The Foundation of our Joy
Philippians 2:4-11

Why do we do what we do? Why do we say what we say? Because you think what you think. Well, why do you think what you think? What drives your thoughts? It’s because you BELIEVE WHAT YOU BELIEVE about God, His Word, and yourself. What you believe drives everything about you. What you believe is important. Belief affects our behavior. That is why we must believe the truth.
This is a great theological passage, but do not forget that it has a very practical emphasis. Doctrine is not some dry dusty dinner that is old and cold; crusty and stale. Without sound doctrine, there will be constant confusion. Believing the truth is vital to being set free.
Paul has told us that HUMILITY IS ESSENTIAL TO UNITY. Read Philippians 2:2,3. Is not a sense of peace and unity with others a key to our joy in life? Yes, we need to be humble, to have a “lowliness of mind,” denying ourselves and the selfish conceits and competitions of our carnal nature. We do not live as winners by knocking others down and building ourselves up. We don’t live as conquerors for Christ by living like those in the “Survivors” TV show! Life is not a “SURVIVORS” TV show. By the way, that show was WORLDLY to the core. Listen to Susan Hawk tell Kelly off: “If I were ever to pass you along in life again, and you were laying there dying of thirst, I would not give you a drink of water. I would let the vultures take you and do whatever they want with you.” That sounds like conversation becoming to the Gospel?
Or, the grand prize, sodomite Survivor who walked around naked, who was described as an “out-and-out soundrel.” Is that the lowly mind of Christ? My friends, the message of the Bible is different from all the worldliness we see that is full of hate, jealousy, manipulation, and violence. For those of you who say “HIP-HOP” is not that bad, did you see this week the awards show turned into a riot with brawling and bottle-throwing. Then a man has the audacity to say, “This is not a reflection of what hip-hop is really all about. It is really about all the people coming together.” Oh, yea, right. What planet does he live on? That is exactly what hip-hop really is. Anger and violence. Let me remind you that we are not of the world!
Who has demonstrated and illustrated this lowliness of mind? Jesus! Paul uses Jesus as the supreme illustration of that lowliness of mind that should characterize all who follow the Savior. He reinforces that lesson by telling us about JESUS’ humility. Christ was humble! You be humble!
Andrew Murray said “humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble.”
It is vital for us to ever keep before us that the very basis of sound theology is for us to KNOW GOD and then LIVE FOR GOD in a way to glorify God. The purpose of theology is not for us to cram our cranium with facts about God, or to sit around in our Christian clique or some holy huddle and argue the deep things of GOD, (how many angels can stand on the head of a pin) but that we should LIVE IN A WAY THAT PLEASES and glorifies God. Good theology, that is, truthful teachings about God, must lead us to a glorifying walk for God, or our theology is useless. Now, good theology believed will lead to the right kind of walk. That is a fact. Why? Because as Ken Collier of the Wilds has said, You say what you say, and you do what you do, because you think what you think, and you think what you think because you believe what you believe about God, His Word, and yourself.
Everything we say, everything we do comes out of our thoughts. Everything we think goes down to the root of who we are: what do you believe?
In Phil. 2:4-11 Paul gives us an amazing overview of the Person of Christ. Paul begins with Christ in His Pre-incarnate glory and moves all the way to His eternal glory. Paul brings us from His eternal glory through the dark valley of human misery, back to eternal glory! Paul’s point is to illustrate the humble mind of Christ which is the key to unity which is the foundation of our joy.
Pre-incarnate Glory, v.6 (His Deity) Humble Incarnation, v.7 (His Humanity; Dust is added to Deity) Gracious Condescension, v.8 (His Humility; Deity Dies upon a cross) Eternal Glorification, v.9-11 (His Glory; Jesus is exalted as a result of his humiliation)
Here is the truth of this passage: He who is the Greatest Humbled Himself the “Mostest.” His self abasement, this humbling of Jesus led to His exaltation.
