Philippians 2:5–11 | Resources
Discussion Questions
What does this text teach us about the gospel? What aspects of the story of the gospel do we sometime overlook?
Did your attitude this week reflect that of Christ’s? Share an example.
What would happen in our relationships if we lived out Philippians 2:5–11?
How is Jesus’ model of leadership different from a worldly view of leadership?
The passage ends by teaching us that everything that Christ did was done “to the glory of God the Father.” What arenas of your life are more about your glory than the Father’s?
In light of our text/sermon, what would it look like to obey?
Memory Verse
“So that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow — in heaven and on earth and under the earth —and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10–11 (CSB)
Devotional
In January 2007, world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell gave a solo concert in the Washington, D.C. subway system as part of an experiment. The experiment was asking, “If greatness was veiled in the middle of the hustle and bustle of everyday life, would anybody notice?” The answer was mostly no, as nearly 1,100 people passed by, but only seven stopped to listen and give a total of $32.
Paul uses Philippians 2:5–11 to illustrate the importance of humility in the Christian life. When Christ became incarnate as man on earth, He didn’t cease to be any less divine than He was previously. The act of humility doesn’t involve the subtraction of part of one’s core character or being, but it involves the addition of something. For Jesus, it involved Him “taking on the form of a servant.”
When we serve others in humility, we don’t degrade ourselves or become inferior to others, but we take on an attitude that we will defer any privilege, rewards, comfort, honor, or status of our own to a future day for the sake of others in the present. Christian humility is about adding the attitude of sacrifice today for another’s sake so that Christ may be glorified in all parties eternally.
Although Joshua Bell was used to a packed concert hall with the audience hanging on his every note, on that cold January day the world mostly ignored his act of humility. But his audience didn’t determine who he was as a violinist. The execution of playing beautiful notes told his story. Don’t let your circumstances or the people around you discourage you from playing the notes of humility in your life. Be intentional with opportunities to defer the privileges you have to selflessly benefit another for the glory of Christ.