The Condescension of Christ for Us – Philippians 2:5-11

I want to ask you a question this week and wonder if you might ponder this as you read the Scriptures and as we approach our gathering together.  What is the mind of God?  Can we as Christians actually know the mind of God?  Is the answer yes, no, both yes and no, or I don’t know??  I would submit to you that Philippians 2:5-11 at least gives us a special insight into the very mind of God, and it is stunningly beautiful. It is exhibited in Jesus. 

Do you find Jesus beautiful? Do you find him stunning? If you are answering “no,” I want to encourage you that it is possible to see the stunning beauty of Jesus only by carefully reading your Bible. So often in our world we are told to look within ourselves to answer questions like this. But for those in Christ it is completely the opposite.  If we are to find any beauty within, it is only because Christ might be changing us to be more like him. But introspection (looking intently into one’s self) has us only looking at that which is imperfect and marred by sin. We see unhindered beauty only when we look at Christ. We see Christ only in the Scriptures. So this week, I put to you that in the scriptures we see Christ, and he is stunningly beautiful, and in Christ we see the mind of God. Christ is the visible example of the very nature of God communicated to us in the special way that he became flesh and walked among us. Jesus IS the special revelation of God.  So…do you want to know what is in the mind of God? Do you want to know God? Look at Jesus. 

The Comparison of Worldly Citizenship to Heavenly Citizenship

Lets compare Paul’s argument for living out heavenly citizenship with worldly citizenship. Lets look at how the qualities we have manifest in what we pursue. 

The World: The Bible tells us that the qualities of worldly citizenship are as follows: we are dead in sin, have a fate of destruction, are given over to lust and anxiety, and have no idea of the definition of love or an example of true love. The world has no mercy. As a result, there is no desire to complete the joy of others but only a pursuit of own happiness that is never satisfied. This pursuit of the happiness of self seeks its own ideas, it’s not about unity but about individuality, it lives in the authority of relativism, the authority of self. Individualism! It is prideful and ambitious, seeking own ideas and own glory. It ends up being just like Satan.

Now let’s see the opposite argument in Phil. 2:1-4 and the example in Christ in verses 5-11. See if you can see the difference.

Be encouraged as you realize the great privilege we have in living in the kingdom of Christ!

Being A Citizen of the Kingdom of Christ.

Philippians 1:27 “Let your manner of citizenship be worthy of the Gospel.”

We have a permanent citizenship in heaven through Christ. This is a citizenship that means we are not passing through or allowed to stay—we are not immigrants. We, right now, have all the benefits and protections in Christ our King and every blessing that comes under the power of God in that kingdom as those who have been given the right to be sons and daughters of God. There is a homeland—it is our homeland now, and not yet. We eagerly await the day of consummation.

The kingdom is established in the cross of Christ where victory was gained over every power of evil and death in the whole of creation. We use the thoughts of our heavenly citizenship to remind us that we are not of this world, that there is an eternity, that we are currently exiled in a foreign land, that one day the fullness of the kingdom will be realized, that one day we will only dwell in all perfection with true citizens of the heavenly kingdom. We use the thoughts of our heavenly citizenship to realize that it is the only citizenship of true hope and destiny, and we desire greatly for others to leave the scaffolding of this world and enter the real building, the great city of God, the everlasting people of God.

We remind ourselves of the qualities of the kingdom that we are to enjoy and represent. Eternality, power, beauty, righteousness, victory, grace, mercy, justice, holiness, love, joy, peace—the very character of the King of the kingdom. We remind ourselves that even though we are born with a citizenship certificate (our national birth certificates) in this world, that our entry into heavenly citizenship is also by birth—we must be born again. This is the message we seek to take into this world that our fellow humans might be born into a new hope in Christ.