We're going to turn in our Bibles this morning to
Philippians chapter 2 and we're going to read again.
The first 11 verses this very important chapter of Holy
Scripture. Philippians chapter 2 will read
from verse 1. Let's hear the word of the Lord.
And as the reading takes please, we encourage you to follow.
What we need to hear the words, but see them on the page.
Let's be thankful. Of course for the word of God
and our own language for thankful to God.
They have a faithful and reliable translation of holy
scriptures and the authorized version.
Let's hear the word of the Lord Philippians chapter 2 verse 1.
If there be there for any consolation Christ, if any
comfort of Love of any Fellowship of the spirit, if any
bowels and mercies for fill, ye my joy that you be like-minded,
having the same love being of one.
Accord of one mind, let nothing be done.
Through Strife or vainglory. But in lowliness of Mind, Let
each esteem other better than themselves.
Look, not every man that his own things, but every man also on
the things of others, Let this mind be in you which was also in
Christ. Jesus who being in the form of
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made
himself of no reputation and took upon him.
The form of a servant and was made in the likeness of man and
being found in fashion. As a man.
He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath.
Highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every
name that at the name of Jesus Christ, every knee should buy of
things in heaven and things in Earth and things under the
Earth. And that every tongue should
confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. Amen.
We Do. Lord and stumbles on approval
and glassing this reading of the Holy scriptures.
Now, my text this morning as we continue, our series of messages
in the book of Philippians is taken from Philippians chapter
2, verses 6 to eat. It reads as follows who being in
the form of God. Thought it not robbery to be
equal with God that made himself of no reputation and took upon
him. The form of a servant was being
the likeness of man being found in fashion as a man.
He humbled himself and became obedient.
The death, even the death of the Cross.
No, my theme today is to consider the example of Jesus
Christ. The God Mom now Philippians
chapter 2 verses 5 to 11 as one of the most important passages
in the entire Bible. It is one of the most profound
christological portions of Holy Scripture, many reformed and
Protestant scholars. Believe this is one of the best
passages of the Bible to defend the doctrine of the Incarnation
and explain that Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh.
However, the Apostle Paul did not write these words under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit to theologians or to Scholars.
It is not a mere, systematic. Theological lecture.
The Apostle Paul is not using the tax to combat heresy or to
denounce theological error. No.
He is writing about the Practical matter of how true
believers can get along with each other.
The church in Philippi was facing a time of Discord and
disunity and disharmony. And the Apostle Paul is
stressing here, the need for Unity and Harmony in the local
church. He is writing therefore to
Common People to business, people in the church to
Housewives. To act soldiers, may be serving
soldiers to two young people to two sleeves to help them to live
in harmony with one another. In other words, Philippians
chapter 2, verses 5 through 11 is set in the context of a very
practical matter. In order to live in harmony.
One with another, I'm going to Spurt of hue Unity.
They must cultivate the mind of Christ.
He says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus. And remember the sermon from
last week. We encourage you to go to the
website until listen to it. Again, they must cultivate the
mind of Christ. It's very important.
We thought about the portrait of Christ mind.
What was Mind Lake and we said it was a sound made in dealing
with others. We must have the attitude of
Christ. He knew who he was and what did
Kim to do. It was a single mind remained,
satin pleasing his Heavenly Father.
It was a spiritual main. He never had a evil or a bitter
thought towards any individual his motives and his conversation
was always an only sinlessly pure.
We must. Pursue the mind of Christ.
We must be selfless. To live in harmony and unity, we
must learn to die to self must experience a life of self denial
and life of self-sacrifice and humbly live for others for
Christ's sake. And therefore, we must be
submissive to the will of God. We must be steadfast in for felt
God's purpose. And remember how knowing the
mind of Christ is a powerful reality.
But, here's the key to true, happiness, Holiness, and
Harmony, and even the hope. Now, your weather Street the
point, The Apostle Paul sets before us the person and work of
Jesus Christ. Also superb, example, of supreme
humility. And this solid theological
understanding of who Christ is, is the very Foundation of
promoting Harmony and unity among ourselves.
Paul is saying in order to promote Harmony and unity, We
must grow in humility by being modeled on, Jesus Christ, and
his Incarnation, unders death. See we live in a day when people
don't want Doctrine, they argue it's dry.
