Philippians - Joy In All Seasons
Week 13 - The Joy of Emptying

We live in an age of reality TV, YouTube ‘vloggers,’ and social media influencers who keep telling us about their “lives” or their “inmost thoughts,” but what you get is only what they want you see. In Philippians today, we get the ultimate revelation of Jesus. We not only get a picture of who Jesus is and what He did, but we get to see His heart as well. He was God, but He was also man. He became a servant and died on a cross. This text not only tells us about Him, but it tells us His mindset. (Phil 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…) I think God shows us what He does today in order to transform our mind and melt our hearts.

Paul does not say, “Here is the mind of Christ.” He says, “Let this mind be in you, too.” In Philippians 2 we see that Jesus is God, that He became human, and then He humbled Himself as a servant—to the point of dying to bring us back into relationship with God.

1. Jesus is God – There is no passage in the Bible that more powerfully (or dramatically) puts this fact on display.

The word “form” of God means “being in very nature God.” The word Paul uses (morphe) means the “essence of something.” It means “those qualities which make something what it is.” It is much stronger than if Paul came right out and said, “Jesus is God.”

If Jesus is God, it should lead us to be hopeful about our future. He is committed to us, and if He is God and we are confident in Him, it leads to a solid foundation for our joy.

If Jesus is God, then we must respond with all that is in us. Many people today define Jesus how we like, and He looks a lot like us. John Stott says you can’t just like Jesus; everything about our life needs to revolve around Him.

If Jesus is God, we have a new dynamic for loving people. Love and relationship are eternally inherent in Him. So, when He created the world and people, He created not to get love, but to give love. Our worth, significance, and life have to be settled in Christ before we move out in serving—to give as we have been given to.

2. Jesus was fully God and fully man. He took on a human nature. The grammar of the text does not say, “Having been God, He instead became human,” it says, “Being God, He also became human.” He didn’t stop being God, but He became human as well… God and man.

Our God is a God that believes matter matters. God took into Himself the physical; no other religion has ever had the audacity to say that. God does not think of the physical as more important than the spiritual, or the spiritual as more important than the physical. At Christmas, God became human, taking on the physical. At Easter, the resurrection, God redeemed a body. God created and redeemed both the soul and the body. Jesus redeems us so that body and soul live in integrity.

Only Christians can truly be concerned about social issues and evangelism. Without the Gospel, we become concerned with only one or the other, but because God became man, He now sends us out to meet those needs in the world around us. Christians should fight against disease and poverty as well against unbelief and heresy; only by Jesus being God and man does this make sense.

3. Jesus became a servant. “[He] made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.… he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place”

Though we are not equal with God, we act like we are God all the time. Jesus lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should’ve died. He came and showed us what it means to be a human.

We don’t make Him savior; He is the Savior. The question is, “Do you trust Him to be yours?” When we do, He adopts us, gives us His name, and He accepts us. Let what Jesus did change your mind about how you live and trust Him.

CONVERSATION GUIDE:

Opening Questions:
• How have you seen people try to be “more” than they are?

• How do you typically respond when someone claims to be more than they appear?

• What does it mean to you to “empty yourself” of pride or status?

Discussion Questions:
• How does Jesus’ example of emptying Himself challenge our view of leadership and service?

• What aspects of Jesus’ divine nature are most meaningful to you in your daily life?

• How does understanding Jesus as both fully God and fully human impact your relationship with Him?

• In what ways do you find yourself trying to “grasp” at status or control instead of following Christ’s example?

Personal Application:
• Reflect on areas where you might be holding onto status or power rather than serving others.

• Consider how you can apply Christ’s example of humility in your relationships.

• Identify specific ways you can “empty yourself” to better serve others this week.

Group Focus:
• Thank God for Christ’s example of humble service.

• Share experiences of when serving others led to unexpected blessings or hardships.

• Pray for the strength to follow Christ’s example of emptying ourselves.