Have This in Mind: Jesus Always Serves :: Philippians 2:5-11

By

Have this mind in yourselves, which also is in Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality to God something to be grasped, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being in the likeness of men, and having been found in form of a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient until death, even the death of the cross.  Therefore, God also has highly exalted him and graced in him the name that is above every name, so that in the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, into the glory of God the Father (vv 5-11).

[Prayer]

Lord God, Your Son humbled himself to the point of death, even death of the cross. Fix our faith upon his death and resurrection, enrich the proclamation of this Gospel, and enliven our hearts to live out this faith until Christ comes again in glory, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

3. Let’s begin with an extraordinary thought: The mind of Christ is one of humility (vv 5-8).

That’s extraordinary ... because Jesus is God. Jesus is not just a man. Jesus is God ... He deserves your worship. Jesus is God ... He has never been just a man. From the beginning, Christ has been the eternal, almighty, all-knowing, ever-present God ... the Creator ... the Most High. When God became incarnate ... Jesus did not cease to be God. His divine nature did not cease to become less divine. Jesus is truly God. He is Immanuel ... God with us.

In our epistle, Saint Paul writes, Jesus has the form of God (v 6a). He has the form of God because he is God. The form of God is both the likeness of God and the attitude of God. God acts as he is. Therefore, Jesus acts as God is. Because Jesus is God, he thinks like God thinks and does what God does. God is to be worshiped and adored. Therefore, Jesus accepts worship and adoration.

Yet, Jesus did not consider equality to God something to be grasped. He did what we never thought he would do. He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave (v 7). That’s right, God in the flesh became a slave ... that’s what the Greek word we often translate as servant actually means. God lowered himself to serve. Jesus emptied himself to serve. He humbled himself in service to you. As Jesus himself said in Matthew 20[:28], The Son of Man came to serve, not to be served, and to give his life as a ransom for many. 

This is Christ’s humiliation. The life of Jesus was one of continuous suffering. He bore the weakness and infirmity that is common to us all. He was burdened with the sins of the world and was always conscious of our guilt that was placed on him. It reached its climax on the cross when he cried out, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Talk about humiliation! God forsook his own son ... for you.

There was nothing inherent in God becoming incarnate that required him to do this, to humble himself and to hide his glory so as to serve us like this. This is one reason why we hear that God loved the world in this way: He gave us [Jesus] (Jn 3:16). By dying on the cross, God in Christ did what we could not do ... atone for our sins ... which is a terribly bloody work. There, on that cross, the author of life ensured that all the world could see that our sin was destroyed with him. There, on that cross, God delivered us from our sin, rendering us righteous before God. Your sin died on that cross. ... [POINTING]. ... Your death died on that cross.

2. The mind of man stands opposed to Christ in his service to us.

What Jesus did goes against the grain of our thought and reason. The flesh ... that is, our sinful desires ... rebels at the very idea that God could die ... that God would die for us ... on that cross, no less. 

We prefer to exalt ourselves. We want others to serve us. We desire a greater status than we deserve. We demand our own way. And we think that if we don’t take it ... we won’t have it ... so we grab hold of it any way we can. The self-serving, self-promoting, self-centered ethic of self-exaltation is proclaimed in the name of religion. This is where all false doctrine comes from. Pride sets itself against the clear teaching of God’s word and the faithful confession of the Church. Pride is where all quarreling and bickering begin. Pride insists on being honored and will not stoop to honor others. Pride is not interested in serving. Pride is not the way of the mind of Christ. 

Empowerment is what pride is all about. Empowering people is considered to be the christian thing to do. Empowerment is not the way of the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ is exactly the opposite. The mind of Christ is letting go of whatever status we think we have for the sake of serving those in need ... whatever that need may be ... the forgiveness of sins, any one? Having the mind of Christ is humility.

So repent every one of you in the name of Jesus. Embrace the mind of Christ, who teaches us to recognize our sin, humbling ourselves. The mind of Christ then teaches us of our savior, who answers our call for service. 

1. You can do this because the mind of Christ is now yours in Christ. 

Jesus humbled himself in the face of arrogance and cruelty. Thus, you can, too. He met our anger and scorn with humility and gentleness. Thus, you can, too. Jesus practiced what he preached, turning the other cheek ... saying, Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Mt 23:12). And that’s just what he did!

