Attitude

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11

As we grow in grace and learn the mind of Christ (the Holy Scriptures), we are developing an attitude. It is the attitude of Jesus, Himself. We are instructed to cultivate that attitude. It is humility. Humility is difficult for humans to learn. We lean toward arrogance, from infancy into old age. We’ll endure almost any hardship, tolerate almost any inconvenience with a patronizing smile. Just don’t expect us to welcome being humbled. Learning humility is humiliating. Embarrassing. Emotionally painful. Humans are proud. We want always to be on top of any given situation. We want never to admit we are in need, or hurt or confused, or wrong, or that we just want out. Even people living in grinding poverty and ignorance often will not admit they need help. People in need of help or instruction will usually try to demonstrate how much they know, and how superior they are to the benefactor. People would rather bargain and bluff than simply obey the instruction of God.

The obedience God expects from His people requires humility. Humility must be learned. I can tell you that if you are a born-again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and are still having personal struggles with various issues in your Church relationships, business relationships, family relationships or marriage, it is because you are too proud to simply obey what the Word of God teaches about Christian conduct. You’ll be amazed when you decide to simply obey the truth you know, how beautifully everything will fall into place. When you obey the truth you know, then you are ready to learn more truth, and really grow.

Lucifer was too proud to obey God, so he rebelled and became the enemy of God. Eve was too proud not to desire the special knowledge the forbidden fruit would bring, so she became the first human sinner. Adam was too proud to admit to Jesus Christ that he had allowed his wife to involve him in her sin, so he tried to cover his nakedness and hide from God. Then he was too proud to accept responsibility for what he’d knowingly done, so he blamed God for giving him the woman. Cain was too proud to simply correct his mistake and bring a proper offering, so he killed his brother in a jealous fit and was exiled, rather than admit to God he had disobeyed. King Saul, a true believer, was too proud to simply obey the command of God to destroy all living things in the demon-infested land Saul had conquered, so he was removed from his office and the throne was given to David, a man with a lot of character flaws, but who basically was humble in his attitude toward God. Saul was a human-good thinker. He could not bring himself to destroy the best cattle, or the ruler of that land, so he rationalized that he would sacrifice the cattle to God. Now, that ought to please the almighty, don’t you think? NOT! God requires obedience, not human-good sacrifices. It takes humility to understand that. On and on through all the generations of mankind we see the pride and arrogance that is the source of all our sins.

God gave us the perfect example in Jesus. Jesus Christ is God. Verse 6: He existed in the form (essence) of God. All the same attributes as the Father and Holy Spirit: Sovereignty, Righteousness, Justice, Love, Eternal Life, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Veracity, Immutability. He was God from the beginning, John 1:1-4. That means He lived in glory and He was clothed in glory and He had no limitations like a physical body or time constraints.
Jesus “emptied Himself” of that eternal glory to become a physical man, born as a helpless infant, growing up in a human household with parents, brothers and sisters. He lived 33 years in a physical body among the dirt, stink, inconvenience and ignorance of common Jewish people and their animals. He suffered the temptation of Satan in the wilderness, the hatred and blasphemy of unbelievers and demon-possessed people, the misunderstanding of even those who believed in Him. He did all this, knowing that it would culminate in His torture and death on a Roman cross to atone for the sins of the world; but the worst part of all was the time He knew He would be abandoned in His agony by God the Father and God the Holy Spirit (“My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”).

Jesus laid aside His glory knowing the humiliation it would bring, because He, our God, had to learn obedience in order to become our Savior. And becoming our Savior was His great joy (Hebrews 12:2).

That’s why He is exalted. That’s why His name is above every name. That’s why, in the end of Satan’s reign in this world, EVERY KNEE WILL BOW to Him, and every tongue will confess (admit) that Jesus Christ is Lord!

That will glorify God the Father.