Sermon: The foremost condescension (Phil 2:6-8)

WHAT IS FOREMOST?
The Foremost Condescension (Phil 2:6-8)
pdf
Dr. Paul Manuel—2012

(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to
each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted.)

It is important to have a realistic assessment of your worth, to know your capabilities and your limitations.

There was an engineer who had an exceptional gift for fixing all things mechanical. After serving his company loyally for over thirty years, he happily retired. Several years later, the company contacted him regarding a seemingly impossible problem they were having with one of their multi-million dollar machines. They had tried everything and everyone else to get the machine fixed, but to no avail. In desperation, they called on the retired engineer who had solved so many of their problems in the past. The engineer reluctantly took the challenge. He spent a day studying the huge machine. At the end of the day, he marked a small "x" in chalk on a particular component of the machine and stated, "This is where your problem is." The part was replaced, and the machine worked perfectly again. The company account manager was surprised, though, when he received a bill for $50,000 from the engineer for his service, and the manager demanded an itemized list of the charges. The engineer responded briefly:

Chalkmark .............................................................................$1.00

Knowing where to put the chalk mark ............................$49,999.00

It is important to have a realistic assessment of your worth.... What should astound you is God's assessment of your worth, which required The Foremost Condescension.

Paul's rabbinic training may have fostered in him a predilection for theological subjects, because he deals with several of them in his letters.

• Romans and Galatians treat soteriology, the study of salvation.
• Ephesians treats ecciesiology, the study of the church.
• Thessalonians treats eschatology, the study of the future.
• Philippians treats Christology, the study of the messiah.

None of these topics takes up a whole letter, but they usually occupy several verses, as in Paul's treatment of Jesus' incarnation, or...

* XXXVII The Foremost Condescension¹

...which exhibits...

• The preeminence of God (Phil 2:6-8)

Please turn to...

Phil 2:6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Paul writes that...

1. Your savior began fully God.

...and that is also the testimony of the apostle John, who says about Jesus...²

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Something changed, though, with the incarnation, when, as Paul says, Jesus was "made in human likeness."³ For that to occur, he had to lay aside some of those divine abilities and prerogatives. In so doing...

2. Your savior became truly man.

subject to many of the limitations we face, including death.⁴ That is also what the author of Hebrews writes...⁵

Heb 2:14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.... 17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Jesus' death was necessary for our salvation, and his death was a sacrifice only he could make, but it was not the only sacrifice he did make.

The New Testament writers describe several ways that Jesus surrendered some of his divinity in order to identify with our humanity.

• He experienced human inability. For example, as God, there was nothing he did not know but, as man, there were some things he did not know.

• Paul describes the omniscience Jesus possesses in his heavenly state.

Col 2:3 in [him] are hidden all the treasures of...knowledge.

• Jesus described the ignorance he faced in his earthly state.⁶

Matt 24:36 No one knows [the precise time of my return], not even...the Son, but only the Father.

He experienced human inability.

• He experienced human fragility. For example, as God, there was nothing he needed to survive but, as man, there were some things he did need.

• Paul describes the sufficiency Jesus possesses in his heavenly state.⁷

Phil 4:19 ...my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

• Jesus described the insufficiency he faced in his earthly state.⁸

John 19:28c [On the cross] Jesus said, "I am thirsty."

He experienced human fragility.

• He experienced human temporality. For example, as God, he cannot die but, as man, he did die.

• The author of Hebrews describes the immortality Jesus possesses in his heavenly state.⁹

Heb 7:24a ...because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.

• Matthew described the mortality he possessed in his earthly state.

Matt 27:50 ...when Jesus had cried out... in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

He experienced human temporality.

The incarnation combined Jesus' divinity and his humanity. How such a thing is even possible is difficult to understand, which may be why Paul calls it "the mystery of godliness" (1 Tim 3:16).

Because the incarnation is not easy to understand, some alternative explanations have arisen.

