Philippians 2:5-11

Adopting the Family Resemblance

Verse 5: "Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus..." Paul begins with a directive that bridges his previous plea for unity with the magnificent theology that follows. In the WEBU, the phrase is rendered, "Have this in your mind." The Greek verb here (phroneite) implies more than just a fleeting thought or an intellectual opinion. It speaks to a settled disposition, a frame of mind, or a fundamental way of viewing the world. Paul is asking the Philippians to adopt a specific "mindset." In the ancient Roman world—and certainly in Philippi, which was a Roman colony—status was everything. People were constantly aware of where they stood on the social ladder. Life was a relentless grasp for honor, recognition, and higher standing. To have the "mind of Christ" was a radical counter-cultural move. It meant looking at power not as a prize to be seized, but as a platform to be used for the good of others. The apostle is calling the church to a "family resemblance." Just as children often pick up the mannerisms and attitudes of their parents, the followers of Jesus are called to instinctively mimic the attitude of their Lord. This is the prerequisite for Christian community. We cannot have unity in the church if we are all holding onto our rights. The only way to live in harmony is if we collectively adopt the mindset of the one who gave up his rights for us.

The View from the Heights

Verse 6: "...who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped..." To understand how far Christ descended, we must first understand where he started. Paul affirms that Jesus existed in the "form of God." The word used here for form is morphe. In our modern English, "form" can sometimes mean the outer shape or appearance of something, like a mannequin having the "form" of a human without the reality. But in the language Paul used, morphe refers to the essential nature or the true reality of a thing. When Paul says Jesus was in the morphe of God, he is saying Jesus possesses the very nature and essence of God. He is not a junior god or a high-ranking angel. He shares the very identity of the Creator. He existed in this state before history began, enjoying the unapproachable light and glory of the Father. However, the text introduces a stunning contrast. Though he possessed this equality with God, he did not consider it "a thing to be grasped." The Greek word here, harpagmos, is rare and has been the subject of much discussion. It can refer to the act of snatching something one does not have, or it can refer to clutching tightly to something one already possesses. Given the context, the latter seems to paint the most powerful picture. Jesus already had equality with God. It wasn't something he needed to steal (unlike Adam in the garden, who tried to snatch equality with God by eating the fruit). Instead, Jesus did not view his divine status as something to be exploited for his own advantage. He did not treat his deity as a trophy to be hoarded or a tool to serve himself. In the ancient world, typically, if you had power, you used it to protect yourself and subjugate others. The gods of the Greek and Roman pantheons were often depicted as capricious beings who used humanity for their own entertainment or benefit. Jesus reveals a different kind of God. He reveals that the heart of God is self-giving. He looked at his infinite status not as a reason to be served, but as a resource to be poured out. He did not cling to the prerogatives of majesty when love called him to let them go.

The Great Pouring Out

Verse 7: "...but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men." Here we arrive at the great mystery often called the Kenosis, named after the Greek verb kenoō, meaning "to empty." What did it mean for the Lord of glory to "empty himself"? Throughout church history, this has been carefully defined to avoid error. It does not mean that Jesus ceased to be God. He did not pour out his divinity as if he were emptying a pitcher of water, leaving it dry. If he had ceased to be God, he could not have been the perfect mediator between God and humanity. Rather, he emptied himself by addition, not just subtraction. He added humanity to his deity. The "emptying" refers to his refusal to cling to the privileges, glory, and independent exercise of his divine rights. He set aside the visible robes of majesty. He chose not to access his omniscience or omnipotence for his own convenience. He accepted limitations. Paul explains this emptying with two phrases:

1. Taking the form of a servant: Again, the word morphe is used. Just as he was truly in the nature of God, he took on the true nature of a servant (or slave, doulos). This is the widest gap imaginable. In the Roman mind, the distance between a god and a slave was infinite. A slave was a tool, a non-person, someone with no rights. The King of the universe voluntarily stepped into the lowest rung of the social ladder.
2. Being made in the likeness of men: He did not just appear as a human; he entered fully into the human experience. He was born as a baby who needed to be fed and changed. He learned to walk. He felt hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and grief. The One who holds the stars in place learned how to hold a carpenter’s hammer. This is the humility of the Incarnation. God did not shout his love from the heavens; he came down to whisper it in our ear. He became breakable. He became touchable. He became one of us.

