Philippians 2:6-8; A Reminder

“Who being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; (7) rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (8) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

As we begin one of my favorite passages, allow me to remind you of something critically important.  It would be easy to teach this passage like so:

1.       Jesus humbled himself, served others without a thought to his rights, and was obedient…even to death.

 

2.       We should be like Jesus.

3.       So be humble, serve others without thought to your rights, and be obedient…even to death.

It’s nice and simple…but completely impossible!  We cannot try harder, do more, or buckle down to be like Jesus.  As Jeff Warren reminded us this summer, if Jesus is the example we must live up to, that isn’t good news, that is crushing news.  Jesus was PERFECT – we cannot be like Him. 

If you strive to be like Jesus in your own strength, you will either become a self-righteous prig, ignoring your sins while pointing out the sins in others (been there), become exhausted and joyless striving for a goal you cannot attain (done that), or you will give up (ditto).  That sounds like a lot of church-goers doesn’t it?

But there is hope.  While we cannot work harder to be like Jesus, God can sanctify us/transform us into the image of Christ by His Spirit.  We can become more mature, more loving, and more humble as we focus on the finished work of Christ and allow His Spirit to transform us into the likeness of Christ.  Anything Jesus-like in our lives comes from the Spirit of God, not our own effort.

So, as we work through this passage, remember that you cannot do what Jesus did by simply working harder or trying more.  You can only become like Jesus through the power of His Spirit working in your life.  Only God can transform us into the image of His Son!  (Don’t skip the verse below…)

“Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" (29) Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." – John 6:28-29