Philippians 2:8-11
"The Cross, the Crown, the Christian"

Gospelcom Bible Gateway

^"8And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.^"

INTRODUCTION:
If Jesus is our ultimate example in life and practice, then how are we doing in following Him? Jesus was willing to leave the glories of heaven and come here. Here He suffered the ignominy of a criminal’s death. He never grasped for power or position. Yet, the Father exalted Him to the highest position of authority. How could we follow His example in any of that? We can. This humiliation and exaltation of Christ is Paul’s theme for how believers should treat each other.

A. Pride is the cancer of the soul. If left unchecked, it will destroy everything.

1. It was pride that took Lucifer out of heaven.

2. It was pride that took Adam out of the garden.

3. It was pride that took away the kingdom from Saul.

4. It was pride that took Haman out of the Courts of Persia.

5. It is pride that makes friends into enemies.

6. It is pride that takes husbands and wives into divorce.

7. It is pride that destroys governments.

B. Dwight L. Moody -- "Be humble, or you will stumble."

C. J.I. Packer -- speaking of Paul and three statements he made

1. "I am the least of the apostles." 1 Cor 15 (AD 59)

2. "I least of all of the saints." Eph 3 (AD 63)

3. "I am the chiefest of sinners." 1 Tim 1 (AD 64)

4. As time went onward, Paul grew downward in humility.

D. Two actions for Christians.

1. Humility followed by Doxology.

2. Submission followed by Worship.

3. Healthy Christians ought to have both.

E. This is what we see here with the ultimate example in Jesus Christ. (v5)

F. Verses 6-11 were the first creed in the early church.

G. This was put into a song of worship.

I. Jesus Christ and the Cross. (v 8)

A. There never has been, nor ever will be, anyone like Jesus.

B. The epicenter of Jesus Christ is not His birth or life.

C. It is His death.

D. The focus of a Christian is not a babe in the manager, but God-Man on the cross.

E. Myrrh is embalming fluid.

F. If you took all four gospels and looked at all that was written for the first 30 years, there are only 4 chapters that deal with the first 30 years; 85 on the last 3.5 years of his life. And of those, 29 are focused on the last week and 13 on the final day; 579 verses on the last 24-hour period of Jesus' life.

G. Graham Scroggie -- Anywhere you cut the Bible, you will see it bleed.

1. Genesis 22.

2. Psalm 22.

3. Isa 53.

4. John 4-5.

H. Notice that He humbled Himself.

1. Verse 3 -- Lowliness of mind.

2. Same Greek word used here.

3. Ultimate example.

I. Take my yoke upon you, I am lowly...

J. Jesus always hid Himself, never exalted Himself.

1. Before Pilate -- Isa 53.

2. On the Cross.

3. James and John were angry at the Samaritans and wanted to fire bomb the city. Jesus' response ... the Son of Man did not come to destroy lives; He came to save them.

K. Obedient to death, EVEN to death on the cross.

L. Not just that He died, but that He died the most shameful, agonizing death of the cross.

M. Crucifixion was invented by the Persians.

1. They believed the earth was sacred, and no one should die on the ground. So they raised them up on a single beam or sometimes with a pitibulim.

2. Perfected by the Romans.

3. Reserved the cross for murders, armed robbers, insurrectionists, and slaves, but never a Roman citizen.

N. What was the crucifixion of Jesus like?

O. Why did Jesus do this?

P. We can't fathom this type of love.

II. Jesus Christ and the Crown (Vss 9-11)

A. The name -- not just a common name, but the one and only name above all other names.

B. What name is this? It is not Jesus, as that was a common name.

C. V11 - Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

D. This is the ultimate name above every other name at which. all will bow and confess.

E. Rev 19

III. Jesus Christ and the Christian. (Vs 5)

A. This is how we ought to treat one another.

B. Go back and read from Verse 1 and following.

C. If Jesus Christ as Lord can humble Himself, then you ought to also.

D. If you are willing to humble yourself, then God will exalt you. Luke 18

E. The way up is the way down; and the way down is the way up.

APPLICATION:

1. Think of an instance when you were “put in your place” by someone else. How did you react? Was is the right way? What rights do you have in such a situation?

2. What do you like about a humble person? How does humility make one approachable?

3. When does the payoff for humility come? Here and now? Later on in heaven? Both?

MEMORY VERSE: Philippians 2:8-11

^"8And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.^"