Down to the Very Bottom

Verse 8: "And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross." The descent continues. It was humble enough for God to become a man. But Jesus did not become a king-man, or a wealthy philosopher-man. He went lower. Paul says he "humbled himself." Humility here is an action, not just a feeling. It was a deliberate choice of downward mobility. And the extent of this humility is measured by his obedience. Obedience to whom? To the Father. We see this in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prays, "Not my will, but yours be done." This obedience was not a momentary decision but a lifelong trajectory that aimed toward a singular, terrifying destination: death. For the immortal God to taste death is already a shock to the system. But Paul adds the qualifier that would have made his original readers gasp: "yes, the death of the cross." We see crosses today on jewelry, church steeples, and artwork. We have sanitized the image. But in the first century, the cross was not a religious symbol; it was a state-sponsored tool of terror. It was reserved for the worst criminals, insurrectionists, and rebellious slaves. It was designed to be the ultimate humiliation. The victim was stripped naked, raised up in public shame, and left to die a slow, agonizing death by asphyxiation and exposure. To a Roman citizen, the idea of a crucified god was madness. It was disgusting. You wouldn't mention crucifixion in polite society. Yet, Paul emphasizes this. Jesus did not die a noble death like Socrates, drinking hemlock surrounded by friends. He died a slave’s death, a cursed death, outside the city walls, rejected by his own people and crushed by the empire. Why go this low? Because that is where we were. In our sin, we were dead, enslaved, and shameful. To save us, the Good Shepherd had to descend into the deepest, darkest ravine to find his lost sheep. There is no depth of human suffering or shame that Jesus has not touched. He went to the absolute bottom so that no one could ever say, "God doesn't understand what I'm going through."

The Pivot of History

Verse 9: "Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name..." Verse 9 begins with "Therefore." This is the great pivot point of the hymn. Because Jesus was willing to go down, God the Father has intervened to lift him up. This establishes a fundamental law of the kingdom of heaven: Humility leads to exaltation. Jesus did not exalt himself; he waited for the Father to do it. The resurrection and ascension are God's "Amen" to the life and sacrifice of Jesus. They are the public vindication that this man, whom the world rejected, is the one God accepts. The text says God "highly exalted" him. The Greek suggests a "super-exaltation," a lifting to the highest possible place. There is no higher rank than the one Jesus now occupies. He has been returned to the glory he had with the Father, but he returns as the God-Man, carrying his humanity with him into the throne room. And God gave him "the name which is above every name." What is this name? Some suggest it is the name "Jesus," but he already possessed that name during his earthly ministry. In the context of the Old Testament scriptures, the "Name above every name" is the divine name of God himself: YHWH (Yahweh). By bestowing this name—and the authority it carries—upon Jesus, the Father is declaring that Jesus exercises the full prerogative and power of the Creator. He is not merely a restored servant; he is the ruling Sovereign of all reality.

The Universal bended Knee

Verse 10: "...that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth..." Paul is quoting here from the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah 45:23, God declares, "To me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance." By applying this passage to Jesus, Paul is making one of the highest claims of Christ's divinity in the entire Bible. He is saying that the honor due to the One True God of Israel is now due to Jesus of Nazareth. The scope of this authority is total. Paul lists three realms:

1. Those in heaven: The angels, the archangels, and the spirits of the righteous made perfect. They bow in willing adoration.
2. Those on earth: Living humanity, kings, rulers, and commoners. Some bow willingly in worship; others will eventually bow in acknowledgement of his supremacy.
3. Those under the earth: The grave, the powers of darkness, and the spiritual forces that opposed God. Even they are compelled to acknowledge his victory. There is no square inch of the entire universe that is outside of his jurisdiction. The text does not say that everyone will be saved (universalism), but it does imply that the truth of who Jesus is will be undeniable. There will come a moment in history when the debate ends. Atheism, agnosticism, and rival religions will all vanish in the blinding light of his reality. Every sentient being will recognize that the Man on the Cross is the Lord of the Throne. For the church in Philippi, living under the shadow of the Roman Emperor, this was politically subversive comfort. Caesar demanded that knees bow to him. Caesar claimed the title "Lord." Paul is reminding them: Caesar is a temporary pretender. The true King has already been crowned, and his jurisdiction covers the living and the dead.