It's it's divisive. It's boring.
What we want. We want Harmony.
We want Unity, we want life. You let me tell you this
morning. You can't divorce, true Harmony
and unity from the doctrine of Christ.
And remember that God's Doctrine?
True Doctrine centers in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
And therefore, true Christians who want to live in harmony and
unity with each other must learn to emiti.
It uncultivated. Christ model of human.
Day, and that's why the Apostle Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit
stated Philippians, chapter 2, verses 5 to 11.
That's the context. Yes.
It's a profound theological statement.
Yes. It's a wonderful treaties of of
the doctrine of Christ, but none of never be divorced from the
context. Now stressed out to you, at
least until your three occasions, but I repeat that for
emphasis so that you can grasp it.
Remember the setting it. It's very important ever divorce
a thing from its context. And the context is this profound
theological statement about Christ, as sat in the context of
Paul arguing for the need to model yourself on Christ.
Humility, in order to promote Harmony and unity in the house
of God. Now this morning, I have three
things as we begin to open up this text as probably take a
second sermon. It might even take a third
servant so you'll have to bear. For me, I want you to consider
first of all, the mystery of Christ person.
Who is Jesus Christ? Now?
If you look at the contacts, look at your book?
Verse 5. Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ. Jesus.
He mentions Christ Jesus. So we're going to ask the
question. Well, who is Christ Jesus?
Someone wrote a book one time and it was entitled will The
Real Jesus Christ of Nazareth, please stand up.
I'm we're giving the answer who he is in verse 6, who being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
not text of scripture. Has to do with his.
Co eternality with the father. His coexistence with the father.
I'm just going quality with the father.
He one of the greatest and most profound events.
And the whole of the world is the event known as the
Incarnation of the god mer. That is the Eternal Son of God.
God, the son, taking human flesh, taking a real human body,
that with the properties of, of body and soul into Union, with
his divine nature. And coming into this world, via
the Virgin birth member 1st. Timothy, 3:16 greed is a must
Godzilla's God was manifest in the flesh.
Look with me at verse 6. Who being in the form of God.
Never going to pause there? Because the word being means
from the verb to be? Existent.
It's a reference to has pre-existence before he was born
of the Virgin Mary in the fullness of time.
Jesus Christ is not a created being, he is the second person
of the Triune God before he killed him before.
He came to Bethlehem young people.
He existed in the form of God. Now they're called.
Say he came to exist. Or he entered into existence
through the time, freedom is clearly Eterna.
It's a reference to Eternity past the Apostle Paul, simply
exerts, something that Jesus Christ existed eternally.
Who being in the form of God. Now, the word form?
It's important and I want you to know the meaning of it.
The Greek word is morphe from which we get the English word of
morphology and the word morphing means.
What a thing is of itself. It's what is intrinsic or
essential? To being in other words, what
he's saying is that? Jesus Christ and he says, it's
in the form of God is in the essential nature of God.
Paul is saying that Jesus Christ in his nature in his character
corresponds with the nature and character of God, the father,
and he does so inherently. He'd also unchangeably, he does
so eternally, let me explain. Dissuaded the word morphe ties
into the Roman stump. Now if you want to post a letter
today, you could enter the shop and you pay 60 in P or whatever
it is. You put a first-class stamp on
it and the Royal Mail delivers it but the way back in Roman
times, they didn't have stamps. So what they did was when they
had an important document that they wanted to be delivered to
someone, they ruled the document up and they sealed it with a wax
seal on. There was a ring stump pressed
into the hot wax bearing. The insane Emperor Emperor's
Insignia, and the impression in the wax was the exact
representation of the Insignia on.
The rain. We have some similar today's I
think of a rubber stamp on ink when I'm filling in passports
for the Republic of Ireland. I have to use my rubber stamp
and rare. Thank and what's on the rubber
stamp when I press it into the ink and put it onto the paper,
as an exact impression and paper, the exact image of what
is on the stamp. The Apostle Paul is saying, is
this, that the relationship that Jesus Christ Bears to God, the
Father? He is the exact image or the
exact representation of who and what God is.
Now. That's that's important because
Jesus Christ is not a junior partner to God.
