1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Php 2:1–11.
Christmas time and there are lots of great Christmas movies and characters, and One of my favorites is: Ebenezer Scrooge. One of the most enduring characters of the Christmas season, not because he embodies joy, but because he exposes deep flaws of humanity.
Charles Dickens introduces Scrooge as a man who has convinced himself that he is complete on his own. he is closed off, self-contained, and resistant to warmth or relationship. He is proud, not a loud or boastful pride but rather a quiet, hardened, self-sufficiency. He needs no one and owes nothing to anyone.
When asked to contribute to the care of the poor, Scrooge responds with a dehumanizing dismissal, “Are there no prisons?” And when told that many would rather die than suffer in poverty, he adds with chilling certainty, “If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”
Scrooge is a cold man. People avoid him, dread him, and keep their joy quiet around him. He is known, but not loved; present, but never welcomed.
The true cost of Scrooge’s pride is revealed when in the future he overhears others speaking casually about his death, and saying it was “a happier house for this man’s death.” There is no mourning, no gratitude, no sense of loss.
Dickens story is a chilling reminder how devasting pride can be.Pride does not destroy us all at once; it hollows us out slowly, until our absence would be an improvement.
Long before A Christmas Carol was ever written Scripture warned us of the dangers of pride, and more than that it also points us to the solution. The words we read in today’s passage are a great antidote to the poison of pride.
Paul doesn’t just warn us away from pride — he gives us a better way. He points us to Jesus. Where Scrooge closed his heart, Christ opened His. Where Scrooge demanded comfort, Christ embraced the cross. Where Scrooge scorned blessing others, Jesus laid down everything he had.
Christmas time often revolves around getting people stuff, but when we properly center our focus on the coming of Christ we find the source of life and of every good blessing, and its greater than anything dickens could have written.
Look three points about the sacrificial humility of Jesus.
- The Life Humility Creates
2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love,
A beautiful life is described. Love is a key theme of this passage. It is mentioned several times along with joy, peace, patience, kindness– all fruits of the spirit. They are interconnected– and humility is a key part of this.
We all want love. We want to experience, receive it, and to show it. This passage shows a life that we all want: participation, thats the opposite of loneliness. oneness: unity of mind. There is sympathy, which is mutual care. There is joy. All of these are connected to each other. They are part of the life Jesus brings.
This is the life we all want: To belong rather than be isolate. To be known rather than ignored. To participate rather than stand alone
There is an enemy in this passage that ruins all of these. That enemy is pride. Its like getting a little egg yoke in your meringue. Just a little bit of it and it ruins it. It is the enemy living within us all.
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,
Pride comes before the fall. Pride ruins so many things. Movies and literature are full of examples of this. Pride can lead us down a road where it ruins us from being able to love, care, and relate with others.
Aesop's fable of the peacock warns against pride. The peacock was first distinguished only by a crest of feathers, and so he prayed that he might be honoured also with a train. His petition was granted and his train was ordered to surpass that of every fowl in creation. The peacock, conscious of his superb appearance then wanted a proportional dignity of gait and manners. He wanted to be able to strut his stuff and it too was granted. Everyone beheld his glory, but then when he needed to fly away from danger his fault became very clear. He was so full of himself, he sacrificed everything for appearance, and failed to leave any room for function. We get so full of ourselves, and work so hard to make ourselves look good, that we forget we are created to love. Our pride concentrates us on our own needs and destroys our ability to love.
4 Look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others.
Look to… a “mark” at which one shoots. It is commonly used for a military “guard,” “spy,” or “scout.” It can be used of one aiming at a target. This conveys the idea of a goal. Of what you are going after. Our aim is not our own interest but that of others.
Targeting our own good ignores and pushes aside others. That is the opposite of love. We don't look to the interest of others because we are so worried about our own well being. Next time you are worried and anxious just consider if you are worried about blessing that person, or are you worried about what they might think about you. If you are constantly worried about how it makes you look then you will never enjoy those moments with others. Just relax. Let your pride down.
We are not trying to put the spotlight on ourselves. We are trying to show love to others. That is a very different goal. Much of our worry is not about many I really hope I bless this person well, but it is man if this doesnt go perfect people are going to think less of me.
