Will you please turn to Philippians, the letter to the Philippians, Chapter 2?
We read from Philippians 2:5-11.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, subsisting in the form of God, did not esteem it an object of rapine to be on an equality with God,
But emptied Himself, taking a bondman’s form, taking His place in the likeness of men;
And having been found in figure as a man, humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of the cross.
Wherefore also God highly exalted Him, and granted Him a name which is above every name,
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of heavenly and earthly and infernal beings,
And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to God the Father’s glory.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, as we gather together this morning, we are gathering unto Yourself. We praise and thank You because of Your presence here with us.
Oh, dear Lord, open our understanding and our hearts, that we may be able to hear what Thou hast to say to each and every one of us. May Thy word fall upon good ground and bear a hundredfold fruit for Thyself.
Dear Lord, we commit this time into Your hand and trust Thy Holy Spirit to do His work to the glory of God. In Thy precious name, amen.
Yesterday, we spoke on Haggai, and the word is, “Consider.”
The Jewish remnant who came back from captivity to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple made a start. They laid the foundation, but as they were going on, their enemies tried every means to stop them.
Eventually, through King Artaxerxes, the work was ordered to stop. So the Jewish remnant who had returned began to build their own houses.
For fifteen years, they continued building their beautiful houses, thinking that the time for rebuilding the temple had not yet come.
So finally, God raised up two prophets: one old and one young—Haggai, the older prophet, and Zechariah, the young prophet. Through the words of these two prophets, the remnant who had returned were encouraged to start rebuilding the house of God.
Thank God, in spite of the opposition, they were able to continue building until the temple was finished.
So you find in the book of Haggai that word, “Consider.” Think over. Think again. Think deeply. What has happened? What have you been doing?
Instead of building the house of God, each began to build his own house—beautiful houses—because they said that the time for rebuilding the temple had not yet come.
Thank God, He raised up two prophets, Haggai, the old one, and Zechariah, a young man. Through the encouragement of these two prophets, they rebuilt the temple until it was finished.
So the word that Haggai used was “Consider.” Think over. Think deeply. Think again. What had happened?
You built your own houses, and you left the temple unfinished. Thank God, through their encouragement, the returned remnant started to rebuild the house of God.
The opposition was still there, but by the grace of God they were able to continue until the temple was built.
Slowly, in the book of Haggai, we find a number of times the word “Consider.”
Brothers and sisters, is it not time that we consider? That we do not live our lives casually, as if the return of the Lord is not imminent.
But, dear brothers and sisters, we know from the Scripture that the Lord may come at any moment.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord may come at any moment. All the prophecies preceding His return have been fulfilled.
There are yet prophecies to be fulfilled, but these prophecies concern the time of His coming and afterwards, not before. So do not wait to see how prophecies are fulfilled before we become alert.
Brothers and sisters, may we warn you again that all the prophecies preceding the coming of the Lord have been fulfilled. There are yet prophecies to be fulfilled, but these prophecies concern His coming and afterwards, not before.
Brothers and sisters, we are living in the end time. Thank God for that, because this is a thrilling time. But this is also a very dangerous time.
It depends very much on how we live today. Are we living with the hope of the Lord’s coming during our lifetime?
Are we saying that the Lord will not come so soon, that He will be delayed, and we continue to live our own lives, thinking that there will be time?
But, brothers and sisters, we want to warn you that there is no more time. The Lord can come at any moment from now on.
Thank God He did not tell us when He is coming, because He wants us to be always ready.
So, dear brothers and sisters, through the encouragement of the prophets, the remnant began to rebuild the house in spite of opposition, and eventually the house of God was finished.
Brothers and sisters, we are living in this end time. It is a thrilling time to us because the Lord may come at any moment. We are sitting here this morning. Thank God for His long-suffering.
The Lord desires to return. Even in the first century, He promised His disciples that He was coming back for them. Now we are in the twenty-first century. We thank God for His long-suffering.
So, brothers and sisters, this is our opportunity. We cannot afford to be complacent anymore. Wake up! The Lord is coming. Let us be ready for Him at any moment.
