Philippians 2:5-11
Last week we got into Philippians 2:1-4, beginning an argument Paul is making in Philippians 2:1-11. That argument is "Gospel unity comes from gospel humility, which we learn from Christ's example". In covering just that first phrase last week, we considered 2 things: a) The gospel must affect our thinking (aka, unity comes through a certain way of thinking), and b) gospel thinking must result in humility ("a high concern for others and a low-concern for myself). Friday, we get into the second half of this argument, which is really the heart of the argument: "we must learn humility from Christ's example" We can look at this argument in verses 5-11 in 4-parts...1) Who is Jesus? = Jesus is God, 2) What did Jesus do? = Came to earth as a servant, human, and criminal (He "gave up his divine rights" ['emptied Himself']), 3) Why Jesus Did it? = He did what was necessary to save us, because of His love, which led to His exaltation above all creation, and 4) How must we respond = Put on that same humility. This fourth point is really where this argument is going. Paul is introducing this image of Christ because it's our perfect example of what kind of humility WE should walk in. It's a high calling. It hits hard. And yet it's so encouraging; because in Christ, it is possible! (v. 5).