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SERMONThe Story of Seven DemotionsA life committed to Christ is a life committed to downward mobility.Bill Hybels
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Text: Philippians 2:5–11
Topic: How to live like Christ
Introduction
The phrase "upward mobility" has found its way into the everyday vocabulary of most Americans in the last decade. But don't think for a moment that upward mobility is a new passion in people's lives. Interest in personal promotion and personal advancement dates back to the garden days of Adam and Eve. In the same way that a compass always points north, the instinctual human needle always points up.
Questioning upward mobility causes a kind of inner trauma that most people do not handle well. The mere mention of words like "demotion," "downscaling," "decreasing," "losing," and "dying" send off danger signals in people's minds. Blood pressures and pulse rates skyrocket. "Not me. Not me! Please! Let's change the subject. Let's get back to promotion, upscale, increase, winning, and living. Then you'll have my full attention. Then you'll have my enthusiastic support. Then you'll get my vote."
Friends, look deep within your soul, because I have a sneaking suspicion that upward mobility has a hold on many of us in ways we aren't even aware of. This passage of Scripture and its implications are going to be unsettling. I can say without hesitation that downward mobility messages don't sell in large numbers. Compass needles point north, not south. Human needles point up, not down.
Through the history of Christendom, few people have been mature enough in their faith to embrace the values set forth in this passage. Embarrassingly, few Christians appreciate the beauty of the example of Jesus Christ set forth in this section of Scripture. Few people follow the principles of this passage with a joyful spirit. Philippians 2:5–11 is perhaps the most countercultural passage in Scripture, especially for young, white-collar suburbanites.
I'd like to remind you of Philippians 1:21. "For me to live is Christ," Paul says. That is: the focus of my affection is going to be Jesus Christ. For me to live is to live for Christ, honor Christ, proclaim Christ, obey Christ, serve Christ, and advance Christ's cause.
Paul could say that and not lie. He had a well-defined life goal: Christ. Paul added that to die would be even better. It would be gain because dying would allow him to be with Christ. He would be relieved of the crushing weight of kingdom concerns and responsibilities. To die would be gain. He was homesick for heaven, but he said, "For me to live is Christ." Sometimes we can teach all around certain subjects and never get to the heart of an issue. The question begs to be asked: What does living for Christ mean? We talk a lot about being fully devoted followers. What does it mean? How do you do it? How does a fully-devoted follower of Jesus Christ manifest that commitment in his or her daily life? Paul says in this text: If you want to manifest full devotion to Jesus Christ, it's going to have something to do with downward mobility.
In Philippians 2:5, Paul says something that has given me nosebleeds for almost 20 years: If you want to be a real follower of Christ, then express your Christianity the same way Jesus did. Think like Jesus thought. Act like Jesus acted. Have the same attitude, or mind, that Jesus had. Paul goes on to tell us in verse six and following what the mind of Christ is, and what attitude it is he wants us to adopt. It's a dedication to downward mobility for the purpose of giving God glory and of serving other people. The secret of being great in the eyes of God, the quickest way for you to bring a smile to the face of your heavenly Father, is to mimic the mindset and follow the example of Jesus Christ. We must go about the task of dedicating our lives to the downward slope that lifts up Christ and lifts up people who are coming to know him. Verses six through eight teach us the depth of Jesus' dedication to downward mobility. Watch as Jesus signs up for seven demotions. Watch as Jesus voluntarily descends the ladder into greatness in the eyes of God. Where does he start? He starts at the top.
Demotion 1: Christ did not hold on to his equality with God.
Verse six reads, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God . . ." Stop there. Where does Christ start this decent into greatness? Where does he start his trek toward downward mobility? He starts at the top. Being in the form of God means a spiritual being equal with God. Jesus Christ was not an assistant to God. Jesus Christ has never been a vice president to God. Jesus Christ has never been a junior partner to God, but rather a full-fledged member of the Godhead, equal with the Almighty Father in every way, shape, and form, from eternity past.
In Isaiah 6, when the prophet saw a vision of God with the angels hovering about and bowing before God singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy," the angels were glorifying Jesus every bit as much as they were glorifying the Father and the Spirit. Three in one—the mystery of the Trinity that no finite mind can master. Yet it's true. You do realize that Jesus was present and involved at the creation of the world, don't you? And that he has ruled and reigned from eternity past? You do realize that all of the divine prerogatives were his equally with the Father and the Spirit? Why do I stress this? Because the first and subsequent demotions that we're going to talk about in this passage lose a bit of their significance without a thorough understanding of the point of origin. When Jesus descended the ladder into greatness in God's sight, he started at the very top.
And I want you all to come to terms with the fact that we're talking about Jesus who existed in the form of God from eternity past and was fully equal with God. Note that little phrase in verse six: "did not regard equality with God something to be grasped." He did not regard a position of equality a thing to be held on to. Can you understand the impact of that statement? Jesus, enjoying the worship and adoration of the universe; Jesus, fully God; Jesus, full partner in the divine prerogatives, voluntarily relaxed his grip on those privileges.
I want to ask you a question: How willing are you to relax your grip on your prerogatives and privileges? How loosely do you hold your positions and possessions? Most of us would put up a real fight before we would part with something precious to us. We'd scream, "Mine! Mine! I don't care who wants it, needs it, asks for it, or calls for it. What's mine is mine!" We're clutchers, aren't we, friends? We clutch power when we're able to obtain it. We clutch positions and titles. We clutch possessions and resources, time and energy. Even the most mature Christians among us wrestle constantly with letting go and relaxing our grip on that which we hold dear for Christ and the kingdom. Anyone who thinks that's not true is not being honest. We're clutchers by human nature. It's terribly difficult to relax our grip once we get it tightened around something we value. But here's Jesus, the holder of all the prerogatives of deity. Everywhere he turns in the universe the cherubim and seraphim are crying, "Holy, holy, holy. Worthy is the Lamb. The whole world is full of his glory!" In that kind of heaven, Jesus says: I'll relax my grip on all that. I'll take a demotion if in so doing I can please God the Father and serve people whom I love.
So down the ladder he goes. Watch him go.
Demotion 2: He made himself nothing.
Demotion number two is simply described this way in verse seven: "made himself nothing." He emptied himself. Demotion number one was just loosening the grip, becoming willing to downscale and decrease and demote.
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