What Child is This? Philippians 2:5-11

 

Good morning and Merry Christ-mas from the Panhandle. This morning we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child. The moment in time when our Lord and Saviour, God/man stepped out of heaven and into our lives so that we could have a restored relationship with the God. “What Child is This?” It is Christ Jesus, Emmanuel – God with us.

The Story Behind the Song

What Child Is This? can trace its history back before the days of the infamous Henry VIII. The melody of this carol, a tune known as Greensleeves, is often played as a guitar or harpsichord solo. In 1865, William Chatterton Dix wrote the lyrics we have today. Dix did not share with friends or family how he came to write this poem in a single day. The powerful words of this carol, which Dix initially called “The Manger Throne,” present a unique view of the birth of Christ Jesus.

Dix imagined that the visitors to the humble manger were wondering who the child was who lay there. Using this approach, he then wove a story of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection. It was at the end of the Civil War that “The Manger Throne” arrived in the United States from Britain and became a well-known Christmas poem in both the North and South. Later, an unknown Englishman set Dix’s poem to the melody Greensleeves. After that, the carol became very popular on both sides of the Atlantic, and soon became known as “What Child Is This?” Today, this is one of the most beloved and remembered of all of our Christmas Carols. (Source: Ace Collins, Stories Behind the Best-loved Songs of Christmas, Zondervan, 2001, pp. 183-187.)

Born in the grip of poverty and willing to identify with people at the lowest level of society, Christ Jesus revealed the glorious truth that He came to be the Savior of all mankind. The angel’s made the announcement to the shepherds in the Bethlehem fields and they were the first evangelists of the Good News. In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger" … When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." … When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. Luke 2:8-12; 15; 17-20

This is significant because shepherds in general were looked upon as very common people. They were despised by the orthodox Jews because they did not keep the details of the ceremonial law. Their flocks made such constant demands on them that they could not observe all the hand-washings and other rules and regulations. (Source: William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, The Westminster Press, 1956, p. 17.)

Look at Paul’s incomparable picture of the lowly nature and character of Christ Jesus here in Philippians 2:5-11: 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7 but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death-

even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father. , see His identification with mankind, even those who were despised by their fellowman. Theologians call this a Christology, a summary of the doctrine of Christ Jesus.

This passage present in a masterful way the condescension and humility of our Lord Christ Jesus, as well as His exaltation and glory. Just as He identified in His birth with the lowly shepherds, so He came to love and call to Himself all who would respond, regardless of their position on the human social ladder. The Christmas carol “What Child Is This?”, communicates the amazement of the lowly shepherds who followed the angel’s directions to the Bethlehem manger.

Christ Jesus came and lived among us as one of us so that we might better identify with Him. So what do I mean by this? How do we the creation identify with Christ Jesus the Creator? One way is that we can:

1. Identify with Christ in His Humility (2:5-7)

The attitude Christ Jesus displayed was one of humility and submission. When we describe sovereignty and royalty, we usually do not include these terms. The word sovereign indicates that one has to answer to no one for his or her actions or decisions. 

 

Yet God became a man in the Person of Christ Jesus, live among us sinful people, and die for us. In order to do this, He had to humble Himself from His exalted position as Ruler of the Universe and submit Himself to the lowest servant-role among men. All through His earthly life, Christ Jesus humbled Himself to associate with all people, regardless of their social or moral status, in an effort to save them. As He did this, He continually submitted His will to the will of His Heavenly Father.

Christ Jesus' humility was most clearly demonstrated when He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7). Christ Jesus did not cease to be God at this point. Some would suggest that He became God at His baptism, and ceased to be God just before He died on the cross. These critics would be denying His virgin birth and His bodily resurrection. Christ Jesus was God when He was conceived in Mary, He was God when He died on the cross, and He was God when He ascended from the Mount of Olives to return to heaven. And so, the humility with which Christ Jesus was willing to take upon Himself in the form of a servant was evident in the manner of His birth and in the call of lowly shepherds to come and worship Him.

Humility should be reflected in the lives of those who are members of God’s family. From the moment of admitting our sin and through the continuing process of our spiritual growth we should remember who it was that made this possible - Christ Jesus. When we do there is no place for prideful self-exaltation on our part as God’s people.

Another way we can identify with Christ Jesus is in His obedience.

2. Identify with Christ in His Obedience (2:8)

In a single statement, Paul described our Lord’s obedience: Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians 2:8

Our Lord, Christ Jesus was in communion with His Heavenly Father. Through prayer, Christ Jesus' relationship with the Father was constant and unbroken. Often He would get away from His disciples and pray all night. His determination was to always do the will of His Father. Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.”(John 4:34) and “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 5:30).

