Jesus gave a strong word to the Jewish leaders to show them that there were multiple witnesses to him which should have caused them to believe. He mentions God the Father, John the Baptist, his own works (which were the Father’s works) and finally scripture itself. Jesus said that Moses wrote about him. However, he tells them that since they don’t believe Jesus that indicates they don’t believe Moses either.  

However, the scriptures point us to Christ so how we read the scripture is very important. If our reading or studying is for ethics or morality, we will not receive life. Only by meeting Christ in scripture will we receive eternal life.

John’s Gospel was written in another time, another place—the ancient Middle East. Consequently, we often miss what’s obvious to the original audience. Jesus’ ‘apprenticeship analogy’ is a case in point. Apprenticeship enabled sons to learn their father’s trade; Jesus and Joseph, his (putative) father, were carpenters. Now Jesus applies this metaphor to his ongoing relationship to God, his Father. It’s a unique window into the intimate Father-Son relationship of showing/seeing, loving/submitting, hearing/ speaking, doing/imitating. Jesus calls his disciples into apprenticeship to him. This isn’t the ‘Great Commission’ of discipleship; it’s the “Great Invitation’ into an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Let’s all become apprentices to the risen Jesus!

After the invalid was healed (Jn. 5:1-9a), things went bad because Jesus healed on the Sabbath. The Jewish leaders were outraged because it was a day of rest. Jesus explained that God was still working to give life & judge as babies were born & people died. God didn’t take a day off one day a week. If he did, life would collapse.  

Jesus explained that as his Father still worked to give life to people, he likewise worked to give people life. That threw gasoline onto the fire, & the Jews accused Jesus of blasphemy: making himself equal with God. So Jesus began to graciously show them how he was working with God by giving life and judging as only God could. With that having been said, Jesus told people that to have eternal life they were to believe in him. Jesus is still working the works of God today to bring eternal life to all people, and he asks us to work together with him.

Christians confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh (1 Jn. 4:2); but, what kind of flesh? At incarnation did God’s Son assume fallen flesh like ours? Or was his human nature unfallen, like Adam in Eden? All agree Jesus never sinned; but, was his human nature fallen or not? Historically the latter view prevailed. To ‘save Jesus from the Fall,’ Roman Catholics rely on Mary’s ‘immaculate conception;’ Reformed invoke the Spirit’s sanctification. And doctrinal dogma asserts Jesus’ ‘impeccability’–he was incapable of ever sinning. Such tenets insulate Christ, distancing the Savior from us; being immune to temptation, he sails effortlessly through trials. But Scripture says Christ came in the ‘likeness of our sinful flesh,’ he’s ‘like us in every way, except sin.’ Some contemporary theologians affirm God’s Son took our fallen human nature, yet his person never sinned. Rather, through a lifelong struggle–from the manger to the cross–sin was condemned in his flesh & he sanctified that nature aligning it with God’s will. Today, as we struggle, he’s our great High Priest.

What are you willing to put your name on? As a professional engineer, architect or a medical doctor you have the privilege of signing official prescriptions, reports, drawings, etc. As a person of integrity, you’re not going to put your signature on things that are below approved standards. In Phil. 2:9-11, we see God putting his name on the life & work of Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:6-8). Why? Because all he did aligned perfectly with God! Therefore God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name. God’s evaluation is clear. Men & women also have the chance to evaluate the life & work of Jesus. Do we see him as God sees him, or as the collective ‘wisdom’ of humanity sees him. If your evaluation aligns with God’s, you see him as he really is, God, & you confess that to all. With whose evaluation of Jesus do you line up: God’s or man’s?

The hymn in Philippians 2 highlights the fact that Jesus was obedient to the point of death. The book of Hebrews points out that Jesus learned obedience even though he was the Son. As the Son of God, Jesus was neither disobedient or obedient because he was equal with God. There was no need for obedience as the divine Son of God. In his divine nature, his will was the Father’s will. However, in his humanity he had a human will. It was this human will that learned obedience. It didn’t mean he went from disobedience to obedience but that as a man he brought his will into line with God’s will. This was evident in his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane.

What does this mean for us? As disciples and followers of Jesus, we also need our will brought into line with God’s will. This is learning to become obedient. Today’s society does not look favourably on people who are obedient. However, if we truly desire to follow Christ, we will learn obedience. Obedience actually will bring us into a freedom that most people do not know.

Philippians 2:6-11 is a ‘Christ Hymn’ for worship which encapsulates early Christian beliefs. It became a goto resource for distinguishing between orthodox beliefs and competing heresies. That enterprise produced the faithdefining Creeds of Nicaea, Chalcedon, etc. These documents delve into the mysteries of the Trinity and the incarnation. Chalcedon’s daring distinction between Christ’s one Person (expressed as ‘I’) & his two natures has proved invaluable; the incarnation’s subject is a single Person—God’s eternal Son, the 2nd of the Trinity. At incarnation he assumed the human nature, but not a human person. So, in his person Christ is not a ‘hybrid God-man;’ rather he is the divine Logos who was ‘with God in the beginning’. We don’t have a ‘Phantom Christ,’ a ‘Miracle-Man Christ,’ an ‘Adopted Christ,’ a ‘Multiplepersonality Christ.’ Our Christ was and is God’s eternal Son, the 2nd of the Trinity, who incarnated to redeem & restore us.

Many people talk about Jesus today, but the Jesus they present can be significantly different from the biblical Jesus. Some think he is merely a man, or a good man. Others think he was a prophet. Some think the ‘idea’ of Jesus is what really matters. But Phil. 2:5-11 presents Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, not exploiting his divine position & status, but willingly becoming a human being in order to serve us. This Jesus was 100% God, 100% human! He came not to be served, but to serve mankind by humbling himself, and even going to the point of dying on a cross for us. Why does Paul place this beautiful, self-emptying poem before the Philippians in this letter? Not for them to try to outwardly imitate, but rather to see what God & Christ have done for them. By believing in Christ, they & we, can be empowered by him to live a life in community that is willing to let go of our rights, our privileges, our status so we can serve others well.

Reading Phil. 2:6-11 we glimpse the praise & worship offered to Jesus by the earliest Christians. Paul adapts this ‘hymn’ as his ‘Master Story.’ It’s breathtaking in scope–from the eternal past before all time, to eternal future when every creature worships Jesus as cosmic Lord. It covers Christ’s descent from the heights of equality with God down to the depths of human suffering, climaxing in the cross, yet followed by God’s exaltation of him far above all. Some scholars adamantly refuse to recognize Christ’s preexistence and incarnation here; they see only a sinless ‘Second Adam,’ succeeding where the First Adam failed, promoted as God’s ‘Adopted Son’ worthy only of admiration and imitation. Rejecting this prejudicial view, we ought to see God’s pre-existing Son, equal with God the Father, actively renouncing divine privilege, emptying himself to participate in humanity. Now, through his cross, we participate in our Savior’s benefits, confess Jesus as Lord, & worship him to God’s glory.

As heavenly citizens, we not only conduct ourselves personally but we also live together as citizens of heaven. We have the ability to live as proper heavenly citizens because we are united with Christ, we are “in Christ.” As those in Christ, we, together with our fellow citizens, have encouragement, love, fellowship in the Spirit and affection for one another. For us to live as heavenly citizens in Christ, it is crucial for us to see and appreciate that we have been gifted with all these things. This is the mindset that Paul is trying to help the Philippians have. It is the mindset of Christ. With this mindset comes considering others more important than ourselves and setting aside any selfish ambition and concern only for ourselves. This mindset we have in Christ. May this corporate heavenly citizenship be lived out practically among us.