There are lots of things about God that makes me stand in awe. When I hear some of the ways God is described in the Bible, it just blows my mind. I’ll give you some examples of passages in the Bible, which do this to me. Firstly, Psalm 8 where the psalmist talks about God making the heavens, the earth, the stars, the moon, the fish of the sea and all things. This on its own is mind blowing! But then he goes on to talk about his own wonder and awe of God. He says ‘what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honour.’ (Psalm 8:4-5) He finds it amazing that such a powerful God could be bothered with such a small and insignificant thing as a human being!
The second passage, which induces this state of awesome wonder in me, comes from the prophet Isaiah. In chapter 40 God is described. Let’s read from verse 12 to 17 to get an idea of how awesome God is.

These things and others are profound and awe-inspiring, but there are three events in the Bible that I think are the most profound and incomprehensible events in human history. The first is the birth of Jesus, the second is his death and the third is his resurrection. All three of these events are spoken of in the passage we read today.
At this time of year we hear the story of Christmas and it can easily become just another story among others. We know it so well and can even quote from it but its true meaning and significance are often lost. So today we are going to look at the impact of the incarnation. We will look at the example set by Jesus in coming to earth and we will ask how we can have the same attitude as Christ.

The reading from Philippians 2:5-11 is a good description of the incarnation of Jesus. There is another account of this event and it is often used at Christmas time – it comes from John chapter 1. However, Philippians 2 shows us something of the importance of this act.
I suppose the first question to answer is ‘what does the word incarnation mean?’ The answer itself is not complicated – it simply means divine being (i.e. God) becoming a human being. I can’t speak for you but personally I don’t find this easy to understand! How does God make himself human? This is impossible to answer and we might never know exactly how God done it but we believe he did. Another question that puzzles people is ‘if God became a human did he give up his status and power as God?’ We know that the answer to this is ‘no!’ but I can’t explain how God can be both a human being and God at the same time! All of these things are part of the cause of the feeling awe that I feel when I read about God becoming a man.
But there is an even greater point to the incarnation than these questions. Not only did God become a man, but also he gave up what was rightfully his. In Philippians 2:6, Paul says that although Jesus was in very nature God he did not try to grasp at equality with God. This is a difficult phrase to understand. Basically what Paul is saying is that Jesus had every right to be called God. He had power, authority and deserved worship. However, there were some things that were not his. When Paul says Jesus ‘…did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped’, he is telling us that Jesus could have had more but he chose not to take it. On the contrary, Paul goes on to say that Jesus ‘emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave.’ (v.7). Not only did Jesus give up any claim to equality with God; he gave up the privileges of his position. He ‘emptied himself’ giving up those things that were rightfully his. Some people read into this that Jesus gave up his divinity at this point. But this would be misunderstanding what Paul is saying. He is not saying that Jesus lost his divine nature but rather he did not take the privileges that this offered. To prove this we need to get a bit technical. The Greek word used in verse 6 which is translated ‘being’ by the NIV and others translations, has the more specific meaning of the very essence of who a person is. This essence cannot be changed or lost or given up. Jesus, by coming to earth, did not lose his divinity and never could do.
Some people see parallels in this passage with Adam and the choice that he had. If you remember Satan in the Garden of Eden gave Adam a similar choice. He was offered the position of God. The main difference is that where Adam tried to grasp after this position as God, Jesus did not. I’ll let you decide for yourself if you agree with this, but it does offer a good illustration. I have said before in a previous sermon how Jesus came as a perfect example of humanity. If you remember I said that although Jesus was tempted, he did not fail where Adam failed. In the same way here, Jesus sets the example for us by showing us that obedience to God is key.
This is the first thing I would like us to take away and apply to our lives from this account. We should imitate Jesus’ obedience to God. I’m not saying that we will ever be in a position to turn down equality with God! Nor will we ever give up as much as Jesus did.
But sometimes we are asked by God to give up something that we might have every right to keep. When we are asked this, our response should be the same as Jesus’ response. We should obey God and not grasp at those things that are not meant for us. This is easier said than done of course! It is not easy to obey such commands of God! However, we should take comfort from the fact that Jesus gave up so much more than we could imagine. How can we who have to give up so little refuse God!

