Sunday School Lesson on Humiliation and Exaltation

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Sunday School Lesson on Humiliation and Exaltation

Jesus Christ: A Portrait of God

Introduction

A. Servant Leadership

I was recently shopping in a "big box" retailstore for an electronics item. I briefly overheardthree young employees of the establishment dis-cussing an employee meeting that had been heldthat morning. They were making fun of the con-cept of "servant leadership," which apparentlyhad been stressed at this meeting. As one put it,"If they think I'm here to serve customers, they'recrazy. I'm just here for a paycheck until I canfind something better." This got a good laugh ofagreement from the other two.

Some retail establishments have found that away to thrive is by offering fabulous customerservice. A large department store chain where Ilive has been practicing this policy for years and

is legendary for its customer service. It does nothave the best prices, but loyal customers flock tothis store because they are always treated withcourtesy and respect. There is no hassle for a re-turn or a special order, and salespeople go out oftheir way to please customers.

While most people enjoy being served, to be aservant is another matter! Modern society hasdemeaned the role of servant. Young peoplerarely aspire to be career servants. They all wantto be boss. Even in the church we have allowed a"serve me" culture to dominate in many congre-gations. The paid church staff is under enormouspressure to provide many types of services forthe members. Worship services sometimes de-generate into entertainment, with an audiencethat must be pleased. If a church is providing in-adequate services, members may go elsewhere orcut down on their giving.

Yet the church, as a whole and individually, istasked with cultivating a "mind of Christ." Thisis an attitude of service, of valuing others morethan self. Today's lesson seeks to understandhow Jesus can be Lord of all yet servant of all.

B. Lesson Background

Philippians is an unusual letter for Paul. Un-like most of his other writings, he was not writ-ing to defend himself from attacks or to combatmajor doctrinal errors. Instead, it has been called"Paul's joy letter" because of his frequent use ofthe terms joy and rejoice. This peaks when Paulcommands his readers to "Rejoice in the Lord al-ways: and again I say, Rejoice" (Philippians 4:4),one of the best-loved verses of all Scripture.The historical circumstances behind the letterhelp us to understand Paul's upbeat spirit. Paulhad founded the Philippian church on his sec-ond missionary journey (Acts 16:11-40). Philippiwas an important Roman city in the province ofMacedonia.

Unlike most large Roman cities, Philippi had avery tiny Jewish population. The Bible doesn'tsay that Paul was able to locate a synagogue inPhilippi when he visited that city. This leads usto presume that no synagogue existed there. In-stead, he found a group of faithful Jewish womenthat included a prominent merchant namedLydia. We believe that Lydia became a close allyof Paul, and that the Philippian church met inher home. Acts also tells the dramatic story ofPaul and Silas being thrown into the Philippianjail and gaining release through God's miracu-lous intervention.

The result was the conversion and befriendingof the Gentile warden of the Philippian jail. Paul

was asked to leave the city by the Philippian au--,orities, but he left behind a strong group offriends and fellow believers. His relationshipwith this congregation was in no way strained,10 much so that he could begin the letter by say-ing, "I thank my God upon every remembranceai you" (Philippians 1:3).

Paul wrote Philippians while he was impris-med. The Philippiuss congregation became aware,„if Paul's circumstances and sent one of its-rusted young men, Epaphroditus, to assist thecastle personally. This young man fell ill andnearly died (Philippians 2:25-30).

Paul sent Epaphroditus back to the Philippian,nurch with a letter that expressed deep thanksint their long-time support of his ministry (Phi-lippians 4:15, 16). Paul was unable to bless themfinancially but instead gave them a marvelousletter full of wonderful statements of faith. As ayesult. the verses from Philippians are among thehost popular for Scripture memorization (exam-

ples: 1:6, 21; 2:5; 3:7, 10, 14; 4:4, 7, 13).

One of the gems of this book is known as thePhilippian Hymn (Philippians 2:6-11). As wills

Christ Hymn in Colossians 1:15-20 (see thefirst lesson of this quarter), we can imagine Paulleaching this song to the new Christians at Phi-*: pi nearly a decade earlier. This hymn is full ofbeautiful and profound information concerningerr Jesus Christ.

I. The Mind of Christ(Philippians 2:1-5)

A. Attitude of Unity (vv. 1, 2)

1. If there be therefore any consolation inChrist, if any comfort of love, if any fellowshiptiff the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies.