The Final Confession

Verse 11: "...and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." The climax of the hymn is the universal confession: "Jesus Christ is Lord." The word "Lord" (Kyrios) was the Greek translation for the Hebrew YHWH. It was the title of authority. To confess this is to align oneself with reality. It is the earliest and most basic Christian creed. But notice the goal of all this. It is "to the glory of God the Father." Sometimes people worry that focusing too much on Jesus might somehow detract from the Father. Paul puts that fear to rest. You cannot honor the Father without honoring the Son. The Father’s plan from the beginning was to reveal his heart through the Son. When we look at Jesus—his humility, his obedience, his sacrifice—we are seeing the glory of the Father. God is not a distant, static deity. He is the God who saves, the God who gives, the God who loves to the point of death. When the universe acknowledges Jesus as Lord, the Father is glorified because his character has been perfectly vindicated.

Bringing It Home: The Path to True Greatness

How do we take this soaring theology and apply it to our Tuesday mornings and Friday nights? We must return to verse 5. All of this history—the pre-existence, the incarnation, the crucifixion, the exaltation—is the pattern for our own minds.

1. Redefining Ambition: In our careers and communities, we are often driven by the desire to be "somebody." We want the title, the credit, and the corner office. The mind of Christ invites us to a different ambition: the ambition to serve. This doesn't mean we shouldn't excel at our jobs, but our motivation shifts. We seek influence so we can wash feet, not so we can be applauded.
2. Releasing Rights: We live in a culture obsessed with rights. "I have a right to be heard," "I have a right to be respected." While justice is important, the spirit of discord often comes from clinging tightly to our personal preferences. Is there a "right" you are holding onto that is damaging a relationship? The mind of Christ asks: Can you let it go for the sake of love?
3. Embracing Downward Mobility: Sometimes God calls us to step down. Maybe it means taking a less prestigious job to have more time for your family or ministry. Maybe it means apologizing when you know you were only 10% wrong, just to heal the breach. Maybe it means befriending the person in your social circle who can offer you nothing in return.
4. Trusting God for Vindication: Jesus didn't exalt himself. He trusted the Father to do it in His timing. Often, when we humble ourselves, we fear we will be trampled on. We worry that if we don't blow our own trumpet, no one will hear the music. The gospel assures us that God sees. He opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. We can afford to be servants because we know we are children of the King. This passage pulls back the curtain on the engine room of the universe. It shows us that the power that holds everything together is not brute force, but self-giving love. When we walk in humility, we are walking in step with the grain of the universe. We are dancing to the song of the Lamb. Let this mind be in you.

Study Questions for Reflection

1. The "Grasp" of Status: Can you identify an area in your life where you are tempted to use your status, seniority, or knowledge to your own advantage rather than to serve others? What would it look like to "empty" yourself in that specific situation?
2. The Nature of Obedience: Jesus was obedient "to the point of death." Is there an area of obedience to God that you are finding difficult because it feels like a type of "death" to your own desires or reputation?
3. Unity through Humility: Paul uses this theology to address conflict in the church. Think of a strained relationship in your life. How might adopting the "mind of Christ" change the way you approach that person?
4. The Name Above Every Name: How does the reality that Jesus is the supreme Lord over all creation affect your anxiety about current events or personal struggles? If every knee will bow to Him, what does that mean for the problems you face today?
5. Worship as Warfare: In a world that demands allegiance to political powers, money, and self-image, how is the confession "Jesus Christ is Lord" a radical, subversive act? How can you live out that confession more boldly this week?

A Prayer Based on Philippians 2

Father of Glory, we stand amazed at the journey of your Son. We thank you that Jesus did not cling to his heavenly privileges but let them go to reach us in our need. Forgive us for the times we have clawed for status, demanded our own way, and refused to serve those we deem beneath us. Renew our minds, O God. Give us the courage to descend, to serve, and to love without expecting return. We bow our knees today and confess with our tongues that Jesus Christ is Lord, trusting that one day the whole creation will join the song. May our lives bring you glory. In the Name above every name, Amen.