He's not a created being, he's not one who's inferior to the
father Jesus Christ as a fully-fledged member of the
godhead. He's equal with the father and
every respect. How do you seek will from
eternity past? Jesus Christ as he turned away,
God. Jesus Christ exists as God.
What Paul is saying, is that Jesus Christ?
And his pre-existence from all eternity possess.
The essential nature of God, the character of God, the Divine
attributes of God. In other words, he is God before
he came to Earth. Jesus Christ, existed and dwelt.
in the indivisible glory of the father.
He existed and dwelt in the Perfections of Heaven.
He was one with the father and the spirit and the blessedness
of his Divine being, but he willingly he voluntary last out
Glory. For the Earth.
Let really, we have to say. God was manifest in the flesh.
You know, this is one of the fundamental doctrines of Bible
believing Christianity. This is a most basic fundamental
truth and all truth. Really circularly.
It's or revolves around this one truth.
All Doctrine centers around the Revelation that God was manifest
In the Flesh. Know if you deny this.
Doctrine. Or are you reject us Doctrine?
I have to say this morning. You cannot be a true Christian.
If you deny that Jesus Christ is eternally the Son of God or the
doctrine of the Incarnation or the doctrine of his virgin
birth. You cannot be a true Christian.
You can't be born of the spirit. You can't be seemingly joined to
Christ and Union with him. This is a ground theme.
The equality. Of the son with the father.
Who being? That's a reference to Eternal
existence who being in the form of God.
The exact nature of God. That's a reference to the
doctrine of the Trinity that not brings in the the truth of it.
The father and the truth of break the spirit 3 +, 1 + & 1, &
3 are not three Gods young people.
We don't worship. Three Gods.
We worship one living and true God, who subsist in three
persons father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the semen substance.
Equal in power and Glory. So here's the Apostle, Paul who
is Jesus Christ? He is someone who from all
eternity existed, as God, the son, as the Son of God, and
therefore, Jesus Christ as God, the son as a trinitarian person.
Hiko exists. He's going terni.
He's quick. Look at the text.
Look at verse 6, thought it not robbery to be equal with God and
it was not me. I want to tell you this morning.
There's a lot of rubbish written about that particular statement.
There's a lot of lies written about that statement.
Literally, it means this. It was no exaggeration for him,
too. Clean to be God or for him to be
called God. Jesus Christ was forever
conscious of who he was. He knew who he was, and who he
is. John Calvin says in this tax
there that there would be no wrong done though.
We had shown himself to be equal with God.
In other words. He didn't use what he possessed
godhead. For his own Advantage.
He didn't use his possession as God, the son or the Son of God
to further his own interests, at the expense of the father or the
expanse of the spur, be go equal with the father was not
something that he greedily clutched and said it's mine or
ostentatiously. Displayed.
He was not exerting his equality.
He was not being arrogant. Or Blasphemous to claim to be
God. When the be a monstrous
exaggeration for me, or for you to claim to be God or a god.
But it was no robbery for Christ.
Too clean to be gone. Why?
For he is God, who co-exist is coeternal?
His co-equal with the father. Let me put it this way.
I have no rate this morning to claim to be the Prince of Wales.
That would be robbery, that would be a lie.
That would be arrogant, that Title Prince of Wales, belongs
to One, Man of the House of Windsor and I do desire nor
thought to be the prince of Wheels.
But when Jesus Christ claimed to be God, when he came and said, I
am, he spoke the truth. He wasn't telling lies.
See, this is a very rich statement.
Jesus Christ is God. I don't want you to understand
and consider the Majesty of his person for the Covino.
Dating it. There could be no duplicity
here. There could be no ambiguity
about this. He is God, the son.
Everything that belongs to God belongs to Christ and thus forms
part there, if the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and people poke
fun at the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, they laugh and they
say, well I can there be three Gods.
I repeat. There's not There's three
passions in the one godhead and everything that belongs to God
belongs to Christ all the Divine substance, all the Divine
Essence, all the attributes, the power of the prerogative, the
sovereignty, the Majesty. It's all has just as much as it
was God, the father's, I'm God, the Holy Spirit, and it was not
a robbery for him to clear him that you Children Here, know
what robbery is. It's taking something that not
yours. You know that robberies a bad
Act. The Bible says, Thou shalt not
steal, whether that's a pan or a penny or whether that's like
robbing the bank. The Lord Jesus were told thought
it not robbery to be equal with God.