Though he is God, he assumes the posture, the appearance, the form of a dutiful slave, obediently bearing the cross without complaint ... like a lamb led to slaughter (Is 53:7). He did nothing wrong, yet he rode on a beast of burden ... your sin on a cross ... where he was pierced for our transgressions, and crushed for our iniquities. ... His punishment brought us peace ... which is the forgiveness of sins (Is 53:5).

There is now no sin upon us because ... Jesus, who was born without sin, lived without sin ... died for our sin ... and not just for ours only, but for the sin of the whole world. And because nothing is impossible with God (Lk 1:37) ... he raised Jesus from the dead. What was sown as perishable has been raised imperishable. What was sown in dishonor, has been raised in glory. What was sown in weakness has been raised in power (1 Cor 15:42-43). His resurrection will be your resurrection. He is now risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah! 

The resurrection of Christ proves that there is a resurrection of the dead and that for believers there is a resurrection into eternal life. Therefore the resurrection of Christ ... his exaltation ... is of utmost significance to the world. Have this in mind.

[Catechism]

Please now turn to page 322 in your [Lutheran Service Book] and join me in confessing this great Gospel from the second article of the Creed. 

THIS IS THE GOSPEL WE ALWAYS WANT TO HAVE IN MIND: JESUS ALWAYS SERVES

[Conclusion]

Now if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any comfort of love, if there is any communion of the Spirit, if there is any affection and compassion, fulfill my joy by having the same mind, [having] the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose, [doing] nothing according to rivalry or empty conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves (Php 2:1-3).

You can do this! God has declared your sins, iniquities, and transgressions forgiven. So forgive one another. You can do this! God has washed you through Holy Baptism. So let us wash one another’s feet. You can do this! Jesus clothes us in his robes of righteousness. So let us clothe one another. You can do this! Jesus continues to extend his great invitation to join the marriage feast of the Lamb in his kingdom which has no end. So let us always join the company of heaven in unity with one another. You can do this! Here, Jesus feeds and nourishes us with his body and his blood for the forgiveness of our sins. Let us share that with one another. 

It is great comfort for us Christians to know that Jesus, our dear Savior, has all power in heaven and on earth ... that he is Lord over all ... that he is God in the flesh and is always with us. So keep this in mind among yourselves always, giving glory to God. 

You can do this because you have the mind of Christ!

God also has highly exalted him and graced in him the name that is above every name, so that in the name of Jesus, every knee will bend, of the heavenly realm, and of the earth, and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that the Lord is Jesus Christ into the glory of God the Father (vv 9-11) ... in His Name. Amen.

Popular posts from this blog

The Good Shepherd Comes to Rescue and Restore - Ezekiel 34:11-16

By
  For thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Behold, I myself will search diligently for my sheep and I will seek them. As a shepherd seeks out to care for His flock in the day he is among His scattered sheep, so I will seek out to care for my sheep, and I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on the day of cloud and thick darkness. 500 years ago today, Martin Luther answered the Roman Catholic Church and the Roman Emperor who questioned his teachings. If he were to recant and take it all back, the Diet of Worms would barely be a blip in history. If he did not recant, he would be putting his own life in absolute, mortal danger. Being held captive by the clear Word of God as found in Holy Scripture, Luther stood up before the authorities of the church and the of world and gave his famous “Here I Stand” confession. He rested his case on Jesus as his only Shepherd - not the leaders of the Church or the Government. He relied solely on the Good Shepherd who promised neve...
Read more

Don’t Be Discouraged: Salvation Is Yours :: Ephesians 3:13-21

By
Saint Paul writes: Therefore, I ask [you] not to be discouraged in my tribulation on behalf of you, which is your glory (v 13).  [Prayer] Lord, we know that everyone in heaven and earth will bow before you, and that those who confess your name will receive eternal life. Grant us courage to be faithful to you in the face of any opposition from a world hostile to the Gospel. Help us to remember those who have gone before us and who sacrificed much, even their very lives, rather than dishonoring your name by denying the faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.  [Introduction] It’s easy to become discouraged as a Christian ... Isn’t it? It’s easy to lose heart ... that is, to give up in the face of tribulation ... to say you want nothing more to do with the church and those YOU think are Christian in name only ... Isn’t it? It’s easy to feel persecuted for the faith that God gave you ... Isn’t it?  Whenever you feel this way, I think from now on, I will commend to you Saint Paul’s epist...
Read more

