Being In Awe Of Jesus
God’s grace and peace be multiplied to you this day!
Last week we spent our time examining the following text; Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
The words of this text remind us to seek to bless others by placing them ahead of ourselves. The words of today’s text point us to Jesus as the One who truly lived this out in relation to every person in this world. He humbled Himself to place everyone ahead of Himself that He might become the Savior of all.
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. 9 For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
There is no way we could sufficiently examine this text in one short article, so we shall spend the next few weeks drawing from it the profound truths it reveals. Truths which undergird our faith and display for all the world to see the grace of God and His love for each of us.
First, I would like to spend a few moments focusing on the history of this text. There is no doubt this text comes to us from the pen of the Apostle Paul. He is the verified author of the Epistle to the Philippians. Hear me clearly, this text was inspired by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul, and it is the inspired, inerrant, Word of God for us! That being said, this text may not have been original to Paul. There is a possibility this text was in use by the Church, and then the Spirit inspired Paul to include it in his epistle, thus revealing it to be the Word of God for us.
Most Biblical scholars view this text as an early hymn which was used in the Church during Paul’s day. This is generally believed because of two reasons. First, the structure of these seven verses is not characteristic of Paul’s writing style. The sentence structure and use of vocabulary seems to be imported when compared to the rest of Paul’s writings. Secondly, the rhythmic flow of these verses seems to be structured more like a hymn rather than plain prose.
So, the pertinent question is this, if it is not original with Paul, is it to be viewed with the same authority as the rest of Paul’s writings? The answer is an absolute YES! The reason for this is that Paul was not the only leader in the Church. There were many others who were being used by God to lead, guide, and instruct those first few generations of Christians. While the apostles like Peter, Paul, and John were moved by the Spirit to pen letters to the Church, they were not the only ones writing or teaching.
By the time the final apostle dies (John) there are leaders in the church who are avidly writing and sharing their works for the benefit of the people of God. Even John’s own disciple, Polycarp, is one Early Church Father from whom we learn a great deal from his writings about church life in the 1st and early 2nd century. While their writings are not considered inspired and thus the Word of God, it does not mean what was written was not true or helpful.
If this section of Philippians was in fact an early church hymn, it makes since that these teachings were set to music to reinforce the ability for people to memorize these profound truths. Remember, there were no Bibles. The New Testament Epistles were in the process of being written and most of the teaching concerning Jesus were the stories shared by the apostles and then from one church to another. The use of pictures and song was an effective way to teach the foundational truths of Jesus. So, imagine our text set to song . . .
He already existed in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,
but emptied Himself
by taking the form of a bond-servant
being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself becoming obedient
to the point of death: death on a cross.
For this reason also
God highly exalted Him,
and bestowed on Him the name
which is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
EVERY KNEE WILL BOW,
those who are in heaven
and on earth and under the earth,
and that every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Not so unlike the songs we sing today! Music which reveals and proclaims the truth of Jesus is one of the greatest teaching methods the Church has ever used. Songs to the glory of God in Christ!
I pray as we delve into this text and examine the truths it reveals, we too will all be moved to proclaim the glory of God in Christ!
In His name,
Pastor Russ
Last week we spent our time examining the following text; Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
The words of this text remind us to seek to bless others by placing them ahead of ourselves. The words of today’s text point us to Jesus as the One who truly lived this out in relation to every person in this world. He humbled Himself to place everyone ahead of Himself that He might become the Savior of all.
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. 9 For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
There is no way we could sufficiently examine this text in one short article, so we shall spend the next few weeks drawing from it the profound truths it reveals. Truths which undergird our faith and display for all the world to see the grace of God and His love for each of us.
First, I would like to spend a few moments focusing on the history of this text. There is no doubt this text comes to us from the pen of the Apostle Paul. He is the verified author of the Epistle to the Philippians. Hear me clearly, this text was inspired by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul, and it is the inspired, inerrant, Word of God for us! That being said, this text may not have been original to Paul. There is a possibility this text was in use by the Church, and then the Spirit inspired Paul to include it in his epistle, thus revealing it to be the Word of God for us.
Most Biblical scholars view this text as an early hymn which was used in the Church during Paul’s day. This is generally believed because of two reasons. First, the structure of these seven verses is not characteristic of Paul’s writing style. The sentence structure and use of vocabulary seems to be imported when compared to the rest of Paul’s writings. Secondly, the rhythmic flow of these verses seems to be structured more like a hymn rather than plain prose.
So, the pertinent question is this, if it is not original with Paul, is it to be viewed with the same authority as the rest of Paul’s writings? The answer is an absolute YES! The reason for this is that Paul was not the only leader in the Church. There were many others who were being used by God to lead, guide, and instruct those first few generations of Christians. While the apostles like Peter, Paul, and John were moved by the Spirit to pen letters to the Church, they were not the only ones writing or teaching.
By the time the final apostle dies (John) there are leaders in the church who are avidly writing and sharing their works for the benefit of the people of God. Even John’s own disciple, Polycarp, is one Early Church Father from whom we learn a great deal from his writings about church life in the 1st and early 2nd century. While their writings are not considered inspired and thus the Word of God, it does not mean what was written was not true or helpful.
If this section of Philippians was in fact an early church hymn, it makes since that these teachings were set to music to reinforce the ability for people to memorize these profound truths. Remember, there were no Bibles. The New Testament Epistles were in the process of being written and most of the teaching concerning Jesus were the stories shared by the apostles and then from one church to another. The use of pictures and song was an effective way to teach the foundational truths of Jesus. So, imagine our text set to song . . .
He already existed in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,
but emptied Himself
by taking the form of a bond-servant
being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself becoming obedient
to the point of death: death on a cross.
For this reason also
God highly exalted Him,
and bestowed on Him the name
which is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
EVERY KNEE WILL BOW,
those who are in heaven
and on earth and under the earth,
and that every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Not so unlike the songs we sing today! Music which reveals and proclaims the truth of Jesus is one of the greatest teaching methods the Church has ever used. Songs to the glory of God in Christ!
I pray as we delve into this text and examine the truths it reveals, we too will all be moved to proclaim the glory of God in Christ!
In His name,
Pastor Russ
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