Often times our anxiety is about preserving and protecting our interests. Thats what scrooge did. He went inward and cold. He didnt care about others. He was not thinking about how he could show up and be a blessing to others. Selfishness will keep at home and by yourself. Talk yourself out of going and being with others. And saying you dont want to bother people, may seem like you are doing it for them, but it is often a passive aggressive denigration of ourselves.
**When our goal is self-protection, relationships feel threatening.
**When our goal is love, relationships become life-giving.
Some have pointed out that humility is not thinking less of yourself; it’s thinking of yourself less often. It doesnt mean belittling yourself, or thinking yourself worthless or yourself as less value. It simply means being more aware of what others need, what would help them, how they might be served.
Its not about you; its about others.
CS Lewis said, “Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call “humble” nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all. (Mere Christianity, 128)
Humility teaches us to enjoy life and what God has provided and to enjoy the people around us without being consumed with how to change them.
To have this we need to change how we think
- The Mind Humility Requires
If pride is so devastating and so contrary to the love we most want to experience in life, then how do we find the ammunition to counter it. Does it come from fictional stories that have no basis or substance to them? Dickens wrote a masterpiece. But there is no such thing as a ghost of Christmas past, present and future. At least there are no records of these in the past or present. So how could we fix our hopes on something that is not true. Is there something that roots us in the truth of the world. That roots us in who we are made to be. Is there something that shows this is the right way to live. Yes, and it is in Jesus Christ. This deep need humans have for humility is found in our relationship with the one in whose image we bear.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
This takes us to the deep end of the pond. Jesus Christ did not come into existence at the incarnation. He is fully God and has existed with God the Father from all eternity. He is equal to God in his being, nature, authority and glory. Preexistent. Before he came to earth, he existed fully as God, in essence and appearance. He took on the form of a servant. Like the movement from riches to poverty in 2 Cor 8:9, this text follows the movement from the exercise of lordship to the obedience of the servant.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
He is God, and was in the form of God, but he took on the form of a servant. He emptied himself. Emptied his rights, his privileges. That is humility. This is the greatest Undercover Boss! He knows suffering.
Epitomized in his birth. A poor family. No place for them in the inn. Placed in a feeding trough. Born under persecution. Raised in a poor town. And why did he do this? Because our greatest need was for the punishment of sin to be lifted from us. The wood of the manger becomes the wood of the cross. He humbled himself to the point of death. That is humility. That is love.
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
Form of a servant. A Slave. The lowliest person on the economic ladder. The person with the fewest rights and prvileges and honor. He did not consider himself too good for other people. Didnt consider himself too good to help others, to lend a hand or to take an interest. It was not about what can you do for me but how can I help you.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Death on a cross. As a true servant, Jesus chose to obey even when it cost his life, and that further in a most ignoble way. The impact of crucifixion on the Philippians would be great. No Roman could be subjected to such a death, and the Jews took it as a sign that the victim was cursed (Gal 3:13). Perhaps it made a point to Paul’s opponents as well, whom he described as “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Phil 3:18). The cross, so dear to Paul and other devout Christians, was an embarrassment to many. That, in itself, demonstrates the extent to which Jesus went.
The dramatic distance Jesus traveled from the “form of God” to “the death of the cross” dramatically reveals the servant mind that each believer was to have. The distance from “form of God” to “death on a cross” shows us the true shape of humility.
Jesus saw our greatest need and met it. The way we love others is to meet their needs. Care for them more than we care for ourselves.
- Jesus is our example of caring for others– meeting practical needs. Consider the washing of the disciples feet. What does that tell you about his humility, and his love. His actions also set an example for others. His mind was not focused on worldly things.
- Jesus is our example of meeting spiritual needs. That was our greatest need and he laid down his life (literally) for us. We are to follow his example in meeting the spiritual needs of others, not by dying for them but in witnessing to what he has done. Crushed by your pride. Let me tell you about one who loves you, offers you forgiveness, and deals patiently with you.
