After encouraging the Philippian believers, and us, to live with humility, Paul gives the ultimate example of humility in Jesus Christ.

Take a look at this passage in Philippians 2:5-6:

What better incentive to humility than the example of our Lord himself? This is the example Paul gives as he stresses this attitude for the believers in Philippi. In fact, the term “attitude” may be a little weak. A more literal rendering would be “mindset.” The thought is similar to the final verse of 1 Corinthians 2, where Paul states that we have the “mind of Christ,” although the Greek term used is different.

What Paul is saying here, in effect, is that we are to have the same mind as Jesus, in humility and in focus.

What follows has been debated for ages. Some believe that Paul writes the following verses, a poetic expression or hymn of worship. Others believe that Paul is quoting a more ancient source, an early hymn from before the date of Philippians, in the early 60s AD.

The language and structure are different than the rest of Paul’s letters, indicating that he may not have been the original author. However, the point of this passage is what matters, especially in light of Paul’s thoughts in chapter two.

In this first verse of the Christological hymn, there are two main sections.

Jesus was in very nature God

Quite simply, Paul is stating here that Jesus is God! And while there are several nuances of what the nature of God might be, or the form of God might be, those are theological discussions that have been debated for centuries. Some feel that this may refer to God’s glory. Others, his image. Still others, his position or status. But, unequivocally, Jesus is God!

Jesus did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped

Again, there are many interpretation to this phrase; too many to cover here. Equality with God was not in question. As God, Jesus was equal with God. So the point of this phrase must be something else. What is much more likely is that Christ did not view his status as equal with God as something to cling to in order to avoid doing what needed to be done; namely coming to earth and dying for our sins.

Above all, Christ was a servant. His humility went all they way to the point of self-emptying, and offering himself in place of his creation. His nature as God did not contradict this action. No, it actually demonstrates it.

The more you study and dig into this passage, the more you become overwhelmed with the love of God for mankind, for us.

And the more you understand his love, the more powerfully you will be moved to love, humility and service yourself.

Question: What helps you to strive for the humility that Christ displayed as an example for us to follow? You can leave a comment by clicking here.