And that is the encouragement of the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah.
This morning, we would like to consider not ourselves, but to consider Jesus.
In Philippians 2, in these few verses, God is showing us what is going to happen to our Lord Jesus. So, brothers and sisters, this morning our focus will be: consider Jesus Christ.
Even Verse 6: “Who, subsisting in the form of God, did not esteem it an object of rapine to be on equality with God.”
That is what our Lord Jesus formerly was.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. But before the beginning, there was a consultation, if we may use human words, among the Godhead: God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
It was the Father’s pleasure to create all things for His Son. But, being God, He knew the end from the very beginning.
He knew that after He had created—now you must remember, in the first creation there was no man. The highest created beings were the angels.
In those days, God created angels to serve Him. Among the angels, there was one called Lucifer.
He was built almost perfect—not quite. As you read, you will find he had ten qualities of life, not twelve, because twelve is the perfect number.
But he was created almost perfect. He was created to lead the other angels to worship God and to serve God’s purpose.
Well, in the beginning, he must have been faithful. But gradually, he began to look into himself.
Brothers and sisters, it is always bad to look into yourselves. Let us look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of faith, and not look at ourselves.
But that archangel, because of his many gifts, because of his many skills, because of his position, began to look into himself.
And as he looked into himself, he began to be proud. He began to be ambitious. He was not satisfied to be that leading angel.
In Isaiah 14, we find five times he said to himself, “I will. I will, I will, I will, I will. I will do something.”
“I want to be equal with God.” He was not satisfied merely to be the first of the angels, but not equal with God.
When this ambition came into his heart, he wanted to be equal with God. In a sense, he wanted to be equal with the Son of God.
God had His beloved Son. God had everything centered upon His beloved Son. And now this archangel, Lucifer, wanted to be equal with God.
In other words, he wanted to take the place of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Because of his ambition, he was punished and driven out of heaven.
As a matter of fact, the earth we live on today was at first under his control. So when he failed, the whole earth fell with him.
As you read Genesis 1, you find that the earth was surrounded with water. This was not the case in the very beginning. When God created, everything was perfect.
But something had happened because of the rebellion of this archangel. God punished him, and the realm under his control—the earth at that time—most likely was under his control.
So when you read Genesis 1:1-2, there was such a gap there. Verse 2 does not describe the first creation. Verse 2 tells us something had happened to the first creation.
Can God create a mess? No. When God created, everything must be perfect.
So something had happened to this earth because of the rebellion of Lucifer. This earth went into judgment. It was surrounded with water because he tried to get the position God had given to His only begotten Son.
So the Bible tells us that His only begotten Son, subsisting in the form of God, did not esteem it an object of rapine to be on equality with God.
In other words, God’s beloved Son had the form of God. Now, the form here is not the outward form, because today when we use the word “form,” we always think it is something outward.
But here you find the thought, “image.” It refers to the inward quality. So far as the Son of God is concerned, His inward quality is the same as God the Father.
He was equal with God, and that is not something to be grasped. It gives us a hint that there was a time when someone tried to grasp that place, and there was the fall of the archangel Lucifer.
Our Lord Jesus was formerly the only Son of God. He is equal with God, and that is not something He tried to get.
Brothers and sisters, as you read this verse, it gives us a hint. One day, someone tried to grasp this position, and that was Lucifer. There was the fall of the angel.
That was the reason why this earth was surrounded with water. That means judgment. We do not know how long this continued.
We only know a historical fact: that this earth was once under what we call an ice age. It was surrounded with ice, with water. This was because of the rebellion of the fallen angel.
But our Lord Jesus, the Son of God, was the same as God. He shared the same life. He shared the same position. It was not something that He grasped.
But, on the contrary, we find what His attitude was. The Bible says He emptied Himself.
Brothers and sisters, He cannot empty Himself of what He really is. All He can empty Himself of is all the glory, honor, position, and power that accompanied His being.
So the word empty means that He laid aside everything connected with His position as the beloved Son of God.