Faithful Stewardship of God's Gifts :: Luke 16:1-13

By
How much do you owe? What is your total debt? Or as you just sang, What is the world to me? If you’re an average guy or gal, it’s probably staggering. The national debt this week was $30.6 trillion and rising ... in other words, $92,002 per citizen or $243,797 per taxpayer. Our households aren’t much better. We have $23.5 trillion in personal debt ... or $70K per citizen ... and only $8,500 in family savings. We are terrible stewards. Can we ever repay that? Of course, that’s all a pittance in comparison with what we owe the Lord. We can’t even begin to count the debt we have with him. We can’t begin to give an account for all the ways we’ve squandered his gifts. Even if we could enumerate our debt to him, we’d quickly recognize that all we have is his and become ashamed. Our Lord is the one who gives us food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, land, animals, money, goods ... and all that we have. We owe him everything. How can we ever repay him?  Fortunately for us, on account o...
Read more

God Is Always With Us :: Acts 6:8-7:2a, 51-60

By
If I were to ask you to describe the message of Christmas in just one word, what would you choose? Just one word. Jesus is a good one. But I don’t think you can find a better word than Immanuel. Immanuel is the name God ascribed through the prophet Isaiah to the infant who would be born of the virgin (Isa 7:14). This single Hebrew word means “God is with us” or quite literally, “With Us is God.”  Immanuel is the message of Christmas: In Christ, God is with us in the flesh. God manifested himself in this way so that we can be with God. The Word, who was with the Father in the beginning, became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Father, full of grace and truth. God in Christ is Jesus, he is Immanuel. God came to us to be with us because we couldn’t go to him. We couldn’t find him. We couldn’t hear him. We couldn’t see him. So God came to us. He came to do what we couldn’t do, living in righteousness, dying on a cross, rising from the dead, asce...
Read more

The Mind of Christ :: Philippians 2:5-11

By
The next day, the large crowd that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming into Jerusalem, took the branches of palms and went out to meet him and began crying out: Hosanna! Blessed is the one coming in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel (Jn 12:12-13). No story has ever had a bigger buildup to a greater letdown than this one. The Jews were all of the same mind: They had been looking forward to this day for more than a millennia. And here he came! Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee (Mi 5:2)! The prophet like Moses (Dt 18:15)! The son of David (2 Sm 7:12)! Our Messiah (Is 61:1) ... Here he came, riding into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zec 9:9), fulfilling the scriptures. Zechariah, Micah, Isaiah, Deuteronomy, Samuel, the Psalms. This is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps 118:24). ... These things are written so that you will believe Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God and that by believing you will have life in his name (Jn 20:31...
Read more

Joy of a Living Hope :: 1 Peter 1:3-9

By
Can you imagine what life would be like without hope?  It’s good to have hope. We all need more hope.  Researchers have discovered that you are three times more likely to live LONGER THAN eight years after a heart attack if you consider yourself to be a HOPEFUL person. If you’re a pessimist ... I should warn you that 21 of 25 of the hopeless died within eight years of their first heart attack.  It’s good to have hope. We all need more hope. According to one psychologist, hope reduces feelings of helplessness, boosts happiness, reduces stress, and improves our quality of life. Students with high levels of hope are more likely to succeed at school, more likely to have high-quality friendships, and less likely to suffer anxiety and depression. Hope improves your immune system, reduces stress, reduces joint pain. Hope is the voice inside that says, “Yes, I can.”  It’s good to have hope. We all need more hope.  So ... what is hope?  Technically, hope is an optim...
Read more

The Eyes Have It :: Luke 10:23-24

By
What do you see? What do you hear? These are the questions of the day on this Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity. What do you see? And what do you hear?  Before we get ahead of ourselves by jumping to conclusions and declaring you can see and hear just fine ... you need to know ... not everybody sees what you see or hears what you hear. Every week your pastor gives three sermons: the one I write, the one I preach, and the one you hear. And each of you might be hearing a different sermon than the person next to you. More than that, some of you may be seeing one thing and others may be seeing something completely different. And some of us will just fall asleep not seeing or hearing anything at all.  As Jesus tells the disciples ... For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to witness what y’all see and they didn’t witness it, and to hear what y’all hear and they didn’t hear it (v. 23-24). That is to say they longed to see Jesus, living, dying, rising, ascending. They long...
Read more