Humilty: In, through and for Christ

Philippians 2: 1-18
1Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any (A)fellowship of the Spirit, if any (B)affection and compassion,
2(C)make my joy complete by (D)being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
3Do nothing from (E)selfishness or (F)empty conceit, but with humility of mind (G)regard one another as more important than yourselves;
4(H)do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
5(I)Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in (J)Christ Jesus,
6who, although He (K)existed in the (L)form of God, (M)did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7but [a](N)emptied Himself, taking the form of a (O)bond-servant, and (P)being made in the likeness of men.
8Being found in appearance as a man, (Q)He humbled Himself by becoming (R)obedient to the point of death, even (S)death on a cross.
9(T)For this reason also, God (U)highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him (V)the name which is above every name,
10so that at the name of Jesus (W)EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of (X)those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is (Y)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12So then, my beloved, (Z)just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your (AA)salvation with (AB)fear and trembling;
13for it is (AC)God who is at work in you, both to will and to work (AD)for His good pleasure.
14Do all things without (AE)grumbling or disputing;
15so that you will prove yourselves to be (AF)blameless and innocent, (AG)children of God above reproach in the midst of a (AH)crooked and perverse generation, among whom you (AI)appear as lights in the world,
16holding fast the word of life, so that in (AJ)the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not (AK)run in vain nor (AL)toil in vain.
17But even if I am being (AM)poured out as a drink offering upon (AN)the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.
18You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Humility: In, through and for Christ
hum•ble (dictionary.com)
   ˈhʌm bəl,ˈʌm-Show Spelled [huhm-buh l, uhm-] Show IPA adjective, -bler, -blest, verb, -bled, -bling.
–adjective
1. not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful.
2. having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.: In the presence of so many world-famous writers I felt very humble.
3. low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly: of humble origin; a humble home.
EXPAND
4. courteously respectful: In my humble opinion you are wrong.
5. low in height, level, etc.; small in size: a humble member of the galaxy.
COLLAPSE
–verb (used with object)
6. to lower in condition, importance, or dignity; abase.
7. to destroy the independence, power, or will of.
8. to make meek: to humble one's heart.

A breakdown of Paul’s letter:
2:1 If you believe…
2:2 then you should act…
2:3-4 Introduces/defines humility
2:5-11 Humility displayed through Christ
2:12-18 Encouragement and exhortation to follow Christ’s humble example. ACTIVE

Paul begins this part of his letter with a cause and effect, as it pertains to faith in Christ. He basically says, IF you count on Christ, THEN you can do what I am about to ask of you.
I love how Paul says “make my joy complete by…” Make MY joy complete. Paul takes great joy, complete joy, in seeing believers obey and honor their Father. How often do we feel complete joy in seeing others walking in obedience and humility? We should take note of this attitude and evaluate our own hearts to see if we are delighting in the same joys our Father delights in. “Be of same mind.”
Paul then lists off several ways in which these believers can be imitating and serving Christ and others. (vv 2-4)
Verse 3 shows how Paul is able to truly take joy in seeing the believers grow in faith and obedience. “…regard one another as more important than yourselves;” If we regard others, especially Christ, as more important, then we will be able to receive this joy Paul speaks of in verse 2. It also shows a reflection of Jesus in our attitude. Paul then goes into detail of how Christ showed humility in His own life and death in verses 5-11.
When I started the study of this section this week, it reminded me of a song my three year old son is currently obsessed with. “Lord I lift your name on high.” If you are not familiar with the song, the chorus sums up the lifeline of Christ.
“You came from Heaven to Earth,
To show the way.
From the Earth to the Cross,
My debt to pay,
From the Cross to the Grave,
From the Grave to the Sky,
Lord I lift your name on High!
Jesus took on the humble task of becoming human. Not just human, but a bond-servant , as He left his seat in Heaven to trade it in for dusty sandals and calloused hands in his fleshly body. He humbled Himself in obedience to the Father through servitude and eventually His death on a cross. Crucifixion at this time was the most shameful form of punishment you could receive… a very public and humiliating way to die.
This is just one of the many reasons God exalted Him and loved Christ so dearly. God set Jesus apart as a specific name in the Trinity, a name that holds great power of salvation. When we believe in the life, death and resurrection of Christ and confess through that name, we receive a place in the Kingdom of God! WOW!
Jesus is Lord.
Imagine how much joy the father takes in us when we recognize that sacrifice through humility and obedience in our own lives. Not only does it give Him glory, but also reaffirms our trust in His decision to send His one and only beloved son for our sake.
Have you ever sacrificed something you owned or your time in hopes that it will be of future benefit to others? Can you imagine now giving your very own child up for death, in hopes that it will save the lives of many more in generations to come? I have a hard enough time just sacrificing a daily shower without complaining… I can’t imagine willingly sending my child to die such a tragic death for the greater good. And if we can claim faith in Christ, but not act upon that faith… have we validated Christ’s death? Or are we ungratefully taking advantage of our Father’s sacrifice? Each time we choose to sin rather than obey… each time we put ourselves before others, rather than humbly imitate Christ… we basically imply Christ’s death was not satisfactory to us. We are just as the mockers who spit on him and beat Jesus that dark day. I don’t know about you, but that moves me to repentance… because I too often choose myself over others.
I think Paul was trying to evoke the same emotions from his audience in Philippi. As Paul moves into the next section of scripture, he says “So then, my beloved.” So then, because of this, in reaction to this… Paul is calling them to action.
Verses 12-18 call us to action and shows applicable ways to be active in pursuit of humility and Christ-like character.
2:12 “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” = Paul is not saying that we can attain our own salvation through works, but rather that it takes effort (work) and not just words to grow in our faith. We all have to put forth effort in our daily walk… regardless of our stage of spiritual maturity. We are all still sinners and must fight against those earthly temptations as we strive towards humility and selflessness.
2:14 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing”= Paul is reminding us that we are sinful and selfish by nature. When asked to do something for others, we are inclined to put up resistance… to complain or argue. We need to fight these tendencies as we remember Christ, who endured the cross without grumbling or disputing.
2:15 “appear as lights in the world”= Paul is calling us to reflect the light that Christ emits from within our hearts as we stand against the sinful and dark world we live in temporarily.
2:16 “holding fast to the word of life” = Paul reminds us to constantly be in the word and sharing the word, gospel, with others.
2:17 “ rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.”= Paul says REJOICE in the same way that I rejoice. Share in the excitement and be joyful when you see Christ’s character and humility displayed in others. Share that joy with others… and rejoice with God in the righteousness and recognition and adoration of Christ through ACTION!

I will leave you with a few other verses to encourage and re-enforce Pauls thoughts and call to action.
Psalm 25:8-11
Proverbs 11:2
Proverbs 18:12 (relates to Phil 2:9)
Zephaniah 2:3
James 4:10 (Phil 2:9)
1 Peter 5:5-6 (again Phil 2:9)
Ephesians 4:2 (Phil 2:4)

So we are to show humility in our lives. It is a recurring theme throughout the Bible as it should be in our lives. We are to show humility in, through and for Christ.

In Christ: In faith through Christ (v 2:1, 2:11)
Through Christ: (vv 2:5-11) demonstrated though Christ and delivered through the Father (v 13)
For Christ: (2:13) For God’s glory and good pleasure.

Through this obedience and attitude of Humility… we honor Christ for His life, death and resurrection and show Trust in God through His plans that He has brought to fruition and is bringing into being.
LL