The Lord Jesus who existed from all eternity in the form of God
co-equal. As I've said, cool exist in
Kuwait, are no and that equality belonged to him.
It was his by intrinsic, right? It was his by the very essence
of us being I want you to understand this morning the
mystery, or the Majesty of his person, only to get into your
main, the equality, and the eternality, and indeed the
existence of the Sun. I want you to consider something
else. Not only the mystery of the
Majesty of his person. I could go on to verse 7, but
I'm going to resist that Temptation.
I want you to think of the the message.
Of Christ purpose. Because if the doctrine of the
Incarnation is true that God was manifest in the flesh.
Why did he come? And the answer is for the son of
man has come to seek and to see of that, which was lost.
The Bible says, as a faithful saying that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save Sinners. Paul says of whom.
I am chief and these are real Tris.
And these are real truce for a real world because even though
he was coeternal with the father and coexisted with the father,
and co-equal with the father verses 7 and 8, teachers about
the steps that they God, the son took to empty himself by taking
upon himself human nature and ending up dying on atoning,
death on the cross, the Bible. He humbled himself.
No one humble Christ willingly, voluntary graciously.
He offered up himself unto death as a once and for all sacrifice
for sin and the Bible tells us, but this man after he had
offered one sacrifice for sins forever.
Sat down on the right hand of God, and I want to ask this
morning because I believe passionately these are real
truths that I'm teaching you and telling you and they're real
truce for a real world. A world of trial, a world of
Tears, a world of Temptation. A world of sin and suffering and
sorrow. I want to ask the question.
Is Jesus Christ. A real sea of your to you?
If he came into the world to seek and to save that, which was
lost. If Christ Jesus came into the
world of see of Sinners, have you acknowledged it your Center,
acknowledge that you have a soul Exotics that you need Christ and
your life. Remember, neither?
Is there salvation in any other? For there is no other name under
Heaven, given among men. Whereby we must be sieved.
You see the doctor of his incarnation?
What does it mean to you this morning?
God In the Flesh, does it mean anything?
It must have been something either you rejoice in this and
you receive Christ in the fullness of his coming?
Or you reject him. Remember the Bible says he came
unto his own and his own received him.
Not put as many as received him to them gave he power to become
the sons of God. Are you one of his children this
morning? Have you borrowed the money?
Have you trusted him as Lord? And Savior?
Remember again? What Joe and emphasizes there
and not particular 12 verse? Even to them, that believe on
his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of, man, but of God, and the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt Among Us. Jesus Christ came into the world
to see if Sinners. Jesus Christ came into the world
so you could receive He was manifested.
The Bible tells us to to destroy the works of the devil.
You see, these are all statements of purpose.
Sinners are are born in sin and sheep and iniquity there fected
by some affected, by a world of tears of trial and Temptation.
And what does the coming of Christ into the world mean to
you? Hi many try to live as if
Christ, never existed. How many try to live as if
Christ has not called equal with the father?
How many try to live as if he's not God?
The son? As if he didn't come into the
world, it's nothing to there. And yet the reality is, this is
the greatest message of love and great.
His message of grease and a great message of Salvation.
Through Christ can say, I was born for you Christ.
Can say I live for you, the Christ can say I died.
An atoning death for you? I rose again bodily for you and
I called you that I might redeem you and change and transform.
You, you know, you can't save yourself.
And, you know, the church doesn't see if and certainly the
poop doesn't see it. Have you submitted to him?
Have you bowed the knee to him? You know, the Bible tells us.
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
Speaking of Christ. Jesus Christ.
God, the son, God In the Flesh. You don't need a dictionary to
understand the meaning of the word gift.
You receive the gift. And you say thank you, and
you've got joy and gladness in your heart.
About the gift. I want you to consider not only
the magistrate of the mystery of his person, but I want you to
think about the message of us purpose.
Why did he come? And what does it mean to you?
This morning? I don't want you to consider.
Lastly. I want you to consider the mains
of Christ Porsche. Because as I thought about how
this impacts on our lives and what our response ought to be to
the coming of God, the son into the world.