The second awe-inspiring element is the death of Jesus. We read that Jesus not only obeyed God, by coming to earth, but he also humbled himself. In verse 7 it says that he took the form of a slave. This is an astonishing thing to say! To think that the one who created the universe, flung stars into space and much more, could ever become like a slave is mind-boggling. But this is not the end of Jesus’ humility. Paul goes on to describe how Jesus was humble even to the point of death. Not only death, he says, but the death of a cross! For a Jew to be executed on a cross or a tree was a great curse (see Deut. 21:23). So Jesus was willing to become a slave and cursed for the benefit of humanity.
It might be interesting to note how unique this is. In many religions around the world we hear stories of gods coming to earth in human form. In Egypt, for example, the Pharaoh’s were seen as man-gods who were part-human part-god. One common thing among these other religions is the way the so-called man-gods acted. The Egyptian Pharaoh’s were at times brutal and barbaric. We heard recently the Exodus story and how the Pharaoh ordered the death of those Israelite babies. There was no humility among these men-gods. They took advantage of their position by exploiting others, having many servants and so on. But, when we see how the True God came to earth it is very different. Firstly, he gave up his privileges instead of seeking for more. Then, humbling himself, he took on human form. Finally, he died on the cross as a cursed man.
I think that this difference is very important and shows us one reason why God chose to do it in this way. By being humble and seeking to serve rather than to be served Jesus was setting an example of how we are to live. He came to show us that those who seek power would loose it, that those who seek wealth would be poor and so on. It also meant that Jesus stands out from other people who claimed great things.

This is the second thing I would like us to take away today. We should imitate Jesus’ humility. Jesus deserved to have worship and adoration yet he was humble accepting humiliation, beatings, and ridicule. We can never reach this level of self-giving and humility but we must try. Jesus calls us to act in the way he did – to be humble and to accept what God is doing in our lives. Again it is easier said than done. We all have occasions where we could quite easily exalt ourselves, accept praise and so on. But it is at these times when we should be humble before God and give him the glory that belongs to him. We should seek to serve before being served. We should seek to love even those who hate us. We should be willing to die to ourselves so that in us Christ might live.

So, we have seen two of the elements that cause me to stand in awe. The final element is the resurrection of Jesus. If the story had only included the birth and death of Jesus, it would be depressing to say the least. Without the resurrection we would have no hope. It would mean that God came to earth and died for no reason. But the resurrection did happen. From verse 9 of Philippians 2 Paul talks about how God responded to Jesus’ obedience and humility. Firstly God exalted him. In other words, Jesus was given back what he had given up. Because Jesus freely gave up his position he was given it back as a reward from God. Secondly, God gave him the name that is above every other name. I have said here before that the Jewish idea of a ‘name’ is different to our idea. The Jewish see a persons name as representing who they are and what they have done. So to say that Jesus’ name is above every other name shows that he has done something and is someone very special indeed. Lastly, God said that everyone shall bow before Jesus and everyone shall confess that he is Lord. This is the ultimate reward for Jesus. To find out why we need to look at where this phrase is used in the Bible. In Isaiah 45:23 God speaking through the prophet says ‘By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.’ So Paul is saying that Jesus was Lord in the same way that God the Father is Lord. The authority of God is shared with Jesus and he is to be worshipped as well. Jesus’ obedience and humility now turn into power and authority. He will no longer be humiliated, beaten and ridiculed. He will no longer be a servant but he will be served.

Unlike the other two lesions we cannot expect to imitate this one! We won’t be given the status that Jesus was given. However, God will reward those who are obedient and humble. The important thing to note is that when we are obedient and humble it pays off. God will vindicate us and the short time we suffer will be greatly replaced by the great reward we will receive in heaven.

So this Christmas I urge you to think about the awesome nature of what God has done in Jesus. Jesus gave up so much we could not begin to describe it. He was obedient to God even when it cost him his own life. Thinking about it this way changes the way we look at this story. We can’t simply leave it as a tradition. We can’t simply move past it to focus on something else. It should cause us to stand before God obedient and humbled, following the perfect example of Jesus. Then one day, if we believe in him, Jesus will return and we will receive our reward.
 

Amen.

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