From the Very Bottom to the Very Top

Scripture — Philippians 2:5-11 (NRSV)

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Devotion

In the spring of 1977, the New York Yankees began their baseball season dismally. At the end of ten games, their record was 2 wins vs. 8 losses. As a lifelong Dodgers fan, and therefore a lifelong hater of the Yankees, I gloated. Those who predicted a great season for the Yankees were clearly wrong. With a 2-8 start, their championship drought would certainly continue.

It didn’t turn out that way, however, I’m sad to say. Not only did the Yankees turn things around from their atrocious start, but they even made it to the World Series. There, led by “Mr. October,” Reggie Jackson, the Yankees beat my beloved Dodgers, 4 games to 2. Talk about going from the bottom to the top! (Sigh!)

In Philippians 2 we encounter another narrative of going from the bottom to the top. This story features none other than Jesus Christ. He goes from the very bottom of human experience to the very top of divinity. Verses 6-8 tell the story of Jesus’s humiliation in poetic form, perhaps as the lyrics of an early Christian hymn. Though being in very nature God, Jesus emptied himself and became human. Then, shockingly, he humbled himself by dying. Yet, he didn’t die in an ordinary fashion. Rather, he was crucified, experiencing perhaps the most horrific kind of death ever invented by human beings. Moreover, only the lowest of the culturally low were crucified by Rome. One couldn’t go down any further than death on a cross. That was the deepest bottom.

Yet the crucifixion of Jesus is not the end of the story. Rather, the tables are turned completely beginning in verse 9. First of all, God “exalted” Jesus, raising him from the dead into heavenly glory. Then, God “gave him the name that is above every name.” In a Jewish context, that name could only be “LORD,” the very name of God. And this is precisely the name that God gave to Jesus (Philippians 2:10-11). Thus, all creatures in heaven and on earth worship Jesus as God and confess that he is LORD (2:11). Truly, there is no higher place in the entire universe than the one to which Jesus was lifted up.

There are so many things that could be said about this astounding passage from Philippians. In today’s devotion, I’ll mention just one. It’s common for critics of Christianity to claim that the notion of Jesus as God was a late addition to Christianity. The earliest Christians, it is said, regarded Jesus merely as an inspired man, not as God. But this claim is utterly disproved by Philippians 2:5-11. Paul likely wrote this letter somewhere around A.D. 60, less than thirty years after the crucifixion of Jesus. So, in fact, we have strong evidence for the belief in Jesus’s deity at this very early date. Furthermore, if Paul was quoting an early Christian hymn, then the confession of Jesus as LORD is shown to be even earlier. The earliest Christians may have been mistaken, of course, in their confession of Jesus as God, but it’s simply wrong for critics to say that this confession was a late addition to Christianity.

I find it encouraging to know that belief in the deity of Jesus was present in the earliest Christian thinking, writing, and worship. This certainly strengthens my faith. But, I must admit, it doesn’t lessen the mystery! I can confess Jesus as LORD, as God in human flesh, but I can never fully understand what this means. Nevertheless, when I consider that the one who was fully God because fully human for our sake – for my sake – I am filled with wonder and gratitude. I am moved to offer worship to Jesus, much as the earliest Christians did. And I am challenged to give to Jesus, not just the worship of my lips, but also the worship of my daily living (Rom 12:1-2). I want to praise Jesus the LORD, my LORD, with all that I say, all that I do, and all that I am.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Do Your Work in a Worthy Manner (Philippians 1:27–2:11) .