Luke 14:11, For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Matt.23:11,12; But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
The KING of all kings; the Greatest of all, Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, humbled himself the most. We admire His humility, we love Him for His humility; should we not be humble? If HE could humble himself, should not we humble ourselves? You see, we are members of His Kingdom, and in His Kingdom, the greatest are the ones who humble themselves. These are not the ones who think they are worthless, weak, stupid or dumb. No, the humble person has a proper estimation of Himself in the sight of God. The humble person does not think of himself. The humble person has sought God first and puts others ahead of himself.
The foundation to our joy is the mind of Christ! The mind of Christ can be explained in at least three ways:
1. He Voluntarily EMPTIES HIMSELF, v.6,7a
? He did not empty himself of His deity! “Who, being in the form of God…” The word, “form” is “morph.” “Morphe” speaks of the same nature or essence, that Jesus is the morphe of God. Form means the outward expression of the inward nature. From all eternity, Jesus was God and Jesus possesses the very nature and essence of God. Jesus displayed His deity outwardly for all eternity! ? From everlasting in His very essence and nature, Jesus is God and had the outward appearance of Deity.
Jesus is of SOVEREIGN CHARACTER. Jesus, in His very essence and nature, is, was, and always will be GOD! Verse six goes back to his eternal state before Bethlehem.
Jesus is eternally, inseparably, actually, unchangeably, and immutably God; He is co-equal, co-powerful, and co-eternal with the Father and Holy Spirit.
Col.1:15, Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth…all things were created by him, and for him.
Image here is “eikon” which means a perfect likeness. We get our word, ICON from this word. There is a camera called Nikon, because it takes a picture that is a perfect likeness of the real thing.
Heb.1:3, Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high…
“express image” is “charakter,” or the stamp of the divine likeness.
From these verses we can definitely say that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh. He is the invisible God become visible, for all to see. Jesus possesses the attributes of God, He is omnipresent, potent, scient, sapient.
Yes, Jesus is God of very God, He possesses the NATURE, ESSENCE and ATTRIBUTES of God, He is the PERFECT LIKENESS of God, and He possesses the EXACT CHARACTER of God, yet he did not consider His equality with God something to selfishly seize and greedily clutch. Jesus does not rob any of God’s honor by His equality with God. Jesus’ did not regard equality with God a usurpation of the glory and majesty deserving to God. In addition to this, Jesus did not selfishly hold onto his pre-incarnate glory with the Father. Jesus did not consider His glory at the right hand of the Father a thing to be held on to at any cost. He did not consider the glory, dignity, and authority associated with His Deity something to greedily hold on to, but He laid aside the appearances and prerogatives of His Deity, took on human flesh, and emptied himself of the outward appearance of His eternal glory.
Jesus was not selfishly grasping, but unselfishly giving. What did He do? He emptied Himself, or made Himself of no reputation The word is “kenosen” and some have called this the “KENOSIS” of Christ, that he emptied himself. The word paints a picture of the pouring of liquid from a container until it is completely empty. Jesus Christ emptied himself! Of what? Of his DEITY? No, this is impossible. Jesus’ deity was not REDUCED when he became a man, but His deity was RESTRAINED. He did not empty himself of His divine nature, but of the outward appearance or outward expression of Deity.
? Jesus emptied himself of the OUTWARD EXPRESSION of Deity but not the INWARD ESSENCE of Deity.
He is INFINITE, but you wouldn’t know it if you saw him develop in his mother’s womb. He is ETERNAL, but you wouldn’t know it if you saw him born in that Bethlehem stable. He is IMMUTABLE, but you wouldn’t know it if you saw him grow in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. He is SELF-SUFFICIENT, but you wouldn’t know it if you saw him hungry, tired, or thirsty.
