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Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:5–11)

Reflect

Many religions throughout history have acknowledged the value of humility. None has dared speak of a humble God. The reason is simple: the notion of humility applied to deity is seen as a category mistake. So the claim that the biblical God—not a member of a pantheon, not an option on a menu of deities, but the one Creator of all—that he would stoop to serve his creatures, all the way down to a torturous cross, is not just startling. It’s scandalous.

Many religions acknowledge the value of humility. None has dared speak of a humble God.

But that’s precisely what happened. This passage re­sounds with the news that even though God the Son had it all—the worship of angels, the infinite love of Father and Spirit—he still came from the splendor of heaven to the squa­lor of a stable. And on a lonely night in a little town called Bethlehem, he began a journey of obedience to his Father—a journey that would culminate 33 years later on a hill outside Jerusalem, where he suffered on a cross for rebels like us. And what compelled him? Indescribable love. Indeed, “greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). There is no better example of self-giving love than the One who left heaven when he could have stayed, and who stayed on the cross when he could have left.

But Christ’s humiliation is not the end of the story. In Philippians 2:9, Paul broadcasts the reward: “Therefore God has highly exalted him.” This phrase is shorthand for the whole complex of events—resurrection, ascension, corona­tion, heavenly reign—subsequent to his sin-bearing death.

There’s no better example of self-giving love than the One who left heaven when he could have stayed, and who stayed on the cross when he could have left.

And one day soon, everybody in the universe will bow before this King of glory. There are only two options: you can either bow to him now as Savior, or bow to him later as Judge. But every knee, including yours, will bow.

Friend, do not let another Christmas go by without staring—really staring—at the depths to which your Savior plunged himself in order to raise you up and seat you with him in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6).

Respond

This passage doesn’t just move us to marvel at Jesus’s one-way love—it also calls us to cultivate his mindset (v. 5). Before this year is over, who is someone in your life you could stoop to serve? How and when could you do it? Few things will bet­ter spark encouragement, and perhaps gospel witness, than a deliberate act of self-giving love.

Rejoice

From the squalor of a borrowed stable,
By the Spirit and a virgin’s faith;
To the anguish and the shame of scandal,
Came the Savior of the human race.

— Stuart Townend, “Immanuel”

Editors’ note: 

This meditation appears in The Weary World Rejoices: Daily Devotions for Advent edited by Melissa Kruger (TGC, Nov. 2021). Purchase through the TGC Bookstore or Amazon.

Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?

In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
But the Gospels are historically reliable. And the evidence for this is vast.
To learn about the evidence for the historical reliability of the four Gospels, click below to access a FREE eBook of Can We Trust the Gospels? written by New Testament scholar Peter J. Williams.

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