"Rather, he made himself nothing" - Philippians 2:7
Main Readings: Matthew 20:17-28 & Philippians 1:27-2:13
Related Reading: Hebrews 2:5-18
So there, in verse 7, the apostle Paul says this about Christ – ‘he made himself nothing..’ So, what’s today’s message about? It’s about ‘nothing.’ What am I gunna talk about today? Nothing… Well, the final hymn on our hymn sheet…
No! Not nothing in that sense! But ‘nothing’ as a Christ-following concept. Paul reminds believers how Christ lived for them, using this word. Christ ‘made himself nothing’ for us. Should this affect us? How should this affect us? Well, in verse 5, Paul says, ‘have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.’ Christ made himself nothing – Christians, do the same.
This chapter begins with ‘therefore’. Paul’s relating what he’s now saying, to the theme at the end of chapter 1. Where Christians are called to live their new lives in Christ in a certain way – ‘a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.’ And Paul spoke about that in the context of Church life. He said, ‘stand firm, in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.’ That’s Church done proppa!
So, is there something that will stop us doing that? Yes. That’s what Paul wants to tell us. There is something. It’s something - thinking that we as individuals are something. Something better than those around us in Church life. That’ll do it. That’ll damage church life no end! What’s the solution? People of Christ – he made himself nothing. People of Christ – think like Christ.
Paul’s giving Christ’s people a new life standard. A new rule. Imagine. A Church forms and has this as rule number one for Church life. Christ – have the same mindset as Christ. Do you know what rule number two would be? If - by God’s grace - they got rule one right… they wouldn’t need any more rules!
But, why’s Paul writing this to the Philippians? They seemed to be doing ok. They’d got so many things right. They were a great example of unity. They stood head and shoulders above other churches. In their support of Paul. And his mission for Christ. Compared to others that Paul writes to, they’d got it so together. Isn’t Paul a bit negative - a party pooper?
He wasn’t a party pooper - he was sober minded. And he was aware of an issue within that church. Later in this chapter we’ll meet a man called Epaphroditus. In verse 25, Paul calls him ‘your messenger.’ This church was evidently in ongoing correspondence with Paul. They were exchanging messages. Like What’s App – but slower! Epaphroditus had gone from Philippi to Rome with their letter to Paul. Paul was now sending him back with this letter.
Epaphroditus was trusted. Just one way was 800 miles. He carried letters, and monies, without losing them. But, when in Rome, he’d let something slip! Paul mentions it in chapter 4. It involved two people – Euodia and Syntyche. Paul tells them, ‘Be of the same mind’. Why? Cos they weren’t. Something’d gone on between them that was causing division. It needed dealing with. Paul dealt with it – ‘be of the same mind’. He doesn’t tell them what that same mind looks like in chapter 4. Cos he’s already done it here. It looks like - it thinks like - Christ!
Isn’t that what we need in Church life? Isn’t that it? What’s needed to start a Church? Christ – people who together follow Christ. Then problems come to Church life. What’s needed? What’s the solution? More. More Christ! And what did he do when faced with our biggest problem? ‘He made himself nothing.’
Philippi’s in Greece. It was then under Roman rule. It was influenced – heavily influenced - by those two cultures. Those believers in Christ in that city – what kind of thinking had they grown up with? The mindset of their culture. It’s the same for us. And for all believers everywhere ever. We are born into – we are surrounded by – a way of thinking. It will differ by location. It will differ by era – changing as times change. There may be times that we may consider it more moral, or less moral. But one thing will always be true. That mindset of surrounding culture will never be Christ.
There’s something about the Romans - the way they did stuff - that’s worth mentioning. They had a weird number system. Weird – Cos their numbers were letters. Some of you’ll know that ‘V’ represents 5. And ‘L’ represents 50. And C is 100. But none of you can tell me what letter the Romans used for zero. Cos they didn’t have a zero. The concept of nothing was nothing to them! Amongst their number/letter thingys they couldn’t put ‘nothing’ in its right place. It made their maths so difficult. You think maths is hard now? Go and live back then!
But the same is true of church life. This concept of ‘nothing’ – us as nothing - is so important. If it’s not in its right place, then our calculations about living with each other are gunna go wrong. The results will be dire. Church life’ll become like maths - somewhere between well hard and impossible.
