13th April 2025
The humility of Christ
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8 (NRSVUE)
‘I hate one-upmanship’ said my brother. ‘Yeah, well, I hate it more’, I replied. This is a silly joke, I know, but it appeals to me because we are often oblivious to our own failings. It is easy to spot them in others, but somehow not in ourselves. The problem of one-upmanship is fairly common; we can all think of someone who, no matter what is said, has had it worse, had more of it, or done it better than anyone else. Sometimes it can be subtle or overt but at the root of it all is the desire to assert superiority over others.
When considering the mind of Christ, however, we see something completely different. Philippians 2:5-8, says that Christ emptied himself and humbled himself. He did not empty himself of his divinity, but this self-emptying, kenosis in Greek, means he deliberately set aside certain attributes of his divinity for example, he was not omnipresent.
The Word was in every way superior to human beings, but he chose to humble himself; no one forced him: ‘And the Word became flesh and lived among us…’ (John 1:14). Jesus demonstrated immense and unbreakable love and service towards us as ‘he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross’ (Philippians 2:8). This shameful and tortuous form of execution by crucifixion was reserved for slaves and rebels against Roman rule; there was no greater humiliation or insult. Christ demonstrated no self-pleasing or self-affirming behaviour. No one-upmanship here!
We are told that we should have the same mindset as Jesus (Philippians 2:5). We need to lay aside our pride, ego, and selfishness, and deliberately choose to live a humble way of life. This is not something we can do ourselves: it is not easy to go against our natural inclination to assert our own greatness and superiority over others, but with the help of the Holy Spirit we can submit to our patient and humble Saviour, Jesus Christ, who is committed to continuing and finishing the work that he began in us.
This is a long walk – a walk that lasts a lifetime. There will be many opportunities to practice the humility of Christ if we seek them. Where can we lovingly serve others and be more concerned about them than about ourselves?
There is no need to exalt ourselves; instead, let’s rest in humble obedience to Jesus.
Prayer
Our loving, heavenly Father, please show us clearly where we are prone to self-aggrandisement. Open our eyes so we can see times in which we may feel and act superior to others. We ask for forgiveness and help to root out such behaviour. Instead fill us with your love so we may humbly serve one another as Jesus our older brother did. In his name we pray, Amen.
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Study by: Jackie Mill About the author: |
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion International Central Glasgow
Garnethill Room
Conference Suite
St Andrews West
260 Bath Street
Glasgow
G2 4JP
Meeting time:
Sunday 11:15 am
Local congregational contact:
GCI, Glasgow. glasgow@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church