07.A Servanthood: The Humiliation of Christ

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Servanthood
The Humiliation of the Son of God

Key Passage: Philippians 2:1-11

Contents 1 Summary 2 Guided reflection 3 Essential Truths Regarding the Humiliation of Christ 4 Core Issues 5 Common Errors 6 Connecting points to 5C indicators 7 Connecting Points to the 4Ds 8 Essential Truths (Conclusion)

Summary

The Eternal Son of God “emptied Himself,” temporarily laying aside His divine glory and rights, preferring the good of others before His own, to become truly human in order to die for the sin of the world. For this, God restored His former glory, highly exalting Him.

Guided reflection

Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas of your life where you have been serving yourself instead of others.

In Philippians 2:1-11, Paul urges believers to live in Christ’s love, laying down their own rights and privileges, forsaking selfish ambition and preferring one another. This will result in unity in the church and effective ministry in the world.

Christians are directed to serve one another, following the example of Christ. The Son of God became a servant, yet He did not cease to be God. A leader is not lessened in authority or degraded in calling by serving, as seen in the self-humbling of the Son of God. Leaders are servants, preferring the good of others before their own good.

Essential Truths Regarding the Humiliation of Christ

The Son of God emptied Himself, temporarily laying aside His divine glory and rights to become a Man in order to die in atonement for the sins of us all, after which He was exalted and restored to all the rights and privileges of His pre-incarnate deity, while retaining His humanity with a glorified body.

Core Issues

1. Pre-existent Glory (Phil. 2:6)

a) He existed in the form of God (Col. 1:19; Heb. 1:3; Mic. 5:2).

b) He was and is equal with God (Col. 1:15-18; John 1:1-3; Is. 9:6).

2. Humiliation (Phil. 2:7-8)

a) His humiliation began with the incarnation (Mic. 5:2; Phil. 2:5-7).

i) The Son of God took into personal and eternal union with Himself a nature infinitely lower than His own.

ii) He subjected Himself to the limitations of humanity, beginning as the fullness of God in a helpless baby (Luke 2:12-14).

iii) In His humanity, He came not as a king, but as a suffering servant – poor and ordinary (Is. 53:2; 2 Cor. 8:9).

iv) He subjected Himself to the requirements of God’s law that was intended for man (Matt. 3:13-15; Gal. 4:4-5; Heb. 5:8).

b) His humiliation was necessary so that He could die in atonement for sin.

i) Christ humbled Himself for the good of others –the rest of mankind who needed a sinless and perfect substitute to the pay penalty for sin (Mark 10:45; John 3:16).

ii) He was “put to death in the flesh” (1 Pet. 3:18), suffering at the hands of sinners, which was a source of shame as well as physical suffering.

iii) He endured the penalty of God against the sin of mankind (Is. 53:10).

iv) He was forsaken by the Father in the sense that being an innocent man as well as God’s own Son, He was allowed to suffer at the hands of sinful men and to die (Ps. 22).

c) His physical death was the lowest point of His suffering.

i) He was crucified with criminals (Is. 53:9, 12).

ii) He was buried in a borrowed tomb, indicating His poverty (Matt. 27:57-60).

iii) That He was in the grave until the third day establishes the reality of His death (Matt. 27:64; 1 Cor. 15:4).

iv) There is insufficient biblical evidence to promote or permit any idea of a “descent into hell” as a definite doctrine of Christianity (see below).

3. Exaltation (Phil. 2:9-12)

a) Resurrection – this is the fundamental truth of the Gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4, 14, 17). His atoning death was vindicated in that He “was raised to life for our justification” (Rom. 4:25).

b) The One who came as a servant to die, is now ascended to the right hand of God (John 17:5; Matt. 28:18; Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:20), receiving the worship of all (Phil. 2:9-11).

c) In the second coming of Christ, He will come again to the Earth as the conquering King and Judge of the world (John 5:22-30; Acts 10:42; 17:31; 2 Tim. 4:1, 8).

i) While in His first coming, the Son of God came in humility and servanthood, He will return in full and complete exaltation at the second coming.

ii) Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11).

Common Errors

1. Some wrongly teach that Christ emptied Himself of His deity, ceasing to be God.

a) He did not give up His deity when He became man; rather He temporarily set aside His divine glory, rights and privileges.

b) He willingly received worship when He was in His body of flesh on the earth (Matt. 14:33; 28:8-10; John 9:38; 20:28).

c) His deity and the possession of His divine attributes are affirmed in the many passages that speak of Him being God during His time on the earth.

2. Others try to soften the error by saying He emptied Himself only of divine attributes.

a) However, ceasing to be God in part would mean that Christ gave up His deity.

b) Jesus was always fully God. He was always fully in possession of His divine attributes and willingly accepted worship while on earth in the flesh.

c) He did not give up His divine attributes in an absolute sense, but He voluntarily limited His power and knowledge as a man and became subject to place, time, and other human limitations. To become a true man, He temporarily laid aside the independent exercise of the “Omni-attributes:” omniscience (He had to learn), omnipotence (He had to eat and rest), and omnipresence (He had to travel).

d) As a man, He was fully dependent on the Father (John 5:19) and could thereby function in the “Omni-attributes.” He could know men’s hearts, He could command the elements, and He could be transported across a lake, as enabled by the Father.