• In the first century, Docetism questioned Jesus' humanity, claiming that he was not a physical being but a spiritual one and, therefore, did not actually die on the cross. John may be condemning this view when he writes...¹⁰

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

Although Docetism died out by the eleventh century, this belief survives today in Christian Science.¹¹

• In the fourth century, Arianism questioned Jesus' divinity, claiming that he was a created being and not fully God. John may have anticipated this view when he wrote...

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Despite being condemned by several church councils, this belief survives today among Jehovah's Witnesses.

The view of the incarnation that has prevailed throughout the centuries of Church history and the view that has the support of scripture, is the one we hold, the one Paul presents in this letter, however difficult it may be to understand, that Jesus was fully God,¹² and he was truly man.¹³

Why did Jesus become man? There was nothing He needed that we could offer.¹⁴ As the Son of God, he owned everything. We had nothing to give. The real problem, though, was that our relationship to God was not neutral; it was hostile.¹⁵ Our sin placed us at odds with His righteousness, and we were destined for destruction. Only God's gracious intervention saved us. So, Job's question¹⁶ about the Father applies also to the Son.

Job 7:17 What is man that you make so much of him, that you give him so much attention[?]

Why did He not let us face the consequences of our sin and be done with it? What incentive did God have to redeem us with the death of His Son? ...It was nothing in us. From God's point of view, we were a failure, a cosmic disappointment. He may have had great plans when He created us, but we ruined that in the beginning. Still, He persisted. What was God's motivation? Was it our good looks or our charming personality? ...No, it was nothing about us; it was all about Him—His mercy despite our unrighteousness, His grace despite our unworthiness.

1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 3: 16a-b This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Why did Jesus become man? It was not our love for him but his love for us.¹⁷

There are several places in scripture that present Jesus as an example for others.¹⁸ Sometimes his followers are to emulate his action.

• After Jesus washed the disciples' feet during his last Passover, he said...

John 13:15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

• Addressing persecuted believers in Asia Minor, Peter writes...

1 Pet 2:21 ...Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

Other times, as here, his followers are to emulate his attitude.¹⁹

• Exhorting Christians at Philippi, Paul says... 

Phil 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

The attitude Paul has in mind is the one he describes in the next few verses, the humility Jesus exemplified in the incarnation.²⁰

Just as Jesus demonstrated humility, so his followers are to demonstrate humility.²¹ Furthermore, just as the Son of God was rewarded for his humility, so you, as a child of God, are rewarded for your humility.²² You receive...

• Divine instruction, accessing the guidance of God

Ps 25:9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

• Divine attention, attracting the interest of God

Ps 138:6 Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the [humble], but the proud he knows from afar.

• Divine provision, acquiring the help of God²³

Ps 147:6 The LORD sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.

• Divine perception, applying the wisdom of God

Prov 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

• Divine admiration, achieving the recognition of God²⁴

Prov 15:33 The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

These are some of the benefits humility brings.

Earlier in the chapter, Paul explains how humility works, and it is not in what you say but in what you do.²⁵

Phil 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

What opportunities did you have this week to look after "the interests of others" and demonstrate humility?

Paul warns against "false humility," which may "have an appearance of wisdom" (Col 2:23) but is actually a form of pride (hubris).²⁶

• A person with false humility deprecates himself, making light of his abilities and accomplishments; he claims to be less than what he is, in order to receive praise or recognition.²⁷

• He is proud about being humble.

In contrast, Paul advocates for "true humility," which is how believers should present themselves "toward all men" (Titus 3:2).

• A person with true humility (= true or proper pride) has a realistic assessment of his abilities and accomplishments; he claims to be nothing other than what he is, with no desire to receive praise or recognition.²⁸

• He does not pretend to be what he is not, either superior or inferior.

Someone (Helen Nielsen) once said, "Humility is like underwear...essential to wear, but indecent if it shows." ...How is your spiritual underwear?

Jesus did what only God could do. Through The Foremost Condescension, he became man, identifying with you and dying for you so that you could be reconciled to God. That obligates you in several ways.²⁹ not the least of which is to emulate his attitude of humility, because that identifies you with him.

Having considered The Foremost Condescension, we will look next at The Foremost Conversion, which produces the pedigree of God, in 1 Pet 1:3,23.

For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.

(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted)