Last night we began our series in Phillipians, where we will cover a few of the overarching themes over the next few weeks. Below is the outline with basic points that I used to conduct the talk and generate the associated questions about the topic of Being Like Christ in our Humility.
Main text: Phillipians 2:1-11
Verses 1-4 give us instructions on how we should view ourselves and treat others, as a result of recognizing what God has done for us as Christians.
Verse 5 declares that our attitude should be like Christ. It's not an optional thing.
The following verses explain to us exactly what Christ accomplished and the attitude with which He conducted Himself during that process of purchasing our salvation.
There are three basic characteristics of humility:
Surrender (Phillipians 2:6)
- Christ is God (in all eternity: past, present and future). See John 10:30.
- God became man (for a limited time: life, death and resurrection)
There is a loss of identity associated with humility
Servanthood (Phillipians 2:7)
- Christ made Himself nothing
- Christ acted as a servant (see Matthew 20:26-28; Mark 10:45; John 13:14-15 )
- Christ willingly took on flesh (Pain, Grief, Death)
There is a loss of self-importance/ego associated with humility
Sacrifice (Phillipians 2:8)
- Obedient unto death
- Death on a Cross!
There is a cost associated with humility
Questions
1. According to verses 1-2, what are some things that we as Christians should gain through our being unified with Christ? Give an example of a time when this was evident in your life.
2. Consider verses 3-4. In what ways do Christians fail to be “like-minded” (v2)?
3. Verse 5 provides us a brief instruction which tells us how we need to check our attitudes. How does your attitude measure up to this standard?
4. Tonight we heard about 3 characteristics required to be humble. List them here and briefly discuss the importance of each.
5. If Christians in America were to adopt these characteristics, what might we expect to see in our homes, neighborhoods, nation and culture?
6. Reflecting on Christ’s life, what is one event, statement or activity that you recall when thinking about His humility?
7. Can a humble person be bold in their witness? Is there a contradiction between this and the importance of remaining humble?
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