I know there is a difference, however, when we consider our Lord’s obedience to the Father, and our obedience. Our struggle is with our sinful nature which is continually seeking to pull us away from God and from what we know to be His will for our lives. In a sense, every Christian is a walking civil war. The old self (our human nature in us) is constantly fighting against our new nature, which is Christ Jesus in us in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

Christ Jesus knew clearly and perfectly at all times what the Father’s will was for Him, and He obeyed it. The struggle Christ Jesus had, however, finally surfaced in the Garden of Gethsemane. There He cried out to God in great agony. His sinless humanity was about to collide with the sins of the whole world. He knew that He would be taking upon Himself this crushing burden, that was the reason He came to earth. He did not just come to the tragic realization in Gethsemane that He was going to die for the sins of the world. He had even tried to prepare His disciples for His approaching death. But this did not make His approaching sacrifice any easier. Easy or not He would and did comply in obedience to the Father's will. 

 

While we may never be called on to lay down our lives for Christ Jesus we are to be obedient to Him in all things. God does not call us to be some kind of mindless robot, but know this; in obedience to God there is a joy that comes because we know that we are pleasing Him.

We identify with Christ in His humility, and we can identify with Christ in His obedience. And one day we will be able to identify with Christ Jesus in away that we can not just yet.

3. Identifying with Christ in His Glorification (2:9-11)

After God had permitted man to do his worst to the Son of God, He then vindicated Christ Jesus in the most marvelous fashion the human mind could ever conceive. God defied the natural laws of death and raised Christ Jesus from the grave. The empty tomb, the announcement of the angel, “He is not here; He is risen!” (Mark 16:6), is the glory shout of our faith. And so, in majesty and splendor, Christ Jesus ascended back into heaven from the summit of the Mount of Olives.

When He arrived in the presence of His Father in heaven, He was glorified, in that God gave Him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9). We do not know for sure what this “name” is, but most likely it was “Lord,” which is often the equivalent of “Yahweh,” or Jehovah, in the Old Testament. (Source: Frank E. Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 11 Ephesians—Philemon, Zondervan Publishing House, 1978, p. 125). No we don't know for sure what name was used, but we do know that the exaltation of Christ Jesus is the revelation of His total lordship.

Another evidence of Christ Jesus' glorification by the Father was that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow—of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth (Philippians 2:10). The time is coming when every knee shall bow before Christ Jesus in recognition of His sovereignty. Those who bow before Him today, in this Day of Grace, can be saved and experience new birth from above.

But those who refuse to bow before Him now, will bow on that future day that Paul describes. And they will not be doing so in repentance and faith, but in a mere admission of the true identity of Christ Jesus. This admission will be immediately followed by eternal condemnation – That is eternal separation from the God Head. Don't wait until it's to late! Call on the name of the Lord now and be saved!

Paul completed his beautiful attribution of praise with the words: and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:11). Our Savior, born in poverty and rejected by His own people, will be universally recognized in His glory. This ultimate acknowledgment of Christ Jesus as Lord will be expressed not only by the bending of the knee, but by word of mouth.

We, too, will identify with Him in His glorification. When we at last stand before Him in His glory, we will lose the last trace of the old nature of sin with which we struggle daily, and we will be glorified with Him. We will be transformed into the image of God’s Son—we will have our glorified body.

Conclusion:

What Child Is This? Let's see how Philippians 2:6 answers that question: who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, (Philippians 2:6). Notice the word existing —Who, … existing in the form of God. The word translated existing describes a person in their very essence, that which cannot be changed, that which cannot be taken away from them. Paul was saying that the Christ Jesus men and women saw, heard and touched was unchangeably God. He was not a lesser deity because He had taken on human flesh.

And look at the word form. Christ Jesus was in the form of God. The Greeks used two words for form. One word means an outward appearance that changes from time to time, and from circumstance to circumstance. The other word for form—the word Paul used—describes the essential form of something that never changes and is never altered. Christ Jesus’ form was that of the unchangeable God. This was so when He was born a baby in Bethlehem’s manger, when He died on that cruel cross, and when He ascended from the Mount of Olives to be seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. (Source: William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary, Exposition of Philippians, Baker Book House, 1962, pp. 103-104.)

Indeed we stand in awe before Christ Jesus; the Son of God, born of a virgin, who first saw the light of day as God/man in a cow stall. In His earthly life, from His birth in humiliation, to His unwavering obedience to His Heavenly Father, to His ultimate glorification as the risen Lord and Saviour in the presence of the Father—we know that “this Child” is none other than the Son of God, rejected by those to whom He came, but glorified by His Father, whose will He had done perfectly. And who is returning some day for all who have called upon His name, all who have call Him Lord and Saviour.