Philippians: Christ as the Model
Philippians 2:5-11; John 1:1-3; John 13:1-17 - Imitate the Life of Christ!
“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:5-11 NASB1995
Paul describes the “humility of mind” attitude further in this passage by talking about Jesus and what He did. This passage is considered by many scholars as being like the words to a great hymn. Jesus was the Word and was God and was with God as John noted in John 1:1-3:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
John 1:1-3 NASB1995
I found this interesting diagram on Precept Austin (Source: Christ-Centered Exposition - Philippians):
God did not humiliate the Son, who is equal to Him - The Son chose to be incarnated as a man by emptying Himself (but not His deity) to undergo the ultimate humiliation on the cross because He wanted to present Himself as the atonement for our sins. This is pretty complex, in terms of understanding the Trinity and the incarnation. This passage is also considered one of the most significant in the New Testament. Here’s what James Montgomery Boice says about Philippians 2:5-11 as quoted in Precept Austin:
"These verses bring us near to the bedrock of the early Christian faith and preaching. They contain most of the distinctive articles of the Christian creed. They teach the divinity of Christ, his preexistence, his equality with God the Father, his incarnation and true humanity, his voluntary death on the cross, the certainty of his ultimate triumph over evil, and the permanence of his reign."
Paul was certainly given good insight on the road to Damascus and afterwards. When you see how our Lord had to explain things over and over and over again to the 12 disciples, Paul was blessed to have received a huge “data dump” to allow him to see these remarkable insights almost instantly.
Enduring Word also has really good commentary on this passage today. This is the commentary for verses 6a and 6b (recall that Enduring Word uses the New King James Version of the Bible):
Who, being in the form of God,
In the form of God: This describes Jesus’ pre-incarnate existence. We must remind ourselves that Jesus did not begin His existence in the manger at Bethlehem, but is eternal God.
Being: This is from the ancient Greek verb huparchein, which “describes that which a man is in his very essence and which cannot be changed. It describes that part of a man which, in any circumstances, remains the same.” (William Barclay)
“Paul, by the use of the Greek word translated ‘being,’ informs his Greek readers that our Lord’s possession of the divine essence did not cease to be a fact when He came to earth to assume human form… This word alone is enough to refute the claim of Modernism that our Lord emptied Himself of His Deity when He became Man.” (Kenneth Wuest)
Form: This translates the ancient Greek word morphe. It “always signifies a form which truly and fully expresses the being which underlies it… the words mean ‘the being on an equality with God.’” (H.A.A. Kennedy)
“Morphe is the essential form which never alters; schema is the outward form which changes from time to time and from circumstance to circumstance.” (William Barclay)
“‘God’ has a form, and ‘Jesus Christ’ exists in this form of God.” (R.C.H. Lenski)
Wuest explains that the ancient Greek word translated form is very difficult to translate. When we use the word form, we think of the shape of something; but the ancient Greek word had none of that idea. It is more the idea of a mode or an essence; it is the essential nature of God, without implying a physical shape or image. “Thus the Greek word for ‘form’ refers to that outward expression which a person gives of his inmost nature.”
Did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
Did not consider it robbery: The ancient Greek in this phrase has the idea of something being grasped or clung to. Jesus did not cling to the prerogatives or privileges of deity.
[Kenneth] Wuest defines the ancient Greek word translated robbery as, “A treasure to be clutched and retained at all hazards.”
To be equal with God: It wasn’t that Jesus was trying to achieve equality with the Father. He had it, and chose not to cling to it. Jesus’ divine nature was not something He had to seek for or acquire, but it was His already.
[J.B.] Lightfoot wrote that it was not “a prize which must not slip from His grasp, a treasure to be clutched and retained at all hazards.” Jesus was willing to let go of some of the prerogatives of deity to become a man.
Jesus begins His earthly humble role as the incarnated child, taking the form of a bond-servant and becoming like men. His humanity was added to His divinity and nothing was subtracted. Again, from Enduring Word:
But made Himself of no reputation: The more common (and well-known) translation of this is that He emptied Himself. From the ancient Greek word emptied (kenosis) came the idea that Jesus’ incarnation was essentially a self-emptying.
We must carefully think about what Jesus emptied Himself of. Paul will tell us plainly in the following verses, but we must take care that we do not think that Jesus emptied Himself of His deity in any way.
Some develop the kenotic theory of the incarnation to the point where they insist that Jesus divested Himself of many of the attributes of deity – such as omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and even suffered the elimination of His own divine self-consciousness. Yet Jesus did not (and could not) become “less God” in the incarnation. No deity was subtracted (though Jesus did renounce some of the privileges of deity); rather humanity was added to His nature.
