Philippians 2 reveals that we may experience and enjoy Christ as our pattern. In chapter 1 the central point is to magnify Christ, to live Christ (vv. 20-21). In chapter 2 it is to take Christ as our pattern, our model. This pattern is the standard of our salvation (v. 12). Verses 5 through 16 reveal that the word of life works out the pattern by the operating God in order to apply salvation to our daily living. In this way we enjoy Christ and live Him, taking Him as our pattern.
In Philippians 2:3-4 Paul says, “Doing nothing by way of selfish ambition nor by way of vainglory, but in lowliness of mind considering one another more excellent than yourselves; not regarding each his own virtues, but each the virtues of others also.” In verse 5 Paul goes on to say, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” This verse indicates that the mind that was in Christ Jesus should be in us. This in verse 5 refers to considering in verse 3 and regarding in verse 4. This kind of thinking, this kind of mind, was also in Christ when He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, and humbled Himself, being found in fashion as a man (vv. 7-8). To have such a mind requires us to be one with Christ in His inward parts (1:8). To experience Christ, we need to be one with Him to this extent, that is, in His tender, inward feeling and in His thinking.
Philippians 2:6 says, “Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped.” The Greek word rendered “existing” denotes existing from the beginning, implying the Lord’s eternal preexistence. The word form refers to the expression, not the fashion, of God’s being (Heb. 1:3). It is identified with the essence and nature of God’s person and thus expresses His essence and nature. This refers to Christ’s deity.
In Philippians 2:6 Paul tells us that Christ did not consider equality with God a treasure to be grasped. Although the Lord was equal with God, instead of holding on to His equality with God, He did not consider this equality a treasure to be grasped and retained. Rather, He laid aside the form of God (not the nature of God) and emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave.
Verse 7 goes on to say that Christ “emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of men.” When Christ emptied Himself, He laid aside what He possessed—the form of God. The word form in verse 7 is the same word as that used for the form of God in verse 6. In His incarnation the Lord did not alter His divine nature; He changed only His outward expression, from the form of God, the highest form, to that of a slave, the lowest form. This was not a change of essence but of state.
The word becoming in verse 7 indicates entering into a new state. According to this verse, Christ became in the “likeness of men.” The form of God implies the inward reality of Christ’s deity; the likeness of men denotes the outward appearance of His humanity. He appeared outwardly to men as a man, but as God He had the reality of deity inwardly.
Verse 8 continues, “And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross.” When Christ became in the likeness of men, entering into the condition of humanity, He was found in fashion as a man by men. The word fashion implies the outward guise, the semblance. What Christ looked like in His humanity was found by men to be in fashion as a man.
First, Christ emptied Himself by putting aside the form, the outward expression, of His deity and by becoming in the likeness of men. Christ was God with the expression of God. Although He was equal with God, He put aside this equality and emptied Himself by taking the likeness of men. This indicates that He became a man through incarnation. Then, being found in fashion as a man, in the appearance of a man, Christ humbled Himself by becoming obedient even unto death. This means that when He was a man, He did not insist on anything. Rather, He humbled Himself to the point of dying on the cross. This is Christ as our pattern.
Humbling Himself was a further step in emptying Himself. Christ’s self-humbling manifests His self-emptying. The death of the cross was the climax of Christ’s humiliation. To the Jews this was a curse (Deut. 21:22-23). To the Gentiles it was a death sentence imposed upon malefactors and slaves (Matt. 27:16-17, 20-23). Hence, it was a shameful thing (Heb. 12:2).
The Lord’s humiliation involved seven steps: (1) emptying Himself; (2) taking the form of a slave; (3) becoming in the likeness of men; (4) humbling Himself; (5) becoming obedient; (6) being obedient even unto death; and (7) being obedient unto the death of the cross.
The pattern presented in these verses is now the life within us. This life is what we call a crucified life. The seven steps of Christ’s humiliation are all aspects of the crucified life. Although Christ had the expression of deity, He laid aside this expression. However, He did not lay aside the reality of His deity. He laid aside the higher form, the form of God, and took on a much lower form, the form of a slave. In this, He emptied Himself. Surely this is a mark of a crucified life. Then, after becoming a man and being found in the appearance of a man, Christ humbled Himself even unto the death of the cross. This was the crucified life lived out in a full and absolute way.
