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Happy Easter to all! It is a GOOD, Good Friday. If you checked out my post on Lent, you know I invited us to try memorizing a portion of Philippians chapter 2 together!

Seeing as the passage has been on repeat and repeat and repeat for the past 40 days, I just HAD to dedicate my Easter post/episode to the Hymn of Christ - as it's known.

I got so much out of studying it over Lent and I can't wait to dive in together.

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.

- Philippians 2:5-11

One of my favourite things about about these few verses is that the sum of them actually represent the life of Jesus broken down into five sections.

1. Pre-Existence

6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage;

This verse points to the eternal nature of Jesus. He is not a created being or inferior to God. He is in very nature God. This means that any immutable (unchanging) attributes of God are also ascribed fully, not partially, to Jesus as well. In Jesus, are God's omniscience (all-knowing), omnipotence (all-powerful), omnibenevolence (all-good), omnipresence (all-present), and eternal (all-existing) qualities.

Ok but, so what? Why does any of this matter? It matters because of what we see unfold in the next verses. Let's go to the next chapter of the story.

2. Incarnation

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,

This picture of Jesus gives us such a stark contrast to the Jesus we read about in verse 6. Jesus, being equal to God, before anything existed, actually left His throne and made Himself NOTHING. He didn't come to earth as a mighty ruler or powerful religious leader; but poor, obscure, and vulnerable. So that we could actually relate to Him.

We don't have to wonder what God's love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, patience, and ultimately, His sacrifice might look like in our tangible world. Because of the Incarnation, all these qualities were fully manifest in the life of Jesus. So if you want to know how to live, what to prioritize, how to treat people, how to pray, how to love, and how to forgive, just look at Jesus.

3. Crucifixion

He humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

The more closely I draw near to Jesus, or more like, the more closely He draws me to Himself! - the more moved I am by His sacrifice. Because of Jesus, those who believe in Him will NEVER feel the level of pain, humiliation, or rejection that He experienced on our behalf.

His death meant that sin and death were conquered forever. So when He cried out on the cross, my God, my God, why have you abandoned me (Matt. 27:46), it's because it was the first time since pre-existence and beyond, that He was not connected to God the Father.

God turned His back on Jesus and allowed the full wrath of God to fall on Him, destroying sin and death forever. Jesus was completely alone in those moments. Not just abandoned by His loved ones, but rejected by God so our sin would be defeated in the death of Jesus.

4. Resurrection

9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place
 and gave Him the name that is above every name,

Jesus' resurrection is the tangible proof that sin and death were actually defeated on the cross. Jesus said in John 10:18, No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded. His resurrection power is then available to anyone who calls upon His name.

5. Ascension

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.

Jesus ascending to heaven means that we're not simply saved from our sin as a result of the crucifixion, and then left to fend for ourselves. His ascension means two critical things:

  1. Jesus intercedes for us. Hebrews 7:25 says that Jesus lives forever to intercede with God on behalf of those who come to God through Him.
  2. The Holy Spirit was sent to help us. In John 14:16, Jesus says that He would ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever. That's the Holy Spirit

In His ascension, Jesus was restored to the full glory of God. And one day, everyone will know it too! Because on that day, every knee will bow and everyone tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Bonus

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus

You may have noticed that as we went through the Hymn of Christ, we skipped the beginning, where we are invited to actually adopt this posture in our own lives. Paul doesn't go through Jesus' whole biography for the purpose of growing our intellect, as great as that is. We are encouraged to actually live that way ourselves!

So whatever status, reputation, education, corporate position, fame, skillset, or dollar signs in the bank account, none of us begin at the same level of glory as Jesus, who in pre-existence, was equal to God the Father Himself.

This means by default, whatever level of humility we may think we've stooped to for the sake of others, it is nothing compared to that which Jesus subjected Himself, by being made in human likeness, becoming obedient to death on a cross.

So this Easter, let's not just be intentional about appreciating the sacrifice that bought our salvation, but let's look for ways to manifest the sacrifice, humility, and love that Jesus modelled for us.

Moreover, we must press into the resurrection power of Jesus. For anything else we might lean on for strength or meaning is an idol that will crush under the weight of our expectations for it.

The Apostle Paul says this in the Message translation,

I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience His resurrection power, be a partner in His suffering, and go all the way with Him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.

- Philippians 3:10 MSG

Where does this land for you? Do you also recognize the eternal implications and benefits of having the same mindset of Christ Jesus? I hope so! Because I can personally vouch for the fact that there is no peace, hope, joy, goodness, or power apart from Him.

What's in the Ears

Let me know your thoughts in the comments or send me a message! Happy Easter, friends!

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