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The Descent of the Sovereign: Humility in the Shadow of the Cross (Philippians 2:3–8) · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to reformed Thinking. You know, usually when we talk
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about a medical diagnosis, there is this expectation of clean
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mechanical precision. Right.
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Yeah, like it's a mass problem. Yeah, exactly.
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Or we'll think about the process.
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You fall off a ladder, your arm swells up, and you go to the
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hospital. The technician slides you into
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the X-ray machine and a few minutes later the doctor pulls
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up that stark black and white image on the monitor, points to
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a jagged white line across the humerus bone and says there is
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the fracture and is incredibly validating, you know?
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It is because it is binary. I mean, you look at the image,
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the problem is obvious, and the solution is hysical.
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You set the bone, put a cast on it, and wait six weeks.
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Yeah, we naturally like things to be solvable with a list of
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simple physical steps. Yeah, it is comforting to have a
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visible, indisputable target to fix.
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We want that same mechanical precision for everything.
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But then you step into the world of human relationships,
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especially within a close knit community, and suddenly that
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X-ray machine is just broken. Oh, absolutely shattered.
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Right. We are looking at a diagnostic
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landscape that is, well, honestly, it is murky.
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You cannot easily isolate the root cause cause of why a group
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of people who used to get along suddenly cannot stand the sight
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of each other. And that is a very painful
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reality for a lot of groups. It really is.
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So this is our deep dive into the source material today.
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Our mission is to examine 2 extensive theological texts
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centered on a specific biblical passage.
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That is Philippians chapter 2 verses 3 through 8.
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A huge, heavy section of scripture.
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It is, and our goal is to analyze how these sources argue
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that the historical reality of Jesus Christ's incarnation and
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his crucifixion completely shatters human pride.
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We are going to look at how this text provides A precise
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blueprint for Christian unity. Yeah, which is something we
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desperately need to look into right now.
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So if you are listening to this right now, think about your own
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experiences. Have you ever witnessed a
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community fracture over arrogance?
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Have you seen a workplace or a church fall apart because
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individuals started fiercely demanding their personal rights?
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It happens everyday unfortunately.
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It really does. Well, these sources argue that
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this specific biblical passage offers the precise antidote to
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our modern epidemic of narcissism.
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That is the trajectory we are taking today, yeah.
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We are going to analyze the historical Crucible of the 1st
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century Roman world to understand the original setting
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first of all. Then we will walk through the
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precise Greek syntax of the text to grasp the phrasing the
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Apostle Paul utilized. After that, we will analyze the
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massive theology of the two atoms.
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That is a fascinating concept. It really is, and finally, we
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will examine the strict, uncompromising applications
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these sources demand for modern life.
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OK, so before we jump into the heavy theology, we have to
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establish the cultural water, the original audience, Swayman,
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right? If we miss the historical
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context, the words of the Apostle Paul lose their original
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shocking force. Yes, they just become platitudes
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if you do not understand the setting.
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Right, we are talking about the city of Philippi, and Philippi
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was not just any random city in the ancient world.
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No, to comprehend the weight of Pauls commands you really have
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to transport yourself to the ancient Roman colony of Philippi
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around the years 8060 to 62. The sources describe Philippi as
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a miniature Rome. A miniature Rome, so like a
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replica? Yeah, and this status was highly
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intentional following the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC.
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That was the famous conflict where Mark Antony, an Octavian,
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defeated the assassins of Julius Caesar.
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The city was heavily populated with retired Roman military
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veterans. Oh wow, so a huge military
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presence? Very much so, and in recognition
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of this, the city was granted a very specific legal status
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called the Edius Italicum. This was the absolute highest
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privilege a provincial municipality could obtain.
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Let's breakdown what that legal status actually meant on a
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practical level. When I first read about the
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Edius Italicum, I assumed it was just an ancient tax bracket or
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symbolic title. A lot of people assume that.
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But it fundamentally changed how these people lived and saw
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themselves, didn't it it? Fundamentally altered their
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legal reality. The ES Italica meant that the
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soil of Philippi was treated legally as if it were the soil
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of Italy itself. Oh, so it wasn't treated like a
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conquered province? No, not at all.
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It granted the residents literal tax exemptions, which obviously
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generated immense local wealth. It gave them the right to buy,
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sell and govern property strictly under Roman law,
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bypassing local provincial magistrates entirely.
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That is a massive economic advantage.
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It was, but perhaps most crucially for our discussion, it
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granted them absolute immunity from degrading physical
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punishments. A citizen with this status could
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not be subjected to scourging, being with rods, or crucifixion.