Christ is not only an outward pattern for us; He is also the life within us. As this inner life, He would have us experience Him and thereby live a crucified life. In this crucified life there is no room for rivalry, vainglory, or self-exaltation. On the contrary, there is self-emptying and self-humbling. Whenever we experience Christ and live Christ, we automatically live such a crucified life. This means that when we live Christ, we live the One who is the pattern of a crucified life. Then we also will empty ourselves and humble ourselves.
If we did not have the crucified life within us, we could never live according to the pattern presented in Philippians 2. Only the crucified life can live such a pattern. If we still do things out of rivalry and vainglory or are still ambitious to be leaders, we are not living a crucified life. We are not emptying ourselves or humbling ourselves. However, we have a life within us that truly is a self-emptying and self-humbling life. This life never grasps at something as a treasure. Instead, it is always willing to lay aside position and title.
When the pattern in Philippians 2 becomes our inward life, the pattern becomes our salvation. Then we are saved from rivalry and vainglory. If the Philippians were not willing to live according to this pattern, they could not make Paul’s joy full. He would still be troubled by their rivalry and vainglory. But if they were willing to live the crucified life, a life that always empties itself and humbles itself, not grasping anything as a treasure, they would have the genuine experience of Christ. Their experience of Christ as such a pattern and inward life would make the apostle extremely happy.
In Philippians 2 we see that we should live a crucified life so that we may enjoy the power of resurrection. We should take the crucified life in verses 5 through 8 as our pattern so that we can experience the power of resurrection, which exalted Christ to the highest peak in the universe (v. 9). Both the experience of Christ as the pattern of a crucified life and the experience of the resurrection power that exalts Him are endless. Day by day we need to live a crucified life. This is to live Christ as our pattern. Instead of having a life of rivalry and vainglory, we should live a life of self-emptying and self-humbling. This is to live a crucified life. By means of this life, we are ushered into the power of resurrection by which Christ is exalted.
There is an urgent need among us the believers to experience Christ as our pattern. We desperately need to experience Him as our crucified life. Such a life stands altogether in contrast to a life of rivalry and vainglory. In the church life we either take the crucified life as our pattern or automatically live a life of rivalry and vainglory. There is no third way. If we do not take the crucified life as our pattern, we will automatically live in the way of rivalry and vainglory. The issue here is extremely serious. We need to be honest with ourselves and consider the kind of life we have been living in the church. Whenever we do not take the crucified life as our pattern, we are living a life of rivalry and vainglory.
The highest life on earth is the crucified life, that is, Christ Himself as the One who emptied Himself and humbled Himself. Whenever we live a crucified life, God will bring us into the power of resurrection, and in this power we will be exalted. Furthermore, none of us in the church life should hold to any personal standing. We must stand firm for the Lord’s testimony, yet we should not claim any standing, title, or position for ourselves. Making such claims will never bring us into the power of resurrection. We need to take the crucified life as our pattern. Eventually, we will enter into the power of resurrection where we experience God’s exaltation. Instead of seeking glory for ourselves, we should seek Christ and Him alone; then we will experience the crucified life.
We need Paul’s word concerning Christ as our pattern. We need to be enlightened and take this crucified life as our pattern so that we may experience the power of resurrection. When we live the crucified life, we will be ushered into resurrection power, and this power will exalt us. We should not seek any glory that is other than Christ Himself. We need to say, “Lord, I want only You. I am not seeking any exaltation or glory.” If we take the crucified life as our pattern, we will experience the power of resurrection. This resurrection power is Christ Himself. Christ is not only the crucified life but also the resurrection power.
Often the saints complain of weaknesses. We are weak whenever we do not take the crucified life as our pattern. If we are weak in our family life, daily life, or church life, it is an indication that we are not taking the crucified life and therefore are not in the power of resurrection. The gate through which we enter into the power of resurrection is the crucified life. Paul’s expectation concerning the saints in Philippi was that they would live this crucified life and then experience the power of resurrection.