There were three things that come and these three things were
something that dr. Alan Kearns told many many years
ago in the Medfield College of the Bible in relation to the
doctrine of the Incarnation. And this is what he said, our
response ought to be and I remember hearing them and I
wrote them down and I've had them and I've just brought them
into the message rather than go on and do versus seven and
eight. We will open that up at a second
time, but here was the three thoughts.
We ought to be thankful unto Christ.
Thanks be unto God for his on speakable gift.
You see the true Christian never gets Beyond?
He's lost in a sense, of wonder sense of Amazement the the
newness and freshness of crazed. As always the newly slain lamb
Before the Throne of God, there's joy.
There's peace. There's happiness.
Fills us hard. Be thankful unto Christ, Lord.
Thank you for being born for me. Thank you for loving for me.
Thank you. Lord for dying for me.
Thank you. Lord, for saving me.
It's not a prayer that you could pray.
Some of you won't come to the prayer meeting.
Give difficulty. You say, I don't know what to
say. Mr. Magorium.
Here's the answer. You can come and pray, be
thankful unto him. I told you some time ago when I
was at Marion and the 84 year old woman came to the prayer
meeting for the first time. She was saved, ten years that
day. It was a Tuesday and she was
saved when she was 74. I just come in to the prayer
meeting, and she sat in the very front row and she cried out.
Thank you, Lord, for saving me. You lubbers, joy and happiness
in upper and that we woman's fear is really it, the
thankfulness that you had that you were seeing.
Are you thankful this morning that you have this experience?
I want you to think, secondly. Thinking like Christ.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ.
Jesus. I told you that last week, the
word mind means the attitude. You see if we have the attitude
of Christ, a spurt of self-sacrificing self-denying.
There's no room for Pride. What if we got to be prayed
abide? There's no room for
self-promotion or are are no place for division or disunity
or Discord? All that it takes to serve God.
And to live for the glory of Christ and to reach Sinners and
exalt the savior. All the teks.
We're willing to guess. Nothing will be too much for us.
It'll be a great spirit of sacrifice in our heart and then
and later who he is and what he's done.
Remember CT stud said of Jesus Christ be God and day for me
then no sacrifice can be too green for me for me to make for
him. If he left the Realms of Glory,
the bosom of the father, for the bosom of the Virgin, and lived
among man, in the likeness of sinful flesh in a real human
body and and went to the cross and injured, the horrible.
Half of crucifixion and rose again for us, then surely, in
light of who he is. And what he's done, does it not
cause us to think about him? and lastly, Allen Kearns
emphasize this Talking of him. If we really believe the gospel.
Will not keep it to her sales because this is the greatest
message in the world. And here's the means of having
Christ. As our portion will only be
thankful unto Christ and think like Christ, but we will talk of
Christ. What was it?
Drove the early church? What was it?
That feel the great missionary movements.
The old church has string, what caused people to uproot their
lives and leave Northern Ireland?
Go to Kenya and go to Uganda and go to Nepal and other places to
the far-flung corners of the earth and bear hardship for
Jesus Christ, and suffer loss of this world and its goods, maybe
even suffering L health. Because they really believe the
gospel. They were gripped with us, and
there are willing to go and tell others of Christ.
And, you know that We need to do in our church.
We need to go and tell others how great a savior.
Come on here. A man that told me all things
that ever I did. It's not this the Christ, the
Messiah. Remember, they mom from the
gadarenes after he got converted, and he wanted to go
with Christ, and Grace, said, go home and tell what great things,
the Lord of Dunphy. And the Bible tells us he went
to the capitalist. He went the ten cities, not just
us home and among his family, but he went to many others.
Yes, and he told them of the great things that the Lord had
done for him. No, this morning.
Let's consider this example. Of the mystery of Christ person.
Let's take into our main god, the son manifest in flesh.
Let that impact upon us. And then let's think of us
purpose. God, the son came to see of
Sinners. He came to see of me.
Have you see if this morning? Are you trusting Christ?
And then let's Have this means employed have Christ Our
portion. Then let's be thankful.
Let's think often of him. In the steps that he took and
humiliation and that stock of him to others.
May the Lord bless you this morning.
Thank you for listening.