The Christian ought to follow the self-emptying example of Jesus.
Back in chapter one, the apostle Paul had put forth a command that ends up becoming an overarching theme for the entire book of Philippians.
He wrote,
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents” (Phil. 1:27-28a).
One of the ways that believers are to walk worthy is found right in this verse as the apostle puts forth the idea of standing firm with one spirit and one mind. The believers were called to strive side by side—together.
We will find out in chapter four, there was some division in the church and one of the reasons that the apostle writes this letter is to help the believers in Philippi to be united around the gospel.
For this reason, Paul puts it in plain terms that to walk worthy is to walk together. A church divided cannot stand. The believers need to be fighting their common enemy, not one another!
How is this done?
It is done by putting others first as we follow the example of Jesus.
The apostle commands,
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3-4).
There is no greater example of these things than Jesus Christ. He is the perfect portrayal of counting others more significant than yourself and doing nothing from selfish ambition or conceit.
The world will tell you to climb the ladder, to put yourself first, to try and become somebody but as we look to Jesus’ example we will see that He came down.
Though in the form of God, He took on the form of a slave. Though He enjoyed perfect fellowship with the Father for eternity past He left it all behind and came down to a sin-stained and lost world.
Now, if the Lord Jesus Christ was willing to leave the splendor and glories of heaven and a place of utter perfection in order to not only live as a man, but to die as a man, and not only to die as a man, but to die the most horrific, painful death imaginable, how could I as His follower put myself before others?
Truly, selfishness is the antithesis of Christlikeness.
There is no higher height than that which the Lord enjoyed before His incarnation and there is no lower low than His crucifixion—yet, He willingly underwent this for us.
He underwent torture for no benefit of His own, but solely in order to save others.
How might our lives, our relationships, our world look different if we followed more in Jesus’ footsteps, aiming to put others and their best interests before our own?
Beautiful word brother 🙏 Philippians 2 always humbles me because it shows us that the path of true greatness is the path of lowering ourselves. As Jesus Himself said whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:26-28). The world pushes us toward pride and self-promotion but the cross calls us toward humility and sacrificial love. Your reminder that “selfishness is the antithesis of Christlikeness” is so needed today. It echoes Galatians 5:13 through love serve one another And when we follow Christ’s example of emptying Himself God Himself exalts us in due time (1 Peter 5:6). Thank you for this teaching it challenges me to examine not just my actions but my motives Am I truly serving for others good or am I sometimes seeking recognition? May the Lord give us the mind of Christ daily so that our lives reflect His humility and His love.