on the verses that we read earlier this morning.
Our theme today is the challenge of the manger.
To understand the challenge of the manger, we
must actually look beyond it and see that which
casts its shadow over the stable scene, the cross.
The essence of Christmas truth is revealed in
this significant Christological passage, which
was possibly an early hymn, which was incorporated
into the Scripture by the Holy Spirit as Paul
wrote the letter. I want you to notice with me
what it says regarding Christ Jesus in verses
5 through 8. There are four statements that I
want to make. based upon this text, statements
that will help us understand our Lord. The first
statement is this, He existed in the form of
God. Or perhaps better put, existing in the form
of God, because that verb exist is actually in
the present tense. You say, what difference does
that make? Well, it means that it's a continuous
verb. The idea is that it expresses continuance
of a prior state. In other words, he was always
existing in the form of God. The word form is
the word morphe, and that's important to note
because it is a word that means an outward display
of the inward reality of something. So what the
Apostle Paul is saying in this brief first sentence
is that Jesus Christ is essential deity. His
very nature was always that of God Himself. He
is telling us that Bethlehem was not His beginning.
It was His incarnation. but not his beginning.
He says, existing as God. That's how he begins
the paragraph. In other words, Jesus Christ had
always been God, fully. He was eternally preexistent,
as how theologians put it, eternally preexistent
as God the Son. The second statement is this.
Jesus Christ did not regard or consider equality
with God a thing to be grasped, that is, as a
treasure to be held onto at all costs. He did
not consider equality with God as something to
be selfishly clung to. He knew that equality
with the Father as the eternal Son... brought
certain intrinsic rights. For example, the exercise
of his own will, the independence of his actions.
But he did not selfishly cling to his rightful
prerogatives as God. That's the second thing
it says about him. That brings us to a third
statement. He emptied himself. He emptied himself.
What does that mean? Does that mean that he ceased
to be God at that point? That he gave up being
God? No, not at all. When it says that he emptied
himself, it means that he divested himself completely
of his self -interest. Not that he divested himself
of his substance as God, but that he gave up
his self -interest. He laid aside the display
of his glory as God. M .R. Vincent says, The
word is a graphic expression of the completeness
of his self -renunciation and his refusal to
use what he had to his own advantage. Now that's
important to grasp. Jesus Christ, when he emptied
himself, renunciated and refused to use for his
own advantage all of his glories as God, his
prerogatives as deity. Now this act of emptying
involved a couple of things, as it says here
in our text. It involved taking the form of a
bondservant. Notice again the word form. Remember
before we said that it was an outward display
of an inward reality. So when Jesus Christ took
the form of a bondservant, it means that he actually
was a servant inwardly, essentially, and lived
that out. His essential nature was that of a
servant. He himself said, I come not... to be
served but to serve and to give my life as a
ransom for many. And his emptying also involved
being made in the likeness of men. The word likeness
is an interesting one because it suggests similarity,
similarity but difference at the same time. In
other words, He was entirely, genuinely human,
and yet he was distinguished from all humans
who ever lived. As he appeared to men, he was
completely human. In the pictures that sometimes
are drawn or shown of Christ, we see a halo around
his head. Let me assure you that the people who
saw him 2 ,000 years ago saw no halo. When they
looked at him, he looked fully human. He was
fully human. But at the same time, there was
a gulf of distinction between him and the ordinary
person because he was sinlessly human. And so
Jesus Christ says, Paul here, in quoting this
hymn, was fully human and yet fully God at the
same time. That brings us then to a fourth statement
that says that he humbled himself. Being found
in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on
a cross. His self -humbling was to the extent
of death, and not merely death, but the most
shameful, painful, ignominious death that was
possible in that day, death by crucifixion. And
so what the Apostle Paul says about Jesus Christ
in this brief paragraph is astounding. He says
that he was eternally preexistent as God. But
he did not regard his prerogatives as God, something
to be selfishly used just for his advantage.
But he emptied himself, divested himself completely
of his self -interest, actually taking on the
form of a slave, a servant, as he was made in
the likeness, And He humbled Himself. Being found
as a man, He humbled Himself even to the point
of death by the cross. My fellow Christian, the
challenge of the manger is seen in that paragraph.
The challenge of the manger is the attitude.
which is graphically disclosed to us at the manger.
It is the mindset which motivated God the Son
to unite Himself with humanity and then to experience
shameful death on the cross. The challenge of
the manger is the attitude of humility. And the
apostle says to us in verse 5, have this attitude
in yourselves. That, my friend, is a challenge.
