The Example of Jesus
Sermon Series: Philippians
Message By Eddie DSouza on June 21, 2026
Passage: Philippians 2:1-11
Sometimes Christians mistakenly think that their relationship with God is merely one that involves obedience to his commands. They think that the commands to like-mindedness, humility, and self-denial are demanded by God from them merely because such character pleases God. I said merely twice because I do not deny the truth that is contained in those statements, but I deny that they represent the whole truth.
God commands Christian behavior in Scripture to reflect his actions and his character. The commands to like-mindedness, humility, and self-denial are not merely because such character pleases God, but also because God himself, Jesus, did these in his humiliation. The humiliation of Jesus is an ancient way of describing the incarnation and crucifixion of Jesus.
Because we are to reflect God’s actions and character, Paul gives us a threefold exhortation and the grand example of Jesus in Phil 2:1–11. Over the last three weeks, we looked at each part of the exhortation. This week, we turn to the example of Jesus. Next week, we will look at the whole passage and put it together. My aim for the five-part series of sermons on Phil 2:1–11 is to clearly present Paul’s exhortations and the example of Jesus so that we may deeply cherish Jesus and delightfully imitate him.
For this sermon, my aim is to hold up the example of Jesus so that we can clearly see Jesus as the glorious God who became man, died, rose, and became the exalted Lord. I want you to see Jesus as the glorious God in his humiliation and exaltation. I want you to deeply cherish Jesus as the glorious God in his humiliation and exaltation.
To clearly see Jesus’s glory in his humiliation and exaltation, you must also beware of counterfeits and false teachings that distort the humiliation of Jesus. So, this sermon has three parts: the humiliation of Jesus, misrepresentations of Jesus’s humiliation, and the exaltation of Jesus. Humiliation, misrepresentations, exaltation.
The Humiliation of Jesus
The term ‘the humiliation of Jesus’ can sound as if someone insulted Jesus or forced Jesus to be humble. It is an old one from the early church. Some have called it the self-humiliation of Jesus. It is not an external attack on Jesus in any way, but a description of what Jesus did.
Paul describes the humiliation of Jesus with three deeds. You will find these in Phil 2:6–8. First, he did not count equality with God as something to be grasped. Second, he emptied himself. Third, he humbled himself. It is this third deed from which the name the humiliation of Jesus is derived.
Something to Be Grasped
There are two states in which something that is worthy of being grasped may exist. Either it may already be in the person’s hand, or it may not be. If it is not in the person’s hand, it suggests that the person desires to grasp it. If it is already in the person’s hand, then it suggests that the person should not let go of it.
Here, Jesus is described as being in the form of God, and equality with God is portrayed as a state worthy of grasping. Note that the exaltation of Jesus (vv. 9–11) does not in any way suggest that Jesus was exalted and made equal to God. That is, Jesus did not at some point in history become exalted to equality with God. He always possessed equality with God. So when v. 6 teaches that Jesus did not consider this equality with God as something to be grasped, it teaches that he considered not holding on to what he had, as in an advantageous position of divinity for self-advantage, but chose to serve others.
Consider the example of a king who can choose to remain in the palace while his citizens are troubled by some matter, like a small dam that is about to break. Or he can choose to leave the palace and help the citizens who are working hard to prevent the dam from breaking. When he leaves the palace, he does not stop being a king. So, the king does not think his palatial realm is worth grasping, nor does he think that the common life is worth more, but he leaves the palace to save the citizens.
He Emptied Himself
Instead of grasping onto his divine form, Jesus emptied himself. He did this by taking on the form of a slave. Jesus put on the flesh. He incarnated. He veiled his glory and came as a helpless baby. By the power of the Spirit, he was conceived in the womb of the virgin, Mary.
He Humbled Himself
Did becoming human end Jesus’s self-humiliation? No. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, death on a cross. Jesus humbled himself to redeem people in obedience to God. Scripture makes sure we understand that Jesus lowered himself not just by taking on human nature, but being found in human nature, he lowered himself to experience death. Not just an ordinary death but the most shameful kind that one could experience in his day and age—death on the cross.
Crucifixion was reserved for the worst of criminals in the Roman empire. Jesus was crucified. God in the flesh died on a cross. Could there be a more humbling act than that in the universe?
We are to be grateful for this humiliation because it brings us salvation. Yet, instead of standing at the cradle and the cross in marvel, many have attacked the person of Jesus throughout church history.
Misrepresentations of Jesus’s Humiliation
The person of Jesus has been attacked by people throughout church history through many misrepresentations of Jesus’s humiliation. Yet, this passage not only increases our delight in our Lord but also helps us know Jesus’s person with confidence. John Chrysostom, the golden-mouthed, fourth-century preacher, described this passage as the chariot that dashes against and overthrows whole chariots with their drivers, defeating all the charioteers, winning the contest.[1] He says, “So many armies are felled with one stroke.”[2] I do not think he exaggerated in his description of this passage.
Some say that Jesus did not exist before his conception; he was created by the Father in time. If so, then how is Jesus in the form of God? How should one understand the claims of this passage about his incarnation?
Some say that Jesus is the energy of God. They say that is the meaning of the word form. Ok. Then how is Jesus made into the form of a slave? He became human. Then does the word change from energy of God to the nature of a human when it moves from the form of God to the form of a slave? No. If Jesus was not the energy of humans, then he was not the energy of God either. He is not the energy of God. He is God.
There are those who say that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are names given to the same person, not the three persons in God. Then why is Jesus described as having equality with God? You do not call the same object equal to itself. A can be equal to B. We do not say A equals A. Thus, A and B have a distinction. Therefore, they can be compared and found equal. Thus, the Son is equal to the Father. But we do not confess more than one God. Hence, it is only the case that there is one God in three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; not three gods.