Paul begins this section with four rhetorical ifRatements. These are rhetorical in the sense thatPaul does not question whether these things aretrue but wants his readers to ponder them for amoment. Can we find consolation (or encouragemeat) in knowing Christ? Yes. Can we find C0111-fort in living a life of love? Yes. Can we findsweet fellowship through the Holy Spirit withGod and other believers? Yes. And are weblessed recipients of the bowels and mercies ofGod? Yes.

This last expression is confusing for modernreaders. Both bowels and mercies refer literally tophysical organs in the human abdomen. Suchbody parts are often used metaphorically to ex-press emotions. For example, we might say, "itwas a gut feeling," or "she touched my heart,"and not be thinking about literal body parts atall. Ancient people do the same thing. They un-derstand bowels to be the seat of compassion be-cause a physical sensation inside the body canaccompany great emotion.

Strong feelings are not just a brain process.They involve the entire person. When the Biblesays that Jesus was "moved with compassion"(Matthew 14:14), similar language is used. Liter-ally this verse says that Jesus felt a stirring in Hisbowels. The context tells us that this was not anupset stomach, but Jesus' body reflecting Hisdeep love for the multitude.

2.Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded,having the same love, being of one accord, ofone mind.

Paul is hundreds of miles away from hisbeloved Philippian brothers and sisters. Butthere is still something they can do to bring himgreat joy: they can be united in their thinkingand controlled by a spirit of love. Paul is leadingup to the great uniting factor: everyone trying tobe like Christ. Unity is not achieved when wetry to copy each other. In that case the strongestexample will prevail temporarily but maychange quickly and create ongoing disunity.True, lasting unity comes when all copies aremade from an ultimate, unchanging pattern. Forthe church this pattern is Christ. question

B. Attitude of Servanthood (vv. 3, 4)

3.Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteemother better than themselves.

Why do we do the things we do? Almost anyaction has an underlying motivation. Why do wemow our lawns? One man does it because heloves things to be neat and tidy. Another mandoes it because he is afraid his neighbors willspeak negatively of him if his home looks un-kempt. A third man does it because that's theway his dad taught him, and he still wants to dothings to please his father.

Paul uses the words strife and vainglory to de-scribe improper motives. The meanings of thesetwo words overlap to a great degree. The com-bined idea is to avoid doing things out of motiva-tion of selfish recognition. Self-aggrandizementis just that! The Bible has a lot to say about thedangers of pride (examples: Proverbs 8:13; 11:2;13:10; 14:3; 16:18; 29:23). Conceit brought down

some high and mighty rulers in the Bible (Daniel4:28-33; Acts 12:21-23). Church leaders must re-sist those who push personal agendas at the ex-pense of the long-term health of the body ofChrist.

Then Paul gives a single motivation for correctactions: we should do things out of our esteemfor others, placing their interests above our own.

I was once talking to an older Christian manabout changes in worship style. I sensed that hewas not happy about the direction his churchhad taken. I asked him, provocatively, "What doyou think about having drums in worship?"For a moment his countenance was angry, andhe admitted, "I hate the drums." Then his facesoftened; he smiled and said, "But if that's whatwe need to reach young people for Jesus, I'll putup with drums." He was esteeming others morethan himself. (See question #3, page 160.]

ESTEEMING OTHERS

Charles Dickens's classic A Tale of Two Citiescenters on the figure of Sydney Carton, a drunken,listless attorney who helps acquit Charles Darnayof a mistaken charge of treason. Both wind up inlove with Lucie Manette. But Carton steps asidewhen he realizes that he has nothing to offer her,and that she loves Darnay anyway.

At the height of the French Revolution, theyare all in Paris. There Darnay is arrested becauseof crimes committed by his father and uncle.Convicted by the revolutionary court, he is sen-tenced to death by guillotine. Carton, who bearsan uncanny resemblance to Darnay, tradesplaces with him in prison so that Darnay, Lucie,and their family can escape. Carton then goes tothe guillotine and dies in the place of Danny.The story is filled with the themes of unjustretribution as well as the redemption of the self-deprecating Carton. In essence he esteemed oth-ers better than he esteemed himself. Paulencourages the same attitude in the Philippians.Indeed, the fictional Carton's self-sacrifice bearsa resemblance to what Jesus did. Dickens had amake-believe character gave up his life to savethe earthly life of a friend; God sent His only Sonto give up His life to save us for eternity. Do youlive each day with that fact in view? —J. B. N.

4.Look not every man on his own things, butevery man also on the things of others.

