We have been looking at the implications of the incarnation. So far, we have looked at the first three:
1. Jesus came to reveal God to us.
2. Jesus came to defeat death and take the fear of death away from us because He has also defeated the devil.
3. Jesus came to be our sympathetic High Priest.
The fourth implication is humility. Christ came to give us the perfect example of humility.
In Philippians 2:3-4 we read, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” As Paul writes these words, he is calling for the people at the church of Philippi to exercise humility and humbleness. We are self-absorbed people by nature. We focus on ourselves and our needs. Our lives are more important than what is true of anybody else’s lives. For us to go counter to that is not normal. As the Scriptures exhort us to consider others more important than ourselves, and to humble ourselves, and to serve others; that is a great exhortation. It is very humble and one we should follow and obey. Wouldn’t it be great to have an example of what that looks like? We can interpret this in many different ways, so an example would be great. Paul understands that, through the inspiration of the Spirit, and he gives us the absolute perfect example of humility, which of course is found in Jesus Christ.
In Philippians 2:5 it says, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” This is how we should think, and this should be our attitude: the attitude that Christ had. We continue in Philippians 2:6 which says, “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.” Paul starts out by telling us that our Savior, the Son of God, existed at the highest level possible. He existed in the form of God, and He was God. For all of eternity, it’s important to understand this, the Son of God has controlled this universe, ran this universe, and had been at the very top of all things. Everything in this universe He created, so He is the highest being in the universe within the Godhead. He is at the apex of all things. So, we start with that. Who could be higher than Him? No one! . . .