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So they were legally untouchable in ways that the average person
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in the Roman Empire could only dream of.
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Yeah. Untouchable is a good word for.
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It you can imagine how that would inflate the collective ego
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of the city. Precisely, And because of this
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legal protection, they were fiercely proud.
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In this highly stratified Greco Roman world, the highest
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cultural currency was a concept called Dignitus.
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Dignitas. That sounds like our word
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dignity, but I'm guessing it meant a bit more back then.
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A lot more. This translates to honor, status
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and the public assertion of your rights.
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You guarded your Dignitas with your life.
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It dictated what you wore, where you sat at public events, and
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who stepped aside for you in the street.
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It sounds exhausting honestly, constantly worrying about your
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rank. Oh, it was a brutal social
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hierarchy. Conversely, the concept of
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humility was universally despised.
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Pagan philosophers did not consider humility A virtue.
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They viewed it as the shameful groveling posture of a conquered
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slave. That is a staggering contrast to
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how we view the word humble today.
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I mean, in our modern culture, even leaders will try to feign
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humility to seem approachable. Right, they do the whole
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relatable politician routine. Yeah, exactly.
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But if humility is seen as the posture of a beaten slave and
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you live in a city where your entire identity is based on
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being an untouchable Roman citizen.
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I mean, asking someone to be humble is incredibly offensive
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it. Would have been an insult.
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Let's think about who was actually in this specific
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church, though. The sources bring up the
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founding of the Philippian congregation in Acts Chapter 16,
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which highlights massive social diversity.
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The social disparities in that congregation were vast and,
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frankly, highly volatile. First you have Lydia.
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She was a merchant from Thyatira dealing in expensive purple
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goods. And purple was a luxury item
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back then, right? Incredibly costly purple dye was
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extracted drop by drop from Murek snails, so she had
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capital, a large household and significant economic influence.
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OK, so you have the wealthy business owner.
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Who else? Then, sitting in the same
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gathering, you have a formerly enslaved girl.
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She had been at the absolute bottom of the social hierarchy,
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possessed by a spirit, treated as literal property and
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financially exploited by her masters, until the Apostle Paul
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intervened. Wow, so the absolute top and the
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absolute bottom of the social ladder.
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And then you have the Roman jailer, the civil servant
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representing the physical force, discipline and authority of the
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Roman Empire. I try to picture this using a
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modern corporate ladder analogy. Imagine a cutthroat, high stakes
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corporate environment where everyone fiercely guards their
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job title, their corner office and their exclusive parking
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spot. I think we all know an office
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like that. Right, you have the billionaire
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CEO, the unpaid intern who used to get coffee, and the strict
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corporate compliance officer, and they are all forced to share
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a small desk and collaborate perfectly without any of them
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bringing up their rank or demanding special treatment.
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It sounds like a reality TV show setup that is bound to fail.
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It really does. How could a group with such vast
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social disparities possibly coexist in that specific
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environment without tearing each other apart?
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That is the exact tension Paul is addressing.
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In a culture obsessed with status and Dignitas, placing a
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wealthy merchant, a former slave and a Roman jailer into one
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unified covenant community was a recipe for disaster if they
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operated by the world's rule. Because they would just
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naturally sort themselves back into their secular hierarchy.
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Yeah, the natural human inclination would be for Lydia
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to expect the former slave girl to wait on her, and for the
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jailer to demand respect based on his government position.
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That brings the conversation directly to the specific
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commands Paul issues in verses 3 and four of the text.
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Because. The surrounding culture
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prioritize status. Paul had to attack the root
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cause of the church's internal friction.
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He bypasses the symptoms and goes straight for the disease.
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Human arrogance. He cuts right to the heart of
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the issue. This is where the sources
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conduct A fascinating Greek word study to diagnose the problem.
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Let's unpack verse 3. Paul strictly forbids something
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called erythia. Erythia translates to selfish
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ambition. The sources note that Aristotle
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used this specific term to describe the mercenary self
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seeking behavior of corrupt politicians canvassing for
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votes. Oh, that paints a very clear
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picture. It is a partisan, rivalry driven
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ambition. It is the disposition that views
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other people simply as stepping stones for your own advancement.
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It is not about accomplishing something good.
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It is about making sure you are the one seen accomplishing it.
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It is the guy at the office who strategically takes credit for
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your presentation so he can secure the promotion, or the
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person in a friend group who constantly steers the
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conversation back to their own achievements.
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Yes, exactly. It is a pride that demands its
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own way and fractures communities.
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Paul pairs this word with another term, ketodoxia.