What an emptying that is. What a contrast it is with the archangel Lucifer, because the archangel Lucifer was trying to grasp what was not his.
But here you find God’s only beloved Son willing to empty Himself.
If we may use human words to describe it, before God created everything, He was thinking of creating all things for His beloved Son. But, being God, He knew the end from the beginning.
He knew that when He created the world to give to His Son, there would be the archangel Lucifer who would try to rob the position of His beloved Son.
So, if we may use human description, while God was thinking of doing the creation, the Son stepped up and said, “Father, if this is Your will, go ahead. I am willing to come into this world, to be the substitute, to be the Savior of this world.”
So, in 1 Peter, we find it is said that even before the foundation of the world, He had offered Himself as a substitute.
Brothers and sisters, as we think of our Lord Jesus, it touches us deeply when we think of the love that He must have for us.
Who are we? We are but sinners, rebels, destined for eternal death. And yet His love is so great.
His love for His Father was so great that He should offer Himself to be our substitute.
So, brothers and sisters, salvation does not begin today. Salvation began before God created everything.
You find that in 1 Peter. Even before the foundation of the world, He had offered Himself as a substitute for our sins.
So here you see the love of God that really surpasses our understanding.
Brothers and sisters, think for a moment. Who are we? Look at yourselves. What are you?
You are sinners. You have sinned against God. You have rebelled against God. You are destined for eternal death, with no hope for you.
And yet, God in His great love—His Son offered Himself even before God created—to die for each and every one of us, that He may save us, and save us to the uttermost.
What love that must be.
He emptied Himself. He cannot empty His Godhead, because that is what He is. That is something eternally true. He cannot change.
But one thing He has done: He emptied Himself of all the rights, position, glory, and honor that accompanied Him as the Son of God.
Quite an emptying.
Sometimes, brothers and sisters, we love the Lord and we have emptied ourselves for His glory. But when you compare it with what the Son of God did for us, there is no comparison.
His love far surpasses our love. Even before the foundation of the world, He offered Himself as our substitute. That is the love of Christ.
We cannot but bow and worship.
I remember a story that I like to tell. It was Hudson Taylor’s grandfather.
When Hudson Taylor’s grandfather was a young man, he loved the world. He loved dancing. He loved all the things of this world and its pleasures.
But on the day that he was going to be married, he suddenly woke up, and he said to himself, “Marriage is a serious matter.”
So he went to the prayer field to pray. Of course, he confessed his sins before God, and he prayed and prayed and prayed.
When he finished praying, he realized that it had already passed the time of his wedding. Everybody was waiting for the bridegroom to show up.
Everybody was wondering, “Where was the bridegroom?” The bride was waiting.
So Hudson Taylor’s grandfather hurriedly went to the wedding, and he was married that day.
But in the evening, before they went to bed, Hudson Taylor’s grandfather told his new wife, “Let us kneel down and pray.”
His wife was frightened. “What had become of my man? We used to take pleasure in the world together. Now suddenly, he was a strange person.”
But anyway, Hudson Taylor’s grandfather led his wife to kneel down and pray and thank God. This touched his wife, so she came to the Lord.
Together, they served the Lord. For four generations to Hudson Taylor, that family served God.
After Hudson Taylor, there were another four generations, more than four, even to this day. They serve the Lord.
I remember during wartime, I was in Chongqing, the wartime capital. Hudson Taylor’s great-grandson was in Chongqing, and I saw him walking on the streets of Chongqing and shouting the gospel to the people.
Such love in that family. It all began with Hudson Taylor’s grandfather.
So, brothers and sisters, here we find our Lord Jesus emptied Himself and took the form of a bondman.
Now, the form here is not the outward form. The form here is image. It is the inward quality.
In other words, our Lord Jesus cannot deny His Godhead, because that is what He is forever. But He gave up everything connected with that glory.
He did this in order that He might take the form of a bondman—the image of a bondslave.
Brothers and sisters, what an emptying that must be.
I remember a story. Once in this country, years ago, when there were slaves, people were captured from Africa, brought to this country, and sold as slaves.
