“EMPTIED HIMSELF … HUMBLED HIMSELF”
Alastair J McKay
Philippians 2: 1-11
I want to speak to you tonight about a Person who “emptied himself” and “humbled himself”. We live in a world where these things are foreign, and that is why I read the early part of the chapter, “regarding not each his own qualities”. The enemy of your soul would love to occupy you with yourself. I feel the way the world is moving is to occupy men with themselves. There is great incentive in the world to do well, and I do not diminish that in any way because we have to make our way in this world; but there is a Person here who “emptied himself” and “humbled himself”. I know it is a Person that everyone in this room has heard about before - the Man who did not think of Himself at all.
The scripture says in Luke’s gospel, “for every one that exalts himself shall be abased, and he that abases himself shall be exalted”, chap 14: 11. Here is the evidence for that scripture, “he that abases himself shall be exalted” - Christ Jesus, your Lord, who I trust is your Saviour, has “emptied himself” and He has “humbled himself”, and He has done that in order to secure you for Himself and for His God, and God has exalted Him! We will not get very far working out our own salvation by looking at ourselves. What do we find when we look at our own qualities? You look in the mirror and what do you see? I will tell you what you see: you see a sinner; you see one who needs a Saviour; you see one who needs Christ; you see one who has come short of the glory of God; because scripture tells us, “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”, Rom 3: 23. That is what I see when I look in the mirror, and I trust it is what you recognise, dear friend.
But you look at this scripture and the writer says, “For let this mind be in you”, “this mind”, a different mind, a different order. Dear friend, the Lord Jesus was here as a Man, but He was here as a Man after a different order. It was His own movement to come, and that movement involved that He “emptied himself”. I feel very measured by this, but Mr Darby’s note is very helpful (note ‘n’); it says, ‘he made himself of no reputation’. Hold to that, dear friend! It helps us to see that the Lord Jesus did not empty Himself of anything, but He made Himself of no reputation. He left an area of glory, the glory that He had with the Father, (scripture speaks to us about that - John 17: 5), and He “emptied himself”; your Saviour made Himself of no reputation. What a glorious Man! You will not find that in the world around; you will find men eager and concerned to make their own reputation. Dear friends, here is your Saviour; He made Himself of no reputation: “the Son of man has not where he may lay his head”, Luke 9: 58. Think of your Saviour Jesus being here, and He says, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the heaven roosting-places, but the Son of man has not where he may lay his head”. He sought no place amongst men; what a humble lowly Man: “he emptied himself”; He made Himself of no reputation. He subsisted in “the form of God”! It was His own movement in love for you, dear friend; Jesus has done this for you.
The Lord Jesus made this great movement, and He made it for me. If I was the only one who had sinned, He had to come this way, but He has come this way for all of us, He has come this way for you, He has come this way for every inhabitant in Linlithgow tonight, He has come this way for every soul that lives on the planet, because there is room in the house of God for everyone. The work of Christ is sufficient for all. He took a “bondman’s form”, “taking his place in the likeness of men”. He did not take a place alongside other men; He took His place. It was a place that was determined for Him. It was a place in which He could undertake and carry out and fulfil the will of God; His place, the unique place. Scripture speaks about the fact that imitators will come, those who will seek to imitate, those who will seek to bring doubt into your mind as to the perfection and the uniqueness of Christ; He took His place. No other place like it! No other man could take that place; that place belonged to Jesus, and it belonged to Him alone. “Having been found in figure as a man, humbled himself”: what a movement! What grace! Not only did He empty Himself, but He “humbled himself”.
I know that we know this scripture well, and we have heard it before, but I feel the need to emphasise it, “humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of the cross”. Dear friends, this is so important! The word here is “becoming obedient even unto death”, not obedient to death. That could never be said of Jesus; that is my lot, that is your lot as sinners before God: we are subject to it. The Lord Jesus was “obedient even unto death”, He was obedient even as far as death itself. He went that way in holy obedience to the will of God, and in going that way it involved that He “humbled himself”: “having been found in figure as a man, humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of the cross”. Your Saviour was nailed to a cross of wood. That shows us what men thought of Him. They said, “We will not that this man should reign over us”, Luke 19: 14. He was nailed to a cross of wood, crucified. As I understand it, it is one of the most painful deaths imaginable, and the Lord Jesus went that way, He went that way as One who “emptied himself” and “humbled himself”. He went that way in perfect obedience and love for God. In going that way, He has opened up the opportunity for you and me to be saved. That is the simplicity of the gospel, the simplicity of the glad tidings! The Lord Jesus has gone that way for you!