The pattern Paul presents in 2:5-8 is not only objective but also subjective. We must ask where this Christ is who is our pattern. Is He in heaven, or is He in us? Verse 9 indicates clearly that God has highly exalted Christ. Thus, there can be no doubt that, as our pattern, Christ is in heaven. He has been exalted to the highest peak in the universe, where God is. This is related to the objective aspect of the pattern. However, if Christ were only in the third heaven objectively, how could we take Him as our pattern today? How could we, who are on earth, follow One who has been exalted and who is now in heaven? It would be impossible. In order for us to take Christ as our pattern, this pattern must also be subjective.
Verse 12 indicates that the pattern is subjective: “So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much rather in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Salvation here is not salvation from the lake of fire; rather, it refers to what Paul has already said about salvation earlier in this Epistle. The expression so then in verse 12 indicates that what Paul says in this verse is a consequence of what has gone before. Working out our salvation is the result of taking Christ as our pattern, as seen in the preceding verses. As our pattern, Christ is our salvation. However, this salvation needs to be worked out by us.
In order for this to be accomplished in our experience, the pattern must be subjective to us as well as objective. If it were only objective, it could not be the salvation worked out by us. The salvation here is not the salvation we receive; it is the salvation we work out. The salvation we receive is the salvation from God’s condemnation and from the lake of fire. There is no need for us to work out that kind of salvation. The salvation in 2:12 is actually a living person. This person is the Christ whom we live, experience, and enjoy. A pattern which is only objective could not be our salvation in this way. The fact that salvation is a living person and that this person is our pattern indicates that the pattern is subjective as well as objective.
Another reason for saying that the pattern is subjective as well as objective is related to the fact that the book of Philippians is a book on the experience of Christ. Anything that is a matter of spiritual experience must be subjective. Based upon this principle and upon the context of the book of Philippians as a whole, Christ as the pattern is not only objective but also subjective and experiential.
Furthermore, following his word about working out our salvation, Paul goes on to say, “For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure” (v. 13). The word for at the beginning of verse 13 indicates that God’s operating in us is related to our working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. God operates in us both the willing and the working for His good pleasure. Surely the working in verse 13 refers to the working out in verse 12. We may confess that we are not able to work out our own salvation. Yes, in ourselves we are not able, but God, the One operating in us, is able. Since He is operating in us both the willing and the working, we can work out our own salvation. Paul’s word about God operating in us is a further indication that the pattern is subjective as well as objective. Doctrinally, the pattern is objective; experientially, it is subjective.
In Philippians 2 Paul does not charge us to take the objective Christ as our pattern and then imitate Him. Trying to imitate Christ in this way is like a monkey trying to imitate a human being. We should not take verses 5 through 8 out of context. When we consider these verses in context, we see that the pattern is our salvation and that this salvation is God Himself operating in us to save us in a practical way. Although in ourselves we cannot work out our salvation, the One who is able is now operating in us the willing inwardly and the working outwardly. Our responsibility is to cooperate with Him. When we cooperate with God’s operation in us, we take Christ as our pattern.
God who operates in us is actually the Spirit of Jesus Christ (1:19). It is only by the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ that we can take Christ as our pattern. We need to praise the Lord that the Spirit of Jesus Christ is in us. By the Spirit of Jesus Christ we can be as humble as Jesus was, and by the Spirit of Jesus Christ we can consider one another more excellent than ourselves. When we do things out of rivalry or in competition with others, the Spirit of Jesus Christ is not expressed, but when we consider one another more excellent than ourselves, we enjoy the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Christ as the pattern is in us, living Himself out from within us as the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Christ is not only our pattern but also our life. We have within us a life that never insists on being anything but always empties itself, takes a lower place, and humbles itself. We need to enjoy Christ as such a life within us.
In brief, Christ, the Son of God, had a very high position. He possessed the form of God and had the right to be equal with God. Nevertheless, He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of men. Christ gave up His high standing and took the form not only of a man but also of a slave. Being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient even unto the death of the cross. As such a person, Christ is our pattern for our experience and enjoyment. Instead of seeking a position and title for ourselves, we need to live according to Christ as the pattern of a crucified life. Christ’s crucified life should be our experience. We need to experience Christ in His humiliation. This means that we need to experience Him as the One who emptied Himself and humbled Himself.