Our motivations most extend beyond the de-sire to avoid offending others. We must truly lookout for the interests of others, even though theymay be at odds with our own interests. In thechurch this can be difficult. Should we spend ourlimited funds to hire a youth minister or a seniorcitizens minister? Should we be funding ourchurch's own food pantry or the local food bank?Paul gives his answer in the next verse.

C. Attitude of Christ (v. 5)

5.Let this mind be in you, which was also inChrist Jesus.

All of our attitudes should be patterned afterthe attitudes of Jesus. This is why it is importantto study His life; that is the only way to under-stand what He did.

This is a consistent message in Paul's writings.Earlier Paul warned the Christians in Rome toavoid being "conformed" to the selfish ways ofthe world. Instead, they were to be "transformed"by having new minds, minds that were in linewith the mind of Christ (Romans 12:2). He toldthe Corinthian church that even though Christ inHeaven was rich beyond all measure, He becamepoor for our sakes (2 Corinthians 8.9)

II. The Hymn to Christ(Philippians 2:6-11)

A. Christ's Preexistence (v. 6)

6. Who, being in the form of God, thought itnot robbery to be equal with God.

Many newer translations format this section as

poetry, attempting to give the sense of how itmay have been used in worship. The hymn be-gins with an affirmation of Jesus' divine statusbefore He came to earth as a man. He was likeGod in both form and equality.

The seeming paradox of the nature of the God-head is present here: Jesus is both distinct fromGod and at the same time equal to God. Thisverse is not talking about two equally powerfulgods who are united only in purpose, a thoughtthat might be at home in Greek philosophy. Thereis equality between the Father and the Son.

B. Christ's Incarnation (vv. 7, 8)

7. But made himself of no reputation, andtook upon him the form of a servant, and wasmade in the likeness of men.

The hymn now gives us one of the most pro-found explanations of the incarnation in all ofScripture. Made himself of no reputation is literally "emptied himself." Christ debased himself.Why? The answer has been given already: He es-teemed others (us) more important than himself.Another insight into the significance of the in-,arnation is that Jesus ministered to others as uservant—literally, a slave. A slave is someonewith no rights and is considered to be property ofthe master. Jesus, the King of kings, did not comeas a conqueror. Instead He taught that the way tobe great in the kingdom of God was to be the ser-rant of all (Mark 10:44).

This was a prophesied role for the Messiah.Isaiah said that Jesus would be "despised, andme esteemed him not" (Isaiah 53:3). This reflectsthe ancient attitude towards slaves. They were.00ked down upon as the lowest rung of the lad-

of humanity. We see the servant altitude ofksus in His final meal with His disciples. At this:antler Jesus himself took on the role of a house-told slave and washed the feet of all present, a.meaning and odious task (John 13:14).

8. And being found in fashion as a man, he'tumbled himself, and became obedient untodeath, even the death of the cross.

The hymn moves to Jesus' death on the cross,tile ultimate act of servanthood and self-sacrifice.lents died an innocent man, guilty of no crime.His crucifixion was not an act of triumph orsaength in a human sense. It was an act of self-kumiliation and weakness (see 2 Corinthians13:4). Even on the cross, Jesus could have rescuediimself by summoning legions of angel warriorstire Matthew 26:53). Instead, He chose not to as-sert His equality with God but died for our sins

11 Corinthians 15:3). (Ore question #4. page !OIL)

C. Christ's Exaltation (vv. 9-11)

S. Wherefore God also hath highly exaltedaim. and given him a name which is aboveawry name.

The crucifixion was therefore necessary, and itacquired that Christ become human and submitobediently to this horrible, unjust death. Thatwas not the end of the story, however. God hun-dred Jesus, first by raising Him from the dead,Acts 2:32) and then by exalting Him to God'sright hand, a position of honor and authorityActs 2:33). He has a position unchallenged and=equaled by any other King of kings and Lordlords (1 Timothy 6:15: Revelation 19:16).

HIGHLY EXALTED

Mark Twain's novel The Prince and the Paupercal5 the story of Tom Canty and Edward Tudor.Tam was born into poverty: Edward was born and was the heir to the kingdom. Becoming ac-quainted in a chance meeting, the boys tradedclothes, and circumstances soon traded their ex-periences. Edward, dressed in Tom's rags, wasthrust from the palace: Tom, dressed in Edward'sfinery, dwelt in luxury.

