BELIEVER’S HUMILITY
THE ESSENTIALITY OF CHRIST HUMILITY
Philippians 2:1-11 NIV
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from
his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit
and of one mind.
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above
yourselves,
4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death —
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Paul has just shared with the Philippians that they will make his joy complete by living out of
the benefits that we all receive by being in Christ: mutual encouragement, loving comfort,
communal empowerment from the Holy Spirit, and a continual welling up of tenderness and
compassion.
He went on to stress what then naturally flows out of these: like-mindedness, harmony, and
unity within and among those who follow Christ.
Such togetherness is not something we can or have to muster ourselves. It is, as with all
good things, a gift of God’s grace, as Paul underscores, the work of the Spirit in and through
us.
But how do we get and remain in step with this work of the Spirit? What does this unity of
the Spirit practically look like in our day-to-day lives?
Paul’s answer is HUMILITY.
Paul starts breaking down exactly what humility is by indicating what it is not.
Humility is not “selfish ambition.”
Bearing some sort of false modesty in which one appears to self-sacrifice but actually is
doing so in order to gain a better position is not true humility.
Neither is operating out of “vain conceit.” The connotation of the original word used here is
to be full of oneself, possessing a highly exaggerated self-view. It is to become so fixated on
one’s own reputation that one is constantly elevating oneself at the expense of everyone
else. No matter whether one engages in self-centeredness or selfishness, both are the
antithesis of humility.
What humility is
humility is to “value others above yourselves” (v. 3).
Paul isn’t calling for self-loathing or to despise oneself for the sake of others.
True humility is not carrying an inferiority complex and putting oneself down; it is lifting
others up. It is affirming and honoring the dignity and worth of others rather than stroking
our own ego or protecting any sense of our own self-importance.
WHY IS CHRIST’S HUMILITY ESSENTIAL TO EVERY BELIEVER?
I - CHRIST’S HUMILITY IS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR UNITY
Philippians 2:1-11 NIV
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if
any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any
tenderness and compassion,
II - CHRIST’S HUMILITY IS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR CONFORMITY
v. 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love,
being one in spirit and of one mind.
III - CHRIST’S HUMILITY IS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR PRIORITY
v. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value
others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you
to the interests of the others.
• Related to this, humility is “not looking to your own interests” but rather “to
the interests of others” (v. 4).
• Paul advocates a mindset that seeks to give up one’s personal wants and
rights out of a concern for the advancement of others.
• humility is the willingness to acknowledge and surrender my privileges for the
sake of those who have not been as privileged.
• Can we be honest in admitting how difficult humbling ourselves is –
especially, if we try to do so in our own strength and will?
IV - CHRIST’S HUMILITY IS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR MINISTRY
v.3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value
others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to
the interests of the others.
• Something we must not overlook is how Paul frames this call to humility to
the Philippians: “not looking to your own interests but each of you to the
interests of the others.”
• Paul isn’t speaking here to an individual. He is writing to a community. Part of
what makes humility possible – for me, by the grace of God, to look out for
the interests of others is that I know and trust, others, by that same grace,
are likewise looking out for my interests too. That is what Paul is inviting us to
embrace, a posture of mutual care and concern where we as a community
are looking out for each other. And this is a viable practice for all of us so long
as we together lean into the prompting and empowerment of the Spirit in
loving others as we have been and continue to be loved by Jesus.
V - CHRIST’S HUMILITY IS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR SECURITY
v. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death —
even death on a cross!
VI - CHRIST’S HUMILITY IS ESSENTIAL IN OUR HUMANITY
v. 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
On our own, true humility is beyond us.
It is beyond us because we can’t unconditionally love others if we haven’t first
received unconditional love ourselves.
And the only One who can and has loved unconditionally – purely selflessly and
sacrificially – is Jesus Christ. If our sense of identity and worth derive from
anything or anyone other than Jesus, we will continue to wrestle with
selfishness and conceit, with putting ourselves first.
It is only as we are humbled by the perfect love of Christ, that we find ourselves
able to humbly love others like Jesus, valuing and serving others above
ourselves.