So – the solution! Verse 1 starts with a check-list – ‘if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ…’ And Paul lists 4 things that he wants believers to check off - ‘if’, ‘if’, ‘if, ‘if. 4 things that he believes that believers should be able to say ‘yes’ to. Encouragement from Christ rescue – his loving comfort – common sharing, with others, in the Spirit - the experience of tenderness and compassion. Paul is like, ‘Yep – ticked them off – great!’ now add this. In verse 2, he says, ‘then make my joy complete by’ also adding this. And this is where he begins to talk about things that relate to the Christ mindset.
Verses 1 and 2 are a bit like a recipe. It’s another recipe for Church life. We tick off 1, 2, 3 and 4 – yeh, got that… got that. And then Paul says, ‘don’t forget the main ingredient – the mindset of Christ.’ Have you ever cooked something and forgot the main ingredient? I bet it tasted pants! That’s Paul here. With his recipe for church life. Forget the main ingredient and church life will taste well off!
Verse 3 has the word nothing – ‘do nothing out of selfish ambition, or vain conceit.’ Is ambition wrong? It is - when our drive is to promote ourselves. To want others to realise how good we are at doing this, and that and the other. That’s selfish. But if we’re truly ambitious for Christ – if we want people to see how good he is at doing this and that and the other for us. That’s good. The apostle Paul was ambitious. Like almost no-one else in church history. But what did he want people to see and notice and know? ‘Nothing… except Jesus Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2 2).’
What’s ‘vain conceit’? It’s an excessive pride in our abilities and efforts – an inflated view of our own worth. In church life - thinking that we’re so important to what’s occurin’. Like we’re indispensable - ‘what would they do without me and what I’m doing?!’
There’s a lovely poem on that theme. It’s by Saxon White Kessinger. Called ‘Indispensable Man.’ It’s like Paul’s letters - it has a very practical instruction – what to do if we’re feeling indispensable. Do this - ‘Take a bucket and fill it with water - Put your hand in it up to the wrist - Pull it out and the hole that’s remaining - Is a measure of how you’ll be missed.’
Cos, when you look for that hole, you’ll see nothing. And Paul wants us to look at ourselves and see nothing. And he wants us to look at others and see more – ‘Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves.’ How hard is that?! It can feel so foreign.
It did back then, when Paul wrote this. Not only did the Romans have nothing of nothing in their number system – they also didn’t promote nothingness as a virtue. This word, translated as ‘humility’, was like an insult. It wasn’t the way forward. It wasn’t the way to get ahead. Who’d think like that? Paul says, ‘Christ did.’ ‘Church of Christ - so must you.’ But thinking like that I’ll end up as a nobody – nothing. Yeh! You’ve got it!
‘Value others above yourselves.’ Others above. So, in our new mindset, if others are above us - who in Church life will feel looked down on? No-one. There’ll be nothing of that.
And verse 4 has the way – ‘not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.’ First, we’re told to think less of ourselves. Now, we’re told to think of ourselves less. And others more. Cos that’s what Christ did.
Verse 5, ‘In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.’ Paul says ‘have’. ‘have it.’ ‘have the mindset of Christ’. ‘Have it.’ That’s the language of our Parliament. When there’s a vote on an issue. Those voting can choose for or against the motion of the day – yes or no. Two sides. Only one winner. And that’s announced when the votes are counted. It’s announced that the yesses ‘have it.’ Or it’s announced that the noes ‘have it.’ Now we know who the winners are – they ‘have it’!
But in Church life – if we have this Christ mindset – everyone’s a winner! If we think like this, all Christ’s people will benefit. Like they did when Christ did it!
But it’s so easy to slip into thinking that we’re something or somebody. But look at what Christ was in verses 6 & 7. ‘Who being in very nature God.’ We think we’re something special! He really was! ‘Equality with God.’ Is there anyone else – ever – who this was remotely true of? No. Christ – he absolutely was something! But his something was ‘not… something to be used to his own advantage; rather he made himself nothing.’
He didn’t have to. Heaven’s heights. Heaven’s glory. It was his by right. But there’s a saying – with rights come responsibilities. Like when I passed my driving test. I then had a right – to drive a car. But I couldn’t just drive it any old how? That driving right only actually allows me to drive in a way that shows responsibility to other people. With rights come responsibilities.
