Daily Bread 2010 - Philippians 2
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
There is not a more succinct description of who Jesus is and what he did for us by going to cross to die for our sins. The theological term for this is “Christology”. Simply it is the study of Christ. We often talk about “discipleship”, or the process of learning to follow Jesus. But we are often unclear about what this means, or what we would look like were we to be actually be a disciple of Jesus.
These six verses sum up the life of Jesus. Starting with the fact of his equality with God, which he didn’t consider as something he should hold on to. Meaning Jesus consciously stepped out of heaven to show us the full extent and nature of God’s love. Not only did Jesus step down from heaven, but he humbled himself and took the nature of a servant. The word for servant is “doulos” and is properly translated “bond servant”. A bond servant was one who had given up all his right and sold himself to his owner. The owner could do with the bond-servant what he wanted, as the servant had lost all of his rights.
In a world that is often obsessed with individual rights, Jesus made a choice to give up his rights and become a servant. And this attitude of service led to his death on a cross, where he was crucified for something he didn’t even do. He completely gave up his right to justify himself or stick up for himself and poured out his life for the sake of the world.
Finally, we see the result or outcome of this great descent our Lord has made on our behalf. The bible says that God has exalted him to the highest place and given him the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
What does this mean for us? It means just as it says. If we are to follow Jesus we are to have the same attitude. Wow that is a tall order! My generation and pretty much every generation after us has grown up in an environment of entitlement. So this is a big ask to ask someone to give up their rights and follow Jesus. Paul learned how to do this and says this was the secret of his contentment. Could it be in that in giving up our rights we find true freedom and can be truly content? After all, how many times do we see people who have it all and our seemingly get more and more depressed by attaining the things the world prescribes. Could it be the path to true greatness is the road of servanthood in Jesus’ name. As we follow Jesus one act of service at a time, one day God will lift us up to be the one whose Name is the Name above all names.
Jesus thank you for showing how to be truly great. Thank you for showing us true humility. Thank you for laying down your lives for us so that we can be made right with our heavenly Father. Teach us how to serve and give our lives for the sake of others without looking for the approval or recognition the world gives. May we take joy as we sense your smile and your approval. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
There is not a more succinct description of who Jesus is and what he did for us by going to cross to die for our sins. The theological term for this is “Christology”. Simply it is the study of Christ. We often talk about “discipleship”, or the process of learning to follow Jesus. But we are often unclear about what this means, or what we would look like were we to be actually be a disciple of Jesus.
These six verses sum up the life of Jesus. Starting with the fact of his equality with God, which he didn’t consider as something he should hold on to. Meaning Jesus consciously stepped out of heaven to show us the full extent and nature of God’s love. Not only did Jesus step down from heaven, but he humbled himself and took the nature of a servant. The word for servant is “doulos” and is properly translated “bond servant”. A bond servant was one who had given up all his right and sold himself to his owner. The owner could do with the bond-servant what he wanted, as the servant had lost all of his rights.
In a world that is often obsessed with individual rights, Jesus made a choice to give up his rights and become a servant. And this attitude of service led to his death on a cross, where he was crucified for something he didn’t even do. He completely gave up his right to justify himself or stick up for himself and poured out his life for the sake of the world.
Finally, we see the result or outcome of this great descent our Lord has made on our behalf. The bible says that God has exalted him to the highest place and given him the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
What does this mean for us? It means just as it says. If we are to follow Jesus we are to have the same attitude. Wow that is a tall order! My generation and pretty much every generation after us has grown up in an environment of entitlement. So this is a big ask to ask someone to give up their rights and follow Jesus. Paul learned how to do this and says this was the secret of his contentment. Could it be in that in giving up our rights we find true freedom and can be truly content? After all, how many times do we see people who have it all and our seemingly get more and more depressed by attaining the things the world prescribes. Could it be the path to true greatness is the road of servanthood in Jesus’ name. As we follow Jesus one act of service at a time, one day God will lift us up to be the one whose Name is the Name above all names.
Jesus thank you for showing how to be truly great. Thank you for showing us true humility. Thank you for laying down your lives for us so that we can be made right with our heavenly Father. Teach us how to serve and give our lives for the sake of others without looking for the approval or recognition the world gives. May we take joy as we sense your smile and your approval. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment