The Humiliation of Christ

Jesus became for us the perfect model of humiliation, one who does nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. One who, with humility of mind regards others is more important than himself. One who looks not on his own things alone, but on the things of others. Also, and that is our example passes chemistry to the buzzer beating shot in a basketball game to the power of compound interest. But what is the greatest miracle of all. And how does it affect you answering those questions is John MacArthur's focus today on grace to you as he takes an in-depth look at the humiliation of Christ. That's the title of John's message and John will be in the book of Philippians today so if you have a Bible handy turn there now will you open your Bibles for our look at God's precious word to Philippians chapter 2 and we want to look again at verse five through eight. This very a very significant portion of Scripture which describes for us the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to verses five through eight. As I read have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

I reread portions of a book that I had read a couple of times. Years ago, the title of the book is miracles it's author CS Lewis has a chapter in the book entitled the grand miracle.

It's a chapter on the incarnation in that chapter, in his inimitable way. He draws some rich analogies for us, by which we can view the incarnation.

Let me read you a somewhat extended portion of what he says because it is so rich in the Christian story, God descends to Rio send. He comes down down from the heights of absolute being into time and space down into humanity down further still, down to the very roots and seabed of the nature he had created, but he goes down to come up again and bring the ruined world up with him. One has the picture of a strongman stooping lower and lower to get himself underneath some great complicated burden. He must stoop in order to lift. He must also disappear under the load before he incredibly straightens his back and marches off with the whole mass swaying on his shoulder or one may think of a diver first reducing himself to nakedness then glancing in midair, then gone with a splash vanished, rushing down through green and warm water into black and cold water down through increasing pressure into the deathlike region of booze and slime and old decay, then up again back to color and light, his lungs almost bursting until suddenly, he breaks surface again holding in his hand. The dripping precious thing that he went down to recover. There are both color now that they have come up into the light. Down below where it lay colorless in the dark. He lost his color to in this dissent and re-assent everyone will recognize a familiar pattern, a thing written all over the world. It is the pattern of all vegetable life, it must be little itself into something hard, small and deathlike, it must fall into the ground Vince the new life. Maria sends it is the pattern of all animal generation to their's descent from the full and perfect organisms into the spermatozoa and an old woman in the dark room, a life at first inferior and kind to that of the species which is being reproduced in the slow assent to the perfect embryo to the living, conscious baby, and finally to the adult so it is in our moral and emotional life. The first innocent and spontaneous desires have to submit to the deathlike process of control or total denial, but from that there is a re-assent to fully formed character in which the strength of the original material all operates. But in a new way, death and rebirth go down to go up is a key principle through this bottleneck. This belittlement, the high road nearly always lies." With those words. Lewis then approaches the incarnation, the central miracle of Christianity, the most grand and wonderful of all the things that God ever did. That is the theme of these great verses before us. Jesus became for us the perfect model of humiliation. He is the perfect fulfillment of verses three and four one who does nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. One who, with humility of mind regards others is more important than himself. One who looks not on his own things alone, but on the things of others. Also, and in that he is our example. But there's more here than just that. Let's begin in verse six it says in verse six he existed in the form of God. That's where the incarnation begins. That's the point from which she descends and condescend what does he mean by the word form. By the way he uses it again in verse seven, as we shall see in a moment, but this is crucial more say is the word we use that as part of a word in English and no more Fecteau Morris, and various other things more say signifies a form which truly and fully expresses the being which underlies it. In other words, it is a word that refers to essence are essential being more nature here applied to God the form of God. It means his deepest being what he is in himself is essential being the statement then is saying that Jesus Christ existed in the essential being of God, and he has always and continuously and unalterably existed in that essence. You can perhaps understand the word more fair if you compare it to another Greek word schema, both of them could be translated in English form. That's really the best English word, but it it loses something unless it split into those two Greek words majority the distinction form a or more say is the essential character of something.

What it is, in itself, schema is the outward form that it takes, the more say never changes. This game change in perhaps a simple illustration would be this. I am a man I possess manhood. I have possess manhood since I was conceived and I will possess manhood until I die.

That is my more say, but that essential character of manhood is manifested in many different schema I can transliterate a bit. In other words, there was a time I was in embryo there was a time I was a baby there was a time I was a child and I was a boy than I was a youth that I was a young man that I was an adult. And someday I will be an old man and right now I am in the prime of life.

I could feel your impulses on but you see my more say is manhood my schema changes and when Paul selects the word more say he is saying something very specific. He is saying that Jesus has always existed in the unchangeable essence of the being of God to make it simple is saying Jesus is God.