Have this attitude in you, which Jesus Christ
demonstrated, the attitude of humility. Now,
what is humility? Does that mean being a doormat?
No. Stephen Brown, who is a pastor of a Presbyterian
church in Florida, has written a helpful book
entitled, Goodbye to Doormat Christianity. He
has some excellent things to say in that book.
Humility is not making oneself a doormat. Jesus
Christ was no one's doormat. But humility is
an attitude. It is lowliness of mind. It is that
mindset that puts others before oneself. That's
clear from what he says in verse 3. He says,
let each of you regard one another as more important
than himself. I'd like to think of this challenge
this morning in three respects. First, I want
you to think with me of the challenge of the
manger as it relates. to salvation. I believe
that I can say without fear of contradiction
that human pride is the greatest obstacle to
the salvation of a soul. Human pride is the greatest
barrier that stands in the way of a person coming
to Jesus Christ for salvation. Statements like
these. No one can tell me I'm a sinner. Well,
I'm better than most people. I'm better than
most Christians that I know. Well, I'm sincere
about what I believe, and I've tried hard, and
I've done good for others. I've lived by the
golden rule. Well, sure. Sure, I've made my mistakes,
but who hasn't? A sinner? No, I'm no sinner.
That refusal. To admit personal guilt before
God and essential unworthiness is a roadblock
to many. It is a lock on the door to salvation
which they refuse to open. People do not like
to think of themselves as helpless, as those
who are in need of a Savior. But we all are.
It has been pointed out that the middle of the
word pride is the letter I. P -R -I -D -E. Likewise,
the center of sin is I. S -I -N. That is the
essence of sin. Self -centeredness. The proud,
egotistical, self -sufficient, independent I.
which will not bow to Jesus Christ. Hell is today
populated with people who are sincerely convinced
that they were good enough to make it to heaven
on their own, and they would not repent and acknowledge
their personal sinfulness. I was reading this
last week in the book of Psalms, and a couple
of verses just leaped off the page at me. Look
back at Psalm 36. And verses 1 and 2, I think
this encapsulates what I'm trying to say so well.
David sees sin or transgression as speaking here.
And he says transgression speaks to the ungodly
within his heart. So here you have the unregenerate,
unsafe person. And something is whispering in
his ear and that something is his own sin, his
own transgression. There is no fear of God before
his eyes. That is, there is no respect of God.
No reverence for God. Why is that? Because the
sinner is worshiping himself. And there's no
room to worship himself and God at the same time.
For it, what? His sin, it flatters him in his
own eyes concerning the discovery of his iniquity
and the hatred of it. What is David saying? He
is saying that sin and transgression within the
heart whispers to a person, you don't need God
while you're good enough the way you are. You
don't need forgiveness. God is going to overlook
those bad things that you do in light of all
the many good things that you do. You see, it
flatters Him in His own eyes. It causes Him to
think that there will be no discovery of His
iniquity, that He need not hate it. Indeed, He
can embrace it. Transgression within His heart
says there is no judgment. By people who have...
and then come back to life report that it makes
no difference what they believed. They were warmly
received by this light that was there. There's
no accountability for sin. Your skin is never
going to be discovered and exposed and judged.
That's what transgression says. And the result
of it is that the man is led to hell because
he believes it. He believes it. Jesus told a
story recorded in Luke, the 12th chapter. It
is a story related to agriculture. It's about
a farmer. It begins in verse 13 of the 12th chapter
of Luke where someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family
inheritance with me. But he said to him, Man,
who appointed me a judge or an arbitrator over
you? And he said to them, Beware and be on guard
against every form of greed, for not even when
one has an abundance does his life consist of
his possessions. And he told them a parable,
saying, The land of a certain rich man was very
productive. And he began reasoning to himself,
saying, What shall I do? since I have no place
to store my crops. And he said, This is what
I will do. I will tear down my barns and build
larger ones, and there I will store all my grain
and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul,
you have many goods laid up for many years to
come. Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
But God said to him, You fool. You fool. This
very night your soul is required of you, and
now who will own what you have prepared? Then
says Jesus, so is the man who lays up treasure
for himself and is not rich toward God. You notice
all the first person pronouns in the man's statement?
I, me, my. That's the essence of sin. That's
the I in the middle of pride. That's the I in
the middle of sin. Here it took the outward form
of greed and covetousness. This is the kind of
man that would be awarded a prize in Successful
Farming magazine because of his aggressiveness,
his innovation, his success. God calls him a
fool. Why? Because he is a man who lived for
himself. He was on the throne of his own life.