We used to be told at home that His work was vicarious, a word my father loved using; it means, ‘on account of others’. It was on account of us! He did not go that way for Himself; He went that way on account of others, on account of you and me: “that the death of the cross”. What was involved in that death? It involved suffering at the hands of men, suffering for righteousness’ sake at the hands of men. Think of how He was scourged, of how He was treated, how He suffered! But that was little compared with what He suffered for sin, what He suffered from a holy and righteous God, those three hours of darkness when the holy and righteous wrath of God against sin was poured out upon Him, upon One of whom we read that He had subsisted in “the form of God”. Scripture tells us that he was “made sin for us”, 2 Cor 5: 21. Think of that! Think of God making Him sin, pouring out upon Him what He abhorred, upon the Man whom He loved. Dear friends, does it touch your heart? Do you know this Man for yourself? Do you know Him as your Saviour? He died for you! He died for you at the end of those three hours; He exhausted the judgment, and He died there on the cross; He said, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit”, Luke 23: 46. Think of that glorious statement that the Lord Jesus could make, perfect communion restored. His blood was shed; it was poured out: your sins can be washed away in the blood of Jesus. I trust they have been! Have they? Have they been washed away? Have you acknowledged before Christ your guilt as a sinner? Have you said to Him, ‘Lord, I need a Saviour’?
Then in verse 9, “Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and granted him a name, that which is above every name”; this is what God thinks of Christ. What did man think of Christ? ‘Away with Him’; “We will not that this man should reign over us”. Here is what God thinks of Him, “Wherefore also God highly exalted him”; dear friends, your Saviour is exalted! Your Saviour is no longer in the grave; He is risen, and He is ascended, and He is crowned with glory and honour, and He is seated there at the right hand of God, “on the right hand of the greatness on high”, Heb 1: 3. He is seated there for you, and He is seated there for God, and He is ready and available for you tonight as your Saviour. That is what God thinks of Him! He has put Him there.
I just want to refer to Matthew 22: 42: “What think ye concerning the Christ?”. We know what many think concerning the Christ, and the scripture in Philippians has just shown us what God thinks concerning the Christ. But now, “What think ye”? What do you think? I just want to leave that question, leave it in your ears and hearts; what do you think of Him? What is your thought of Christ; what does He mean to you? Does He mean enough for Him to be your Saviour? I trust He does. I trust that you can see in Him the salvation of your sins; I trust that you know as the hymn puts it:
And thy heart shall lose its burden,
By His side. (Hymn 344)
I trust that has happened. But what else do you think of Him? Do you think of Him enough to give Him a place in your life? Do you think of Him enough to say, ‘Yes, I want to know more; I want to be with Him; I want the Holy Spirit’, that great gift that we spoke of earlier?. It is a gift that is given to those who ask; it is given too to those who obey. But it is given to those who ask; have you asked? Do you think enough of Christ to say, ‘I want that gift that He is speaking about; I want to understand it, and I want to lay hold of that gift, because I want Him in my presence, I want to be close to Christ, and I want to have Him in my life’. You can do that in the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you think enough of Jesus to remember Him, to call Him to mind, to answer to His commandment? He has given that appeal, “this do in remembrance of me”, Luke 22: 19. May we be encouraged to do that, dear friends; may we be set forward to remember Him and to give Him the place that rightfully belongs to Him; “What think ye concerning the Christ?”
What is your thought of Him? How much does He mean to you? It is often said that we put our energies and we put our time into what is precious to us. Well, “What think ye concerning the Christ?”. I have spoken to you about One who “humbled himself”, One who “emptied Himself”, a Man who has died for you; what do you think of Him? How precious is He to you? May He be precious, may He be the most precious thing that we have, that we may be ready for that moment when He comes for us, because that is very, very soon. We are often told, and I feel the edge of it, this may be the last gospel preaching. It may be the last gospel preaching any of us here in this room may hear; will you be ready? There is coming a moment, and the moment is very soon when scripture tells us His own will hear “an assembling shout, with archangel’s voice and with trump of God”, (1 Thess 4: 16) - it will cry out! Those that put their trust in Christ will hear it; I trust everyone in this room will be among that number.
For His Name’s sake.
Linlithgow
14th January 2024