When we are found in Christ living Him as the God-man, He will be expressed in our human virtues. Paul’s word in Philippians 4:8 indicates this: “For the rest, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is righteous, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is well-spoken of, if there is any virtue and if any praise, take account of these things.” All the items listed here are human virtues. Here to be true is to be true ethically, not in matter of fact. To be honorable is to be venerable, worthy of reverence; it is also to be noble and grave (1 Tim. 3:8, 11; Titus 2:2). The word implies the idea of dignity, which inspires and invites reverence. To be righteous is to be right (not just) before God and man. To be pure is to be single in intention and action, without any mixture. The word “lovely” here means to be lovable, agreeable, endearing. The words “well-spoken of” are the translation of the Greek word that means sounding well. As used here, the word implies being of good repute, renowned, attractive, winning, gracious. In this verse “virtue” is excellence, that is, ethical energy exhibited in vigorous action. The word “praise” indicates things worthy of praise, as the companion of virtue.
The first six of these items are categorized as “whatever is”; the last two are categorized as “if any.” This indicates that the last two are a summing up of the six foregoing items, in all of which are some virtue or excellence and something worthy of praise. The point we would emphasize here is that these are human virtues in which Christ is expressed.
In Philippians 4:13 Paul says, “I can do all things in Him who empowers me.” Paul was a person in Christ (2 Cor. 12:2), and he desired to be found in Christ by others. Here he declares that he could do all things in Christ, the One who empowered him.
For Christ to empower us means that He makes us dynamic inwardly. Christ dwells in us (Col. 1:27). He empowers us, makes us dynamic, from within, not from without. By such an inward empowering Paul could do all things in Christ. In particular, Paul could have all the virtues in verse 8. Here Paul seems to be saying, “I can do all these things in the One who empowers me. This means that I can be truthful and honorable. I am able to be right with God and man, to be pure, and to be a person who is lovable and well spoken of. In Christ I can have all the virtues that are praised by others.”
The book of Philippians speaks of the reproduction of the God-man. Whoever lives Christ, the God-man, is His reproduction. Whoever lives Christ is a duplicate of the unique God-man, a reproduction of the prototype.
In Luke we see how Christ was incarnated and lived the life of a God-man. In Philippians we see how Christ is lived out from us in order to have many duplicates of Himself. All Christians should be duplicates of the unique God-man.
How can we be such duplicates, such reproductions? First, we need to be reborn of the pneumatic Christ in our spirit, and then we need to be gradually transformed by the pneumatic Christ in our soul. Then spontaneously we shall live Christ, the God-man, by the bountiful supply of His Spirit, taking His mind and shining the word of life as luminaries reflecting His brightness. We shall also be found in Christ with Him as our surpassing righteousness, in the power of His resurrection, and conformed to His death. Then we shall express Him in all the human virtues created by God for man. With the divine attributes of the God-man these virtues are strengthened, enriched, and filled. I trust that the Spirit will speak more to you concerning this.