He worshipped himself and he died. And his soul
was required of him. Here we have a man who is
guilty of complete self -absorption. self -satisfaction,
self -admiration, and self -deceit. It is similar
to a whole church that is spoken about in Revelation
chapter 3, isn't it? The church at Laodicea,
which said that it was rich and clothed, had
need of nothing. Praise God, it said everything
is fine. God came to that church knocking on
the door to get in. There wasn't room for him
in the church, let alone the inn in Bethlehem.
And he commanded that church to repent of its
self -centeredness and for those believers to
turn away from their self -worship and to recognize
their need of repentance. See their nakedness,
their blindness, and receive from Him, the Lord,
what it needed. Here is my point. It is this,
that before a person can be saved, he must see
and acknowledge his need. He must be brought
to lowliness of mind about himself and his sin.
He must be humble and repent. And that, my friend,
is the challenge of the manger as it relates
to salvation. But it's not the only challenge
of the manger. I'd like you to think with me
as it relates to service. Humility is a critical
characteristic for anyone desiring to be used
of God. You notice that Jesus Christ emptied
himself. He humbled himself. Wherefore, God has
also highly exalted him. Before God ever exalts
a man or a woman in service, there first has
to be a self -humbling. And when that humbling
process has exacted what it needed to, then God
in His own time and His own way will exalt His
servant. But the challenge of the manger as it
relates to service is that we, too, like Christ,
must humble ourselves and not see ourselves as
greatly worthy, greatly gifted, but see ourselves
as unworthy servants at best. And when we have
that hard attitude, God can do something with
us. Peter expresses this so... candidly, undoubtedly
reflecting upon some of his own experience, when
he writes, All of you clothe yourselves with
humility toward one another. For God is opposed
to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves. Humble yourselves. Notice
that. He does not say, pray that God will humble
you. Now, can God humble us? Yes, quite effectively.
But how much better that we humble ourselves.
He says, humble yourselves, therefore, under
the mighty hand of God. The mighty hand of God,
yes. That hand of God that will be over you to
protect you. That hand of God that will be over
you to provide for you as you humble yourself.
That hand of God that will provide security for
you as you lay aside your self -security. Under
the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you
at the proper time, casting all your anxieties
upon Him because He cares for you. The implications
of this are carried out for us in Philippians
chapter 2. As the Apostle Paul not only points
to the Lord Jesus Christ, but he points to three
other examples as well to illustrate this fact
that service must be done with humility. And
when we serve with a humble mind, a humble spirit,
that is a sacrifice that pleases God. He points
to himself, first of all, as a prisoner of Jesus
Christ. For example, in verse 17 he says, But
I, even if I am being poured out as a drink offering
upon the sacrifice and service of your faith,
I rejoice and share my joy with you all. Did
Paul care that his very life was being poured
out while he was in prison? That's where he was
as he wrote these words. No, because with a humble
mind, he was willing to be confined. He accepted
that confinement as the will of God for him and
saw himself really as a sacrifice and as an offering
being poured out, a drink offering, an offering
of wine being poured out on the altar before
God. Has God brought you to some point of confinement
in your life? Or in your employment? Do you feel
him dead in your family situation? Do you feel
chains upon you? My Christian brother or sister,
as you serve Jesus Christ, will you stop clenching
your fists at the chains and open them and receive
the grace of God in that prison where you are?
The challenge of the manger is humility in our
service for Jesus Christ. Not thinking that we
ought to be promoted, we ought to be exalted,
we ought to be doing this, we ought to be up
there, but saying, God, however, wherever, whenever,
I'm your servant. And when God sees that in us,
I mean, when He sees it really in us, then He
knows He can entrust responsibility to us. We
see again an example in Timothy. Timothy who
was, as he says in verse 20, concerned for your
welfare, as he writes to the Philippians. He
says, I have no one else of kindred spirit like
Timothy. He says in verse 21, for they, that's
everyone else, they all seek after their own
interests, not those of Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ
laid aside his self -interest. So did Timothy.
And so must you and I if we expect to be used
of God, desire to be used of God. Timothy was
a faithful worker, a hard worker. But it's not
enough just to be a worker. We have to work with
the right attitude as we serve the Lord. And
then he points to Epaphroditus, the man who was
the messenger. bringing a gift to Paul from the
Philippians. And now he was going to return with
this letter. He's mentioned in verses 25 and
following. Here's a man who did not have a great,
well -known position in the early church, but
he's named in Scripture, isn't he? What he was,
basically, was a runner. He was a messenger.