“During his humiliation, as God and equal with the Father, was no encroachment on the Divine prerogative; for, as he had an equality of nature, he had an equality of rights.” (Adam Clarke)
“His condescension was free, and unconstrained with the consent of his Father… the Son of the Highest can, at his own pleasure, show or eclipse his own glorious brightness, abate or let out his fullness, exalt or abase himself in respect of us.” (Matthew Poole)
“Even as a king, by laying aside the tokens of his royalty, and putting on the habit of a merchant, when all the while he ceaseth not to be a king, or the highest in his own dominions.” (Matthew Poole)
Taking the form of a bondservant: This describes how Jesus emptied Himself. Though he took the form of a bondservant, Jesus did not empty Himself of His deity, or of any of His attributes, or of His equality with God. He emptied Himself into the form of a bondservant, not merely the form of a man.
Taking (the ancient Greek word labon) does not imply an exchange, but an addition.
Coming in the likeness of men: This further describes how Jesus emptied Himself. We can think of someone who is a servant, but not in the likeness of men. Angels are servants, but not in the likeness of men. In fairy tales, Aladdin’s genie was a servant, but not in the likeness of men.
The word for likeness here may refer to merely the outward form of something. While Jesus did have the outward form of humanity, the outward form reflected His true humanity, which was added to His deity.
“It was a likeness, but a real likeness, no mere phantom humanity as the Docetic Gnostics held.” (A.T. Robertson)
I’ll repeat the next verse here (verse 8) so you don’t have to scroll up:
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Once again, Enduring Word hits it out of the ballpark with their commentary on this verse; I’ll defer to their scholarship:
He humbled Himself and became obedient: Jesus humbled Himself when He became obedient. This was something that Jesus could only experience by coming down from the throne of heaven and becoming a man. When God sits enthroned in heaven’s glory, there is no one He obeys. Jesus had to leave heaven’s glory and be found in appearance as a man in order to become obedient.
One key to Jesus’ obedience on earth was the endurance of suffering. This again was something He could only learn by experience after the incarnation. As it is written: though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered (Hebrews 5:8).
Indeed, He humbled Himself.
He was humble in that He took the form of a man, and not a more glorious creature like an angel.
He was humble in that He was born into an obscure, oppressed place.
He was humble in that He was born into poverty among a despised people.
He was humble in that He was born as a child instead of appearing as a man.
He was humble in submitting to the obedience appropriate to a child in a household.
He was humble in learning and practicing a trade – and a humble trade of a builder.
He was humble in the long wait until He launched out into public ministry.
He was humble in the companions and disciples He chose.
He was humble in the audience He appealed to and the way He taught.
He was humble in the temptations He allowed and endured.
He was humble in the weakness, hunger, thirst, and tiredness He endured.
He was humble in His total obedience to His Heavenly Father.
He was humble in His submission to the Holy Spirit.
He was humble in choosing and submitting to the death of the cross.
He was humble in the agony of His death.
He was humble in the shame, mocking, and public humiliation of His death.
He was humble in enduring the spiritual agony of His sacrifice on the cross.
We can imagine that it was possible for the Son of God to become man and pay for the sins of the world without this great humiliation. He might have added the humanity of a 33-year old man to his deity. He might have appeared before man only in His transfigured glory, and taught men what they needed to hear from Him. He might have suffered for the sins of man in a hidden place of the earth far from the eyes of man, or on the dark side of the moon for that matter. Yet He did not; He humbled Himself, and did it for the surpassing greatness of our salvation and His work for us.
To the point of death, even the death of the cross: This states the extent of Jesus’ humility and obedience.
Crucifixion was such a shameful death that it was not permitted for Roman citizens (such as the people of Philippi). A victim of crucifixion was considered by the Jews to be particularly cursed by God (Deuteronomy 21:23 and Galatians 3:13).
[A.T.] Robertson called the death of the cross “The bottom rung in the ladder from the Throne of God. Jesus came all the way down to the most despised death of all, a condemned criminal on the accursed cross.”
Even the death of the cross shows that there is no limit to what God will do to demonstrate His love and saving power to man; this was and forever will be the ultimate. “What must sin have been in the sight of God, when it required such abasement in Jesus Christ to make an atonement for it, and undo its influence and malignity!” (Adam Clarke)
“The lower he stoops to save us, the higher we ought to lift him in our adoring reverence. Blessed be his name, he stoops, and stoops, and stoops, and, when he reaches our level, and becomes man, he still stoops, and stoops, and stoops lower and deeper yet.” (Charles Spurgeon)
Even the death of the cross: All of this was a great display of the power of Jesus. Remember that because of Paul’s past experience among the Philippians, they were tempted to think of God’s power as being expressed only in exaltation and deliverance and not in terms of glorifying God through humble service and endurance.
