we were sinners and deserved to die. He took the curse of sin upon Himself.
Philippians 2:9-11 The Ultimate Glorious
Result
Because of Jesus’ submission to the Father, He was exalted
and given the highest name and someday every moral entity—all creatures who can
and must choose between good and evil—will acknowledge and submit to His
Lordship. These three verses are like a
victory song. We who believe exult in
it. Our salvation is based on it. Justice is served and finally the promised shalom will rest upon the world.
This passage parallels passages in Ephesians and Colossians
in which all things are reconciled
to God. This requires us to understand reconciliation
to God as more than just redemption of believers. Satan and the lost will not be forever
shaking their fists at God from the fires of hell. Instead there will be a universal eternal
acknowledgment of the lordship of Christ albeit too late for many to enjoy the shalom of the blessed ones.
So, what are we and the Philippians to make of Christ’s
example? Our next study asks the
question, “Whine or Shine?”
© Eric Thimell 2018
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