But heaven’s forever was Christ’s by absolute right. He wasn’t responsible for the car crash my life is. He could – quite rightly – have said no. But his loving mindset said yes. He gave up his right. To take responsibility – for our rescue. He gave up his then advantage. To give us forever advantage. He took our God-nothingness. And gave us his all.
How? Verses 7 & 8 - ‘he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant…’ As Christ told his disciples, he ‘did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’ (Matthew 20 28).
And Philippians goes on - ‘being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man…’ The nature of a servant – human likeness – appearance of man. Dwell on that! Even though he was nothing like me. God made himself like me.
Many of you know the account of the transfiguration. Where Jesus went up a mountain. There he showed a glimpse of his true self – Christ became radiant in glory. We read that account and it’s amazing. While on earth - Christ’s glory shone. But you know what’s more amazing. It happened only once. It was seen by only three chosen individuals. The rest of the time - and in front of the rest of the people – there was nothing! Christ’s glory hidden from view. God made truly ordinary. Just like me. On my level.
But it didn’t end there for Christ. Let’s say I throw a rock into a lake. Cos, I wanna see it sitting on top of the water – on its level. That would only happen briefly. Cos then it would sink down to the bottom. Because of the weight it carries. So, with Christ. He didn’t just come down to our level. He carried on going. Weighed down by our sin and shame. To our level. And then down to the very bottom of human experience – ‘he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!’
He made himself nothing. Then became less than nothing. In God’s accounting, our sin put us way into negative. But Christ became that sin for us. That’s what 2 Corinthians 5 21 says – ‘God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.’
Christ gave up his right. And we got righteousness. How does that look when God looks at that? ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ And verses 9-11 have the conclusion of the matter. Christ’s return to glory. And, I’m reluctant to say this, cos I don’t wanna be wrong - and belittle the glory that Christ gave up. But when I read those verses, it almost sounds like Christ returns to a greater glory.
Like God so loved the world, that Christ’s saving us from its ruin, elevates him to the place of absolute highest honour. In the mind of God this is now so. It may be too much for our minds now. Cos these eleven verses have some deep, deep theological stuff. These verses detail so much about Jesus that so much has been written about them - by serious bible scholars. But at their heart is something practical. A simple, practical instruction. To the church of Jesus Christ, the Lord - ‘In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus… he made himself nothing.’
Simple – we get it – relatively easy to hear and understand. But whoa! How much harder to do! How can we value others above ourselves, when our mindset is so often the opposite way inclined? It’ll be a challenge. We’ll have to challenge - our old broken mindset. We’ll have to challenge the mindset that our culture gave us. Challenge them, with this new mindset from Christ. How often? Every day? No - if you’re anything like me, it’ll need to be way more often than that!
But don’t lose sight of the help that’s at hand. God’s word’s really putting us to work here. But sneak a look at verse 13 – ‘it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.’ Isn’t that just so hopeful! Without Jesus we can do nothing. But in Christ, supplied by his grace, and through his Spirit’s power we’ll do a whole lot more. And perhaps, on the way, manage to think about our own selves a little bit less.
Earlier, I mentioned a poem – The Indispensable Man. That encourages people to think a bit less of themselves. It makes an important point. It says something good. But, like our culture – like everything that isn’t of Christ - it isn’t Christ. Because it finishes with this line, ‘There’s no indispensable man.’ But there is. Philippians 2 tells us about him. He is indispensable. We could not be saved from sin without him - and the mindset he had. And in church living, that same mindset will be needed so much. Today and in the future.
Today and in the future. I’m gunna finish with what verses 9-11 say about them. Christ has been elevated to the highest place. He’s a name that is above all others. That’s now. Today. And it’s a present-day reality for his people!
But perhaps today you’re on the edge. Of belief in that same Jesus. Perhaps you’ve stood there a while. Perhaps you arrived there recently. You sense the glory of God’s Son. You want to be one of his people, but you’re unsure. And now, we’re looking at Philippians 2. Where Christ’s people are being pushed towards - like – being nothing. And that’ll affect your future. You’ve plans to be something. Being nothing kinda gets in the way of that! You’re not sure whether to publicly acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and Master now. Whether to really bow down and humble yourself before God’s Christ.
Well, verses 9-11 tell us of a future event. When every knee will bow, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. That day is certain. And that day is coming. When you will. So, please don’t delay - ‘make my joy complete’ – don’t delay, do it today!
And be assured of this. If you become nothing before him, he can – he will - make himself everything to you.