You can see the tragedy of it. Once there was a girl. She was captured, and she was standing on the platform, ready to be bartered, to be sold.
You can understand her heart. She must have been very, very sorrowful. She was weeping, knowing that she had no more future. She would be a slave forever.
Different people came up to bid for that girl. A strange man came, and he put in the highest bid to get the girl.
When he got the girl, he asked people to come and break all her bondages. Then he said to the girl, “I bought you to set you free. Now you can go. You are a free person.”
The girl did not know what to think. But suddenly, she saw it all. Here was a man who was so good to her, to set her free.
But did she want to be free? No. She went to him and said, “I am willing to be a slave for life.”
Brothers and sisters, this is what the Lord has done for us. He died for us to set us free.
Now we are free from sin and from eternal death, and it is all because of our Lord Jesus.
But that is not all. After He took the form of man, we remember the Gospel story.
Remember how the Son of God came to be a man, and He was a perfect man. He was in no way any different from any one of us.
The only difference is inwardly: He is God. But outwardly, He is just a man.
I believe we are all familiar with the Gospel story.
When He took the form of a man, the form here again does not refer to outward form. The form here refers to image.
Being in the form of God, now He took the form of a bondslave. This is what our Lord Jesus did while He was on earth.
He was not free. He was a slave—a slave to God. He was not able to do anything by Himself.
I think we are familiar with the Gospels. Our Lord Jesus often said, “I cannot do anything by Myself. I do it because I saw My Father do it. I cannot say anything of Myself. I say it because I have heard My Father say it.”
In other words, when our Lord was on earth, He was a bondman, a bondman to God. In everything, He had to do the Father’s will. That is the life of our Lord Jesus.
He became obedient. Brothers and sisters, we have never seen any life so obedient to God as the life of our Lord Jesus.
How often He said, “I cannot say anything by Myself. I say it because I have heard My Father say it. I cannot do anything by Myself. I do it because I saw My Father do it.”
You remember when His brothers in the flesh went to Jerusalem for the feast, but our Lord Jesus remained. He said, “Your time is always ready. You can do anything you like, but My time is not yet.”
But after His brothers left, He also left, because His time had come.
So when you read the Gospel, you find the life of our Lord Jesus: never once did He do anything on His own initiative. He always waited for His Father.
He did everything according to the Father’s will, and that is the life of our Lord Jesus.
And being obedient, even unto death, and that the death of the cross.
I think we are all familiar with the Gospels. We are all familiar with what happened to our Lord Jesus: how He followed the Father in all things, and yet He was betrayed, He was taken, and He was crucified as if He were the greatest sinner in the world.
But He died for our transgressions, that our sins may be forgiven.
So, brothers and sisters, when we think of the life of our Lord Jesus, our hearts bow in worship.
How can we thank Him enough? We who were dead in sins and trespasses, having no hope, no future—yet the Lord came and died in our stead.
He saved us, and He saved us to the uttermost. Brothers and sisters, what love is that?
No wonder God highly exalted Him, gave Him a name above every name, and at that name every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the Father’s glory.
Brothers and sisters, this is our Lord Jesus. This is the One whom we believe. This is the One whom we follow. This is the One with whom we go together.
Thank God, we have the Lord Jesus.
So, brothers and sisters, not only will our knees bow; our tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord, to the Father’s glory.
This is our privilege. This is our pleasure. This is what we love.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we are gathering here this morning. This is the one thing that we do: we come together to worship our Lord Jesus, to the Father’s glory.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord, our hearts bow in worship. Who can love great sinners such as we are, except You, Lord?
And You loved us to such an extent as to give Your life in our stead. You died on the cross. Your blood was shed for the remission of our sins.
Your body was broken that we may be joined together with God. Oh, dear Lord, we owe everything to You.
We are what we are today; it is all by Thy mercy and grace. So we come this morning to bow before Thee, to worship Thee, and to thank Thee.
And we pray, Lord, take us, enable us, that the rest of our life, as long as we live, we do not live for ourselves anymore, but we live for Thee, for Thy glory.
Hear our cry. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.