3. The view of Christ’s descent into hell, asserting that He went there to suffer for sins is clearly erroneous.

a) Some teachers reason that since part of the punishment for the sin of man is spiritual death and eternal death, then Jesus therefore had to die spiritually and suffer in hell for three days in order to pay the full penalty for sin.

b) This is nowhere taught in Scripture. On the contrary, it is very clear that because He is the eternal Son of God (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 2:8; Heb. 9:14), Christ’s physical death (1 Pet. 3:18) fully paid the price for the sins of mankind (see teaching on the Atonement).

Connecting points to 5C indicators

1. Christ:

a) Inward union with Jesus by the Holy Spirit is the basis for self-giving love.

2. Community:

a) Loves spouse and others with self-giving love and respect.

b) Seeks the good of others before his own good.

c) Submits to and works toward a common purpose.

d) Each believer is to be like Christ in looking “not only to [his] own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

3. Character:

a) Humility

b) Servanthood

4. Calling:

a) Our calling is to be accomplished in the context of unified community. The community will only be truly unified when we put the good of the community before our own personal good. The subjugation of personal “vision”/ambition for what is genuinely in the best interests of the community is necessary.

b) Healthy leaders will always lead with servants’ hearts while fulfilling their particular callings and responsibilities (Acts 6:1-4).

5. Competencies:

a) Explain the doctrine of the “kenosis” or “emptying” of Christ.

b) Affirm the complete deity of Christ at all times.

c) Understand the relationship between Christ’s humiliation and exaltation (Heb. 2:9).

d) List the steps of Christ’s humiliation, perhaps using a diagram to indicate the pre-existent state, the descending steps, and the eventual exaltation (Phil. 2:6-11).

e) Recognize the practical implications of the foregoing for the followers of Christ.

Connecting Points to the 4Ds

1. Spiritual dynamic:

a) Worship the Lord for His wisdom in bringing exaltation out of humiliation, life out of death, etc.

b) Think of several songs that magnify the Lord for His glorious humility.

c) Meditate on Philippians 2:1-11 and other supporting passages.

d) By the Holy Spirit’s illumination of the Word, identify one or more transformational goals for your own life and commit before God to obey His Word on that point.

e) Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you to deny selfish ambition and prefer others when conflict arises. Ask Him specifically to show you any areas in your ministry in which you have been working from ambition rather than a genuine willingness to serve.

f) Reflect on the fact that you enter into the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings in a small way whenever you suffer an injustice.

2. Relational dynamic:

a) Discuss with a mentor your transformational goals and ask for accountability.

b) Ask your pastoral coach to identify any areas in your life and ministry where you have done well and where you might have fallen short.

c) Find someone who exemplifies this “attitude of Christ” and ask them about their journey.

d) Think of someone you know who has done this “emptying” well:

i) What did it take for them to do it?

ii) What were the results?

e) In your work or ministry team, reflect on the example of Christ, identify specific practical ways that you can follow His example in your current work/ministry environment and pray for one another to be able to apply self-giving love in the situations you’re currently facing.

3. Experiential dynamic:

a) Identify a person or group of people that are looked down upon and serve them in some way.

b) Pray over your own life, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal someone you have previously looked down upon. Then make a plan of specific ways that you can serve that person and put their needs before your own. Then do it.

c) While on earth as a Man, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet. With willing and trusted associates of the same gender, prayerfully wash one another’s feet.

d) Identify five or more other acts of service that you could do for one another as fellow-workers, like helping to wash the dishes or sweeping the floor.

4. Instructional dynamic:

a) Facilitate a discussion of Philippians 2:1-11 identifying:

i) Foundational truths

ii) Common errors

iii) The author’s purpose

iv) Practical implications for the believer

b) On your own, using selected Scripture passages in context, study the servanthood of Christ concerning how:

i) He lived in His Father’s love.

ii) He was always fully dependent on His Father for everything.

iii) He demonstrated that love by preferring others, denying His own rights and privileges.

c) Read or listen to a teaching on the humiliation and/or exaltation of Christ.

d) Memorize Philippians 2:1-11 and the definition of the Son’s humiliation given at the beginning.

e) Recall at least six other biblical passages that describe incidents of divine self-lowering.

f) Explain this doctrine in brief to a child. What illustrations might be used?

g) Consider how the Son’s Humiliation may be illustrated by imagining a man becoming an ant. What is the inadequacy of this illustration?

Essential Truths (Conclusion)

1. Christ always remained fully God – this is essential to salvation, since God purchased His church with His own blood (Acts 20:28).

2. The essence of the humiliation was that Christ voluntarily laid aside His divine rights and privileges out of loving obedience to the Father and for the purpose of serving others.