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OK, what does that one mean? This translates to empty glory
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or vain conceit. It is a craving for public
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recognition that is based entirely on vanity.
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The root of the word implies an illusion.
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It is a desire to be admired for something that has no actual
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substance. We see Keenodoxia everywhere
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today, especially with social media.
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Oh is the defining trait of social media.
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People exhaust themselves trying to project an image of a perfect
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life, a perfect marriage or a perfect career.
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It is exhausting because it is empty.
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So Paul points out the disease, corrupt ambition, and vain
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conceit. What is the biblical antidote he
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provides to this specific church?
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The antidote Paul commands is Tapena fazoon, which translates
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to lowliness of mind. What is striking here is that
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this term was essentially coined by Christian.
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Wait, really? It did not exist before.
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Not in this positive sense, no. As we discussed, the Pagan world
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view lowliness as a weakness. They had words for being crushed
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or humiliated, but they did not have a positive word for
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voluntary humility. The writers of the New Testament
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took this despise concept and elevated it into the crowning
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virtue of the Christian life. So it is a totally
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countercultural concept. Absolutely, it is a self
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forgetting esteem that honors others before yourself.
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The. Sources draw a sharp line here
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between this biblical text and modern evangelicalism's frequent
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obsession with self esteem. They argue that contemporary
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church growth pragmatism often treats people like consumers who
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need to be satisfied, rather than dealing with the actual sin
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of pride. They do make a very strong point
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there. They cite Lifeway Research data
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pointing out that pastoral burnout and church closures
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largely stem from internal conflict, gossip, and vicious
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battles for control. It is not external persecution
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destroying these communities. It is the erythea and Kinodoxia
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festering inside the building. The text asserts that Pride is
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an idol factory of the heart. When a community absorbs the
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secular philosophy of narcissism, it quenches its own
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spiritual vitality. That makes total sense.
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The sources argue that the cure for a Fractured community is not
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a new program, a better self esteem seminar, or more
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entertaining service. The cure is Tepano Frazoon,
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Lowliness of mind. I have to push back slightly on
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this command to count others more significant than
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yourselves. I hear that phrase and my mind
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immediately goes to the extremes.
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Sure, that is a common reaction. If you take that command
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literally, does this require a person to completely neglect
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their own? Right.
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True humility is not deny the gifts God has given you.
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It is recognizing where they came from and using them for
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others. The sources point to the
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presence of the Word only. In verse 4, Paul says, let each
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of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the
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interests of others. I see the word only is doing a
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lot of heavy lifting there. It is.
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The selfish heart is confined within its own tiny sphere of
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concerns. True lowliness of mind means
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widening your scope. So you do not stop paying your
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own mortgage or taking care of your own.
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Health correct? You still handle your lawful
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responsibilities, but you actively expand your attention
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to include the burdens and welfare of the people around
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you. It is act of concern, not
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passive neglect. That is a really helpful
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distinction. You look at the resources, time
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and emotional energy you have, and you ask how those things can
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benefit the community rather than just enriching yourself.
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That makes a lot of sense. Paul establishes the ethical
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duty, but what I appreciate about this text is that he does
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not just drop an impossible moral checklist on them and walk
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away. No, because moral checklist do
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not and change the heart. Right.
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If you just tell a group of proud people to be humble, you
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will get nowhere. He moves from the ethical duty
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to a massive theological reality.
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He provides the exact mechanism that makes this lowly behavior
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possible. This transitions the discussion
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to verses 5 through 8, The hinge and the descent.
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Verse 5 is identified by the sources as the syntactical hinge
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of the entire passage. Paul writes.
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Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus.
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And what does mind mean in that original context?
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The Greek word for mind here is fronio.
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It is not just having a passing thought or a temporary feeling.
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It refers to a settled mindset, an attitude, a comprehensive
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operating system for how you view the world.
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And the key phrase there is, which is yours in Christ Jesus?
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Yes, the source of stress that this mindset is not generated by
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human willpower. You cannot just try really hard
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to be humble. We have all tried that and it
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usually just makes us proud of how humble we are being.
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Spot on. The human flesh is incapable of
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producing genuine tepana, for soon this disposition belongs to
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believers solely through a spiritual union with Christ.
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The grace to perform the command is found in communion with the
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Savior. You look at what He did and that
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transforms your internal disposition.
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This sets up what scholars call the Carmen Christi, or the
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Christ Hymn, found in verses 6 through 8.
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The sources discuss the Greek block diagramming of this text.
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Yeah, mapping out the grammar is really revealing.
