Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:5-8
The Humility of Christ
Jesus gave us the very best examples of how we are to walk the Christian walk and love others, not only in His actions, but also in His mindset. What He modeled for us is loving and serving others in humility. We can learn to react to others like Christ by following His example. Paul wrote about this to the Church in Philippi who was having trouble with lack of unity. He doesn’t list all the qualities of Christ but highlights the qualities of Christ that fit their needs at that time.
Jesus was in the form of God meaning that He always was, since the beginning of time. He didn’t begin His existence when He was born in Bethlehem. He is eternal. He did not count His equality with God as something to grasp. He let go of the splendor of being God, to be man, and when He did this, He emptied Himself.
We can be humble like Christ, we don’t have to just read about Him and admire Him for who He is, thinking we can never be like Him. We are to be in awe of Christ but still see it as something we want to be a part of and imitate in our own life.
Jesus Became a Bond Servant - This describes how Jesus emptied Himself. Though he took the form of a bondservant, Jesus did not empty Himself of His deity, or of any of His attributes, or of His equality with God. He emptied Himself into the form of a bondservant. In Bible times, a bondservant was someone who served for no wages, or was in a constant state of servitude. They were completely at the disposal of their master. Jesus emptied Himself to become a bondservant to all mankind. Jesus had a servant’s heart. He had compassion for those in need and those that no one else wanted to have anything to do with. He was the King of Kings but set that aside to become a bond servant so we would have an example of how to serve others.
Jesus Became a Man - Jesus becoming man was another way He emptied Himself. Even though He was in the form of God, He understood that a posture of humility is important in serving and loving others. Jesus hadto do this for the will of His father to be fulfilled. He had to give up His royalty to become a man to then be obedient to God – obedient to the point of death, the greatest act of humility ever. The only way this could ever be fulfilled was for Jesus to leave heaven and become a man in order to become obedient.
Even Death On A Cross – Jesus’ death on a cross shows that there is no limit to what God will do to demonstrate His love and saving power for us. In obedience, Jesus came and suffered to fulfill this amazing act of love in humility for us. He lowered Himself down from the glory of His highest-ranking majesty, and perfect heavenly home, in order to join the common ranks of a morally imperfect humanity. He was willing to give up everything to bring salvation to a sinful, broken world.
“The lower he stoops to save us, the higher we ought to lift him in our adoring reverence. Blessed be his name, he stoops, and stoops, and stoops, and, when he reaches our level, and becomes man, he still stoops, and stoops, and stoops lower and deeper yet.” (Spurgeon)
