Thursday 08 August 2013

Background

The original recipients and hearers of this letter were themembers of a growing church in Philippi, Macedonia, established byPaul. Paul was writing his letter from prison, to a group of peoplehe knew well and loved. The Philippians had supported Paul in hisministry through their prayers and gifts, and were rightly veryconcerned about his imprisonment and what this might mean for thefuture of both Paul and the gospel (good news about Jesus).However, Paul was more concerned about them, as he had heard newsof possible divisions and factions among the believers there, andwas aware of the dangers such disunity brought with it. Like Paulhimself and all the emerging churches at that time, the PhilippianChristians would face some degree of suffering. Paul was aware thatthey needed to endure their suffering bravely, have a certainsingle-mindedness and learn to trust Christ for everything.

Our passage comes within the main thrust of the letter: anappeal to unity within the church. Paul urges the Philippians tosee through the petty prejudices, preferences, and pride, andpoints them to the big picture - most powerfully using the exampleof Jesus: given in the form of a beautiful and poetic hymn that hasbecome one of the most important, moving, dynamic and memorablepassages of Scripture ever. And in the build-up to this (verses2-5), we see very clearly the context in which it wasintended.

Our passage sings of God - the real God. Jesus Christ (God theSon) who existed before he was born, and was on a par with the restof God, but wasn't big-headed about it. He was in the highest placewith all the power in the world. But no exploitation. Exploitationis for the weak, the insecure. Only humans feel the need to exploittheir power when they get in positions of authority or leadership.Jesus had the authority, the power and the glory and he gave it allup for something more important. And he "emptied himself" (v. 7).What could this mean? When we think of a bottle of water beingemptied, we can think of it in a negative way (being emptied down asink - a great waste) or a positive way (being emptied into a glassto be enjoyed). With the second option, the vessel would bedifferent, but the contents would still have their essentialrefreshing and life-giving characteristics.

Jesus did not empty himself of all his Godly characteristics andbecome an empty vessel. Rather, God the Son, in all his heavenlysplendour, being "in the form of God" (v. 6), emptied himself intoanother vessel - leaving behind his divine 'bottle', in favour ofan earthly 'glass'. Thus Jesus lost nothing of his character orrighteousness. And yet the Greek word that is used in thisinstancemeans 'to deprive or lessen'. The NIV Bible translates thephrase "made himself nothing". This is not true in the experienceof Christians, where Christ is the opposite of nothing. But perhaps"nothing" was the best way to describe Christ's new vessel,compared to his previous one. Asking not 'Of what did Christ emptyhimself?' but rather 'Into what did Christ empty himself?', Paulgives the answer:

• He took "the form of a slave" (v. 7) - a vessel of obedientservice, and yet slaves were seen as 'nothing' by society ingeneral. Slaves were given few rights or privileges in a household,and were treated as disposable commodities, sub-human. Unlike thechildren, that is, who were honoured heirs to the estate.

• He was "born in human likeness" (v. 7). The creator becomes thecreated. From the eternal heavens, where God's love rules supreme,to the depths of the earth and human life, exposed to sin,temptation, aggression, oppression and death. And yet within this'nothing' of a vessel, there was room for the wonderful contents hebrought with him. Jesus filled his earthly glass to the brim withhis life-giving water, his divine nature and being.

His "form" was that of a slave, a servant, in every observableway - he healed, he brought comfort, he washed his friends' feet,he suffered. His "likeness" was that of a man, in every physical,chemical and biological sense. Yet within that vessel, there wasstill the capacity his divine nature to shine through: mostuniquely in his relationship to God - out of which flowed hisfaithful obedience which led to his death on the cross.

The hymn goes on to describe Christ's reward: "Therefore ... Godhas exalted him to the highest place above" (v. 9). It takes to theextreme Jesus' words that "the last shall be first" (Matthew 20:16), where the one who made himselfleast of all, purely out of love, should be placed in the premierposition. This final part of this great song of Christ's glory hasa future dimension that points to a time of God's choosing when wewill see Jesus the Lord of all face-to-face, and the world willbow, in trembling adoration to the One who gave his all, to theglory of our God of love.

Perhaps (like many churches that become consumed by their owninternal wrangling and power-struggles), a step back and a look atthe big picture was needed to put things in perspective for thePhilippians. After considering the mind or attitude of Christ, Paulgoes on to urge his readers to forget about their complaints andarguments and to "shine like stars" in their generation (Philippians 2:15). Is not a similar messageneeded for us today?

To Ponder

• Can you think of examples in the Bible, or in the world today,where humans have tried to make themselves 'like gods'? What answerdoes Christ give us about the nature of true greatness?

• How can this passage help us, in our churches today, to getthings into perspective when our pride, prejudices or preferencestake priority?

• Spend some time reflecting on these words from Charles Wesley'sgreat hymn, "And can it be" (STF 345):
  "He left his Father's throne above -
  so free, so infinite his grace -
  emptied himself of all but love,
  and bled for Adam's helpless race."