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Here when you map out the of these verses, it forms a
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descending V shape. It is a conceptual chiasm that
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physically maps the humiliation of the Son of God right there on
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the page. It is a stunning piece of
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ancient literature. The hymn begins at the absolute
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zenith of eternal glory and descends step by step into the
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deepest possible humiliation. Let's look at the starting
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point. In verse 6 it says Christ was in
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the form of God. The Greek word used is more
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faith you. Let's break that down for the
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listener, because form in English usually means a shape,
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like a mold or a shadow. Why does the specific Greek word
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matter here? Because the author could have
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used the word schema, which means outward appearance or
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changing fashion. Like wearing a costume.
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Exactly. Or he could use physics, which
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means nature. By choosing Morphe, Paul is
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denoting the essential unchangeable inner substance and
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reality of a thing. The text is declaring that
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Christ eternally possesses the exact immutable substance of
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Deity. He does not just look like God.
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He possesses the very essence of God.
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He is fully divine. Yet the text says he did not
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consider equality with God a harpagmos.
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What is a Harpagmos? It translates to a thing to be
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selfishly grasped, clutched tightly, or exploited for
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personal advantage. Like holding on to something so
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tightly your knuckles turn white.
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Yes, but Christ truly possessed divine equality and he did not
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treat it as a platform for self-serving display.
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He did not use his divine status as a VIP past to avoid suffering
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or to demand earthly comfort. I think about this like an
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analogy of a king. Imagine a true reigning king who
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decides to take off his royal robes, put on coarse peasant
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clothing, and go live in a poor village to save his people from
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a famine. He is doing the work of a
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commoner. That is a very fitting analogy
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for what is happening here my. Question is, did the king
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actually stop being a king when he put on the peasant clothes
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and started working the fields? That analogy strikes at the
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heart of a major theological debate.
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The sources use this exact premise to aggressively refute
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what is known as the liberal canonic theory, which gained a
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lot of traction in 19th century German theology.
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What does that theory claim, and why do the sources view it as so
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dangerous? The Canonic theory falsely
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claims that when Christ became human, he actually divested
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himself of his divine attributes.
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It argues he subtracted things like he's omniscience,
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omnipresence, or omnipotence to become a real human.
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So he gave up being God to become man.
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That is what the theory argues. The focus of this theory is on
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the Greek word ikonosen in verse 7, which translates to emptied
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himself. The argument is that if he
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emptied himself, he must have poured out his deity.
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But the sources push back on that.
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Hard The sources view this as dangerous because if Christ
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ceases to be fully God, he can no longer perfectly reveal the
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Father, and his sacrifice on the cross no longer possesses
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infinite value to pay an infinite debt.
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So how do the sources explain this concept of emptying if he
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did not lose a single drop of his divine attributes?
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They point to chapter 8 of the Westminster Confession of Faith,
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which deals with the mediator, and they focus on the very next
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phrase in the Greek text. He emptied himself by taking the
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form of a servant. The word for taking is livant,
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an active participle. Christ emptied himself not by
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the subtraction of his deity, but by the addition of humanity.
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He emptied himself by adding something that sounds like a
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paradox. It is a mystery for sure.
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He veiled His eternal divine majesty beneath a true human
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nature. He remained fully God while
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becoming fully man. 2 distinct natures.
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Right. The two natures, divine and
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human, are distinct but united in one person.
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The emptying is an addition of servanthood, a willing
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submission to the frailties of human life, not a loss of
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divinity. He did not stop being the king,
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he simply concealed his royal glory under the coarse garments
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of a peasant. He added humanity to his divine
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person. That makes the descent even more
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striking. But the descent does not stop at
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just becoming a human. He does not arrive as an earthly
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king or a wealthy merchant. The trajectory plummets to the
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absolute bottom of societal degradation.
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The. Lowest of the low.
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This brings the discussion to the nadir, the lowest possible
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point in verse 8, obedient to the point of death, even death
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on a cross. We have to remember the context
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of Philippi and the ETC telecom. The cross was the ultimate
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symbol of the curse of physical agony and of total public
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dishonor in the ancient Roman world.
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It was essentially the worst thing you could experience.
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Without a doubt, the Roman statesman Cicero famously said
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that the very word cross should be far removed not only from the
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bodies of Roman citizens, but from their thoughts, their eyes
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and their ears. They did not even want to talk
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about. It no it was a punishment
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reserved for rebellious slaves and insurrectionists.
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To citizens who boasted of their strict legal immunity from
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crucifixion, presenting a crucified Lord was a radical,
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almost offensive overturning of their entire value system.
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The Lord of glory went to the absolute lowest depth of
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reproach. And his death is framed
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explicitly by obedience. He didn't just die as a victim
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of tragic circumstances, he died as an obedient representative.