He possesses the very being in the very nature of God and he is always possess that that interpretation of that first phrase is certainly strengthened by the second phrase in which he speaks of Jesus having each equality with God and thereby he describes, of course, what he meant by being in the form of God emit being equal with God, why is it that we have so much discussion on this issue because it is the heart and soul of the Christian faith and inevitably when people attacked the Christian faith when forms of religion other than the truth attacked us. They attack at the point of the deity of Christ in John's gospel. It seems to be his particular concern and burden and passion under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to leave the reader with absolutely no doubt at all in his mind that Jesus is God. And so even begins with that statement in the beginning was the word referring to Christ and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And then to demonstrate that he says all things came into being by him, and apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being in him was life and the life was the light of men.

He is creator in verse 14 he says of Christ that he became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory and the glory that he had was that of the only begotten from the father is God.

John has him saying, of course, in the wonderful record of John eight verse 58 but before Abraham was, I am, and therefore taking on him. The very name of God, who said I am that I am had sent you and then Colossians the apostle Paul in that wonderful first chapter and verse 15 speaking of Christ says he is the image or the exact replica of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things have been created by him and for him and he is before all things and in him all things hold together twice. Then John and Paul, we find that the great evidence of the deity of Christ is his ability to create and give evidence of that money of evidence if you ever wonder whether Jesus is God look at how we can create not only in the past, not only at the point of creation. But look at his creative miracles in his life he created for.

She created bread he created an era when Peter chop one off you created new legs and new eyes and new errors in the new mouth created new internal organs to replace the diseased ones acts of creation. He is the creator is God in Hebrews chapter 1 verse three.

Do you remember this, he is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his nature. That's where it all starts.

It all starts with the recognition that Jesus Christ existed in the very essence of the internal God. That's where it starts Christianity then is a tremendously simple and yet infinitely profound truth that God became man and we now follow the path of his incarnation, look back at verse six. Although he existed in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, he did not consider it something to clutch that word equality is interesting. The Greek word is the word Isis is a very interesting word. It means exactly equal in size, quantity, quality, character number whatever but it means exactly equal. We use it that way. Even in English. Are you familiar with terms like isomer. Some of you in science are in isomer is a chemical molecule having very slightly different structure from another molecule, but being absolutely identical with it in terms of its chemical elements and weight. It's equal, we could say it's schema may be different but it's more phase. The same isomorphic means having the same form. Isometric means equal measures and an isosceles triangle.

You will remember from your days in school is a triangle that has two equal sides. The word means equal he was equal with God exactly equal with God is in the form of God, is God. That's what Paul is saying, in fact, literally the Greek text reads in verse six he did not regard the being equal with God a tremendous statement is equal with God.

Here's the first step down. He didn't grasp that he didn't clutch it.

He didn't seize it. He didn't hold it. He didn't possess. It is something not to be yielded up even though it was equal with God. There's no question about this in the Scripture. There was no question the Jesus claim this and there was absolutely no question that the people who listen to him, newly claimed in John 518 it says the Jews were seeking all the more to kill them. Why because he was, not only breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God his own father, making himself equal with God, and when any of those people come along who want to deny that Jesus is equal to God. It's most interesting to say to them. It's strange to me that you don't even know what is worst enemies. New because his worst enemies, the apostate Christ rejecting Jews who were bound up in self-righteousness didn't miss what he said they knew exactly what he was claiming he was claiming to be equal with God. No one can miss that.

Who reads the New Testament in John 1033 the Jews answered him again for a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy. Why because you being a man make yourself out to be God. They knew what he was claiming patently obvious and he said to them you want to look at the things I do know and understand that the father is in me and I in the father and he says to his disciples of a been so long with you, and you don't yet know who I am if you seen me you seen the father and Thomas in chapter 20 verse 28 says my Lord and my what my God. But here's the first step down. Though we had all the rights and privileges and honors of being God he didn't clutch them. That word originally meant robbery or thing gained by robbery or thing seized, but it came to mean anything, clutched, embraced, held tightly prized clung to existed as God, but he refused to cling to that favored position. He refused to cling to all the rights and honors that went with it. He was willing to give them up. That said that's the incredible message of Christianity. In Christianity you see God looking down on wretched sinners who hate him and are his enemies and willingly kneeling up his privileges to come down for their sake. That's the attitude of humility that begins the incarnation.

It begins with the unselfishness of the second person of the Trinity. And then what follows.

Please notice verse seven but emptied himself profound statement introduced by a Greek term that means not this, but this he didn't think this something to be clutched, but rather on the other hand, emptied himself, it's a contrast of kind of connection. The being equal with God didn't lead him to fill himself up and led him to empty himself. The verb empty cannot always the verb from which we get that classic theological term. The can gnosis which is what theologians have called the self emptying more the incarnation, the doctrine of the can gnosis the self emptying of Christ very graphic expression. He emptied himself, self renunciation, refusal to use what was rightfully his refusal to cling to his advantages and privileges as God. Can you imagine God who owns everything, who can do everything who has a right to everything who is fully satisfied within himself, but he emptied himself, I wasn't mean. This of course is been discussed much.