He emptied himself of the outward expression (or appearance) of HIS INFINITE BEING, but not the essence of His infinite nature. He emptied himself of His outward expression of his ETERNAL NATURE, for He was born IN TIME and then DIED, but not the essence of His eternal nature. (He is the I AM). He emptied Himself of the OUTWARD EXPRESSION of his UNCHANGEABLE NATURE, as He grew in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man. He emptied Himself of the OUTWARD EXPRESSION of His self-sufficiency, as he hungered, thirsted, grew tired, and weary. You see, Jesus Christ voluntarily surrendered the independent exercise of certain of His divine attributes while He was on earth. He did not empty Himself of His Deity, but of the distinguishing marks , badges, and emblems of His Deity. He looked like a man and as a man was tempted and had the weaknesses of flesh. He surrendered the independent exercise of certain of His divine attributes while He was on earth.
Jesus emptied himself of the outward appearance and divine prerogatives of deity, what are we to empty ourselves of? Sin, unbelief, jealousy, selfishness! Christ emptied Himself of the outward appearances of Deity, look what we empty ourselves of: only those things that would hurt us and hurt the cause of God.
The point is, if Jesus, the very form, image, and character of God, became a servant and humbled himself so, shouldn’t we? How can we have a “big-shot” attitude? Is this spirit of status seeking, kingdom building, of an elitist stuffed shirt the same “mind of Christ?” Is the mind of Christ a desire to be applauded, to be noticed, to be recognized? No, the mind of Christ, the foundation to our joy, is a spirit of HUMBLE SERVING and SELF-EMPTYING. Empty yourself of the selfish spirit of conceit and competition. Of carnal desires, of all the works of the flesh!
Here is Jesus, God manifest of the flesh, becoming a servant. He took the “form of a servant.” Again, that word, “morphe” shows that He was not artificial, but authentic, he took on him at birth, in his incarnation, the nature of a servant. A servant! Servants in Bible days had no property, no rights, no will of their own. Can you imagine that He who made everything gave up his rights to all things! He whose will is perfect gave up his will for the will of the Father. What self-emptying! What humbling!
Illus: My children read some books called “ANIMORPHS.” They were about children morphing into animals. People taking on the nature of animals is strange science fiction, but God taking the form of a man is SCRIPTURAL! Jesus, forever being in the form of God takes the “morphe” of a man.
The phrases that emphasize his humanity are piled up by Paul: “Form of a servant…made in the likeness of men…being found in fashion as a man.” These phrases all explain his self-emptying.
Jesus was an authentic servant and a real man. He is DEITY wrapped in the DUST of humanity!
2. He Bravely ENDURES Cross-bearing, v.8
Jesus, with the very nature of God robed in flesh, in the habit or fashion as a man, he humbled himself.
Yes, Jesus was born to die. He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. For the joy that was set before him, Jesus endured the cross.
A. His obedience was no ordinary obedience. His obedience was all the way to death!
B. His death was no ordinary death! It was on a cross. Who died on crosses? Not Roman citizens, but Roman rebels, raw criminals, and riffraff of the empire.
What suffering he endured! Blood on his forehead, welts on his face, scars on his back, tears in his eyes, and brokenness in his heart, as he takes upon himself the sins of the world.
He died to demonstrate God’s LOVE,
Jh.3:16; For God so loved the world…
Rom. 5:8; God commendeth his love toward us…
1 John 3:16; Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
1 Jh. 4:9,10; In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we should live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.
He died to demonstrate God’s HATE, God hates sin! He died to pay the debt of sin. Christ’s death was for others. His death was substitutionary;
1 Pet. 2:24, Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1 Pet.3:18, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God…
All cross bearing, whether we are talking about Christ’s great cross for the sins of the world, or our little cross is OTHERS ORIENTED. The cross is a call to sacrificing for the sake of others. We take up the cross to glorify God and do His will, but to serve others. That is Paul’s point in Philippians 2. There are not many Timothy’s who serve others (Phil. 2:4,20,21).
? TAKE UP YOUR CROSS, O Christian!