In this, Paul reminded the Philippians that his current place of humble circumstances (his Roman imprisonment) could still show forth the glory and power of God, even as Jesus did in His humility.
I suggest reading and re-reading the list of the ways in which the Creator of the Universe humbled Himself. Paul is telling the Philippians (and us) that we have to try and humble ourselves in the same way. We likely won’t suffer a death by crucifixion, but being humble and putting others first is the first shallow step in a lifetime of an imitation of Christ.
We just watched season 5 of “The Chosen” again. This 8-part season explores the events of Holy Week leading up to the moment of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas at the Garden; large portions of each episode take place at the Last Supper and most of the teachings at that gathering are highlighted. Jesus demonstrated His humility (and what humility really means) at the Last Supper by washing the feet of the disciples, as noted in John 13:1-17:
“Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, *got up from supper, and *laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. Then He *poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.
So He *came to Simon Peter. He *said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter *said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus *said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
John 13:1-17 NASB1995
Even at that moment, and after three years of following and listening to Jesus, Peter still didn’t get it in some ways. He also promised to go to his death to defend Jesus, but only heard about how he will deny the Lord three times before the rooster crows. We are really looking forward to season 6 of “The Chosen”, which is just one day (the arrest, trial, crucifixion and death), if one could say they look forward to the re-enactment of that terrible day. The actor that plays Simon Peter is properly rash and impulsive; the scenes with his denials will probably be quite good, knowing how good the series has been.
I’ll repeat the last verses of this passage below (9-11):
For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Because of His humiliation and death on the cross, Jesus has conquered death and ascended to Heaven. God has highly exalted Jesus and given Him the name above every name! From Enduring Word:
Therefore God has also highly exalted Him: This is the general heading for the material in the next three verses. These words describe how God has exalted Jesus. Indeed, highly exalted could also be translated “super exalted.”
“The Greek elegancy imports superexalted, or exalted with all exaltation.” (Matthew Poole)
“Now, just pause over this thought – that Christ did not crown himself, but that his Father crowned him; that he did not elevate himself to the throne of majesty, but that his Father lifted him there, and placed him on his throne.” (Charles Spurgeon)
Given Him the name which is above every name: This goes beyond giving Jesus the Divine name Yahweh. When we consider the Hebrew concept of the name, it also implies that God declares that Jesus has a character and person above all.
This verse, with its clear statement of Jesus’ deity, is powerful ammunition against those who deny the deity of Jesus Christ. There is no higher name than Yahweh, and Jesus has that name.
…
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow: Not only is Jesus exalted by the Father, but the whole world is brought into submission to the Son.
“Paul does not imply by this a universal salvation, but means that every personal being will ultimately confess Christ’s lordship, either with joyful faith or with resentment and despair.” (Homer Kent)
Those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth: This conveys the absolute totality of all creation recognizing the superiority of Jesus Christ.
In this, Paul draws on the idea of Isaiah 45:23: I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. Notice that in Isaiah, it is to Yahweh that all knees bow and tongues confess. In Philippians it is to Jesus, showing that Jesus is Yahweh.
Those under the earth: “Either the dead, who are hid in the earth, and shall be raised by the power of Christ… or, devils, and wicked souls.” (Matthew Poole)
Every knee should bow… every tongue should confess: The combination of tongues confessing and knees bowing gives evidence that the idea is a complete submission to Jesus, both in word and in action, and one that is required of all.
The totality of this recognition of Jesus’ deity and exaltation has caused many to envision this happening in a formal way after the final judgment, when every creature in heaven and hell is required to bow their knees and make the confession that Jesus Christ is Lord.
That Jesus Christ is Lord: From this we can say that there is a sense in which Jesus returned to heaven with more than He had than when He left heaven. Not only did He return with His humanity still added to his deity (although a resurrected humanity), He also returned with the recognition planted among men of who He was and the worship He deserved – something unknown until the Incarnation and the full revelation of His person and work.
“He has always (in Paul’s view) shared in the Divine nature. But it is only as the result of His Incarnation, Atonement, Resurrection and Exaltation that He appears to men as on an equality with God, that He is worshipped by them in the way in which Jehovah is worshipped.” (H.A.A. Kennedy)
“He might have used the miraculous powers inherent in His Divine nature in such a way as to compel men, without further ado, to worship Him as God. Instead of that He was willing to attain this high dignity by the path of humiliation, suffering and death.” (H.A.A. Kennedy)
All this must be seen in reference to the humiliation described in Philippians 2:6-8; our tendency is to long for the exaltation, but to forsake the humiliation.
