Philippians 2:5-11 tells us some amazing truths about Jesus. The text reads: “5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
In our text we understand that Christ Jesus was in the form, or appearance, or the very nature of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 helps us understand what this means when we’re told, that Christ is the image of God. The Greek word for image in 2 Corinthians 4:4 is εἰκών (icon). In other words, Jesus is the physical likeness, or representation of God. The truth that Jesus is God in the flesh is clearly stated in John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Understanding how our all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present God was contained within the body of Jesus can be challenging for us. Yet, it is something that first-century Christians, who confessed Jesus as Lord did not question. In addition to the historical truth that incalculable numbers of Christians faced martyrdom believing and proclaiming the truth of Christ’s divinity, we see in Philippians 2:5-11 that Christ’s divinity is not in question, but the humility of His disciples.
Stating the truth of Christ Jesus’ divinity is the basis for appreciating His humility in taking on humanity. Not only did Jesus humble Himself in becoming an infant and growing up as one of us, but He further subjugated Himself by going to the cross. Recognizing that the cross was a humiliating form of torturous death is crucial for appreciating how much Jesus humbled Himself for our sakes.
When we truly appreciate Christ Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf then confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord becomes a natural expression of our faith. While it is true that recognizing and confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord is a part of becoming a Christian, it is also true that proclaiming our confession of His Lordship is to be integral in all aspects of our life. If we ever speak or live in such a way that denies His Lordship then any further profession of His Lordship must be accompanied with repentance. Living a Christ-like life requires humility like Christ so that our confession of His Lordship remains inherent to our discipleship.
The challenge of discipleship is to always recognize and declare Christ Jesus as Lord in our speech and actions. In doing so, we humbly subject ourselves to the Lord of lords. We then love as He loves and care about what He cares about. We humbly do what our Lord commands us to do as we obediently follow Him until He returns or we go to be with Him.