There are others who claim that Jesus was merely a human and that this passage teaches that he did not grasp equality with God; therefore, because of this, God exalted him and made him lord. But such a Jesus is not divine and may not be worshipped. Again, they forget that he was in the form of God. Jesus has the nature of God. That is why Christians worship Jesus.
Then there are others who say that when Jesus emptied himself, he emptied himself of his godness and became only human. Can God stop being God? Yet such is the teaching of some.
According to this passage, “Christ remained who he was even when he became what he was not.”[3] How do we know that? Do you see in v. 7 that it describes how Jesus emptied himself? He emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant. He did not empty himself by giving up his divinity. That is important! It is for this reason that the church has always confessed: “What he was, he remained; what he was not, he assumed.” Another way of saying it is thus: “Remaining what he was, he became what he was not.”
This is such an excellent passage that destroys so many wrong teachings. Vv. 6–11 is a hymn of the early church. May I encourage you to memorize those verses?
Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has exalted him and bestowed on him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Exaltation of Jesus
We now turn to the exaltation of Jesus. Look at vv. 9–11. Because Jesus humbled himself, obeyed God, and served others, God did two things to/for Jesus. First, he placed Jesus in an exalted position. Jesus says all authority has been given to me. Second, God bestowed on Jesus an exalted name—Lord. This does not mean Jesus became Lord for the first time. Rather, the incarnate Son is publicly enthroned and acknowledged as Lord by all creation. One day, every knee will bow before the Lord Jesus: Pontius Pilate will bow. Caesar will bow. Modi will bow. Putin will bow. Dawkins will bow. I will bow. You will bow. Every knee will bow before King Jesus.
Turn for a moment to the Old Testament. Look at Isa 45:23. God swore that every knee would bow, and every tongue would confess allegiance to God. God accomplishes his purpose through the person of Jesus. Remember what Paul says in 2 Cor 4:6… God has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Jesus is God. He did not become God at his exaltation. He did not cease to be God at his incarnation. The person of Jesus becomes the means by which we may behold the glory of God. Jesus is the way. In Isaiah 45, God says every knee shall bow to him. In Philippians 2, every knee bows to Jesus. Paul is not replacing God with Jesus, nor adding another God beside him. Rather, he is including Jesus within the identity and glory of the one God. We worship Jesus because he is God.
As I said earlier, my aim in this sermon is to hold up the example of Jesus so that we can clearly see Jesus as the glorious God who became man, died, rose, and became the exalted Lord. I want you to see Jesus as the glorious God in his humiliation and exaltation. I want you to deeply cherish Jesus as the glorious God in his humiliation and exaltation.
Since God commands Christian behavior in Scripture to reflect his actions and his character, our response to Jesus’s humiliation and exaltation must be exalting Jesus in our hearts and exulting in Jesus with all our mind, heart, and strength. Exalting Jesus… that’s exalt with an ‘a.’ We view Jesus as the greatest and most glorious of all beings. Jesus is Lord!
Exulting in Jesus… that exult with a ‘u.’ Praise, honor, laud, joy. We ought to treasure Jesus. Because the difference between those who will bow their knee before Jesus on that day because they do not have a choice and us must be that we already bow our knees before him. And this we do with great gladness. He is our Lord. He died in our place. He died in our place, absorbing the wrath of God and making a way for our forgiveness. He has reconciled us to God. Not only are we forgiven, but we are also reconciled and made as God’s children, adopted into God’s family.
We exult in his incarnation and in his obedience to the point of death, even death on a cross. We exult in his resurrection. We exult in his ascension. We exult in his reign. We will exult on that day when every knee bows before him. We confess that he is our Lord, our king. And we will confess this forever. He is our great delight.
Our worship of Jesus must reflect this exultant exaltation of the Lord Jesus. We must not merely exalt him with our minds, deeds, and words. But we must also exult in him. Our hearts must move in joyful worship. We must merely submit to him; we must love him.
Improvements
As I close, let me take this time to reflect on this passage and offer some implications and applications.
Many so-called Christians think that Christianity is supposed to include only blessings and prosperity. Some Christians assume that suffering and pain in life are a result of God’s displeasure. This text ought to convince us otherwise. Jesus suffered. He died a humiliating death. He did this in obedience to God. Jesus never sinned. Then, it cannot be that his pain and suffering are a result of God’s displeasure with him. In fact, God has testified that Jesus is his beloved Son in whom he is well pleased. This passage tells us that God exalted him because of his suffering and death (cf. Heb 2:9–10).
This passage shows us that every phrase and word in this passage is important. Ignoring any part can lead to heresy. Believers ought therefore to spend time studying the Bible, learn sound doctrine, teach their children sound doctrine, and detect false teaching.
You may indeed believe that Christ is the Lord over everything. Does that truth affect the way you absorb the news? Is Christ the Lord over the nations today? Is Christ the Lord over politics? Is Christ the Lord over your work, family, and life? How does your allegiance to the Lord and King Jesus affect your daily life and decisions concerning work, marriage, finances, and friendships?
Do you desire to maximize the glory of your king? If so, does the fact that Jesus is Lord constrain you to preach the gospel to the lost? Do you want to see more people praise him?
If you have never bowed to the Lord Jesus, then bow gladly now before you bow reluctantly later.
[1] Chrysostom, Homily VI (NPNF 1/13:206).
[2] Chrysostom, Homily VI (NPNF 1/13:206).
[3] Herman Bavinck, John Bolt, and John Vriend, Reformed Dogmatics: Sin and Salvation in Christ (Baker Academic, 2006), 3:432.