Philippians 2:6-11
The genre changes for this section from prose to poetry. It is possible that Paul is including an early Christian hymn or creed. There are two parts: the willful humiliation of Jesus and the exaltation of Jesus by God. Paul uses Jesus as the example for those who are his disciples to follow: have the same attitude of mind - humble yourself to the lowest position and let God take care of lifting you up. This teaching is echoed all through the Bible: Jesus taught it (the last will be first, the first will be last; if you want to be great, you must become a servant of all), Paul teaches it and James teaches it as well (humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you up).
There is so much in this passage that strikes me. It is a very simple, yet profound summary of the incarnation and exaltation of Jesus. It speaks so highly of the character of Jesus and could be studied in depth for a great amount of time without ever exhausting its richness.
I think the last line sums it all up: to the glory of God the Father. Jesus' humilation was to the glory of God. Jesus' exaltation is not ultimately for the glory of the Son but to the glory of the Father. I think if I am to have the same attitude of mind as Jesus that I have to seek God's glory over everything else. When I do that, I will not grasp onto my puny positions or seek to use them for my own advantage but will hold everything with an open hand because it is not about me - it's all about the glory of God.
God, please give me the same attitude of mind Jesus had.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
The funny thing is that I am teaching about this in my Junior High right now. We are teaching about what it means to be a disciple of Christ, and this passage sums it up really well. Yeah we do need to have the attitude of Christ, and become servants to all. Easier said then done though. It is really hard, especially in the competitive society we live in.
Post a Comment