From the Pulpit...

Last week we pondered the doctrine of the incarnation— the in-flesh-ment of Jesus Christ in which He took to His divine person and nature a human nature as well. In so doing, He left the glorious place of open magnificence of His deity beside the Father. However, he did not merely come to join humanity as an exalted person. He came not as great king or priest, but rather as slave subjected to the most tortuous form of death then in use. If He did that, how much more should we be willing to lower ourselves in service to the Divine King? By saying this, the apostle Paul has exhorted the believers in Philippi to remove selfish ambition and conceit from their motives. Instead, they were to humbly treat others as better than themselves and to watch out for the interests of others and not just themselves. (2:3-4). This would propel them along toward the goal of being of one accord and one mind (2:2). We too need to work very diligently, by God's grace and through trust in Him, at putting aside selfish ambitions and pride and exercising true humility and concern for others. We turn to the next three verses. Unlike last week when the passage modeled a trait (humility) for us to cultivate in our character, we cannot be like Christ in this way. Instead, we are called to worship Jesus Christ so as to honor the Father. If you do not honor the Son, you do not honor the Father. A. If we are to do all things to the glory of God, this is one way in which we can do so—to humbly receive Christ as sovereign Lord, and confess Him as such. B. Christians echo that honor of God every time they speak and sing of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and every time they live accordingly. C. Finally, in following Jesus’s example of humility, we can expect that we will please God and receive an appropriate reward from Him. Remembering that those who humble themselves will be exalted will help us even when the humbling is beyond what we feel is fair or right.