Jesus Christ is Lord: The confession of Jesus Christ as Lord reminds us to consider the great significance of this word kurios, especially as it was understood by the early church, who used the LXX as their Bible – where kurios was consistently used to translate the tetragrammaton, standing for the name Yahweh.
We also should not miss the significance that at a later time in the Roman Empire, all residents of the Empire were required to swear an oath of allegiance to the Emperor, declaring that Caesar is Lord, and burning a pinch of incense to an image of the emperor. Though the Roman state saw this only as a display of political allegiance, Christians rightly interpreted it as idolatry – and refused to participate, often paying with their lives.
Paul has no doubt who is really Lord – not the Caesar whom he will stand trial before; Caesar may be a high name, but it is not the name above all names, the name which belongs to Jesus Christ!
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father: Remember that Paul did not give this description of Jesus in Philippians 2:5-11 simply for the theological education of the Philippians.
He gave it to equip them to endure the hardship they were experiencing.
He gave it help them to understand Paul’s hardships.
He gave it to help them to practice real Christian unity in the midst of hard times.
This picture of Jesus has helped them to understand how to assess the ministry of Paul, which seemed weak at the present time.
This picture helped them to understand the context of God’s revelation of power – how God delights to show His power through humble actions.
This picture has equipped them to act in a way towards each other that will promote unity in the body of Christ.
This picture has shown them how to follow Jesus’ pattern of patient, humble obedience – something Paul will call them to continue in the following verses.
It is worth noting that the early Christians were not persecuted because they believed that Jesus was God. They were persecuted because they believe Jesus is LORD and they refused to swear an oath to Caesar, even if it was just an oath of allegiance. I must recommend a movie for readers to view: “A Hidden Life”, a 2019 biographical film by Terence Malick that looks at the life of a humble Austrian farmer named Franz Jagerstatter. He refused to swear an oath to Adolf Hitler when he was called up for military service. Jagerstatter was a devout Catholic and saw this oath as idolatry, just like the early Christians who refused to pledge political allegiance to Caesar. It is a beautifully filmed movie, and it is also quite heartbreaking. Devotion to the Lord can have extreme consequences.
So are you expecting exaltation from God without looking and emulating at the role model of Jesus during His earthly ministry? Paul is telling the Philippians that they must also follow the parabola of His example in their lives, especially to be humble of mind. Also, for those who are riding the fence or (like Steve and I for a few years) rejecting the message of Jesus, you will not have a choice at a time in future. He will be recognized as Lord by everyone and all of creation. I am so joyful that I came to that conclusion now rather than when it is too late.
One more thing - I also like these two commentaries from Precept Austin, one from Ray Pritchard and one from Bruce Hurt:
Ray Pritchard tells this story, a story I would imagine several of you could tell - Recently a friend told me about a family member who said in all seriousness, “If you ever mention Jesus to me again, I will never speak to you again.” When such moments come, we need to respond with words like these: “I don’t want to lose your friendship but I must tell you the truth. You were made by Jesus Christ. You owe your life to him. One day you will stand before him as your Judge. Sooner or later every knee will bow before him and confess that he is the Lord. You can bow before him today as your Savior or you can face him one day as your Judge. But you cannot escape him. The choice is yours.”
From Bruce Hurt:
Let’s summarize what this passage is telling us about Jesus Christ.
1) What He Was—Fully and Completely God!
2) What He Became—A man while retaining his deity.
3) What He Chose—To die a humiliating death on the cross.
4) What He Gained—The highest place/the greatest name/universal honor.
This is the Jesus of the Bible. This is the Jesus we worship today. This is the Jesus we call Savior and Lord. This is the true Christ of the Christian faith.
We live on a visited planet. Allow the magnitude of the Majesty becoming man to help you know that He understands everything you’re going through today. And be so amazed at the Incarnation that you can’t help but tell others about it. Luke 2:16-17:“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
Friend, are you underwhelmed by the Christ? If you are, may I suggest that you take a fresh look at the steps the Savior took for you? When you focus on His majestic preexistence and move to His menial position and then remember that He was a man of perfection who became the mediator for people, you will be moved to respond to Him as your preeminent master. You will never be underwhelmed by the gift of Christ again. If anything, you will be overwhelmed with adoration…
I emphasized one of the comments above - We live on a visited planet! The Creator of this vast and fascinating universe saw fit to empty Himself, come to Earth and be humbled for our sakes. So wonderful!
My next devotional examines Philippians 2:12-13 - Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - These verses really hit home for me today and I am so grateful for Your guidance through the beautiful words that You inspired in Paul. The Name above all Names! Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Precept Austin was accessed on 07/10/2025 to review commentary for Philippians 2:5-11.
Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik is used with written permission. Minor formatting changes have been incorporated to improve readability (no change to content).
Barbara - a masterpiece today! 🙏🙏🙏