- He is our example of having compassion on others. He was compassionate and merciful. As we participate in the spirit, we have compassion for others. This stems from Jesus who had compassion for people.
Τὰ σπλάγχνα, “the viscera,” were thought of in the ancient world as the seat of one’s deep feelings “compassion” [NRSV]).
He saw the hearts of people. This is where when we know people we feel for them. We feel their heart ache. My testimony as a delinquent teen. Always want to impress other people. Concerned what they thought about me. Didn’t see other people’s needs. I see people today and I don't see the outward actions. I see the pain and confusion.
This humility affects that attitude we have toward others: My disposition, my seeing them as a person created in the image of God and I want to see them, know them, understand their feelings, fears, emotions. Can you see that?
This is where theology guides. Orthodoxy,right thinking, guide orthopraxy, right living. This is why we study theology and the Scriptures. We cheapen it when we just say “Humble yourself!” taht may be what is needed. But we engage our hearts and minds as we see humility and sacrifice are the way to honor and image God.
- He is our example of embracing suffering without bitterness. I dont want to suffer. I dont want you to suffer. But we live in world in which everyone suffers. Even Jesus suffered. I believe this is going to speak to someone here today.
Scrooge was embittered by loss. began in childhood. He is repeatedly shown as: Abandoned at school, left alone during Christmas holidays while other children return to loving families. Emotionally neglected, which fosters loneliness and self-reliance. no one will look after him except himself. This isolation plants the seeds of emotional withdrawal and distrust. The Loss of His Mother Scrooge’s brief moment of warmth comes through his sister, Fan, who rescues him from school and loves him deeply. However: Fan dies young, removing the one person who represented unconditional love in his life. Her death reinforces Scrooge’s belief that love is temporary and unreliable. As a young man, Scrooge is apprenticed to Mr. Fezziwig, who is kind and generous. But after leaving Fezziwig: Scrooge enters a harsher business world that rewards greed, competition, and exploitation. Scrooge’s bitterness is also what led him to lose his fiance. She saw he only cared about money.
In our pride we can think we should be exempt from suffering. We become angry when hardship happens to us. We become angry at God for evils people commit against us. Trust him to judge those things. He will in time. And now you can recognize Jesus suffering
Jesus also suffered. Suffered in his birth as the proud and arrogant king herod sought to have him killed. Forced his family to flee to Egypt. The biblical story doesn’t mention Joseph after the trip to Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 so many believe Joseph died young, forcing Jesus to be the man of the house and provide for the family. And remember Jesus was betrayed by a close companion and crucified by those he fame to save. Even at his death he prayed for their forgiveness saying they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). In Jesus we see the love of God that tells us we are cared for, that tells us we have a future, that tells us what others have done to us will not overcome us.
Pride can make us hide from these things. We are tortured by our powerlessness to prevent these from happening to us. The gospel story tells us we can humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. We embrace these. We release the anger. God will judge. God will protect.
Christ's mind teaches us to embrace suffering. To let it humbel us, teach us, instruct us. Recognize that what we cannot do he does. It teaches us to continue to love and to be hurt. Those who whose pride does not allow them to open up to others show they are holding on to something that they cannot keep.
Jesus Christ willingly chose to suffer for others and to show them the love of God. We too, if we are to find life, are going to find it by losing it. You dont find fullness of life by shutting yourself in a room isolated from inconveniences. Embrace the messiness of life, of having kids, of having people over, of being in church with others.
- The Glory Humility Looks Toward
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
Jesus humiliation leads to his exaltation. The very act of serving others is what leads to his exaltation. He did what no one else would do, he did what no one else could do. He is obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Patter of this.
George Washington did not seek power; he accepted it out of duty—and then willingly laid it down. Though unanimously chosen as the first President of the United States, he repeatedly expressed reluctance to assume the office, aware of its weight and dangers. After two terms, when he could have remained in power for life, Washington stepped away and returned to private life, setting a precedent that leadership exists to serve the people, not to secure personal control. That restraint—knowing when to lead and when to let go—is a rare and enduring example of humility.
How much more so Jesus. He laid down his life for our sins. The word translated “exalted to the highest place” actually means superexalted.