Edward soon experienced the deprivation ofthe impoverished. Beaten, starved. and humili-ated, he learned what it was like to become partof the urban poor. Through various experienceshe discovered bow the other side of Englandlived. When Henry VIII died, Edward was able tomake himself' known and was placed on thethrone as king. From barely existing in the low-est levels of poverty, he was exalted to the high-est station in the kingdom.

Although Jesus was in quite different circum-stances, the change in His position also was star-tling. He gave up His position in Heaven to livein economic poverty on earth. He became poor(2 Corinthians 8:9). Living as a man among men,He came to know firsthand our struggles andfailures. He was beaten, humiliated, and evencrucified. Yet God took Jesus from that lowly po-sition, raised Hint from the dead, highly exaltedHim, and restored Him to His rightful place inHeaven. This is the one we serve. —J. B. N.

10, 11. That at the name of Jesus every kneeshould bow, of things in heaven, and things inearth, and things under the earth; and thatevery tongue should confess that Jesus Christ isLord. to the glory of God the Father.

The implications of Jesus' exaltation are nowgiven. First, ever- created being_ whether in the

This physical realm or the spiritual realm, will bowbefore Jesus. We should understand this bowingas more than a mere act of respect or courtesy. Itis an act of worship (see Revelation 5:14). TheBible teaches that worship is for God and Godalone (see Revelation 22:9). For the hymn to en-vision universal worship of Jesus is a strong affir-mation of His deity.

Second, the worshiping will be accompaniedby a confession. This word confession is some-times misunderstood. This is not a confession ofour sins or crimes. It is confession in the sense ofacknowledgment, a statement of strong and pas-sionate belief. All creatures, including all menand women, thus will acknowledge that Jesus isindeed the Lord. The saved will do so gladly, ea-gerly. The unsaved will have no choice; resis-tance will be futile. The truth that they rejectedin their earthly lives will be all too clear, to theireternal disgrace.

Conclusion

A. Thinking as Jesus Thought

Have you ever heard a tune that stuck in yourhead for days? Every time I visit a certain famoustheme park and ride a particular ride, I amhaunted by a song about a "small world" fordays. But I still do it because I enjoy the ride.What makes as think the way we do? How docertain thoughts (or tunes) get stuck in ourminds? Why do we think some things to be triv-ial and other things to be important? Whatcauses us to care about some things and ignoreother things? To push this even further, why dowe sometimes have thoughts we don't want tohave (or, at least, that we regret later)?

"The unwanted thought" seems to be part ofthe human condition. We get angry and think ter-rible things about an irritating coworker. Later,though, we may be ashamed at what we thought.We see an attractive person and our minds flashinappropriately. Later we are ashamed for think-ing that way. We lose patience with our spouseand blame him or her for our inadequacies. Later,when we reflect, we are ashamed of suchthoughts and appreciate this person deeply.Paul speaks elsewhere about bringing everythought captive to our obedience to Christ (2 Co-rinthians 10:5). What he means is that we mustmake Jesus the Lord of our thought life. Ourminds are not fortresses of solitude where Jesusis not welcome. If He is truly our Lord, then ourminds must be open to His presence withoutshame or fear.

How can we accomplish this on a practicallevel? The Philippian Hymn outlines a very clearstrategy: we begin to think like Jesus. This doesnot mean we try to imagine what we would do ifwe were the King of kings as He is. It means welook for ways to serve others. We think of howwe can help others, not just help ourselves.Jesus declared that He came to serve, not to beserved (Matthew 20:28). When we adopt this at-titude, we have made a giant leap toward adopt-ing the mind of Christ. Paul described thisattitude as the difference between being "car-nally minded" and being "spiritually minded"(Romans 8:6). Those thoughts that cause us to beashamed will not be welcome in the mind that isset on Christ and acknowledging His presence.How can you improve your thought life in thenew year ahead? Are there things you need toavoid, things that pull you from having yourmind open to Jesus? Specifically is there an areain your church or family life where you havebeen selfish? Take a minute to think of a con-crete example; then be resolved to eliminate thisunchristlike attitude by fixing your mind onJesus and adopting the desire to serve othersrather than to be served.

B. Prayer

Loving God, help on to begin the new yearwith a deeper desire to serve You by serving oth-ers. May Your Spirit always be working withinus to remake our minds to be like the mind ofour Lord Jesus Christ. We pray this in His name.the name above all names, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

Submitting to the lordship of Jesus means weare willing to humble ourselves and serve others_

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