One does not associate cross bearing with joy, but we are to bear our cross daily and follow him, and that will be the foundation of our joy. To say as Paul, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me. It is as we bear our cross and identify with Christ in His death that we die to ourselves and so find joy. It is through death with Christ that we have the power of Christ’s life. We are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life, Rom.6:4. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin, Rom.6:6. That is joy!
At a religious festival in Brazil, a missionary was going from booth to booth, and saw a sign above one booth, “Cheap crosses.” He thought to himself, That’s what may Christians are looking for these days- cheap crosses. My Lord’s cross was not cheap. Why should mine be? (Wiersbe, p.75)
You see, selfishness is a kill-joy; Christ’s life is our satisfaction. The way to manifest the life of Jesus is to die with Jesus. Christ in you, the hope of glory is our joy.
3. He Patiently WAITS for Exaltation, v.8-11
Jesus who humbled himself to the lowest, was exalted to the highest. His humiliation is so massive; His exaltation is so mighty. Paul’s point is that “he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Christ’s exaltation is the result of his humiliation. Jesus waited for God to exalt him at the right time, and the time is now. Jesus resisted Satan’s temptation to have the kingdoms of the world before it was God’s time.
We, too, must wait for the day of reward. This life is the battleground. This life is the race. Do you expect the crown before the race is over? We are still in the race! Do not grow weary. In His due time, He will exalt us. It is for us to maintain the humble mind of Christ, receiving God’s help, remembering God’s mighty hand, and realizing God’s constant care (1 Peter 5:5-7).
Now, let me challenge you to enter the race. These verses clearly tell us that Jesus is God, Jesus is Man, Jesus Died, and Jesus is exalted.
You must believe in Jesus Christ. Some day every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. It is not a question of IF you will confess Jesus is Lord, but WHEN. Will it be too late? For many, it will be!
Some day, the Atheist and the Agnostic, the Pantheist and the Pagan, the fearful, unbelieving, all liars, and murderers, will confess, Jesus is Lord.
Some day, every rock star from Elvis Presley to Tupac Shakur will confess, Jesus is Lord. Every Hollywood star, from John Wayne to John Travolta, from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna, will confess Jesus is Lord. Every evolutionary scientist and every powerful president, will confess, Jesus is Lord.
This is a statement of CONFESSION and of COMFORT and CONTROL.
When circumstances confuse you, when temptations haunt you, when the world mocks you, remember, JESUS is Lord. When you are lonely, grieving, and problems surround you, when you are worried and afraid, do not forget, Jesus is Lord.
Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, and you shall be saved!
This is a statement of COMMITMENT and CONTROVERSY. Jesus is Lord. People have been burned at the stake and thrown to the lions for making such a statement.
Will you not agree with God NOW? To confess means to say the same thing, to agree with someone. The agnostic will know and the atheist will believe; the evolutionist will know there is a creator; the materialist will know there are riches he never considered. The Devil will even say, Jesus is Lord, and be cast into the lake of fire!
People might say, I am confused, there are so many religions. Friends, there are only TWO religions: God’s and Man’s. God’s says JESUS IS LORD. Man’s says everything else. All of them are the Devil’s lies. Let the confusion clear up by reading Phil. 2:9-11.
You might say, Matthew, I do not agree with you that Jesus is Lord. My friend, someday you will, and if you do not confess Him NOW, it will be too late in eternity.
This verse is a quotation from Isaiah 45:22,23. It speaks of bowing and confessing to JEHOVAH God, and Jesus is Jehovah.
The Mind of Christ! 1. He Voluntarily Empties Himself 2. He Bravely Endures Cross-bearing 3. He Patiently Waits for Exaltation
FB Meyer made a discovery. He said, “I used to think, that God’s gifts were on shelves, one above another, and the taller we grow, the easier we can reach them. Now I find, that God’s gifts are on shelves, one beneath another, and the lower we stoop, the more we get!”