He was a telegraph for that day. He would get
the message and go to wherever it needed to be
delivered. But he made a commitment. He said,
this is what God wants me to do. I'm going to
do it. And he did it. And Paul points out that
he came close to death for the work of Christ,
verse 30, risking his life to complete what was
deficient in your service to me. Here is a man
who did not care what he was called, who wanted
no great upfront position. But what he said he
would do, he did, even though it nearly cost
him his life. He kept his commitment. He was
willing to risk it all as a nobody, quote, unquote,
to serve Jesus Christ. Why? Because he had a
humble mind. Hey, folks, the challenge of the
manger is that you and I would serve Jesus Christ
with the same spirit of humility. And finally,
the challenge of the manger needs to be looked
at as it relates to fellowship. Because really
that is the application that Paul is making in
chapter 2 of Philippians. In the fellowship of
God's people, pride divides. Humility unites.
Wherever you see a Bible study, a Sunday school
class, a church, or two Christians who are battling
it out, if you look deep enough, you're going
to find the letter I in there somewhere. There's
nothing that more quickly divides the fellowship
of God's people than pride. And the apostle says
that we are to bring humility of mind into the
fellowship, and thus there should be unity. As
he tells us in verses 3 and 4, the humble child
of God, number one, is not motivated by selfishness
or conceit. Selfishness and conceit are two things
that he hates, he lays aside. The child of God
who is humble is not motivated by either selfishness,
what he can get, or conceit, what others will
think of him. Secondly, he regards others as
more important. He looks at that person next
to him in the Bible study. He looks at that other
person in the church, that other believer, and
he says, that person is before me. That person
is more important than I am. That has all kinds
of practical benefits to it. And then thirdly,
the humble believer. looks out for others' interests
as well as his own. It's not that he ignores
what he has to do, his own interests, his own
responsibilities. He can't do that, of course.
But in addition to his own interests, he looks
out for the interests of others. Are you doing
that in your small church? What about your flock
group? or the discipleship group or that Bible
study you meet with? Are you really looking out
for the interests of others? Folks, we live in
a day when everybody's consumed with his own
activities because we have so many of them. And
that is the whole pressure, the whole direction,
the whole flow of our society. But the challenge
of the manger is that we look out for the other
person. I read about a gal in a dormitory who
had a little sign up on the wall. And what it
said was, I am content to be third. That's great.
Jesus, others, then me. I am content to be third.
Are you? William Booth was invited to speak at
a large convocation. Of course, he was the founder
of the Salvation Army. However, something came
up and William Booth was unable to attend that
meeting. And so he cabled his message to them.
Can you imagine that today? Cabling a whole sermon
and having it read for you? That's what he decided
to do. But his whole sermon boiled down to one
word. The cable from William Booth to that great
convocation simply said, Others. That's all.
Others. The fellowship of God's people, which
is composed of those with a humble mindset that
says, Others. will be a fellowship that is united
in joyful unity. Uniformity can be achieved by
external pressure, but unity can only be achieved
through internal power. That's the power of humility.
The challenge of the manger comes to each of
us as you and I ponder the Son of God willing
to exchange His glory as God for the limitations,
inherently human. It has to challenge us to consider
how we too need to exhibit humility in our relationship
to God, in our relationship to others. We must
eschew our tendency to self -worship, self -exaltation,
self -determination, self -fulfillment, the demand
for our own rights. And like Jesus Christ, Renounce
those things and put them aside for the sake
of serving Jesus Christ, walking with Jesus Christ,
and meeting the needs of others. Let's pray.
I don't know how the challenge of the manger
may come to you. and how the Spirit of God may
apply that in your work relationships, in your
home, in the church, in fellowship with God's
people somewhere, in Bible study perhaps, a friendship,
maybe a dorm room, roommate. Would you right
now, where you are, respond? to the challenge
of the manger, and in essence say, Lord Jesus,
if you, the eternal God, could humble yourself
and do what you did, surely I can humble myself
and do what I need to do. It may be that you
need to apologize or ask someone's forgiveness
or take some action tangibly, materially. I don't
know what it may be, but oh may God help all
of us today to go away from the manger different
than when we came. Let's stand together. And
our Heavenly Father, I pray that you will work
in us by grace, by the power of the Holy Spirit,
that we may be the children of God in the midst
of a world that is living only for self. May
we be so different that people will know that
we must follow Jesus Christ, who was completely
human and yet distinguished from our humanity
by His sinlessness. And so we turn and we repent
of our sinfulness, our selfishness, our pride.
And we humble ourselves. And as we depart from
here, we purpose in our hearts, you enabling
us that we might walk humbly with our God. In
Jesus' name, amen.