He is given the name above every name, probably means he is given the title that is above all others. He is Lord. It does not mean he takes the Fathers place. They are still three distinct persons and one God. There is no confusion of the Son with the Father. The Father exalted him, enthroned him, conferred on him τὸ ὄνομα τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα, and purposed that Jesus would be universally acclaimed.
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Every knee will bow before him. kneeling denotes “great reverence and submission
There are no social media haters that are going to prevail against him. No antichristian celebrities that will be standing. There are no government mandates or school superintendents that will keep him down. There are no muslims with swords who are going to prevail.
We are to keep on humbly living the truth of God’s word and humbling loving those who do not believe. We may and likely will suffer, but we have not beleived in him just so we can prosper in this life, we have believed in him because he is able to save us from all the injustices in this life.
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
“to declare openly or confess publicly”. This is what will happen at his return. Those who confessed him now will bow in honor and submission and be exalted with him. Those who have refused him now will bow in defeat and judgement and condemnation. We ought to confess him now.
That takes a lot of humility. I m a man. I dont like to say I need someone else. I dont like to say I am giving into you. The only person I have said that to is Jesus Christ. I am nothing without him. With him i have everything.
We are called to humble ourselves and follow him. We acknowledge that we cannot control our lives. We cannot make up for our wrongs. We cannot fix the world. There is freedom in humility. There is freedom in acknowledging he has a plan that is greater than we can imagine. We humbly approach his throne of grace. Confessing the greatness of his name. There is power in calling on his name. Even the demons flee. Dont underestimate the power of that. Call on him. Confess his name. Confess your faith in him publicly.
Historically a couple key ways of submitting to him: baptism. If you are a follower of Jesus you identify with him as your Lord by baptism. Baptism is an initiation right into the faith.
A second is participating in the mission of the church to make disciples. It's not about did you go to church for Christmas. Are you following him as Lord? You can come to church, sing a song, have a great time and do it again next month or year, but that is cheap service to him. He calls you to lay down your life, and that involves taking on responsibility. Taking ownership. Setting an example for others. Reading the word, being in church, and living it out sun-sat. It's not about walking an aisle when you were 5. Its engaging in the mission.
There was once a wise and just king who ruled his kingdom with fairness. Under his reign, peace flourished because the people trusted that the law was not arbitrary—it was good, and it was enforced. The king made it clear from the beginning: stealing would not be tolerated, because theft corrodes trust and preys on the vulnerable.
The penalty was severe. Anyone caught stealing would be publicly beaten with many lashes—a punishment so harsh that it often left the criminal permanently scarred. The law was meant to be a deterrent. Everyone knew it. Everyone feared it.
One day, word spread through the city that a thief had been caught. The guards dragged the offender into the public square, where justice was always carried out. As the crowd gathered, whispers began to circulate: Why would anyone steal, knowing the cost?
Then the truth emerged. he thief was an elderly woman, frail and weak. She had not stolen out of greed or rebellion, but out of desperation. She had no family left to care for her. Her body was failing. She had been stealing small amounts of food simply to survive.
And then the final, unthinkable detail was revealed:
She was the king’s own mother.
A stunned silence fell over the crowd. This was the woman who had once held the king as a child, who had sacrificed for him, who had shaped his life. Now she stood trembling, unable to bear the punishment that awaited her.
The king faced an impossible dilemma. If he overturned the law, he would undermine justice and show that the rules only applied to the powerless. If he enforced the law, he would condemn the woman he loved to unbearable suffering.
The crowd waited, knowing that whatever the king decided would define his reign.
After a long pause, the king rose from his throne. He removed his royal robe—the symbol of his authority—and walked down to where his mother stood. He embraced her, wrapping his body around hers.
Then he gave the order:
“Carry out the sentence.”
When the whip came down, it did not strike the old woman.
It struck the king.
Each blow fell on his back. The punishment was real. The pain was severe. The law was fully satisfied. And yet the guilty was spared.
Justice was not ignored.
Mercy was not cheap.
Love bore the cost.
At the cross, God did not pretend sin was small. He did not relax His standards. He did not excuse guilt.Instead, He stepped into our place.