Category: Philippians

“Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

As we discussed in yesterday’s post, these verses are helping us understand what it means to be like Jesus. He considered his God-status unimportant and his attitude was unaltered by it. Today’s verses tell us what he did instead of lording power over people. It is here that we will find some great wisdom for how we should live. Knowing what not to do is important, but knowing what to do gives us a picture of what freedom could truly look like.

So how did Jesus surrender his right to God-power while on earth? Let’s make a handy step-by-step guide for how to follow Jesus:

Step 1: Humble yourself

Step 2: Become a slave

Step 3: Obey God when it costs you everything

Step 4: Be willing to die

When I was in Sunday school at five years old and was presented with the choice of being happy with God forever in heaven or burning in hell with Satan, I naturally raised my hand at the heaven option. No where in there were these steps made clear until much, much later. When I look at this list, I am immediately discouraged and I think, “Wow, being a Christian is kind of an awful plan…” But because I know that the Spirit brings total freedom, I have to start with that and read these steps with that mindset. How does humility set me free? Doesn’t becoming a slave make me a captive (which last I checked was the opposite of free)? How can I obey God in the really hard moments? And um, did you say die? How exactly does that make me free?

Humility is simply embracing your smallness. Weight is lifted from you when you realize his power is the only kind that is real. His power works best in you when you serve others willingly — this kind of attitude is like a kick in the gut to Satan who thought he had you all wrapped up in yourself for good. Obedience to God becomes the only logical choice as you watch his power work through you when you do things his way. Even if that required death, it really wouldn’t matter because Satan can’t steal you back. And that is exactly how Jesus found his freedom.

“Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

This little song we’ve been singing along with Paul in verses 5-11 comes to a close here. It’s easy to notice the flowery language (heaven, earth, under the earth, every tongue, glory to the Father!). It’s a dramatic finish to a beautiful poetic description of Jesus’ path of freedom when he humbled himself and died on the cross.

Today’s verses start with a “therefore” — in other words, “because of everything we just talked about…” So we could say, “Because of Jesus’ total humility and surrender of power, God elevated him to the place of highest honor.” Interesting. Jesus obtained ultimate power because he didn’t make power a thing. What is God doing in your life right now? Take a moment and just sit with him on that. Think about your hardest battle — the one you feel like you are losing. Do you believe that God could make something good come of it? Do you think he could restore you?

Jesus released power and control, and in doing so he found freedom, victory and elevated status. Is there one thing you could release today in order to allow God to lift you up in honor when the time is right? Obedience may be hard sometimes, and excruciating at other times, but it will always lead you into a position of God lifting you up in honor at the right moment. And one day you will rule alongside Jesus.

“Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”

Have you ever acted one way when a leader was watching you and then changed your behavior once they were gone? The Philippians get you, and Paul is reminding them to keep following the teachings they learned about how to follow Jesus even though he is no longer watching over them. The word “important” catches me — there is a sense of urgency in the Philippians’ efforts to stay true to Jesus’ mission.

The next words are “work hard.” Immediately I return to a rule-based mindset, and in fact wonder if I have gotten things all wrong in the other devotionals I have written. There is a clear sense here that hard work is required, and obedience is essential. If I am going for hard work and obedience, shouldn’t I pull out my list of “good Christian” rules and make sure I do them all every day? Then I’ll know whether I’m on track, right?

Before we go taking on the slavery of the law (again), let’s keep reading: “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” Wait, who is doing the work? Is it me or God? I was just supposed to work hard a minute ago, but now it says God is working in me. It is here that we must cling to what we know about the Spirit — he does the work in your heart. He changes your desires. He leads to you to right places at the right times.

Salvation changes you. And not in the ways that we think of. Remember, we remain in a battle and we all have our fights and crosses to bear. Life does not get easier when you are saved. In fact, you might just be signing up for the fight of your life. The Spirit will give you the desires for the things of his kingdom and the power to please him. And today your simple heart that is pursuing him by exploring his word is a great delight to him.

“Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.”

Paul invested time and energy into a lot of people. He established many churches across much of the known world and risked his life doing it. It’s no wonder that he has strong feelings about that work not going to waste! Here he encourages the Philippians to hold on to all that he taught them so that his work would not be wasted. He also invites them to share in presenting offerings to God through their own ministry to others.

In my counseling work, I invest in a lot of people. Since 2005 I have worked with hundreds of people to help them find emotional freedom and get unstuck. And I could truly never convey with words the joy I have when I see people living their lives free and whole  — the people God created them to be. I cheer them on and encourage them to keep going so that the work we did together will make an ongoing difference in their lives. And when I see them being a positive influence in the lives of others, it is a ripple effect that truly only God can measure.

Who are you investing in? If you aren’t pouring into someone else right now, think about the people who have poured into you. What did they do that was meaningful for you? How could you serve others in that same way. As Paul tells us here, there is a different kind of supernatural joy that comes when our lives become a “liquid offering.” Chase after freedom by being a blessing to others.