The God We Worship: The God Who is a Servant

The God We Worship:
God Who Is a Servant
Philippians 2:5-11

We live in a world that where “big” people make a big show. The stretch limo, the red carpet, the adoring fans are part and parcel of what it means to be a celebrity whether the person is a politician or an entertainer. That’s how important people act.

We have looked at Jesus and the incredible claims made about him and made by him. And yet to today we want to examine something about Jesus, the Word of God that runs so counter to our world and the way we think important people should act. We want to look at God who became a servant (Matthew 20:28).

I. God Becomes a Man
There are many profound passages in the New Testament about Jesus but none more important than this one in Philippians 2:5-11. Scholars think this was hymn that was sung by the early church to honor the sacrifice that Jesus made.

Jesus did not cling to equality with God. Most of us have had the experience of giving up something in order achieve some goal. I know several in our congregation have been in the Marines. It takes a sacrifice of personal freedom, comfort, and physical safety for a person to become a Marine. We also have a number of women in our church who are about to become mothers. They share their body with a new life for nine months and in the end give birth at some personal risk. Of course that is just the beginning of life change for the mother and the father. Many things in life are that way. We give up and we sacrifice in order to gain something.
Jesus did not cling to equality with God because there was something to be gained. What did Jesus give up to become human? Everything, he gave up power, glory and majesty. He gave up fellowship with God and was limited to what could be experienced through a human body like yours and mine. Jesus knew the cost of becoming human and paid that cost.

II. God Becomes a Servant
Even if Jesus had been born into the highest of royal families with every advantage of power and wealth it still would have been as becoming ‘nothing’ as the hymn states. Instead Jesus was born into the most humble of circumstances. But even more than becoming human he took the form of a servant. We sometimes sing a song, “Make me a servant, Lord make me like you.” Yet the word is not just that of servant but the word for slave.

Slavery was just as ugly an institution in Paul’s day as it is in ours. Lest we think that our world has done away with slavery there are an estimated 50,000 people in the United States who are trafficked as slaves each year. Such abuse is worse in Africa and Asia and as Christians we need to do what we can to oppose such human abuse.

But there is a different kind of slavery, a slavery that is accepted and done willingly. Many of us are involved in it; it’s called parenting. How many of you have changed a dirty diaper? Sat up all night with a sick child? Helped with homework? Most of you know what I am talking about. Are parents slaves of their children? Most of us would not put it that way but the reality is that we labor and sacrifice, sometimes in incredible ways for our children. Why do we do it? What motivates such sacrifice and devotion? It is love. Sometimes that love is abused, even rejected, but parents invariably keep on giving, keep on sacrificing. We hope that someday our children will appreciate what we have done for them and many times that happens.

Why did Jesus become a human being? Why did he become a servant of smelly fishermen, greedy tax collectors, doctors, lawyers, prostitutes, engineers, housewives, teachers, and on and on it could go? The answer is simple, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Jesus became a servant because he loved people, he loved the creation, and he had to become a slave to what he had made in order for us to become what God intended. We can speculate a lot about how God did this but we don’t have to speculate about why. We love our children and will do just about anything for them. God loved his creation and us even more.

Jesus followed a path of humility and obedience. He who had been equal with God had to pray, read the scriptures, struggle with temptation and take care of everyday human physical need. He bore what life offered with grace and thankfulness. He loved people, cared for their needs, and taught all of us how life should be lived.

III. Have This Mind
Paul understood what God was doing in Christ when he wrote, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son,” Romans 8:29. We see this also in the words, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus,” Phil 2:5.

We talk about people who are “full of themselves.” It seems that we all are to some extent. But if we are to become what God desires then there must be an emptying that takes place. God does not ask anything of us that he has not already done for us. God desires that we become like Jesus for the sake of others.

Our service must be done in love with humility. Too often our service is self-serving, arising from ulterior motives rather than a desire for what is best for those we serve. It is not just what we do but our attitude as we do acts of service.

Becoming a servant like Jesus doesn’t mean we become a doormat for anyone who desires to use us. Parents who allow their children to treat them that way are poor parents. Our task is not only to serve but also to teach people how to live, just like Jesus.
This is why the words of Paul that precede this hymn are important for Christians to hear and follow,

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others,” Philippians 2:1-4.

God became a servant. In reality God has always been a servant of His creation desiring for it to become “very good” again as it was in Genesis 1. As Christians, God wants us to be part of the solution to this world’s problems, not in the way the world solves problems through power and force but through love, humility and service. This is the God we worship. This is what it means to be a follower and a worshipper of Jesus.

Livonia Church of Christ: October 30, 2005