THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Epistle of Paul to the Philippians
Message Two—Taking Christ as Pattern
Scripture Reading: Phil. 2:5-11
I. In order to experience Christ and live Christ, we must know Him as our pattern and take Him as our pattern: (2002 ST, msg. 10)
A. In 2:5-11 Paul presents Christ as the pattern; we need to have this pattern infused into us—Phil. 2:5-11. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
B. The pattern of the Christian life is the God-man Savior who emptied Himself and humbled Himself and who has been exalted and glorified by God: (2002 ST, msg. 10)
1. Although the Lord was equal with God, He did not consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped and retained; He emptied Himself, laying aside what He possessed—the form of God—vv . 6-7a. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
2. In His incarnation the Lord did not alter His divine nature; He changed only His outward expression from the form of God to the form of a slave. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
3. The Lord became “in the likeness of men”—vv. 7b-8a: (2002 ST, msg. 10)
a. The form of God implies the inward reality of Christ’s deity; the likeness of men denotes the outward appearance of His humanity. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
b. He appeared to men as a man outwardly, but as God he had the reality of deity inwardly. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
c. Christ entered into the condition of humanity, and He was found in fashion as a man. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
4. Christ humbled Himself by becoming obedient even unto death—the death of a cross—v. 8b: (2002 ST, msg. 10)
a. Humbling Himself was a further step in emptying Himself. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
b. Christ’s self-humbling manifested His self-emptying. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
c. The death of a cross was the climax of Christ’s humiliation. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
5. The Lord humbled Himself to the uttermost, but God exalted Him to the highest peak and bestowed on Him “the name which is above every name”—v. 9: (2002 ST, msg. 10)
a. God has exalted Jesus, a real man, to be the Lord of all—Acts 2:32-33; 5:31. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
b. This exaltation of Christ was the manifestation of resurrection power. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
c. The highest name in the universe, the greatest name, is the name of Jesus: (2002 ST, msg. 10)
(1) The name is the expression of the sum total of what the Lord Jesus is in His person and work. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
(2) In the name of Jesus means in the sphere and element of all that the Lord is—v. 10. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
d. The result of our confessing that Jesus is Lord is that God the Father is glorified; this is the great end of all that Christ is and has done in His person and work—v. 11; 1 Cor. 15:24-28. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
C. The principle of this pattern is that someone with the highest life and position would be willing to live in a lowly way. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
II. Christ as our pattern is not only objective but also subjective and experiential—vv. 5, 12-13: (2002 ST, msg. 10)
A. The One who set up the pattern and who Himself is the pattern is now operating within us as the indwelling God—v. 13. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
B. The principle of Christ as the inward pattern for our living is that even if we have the highest standard or the highest position, we should not grasp it. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
C. We need to be partners with Christ in His human living, especially in His emptying and humbling Himself and in His not grasping equality with God as a treasure—vv. 6-7. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
D. The Christ who is our pattern is now the life within us—Col. 3:4: (2002 ST, msg. 10)
1. We have a life in us that is a self-emptying and self-humbling life; this life never grasps at something as a treasure but is always willing to lay aside position and title. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
2. We have Christ crucified as our pattern, and this pattern is the crucified life within us—Gal. 2:20: (2002 ST, msg. 10)
a. The steps of Christ’s humiliation in Philippians 2:5-8 are all aspects of the crucified life lived out in a full way—Phil. 2:5-8. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
b. When we live Christ, we live the One who is the pattern of a crucified life—1:21a. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
3. Taking the crucified life as our pattern opens the gate of resurrection and brings us into the power of resurrection—3:10: (2002 ST, msg. 10)
a. By living a crucified life, we can experience the power of resurrection which exalted Christ to the highest peak in the universe—Eph. 1:19-22. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
b. The highest life on earth is a crucified life; whenever we live a crucified life, God will bring us into resurrection. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
4. Christ should be exalted not only objectively in the universe but also subjectively in our daily life—Phil. 2:9: (2002 ST, msg. 10)
a. Christ is exalted in us as we take Him as the crucified life to be the pattern of our daily life. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
b. The bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ is the power that exalts Christ—1:19. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
III. If we would take Christ as our pattern, we need to take Christ’s mind as our mind—2:5: (2002 ST, msg. 10)
A. Paul not only took Christ as his living and expression outwardly but also took the mind of Christ as his mind inwardly. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
B. For the mind of Christ to be in us means that this mind is something living; actually, the mind of Christ is Christ Himself, for the person of Christ is manifested in His mind. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
C. We need to open ourselves and let “this mind” be in us—v. 5: (2002 ST, msg. 10)
1. This refers to the considering in verse 3 and to the regarding in verse 4. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
2. This kind of thinking was in Christ when He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, and humbled Himself, being found in fashion as a man—vv. 7-8. (2002 ST, msg. 10)
3. To have such a mind requires us to be one with Christ in His inward parts—1:8. (2002 ST, msg. 10)