What does it mean he empty what he empty. First of all, would you notice, don't ever forget it. He did not empty himself of his deity. He did not empty himself of his deity or he would have ceased to exist and if he ceased to exist. So what God the father and so would God the Holy Spirit because their life is one life. He did not empty himself of his deity or of any portion of his deity because he couldn't be less than who he was. He is eternally in the morphing of God. He did not cease to be God didn't exchange deity for humanity. He didn't stop being God and start to become man if he had done that, I would've died on the cross and stayed there in the great because only God had the power to die, and in dying conquer death. Only God could create do the miracles that he did only God could say the words that he said he did not stop being God, nor was there any part of his essential divine nature at all that was given up. None of it. You couldn't cut out some piece of who he was. There are those who would advocate such a blasphemous view say what did he give first of all, he gave up his heavenly glory.

He gave up his heavenly glory. He dove into the water and went all the way down to the black cold water to the slime and the lose of this world and that's why he cries out in John 17 and says father restore me to the glory I had with you before the world began glory when he was face-to-face with God to give up his glory for the muck of this earth. He gave up the worship of angels, the adoring presence of angels for the spittle of men gave up all of the shining brilliance of the glories of heaven yes you emptied out his glory in that sentence.

Another way to look at it is that he covered up his glory prevailed. It they saw a glimpse of it on the Mount of Transfiguration.

There were glimpses of it and all his miracles.

There were glimpses of it in his attitude. There were glimpses of it in his words, there were certainly glimpses of it, even on the cross. There was a blazing manifestation of it in the resurrection and ascension, but he emptied himself of some of the outward manifestation and the personal enjoyment of heavenly glory.

Is it any wonder that the psalmist says in Psalm 36. Six. Thy judgments are like a great deep this is too much for us. We can understand this. How on search are his ways on trackable. You can't find the end of them.

You can't get to either the source or the goal you don't understand such profound truth such deep divine purpose.

This God has done for us for us. That's John MacArthur showing you the world's greatest example of humility, along with his ministry here on grace to you. John is the Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary in Southern California and he is titled today's message the humiliation of Christ. Okay John. In addition today's message. I know you have preached countless other sermons about Christ invective told me several times that your favorite subject to preach on is Christ you've written books about him, you have written commentaries on the four Gospels. After five or six decades of studying everything the Bible reveals about Christ. Do you still have those wow moments when you're caught off guard when you discover something. Maybe you'd never before seen about him while we were talking about that earlier today. Ephesians 3. There's a lot in there about the unity of the church and then Paul closes the chapter with a great prayer.

The believers will understand the unity of the church, but I came to verse eight, where Paul is just overwhelmed with the privilege of preaching to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and I just stop and so I can't get past this verse.

What are the unfathomable riches of Christ, so you're asking me if I've discovered something never seen before and Christ.

Of course because there are unsearchable there unfathomable. There beyond comprehension. And this goes back to Job chapter 5 in chapter 9 where Job says that we could never plumb the depths of God's nature.

And then, in Romans 1133. The apostle Paul says, his ways are unsearchable is his thoughts are unfathomable.

So now I you never ever ever exhausts the, the riches of reality in Christ and you always come up short of what is there only in eternity, will we begin to really grasp what that unfathomable reality is along that line. I want to mention the little book that is kind of a good starting point on understanding the riches that are in Christ is called the Jesus answer book. It's really a beautiful little a hardcover book and we would be glad to send it free to anyone who is never contacted us before or maybe you're saying I want to know about Christ.

I want to know more about Jesus Christ.

He is the most amazing person who ever lived.

There is no one more important. No other one who can save no other one who is Lord, I want to know about him and maybe you're just kind of getting started or maybe you feel like your knowledge is limited.

This would be a wonderful little helpful. Compact hardcover book in a question-and-answer format. The Jesus answer book that we will send you free of charge. If you never contacted us before, limited time offer while supplies last. But you can request your free book.

Do it now. If you've never contacted our ministry before will be glad to send it as a gift. That's right and nothing is more critical than knowing the truth about Jesus the Jesus answer book is great for studying his life on your own or with your family to get your copy again.

It's free if you've never contacted us before getting touch with us today. Call our toll-free number 855 grace or go to our website Jide TY.org the Jesus answer book can help you understand it. Maybe better than ever, Christ's parables, his claims about himself and why he came to earth. It's also a valuable resource evangelism. Again, the Jesus answer book is our gift to you. If you've never contacted us before call our customer service team at 855 grace or visit our website Jide TY.org and friend. If you've been strengthened by this ministry. We'd love to hear from you. Let us know if you're listening on the radio or online or through the app and would like to know what you're learning. When you email your thoughts to letters@jidety.org more. That's letters@tty.org or if you prefer regular mail. You can send a letter to Grace to you. Box 4000 panorama city, CA 91412 now for John MacArthur and the entire grace to you staff on Phil Johnson. Thanks for tuning in today and be here tomorrow when John looks at Christ's astounding humility in how you can follow in his steps.

It's another half hour of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on grace to you