Philippians 2:1-11

Philipians 2:1-11
This section teaches us that we should have the same attitude that Jesus had. Wow! Paul is asking a lot of us, isn't he? He begins with a series of rhetorical questions all of which have the answer "yes." Obviously, we do find encouragement from belonging to Christ and we are comforted from His love. We should have fellowship together in the the Holy Spirit, and our hearts should be tender and compassionate. Because of all this, we should practice unity in the church, agreeing with one another, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

In order to be united, we must avoid selfishness and vanity. We should put others' needs before our own. The phrase "thinking of others as better than yourselves" needs a little attention. It does not mean that others are better in the sight of God than we are. After all, we are all helpless sinners saved only by God's generous grace. Rather, it means that we should have the attitude of considering the interests of others before our own. Instead of  "me first," we should say "after you." Self-interests and self-importance are enemies of unity in the church. vv. 3-4

Now back to the idea of having the same attitude as Christ had (vv. 5-11) Don't forget that we can choose our attitude. And so, what attitude did Christ choose?

• Jesus was humble, willing to give up His divine rights in order to obey God and save people.
• He came to serve, not to be served.
• Even though He was and is God, He humbled himself in obedience to God the Father even to the point of dying a humiliating criminal's death on the cross.
• Jesus did not think He was too good for this. Should we ever think we are too good to serve God in any way He asks of us?

Because Jesus was obedient and fulfilled God's plan, God "elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

This passage also provides us with some key characteristics of Jesus Christ.

• He was (and is) God, meaning He always was and always will be in existence. As God, He had no beginning, and He will have no end.
• He is equal to God because He IS God.
• Though He is God, He became a man to fulfill God's plan of salvation for us though we are sinful people.
• Christ didn't have just the appearance of a man, He was fully man to identify with our temptations and needs. Yet He was also still fully God. I can't fully explain this, but this is what the Bible teaches.
• Christ voluntarily gave up His divine privileges.
• He died in our place on the cross for our sins so that we would not have to be punished for our own sins.
• God glorified Christ because of His obedience, returning Him to His rightful place of highest honor.
• We can choose to trust Christ for our salvation and commit our lives to Him.
• Even people who do not recognize Jesus' sacrifice and His authority as God, will one day, through God's judgment, bow their knees and confess the truth about Jesus Christ.