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Yes, the obedience is central to the entire argument.
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The sources introduce a massive theological concept here called
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Biblical theology and federal headship to explain the
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mechanics of this obedience. They contrast the first Adam
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with Christ, who is designated as the last.
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Adam. This is a core framework for
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understanding the text, and it traces the narrative arc of the
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entire Bible. Federal headship means that a
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single individual acts as the legal representative for a whole
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group. Like a president signing a
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treaty for an entire country. Exactly under the Covenant of
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Works you have the first Adam in the Garden of Eden.
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He was a mere creature, well created in the image of God,
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placed in a state of probation. Yet in his pride he listened to
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the serpent and arrogantly reached up to grasp equality
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with God. That Harpagmos concept again.
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Right. That selfish ambition, that
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grasping, brought universal death, condemnation and a curse
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upon all of humanity whom he represented.
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His single act of disobedience plunged the whole system into
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ruin. Then you have the last Adam,
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Jesus Christ, operating under what the sources call the
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covenant of grace. Correct.
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Unlike the first Adam, Christ actually possessed true eternal
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divine equality. But instead of reaching up in
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pride, he reached down in humility.
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He refused to grasp his heavenly privileges for his own
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advantage. He voluntarily let them go.
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He let them go to secure salvation for His people.
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Where the first Adam grasped and failed, the last Adam humbled
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himself and obeyed. Christ succeeded in the exact
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area where the first man fell. The irony there is staggering
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when you lay it out like that. The very status the first human
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grasped for but could never attain.
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The Son of God, already possessed completely, yet
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willingly laid down. The sources elaborate on this
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representative obedience using Chapter 11 of the Westminster
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Confession, breaking it down into Christ's active and passive
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obedience. This is a crucial distinction.
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Walk us through those two types of obedience.
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His act of obedience was taking the form of a servant and living
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a life that perfectly fulfilled all the righteous demands of the
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law that we had broken. He never sinned.
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He perfectly loved God and neighbor.
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So the act of obedience is his perfect life.
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What is the passive obedience? His passive obedience was His
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willing submission to the penalty of the cross.
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It was bearing the infinite wrath of God on that cursed to
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timber. Some people might hear passive
22:08
and think he was just a helpless victim.
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Yeah, but the word passive here doesn't mean helpless.
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It comes from the Latin word for suffering.
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He willingly absorbed the punishment for sin.
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This perfectly fulfills the shadow of the suffering Servant
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detailed in Isaiah 53, who was pierced for our transgressions
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and crushed for our iniquities. When you look at this vast
22:29
theological reality, the incarnation, the two atoms, the
22:33
active and passive obedience, how does this shatter the idea
22:37
that Christianity is just a set of moral guidelines to follow?
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A lot of people view the Bible as essentially Aesop's fables.
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Just good advice on how to be a nice person.
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Oh, if you isolate the commands to be humble in verses 3 and 4
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from the reality of Christ's descent of verses 6 through 8,
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you turn the religion into pure moralism.
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Right, just another self help book.
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Exactly. The text proves that Christ is
22:59
not just a supreme moral exemplar showing us how to be
23:02
nice. He is a substitute who died for
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human pride. The sources argue that our moral
23:07
inability is total. We cannot produce this kind of
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humility in our fallen flesh. Because we are wired to protect
23:13
our Dignitas. We are wired to grasp and
23:16
protect our Dignitas. The text forces us to look to
23:20
Christ alone, who not only pays the penalty for our selfish
23:23
ambition through His passive obedience, but also clothes us
23:27
in His perfect righteousness through His active obedience.
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The mechanism of change is gratitude for the gospel, not
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white knuckling A moral checklist.
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Having established this intense theology, we have to pivot to
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how these sources aggressively apply this ancient text to
23:44
modern societal structures and daily life.
23:46
They do not leave this as an abstract academic exercise for
23:49
theologians in a library. No, the application is very
23:52
direct. First, they explain the
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dispensational view to frame their application.
23:56
Yes, the sources bring in a theological framework called
23:58
dispensationalism. They distinguish heavily between
24:01
theocratic Israel and the Old Testament and the New Testament
24:04
church. What is the main difference they
24:05
highlight? They note that Israel's national
24:08
identity was tied to an earthly land, physical borders, and
24:11
civil power. In contrast, the church is
24:14
viewed as a heavenly citizenry called to live as pilgrims in a
24:18
foreign land. This distinction informs how
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they apply the text to modern social issues, arguing that the
24:24
church's primary weapon is not political dominance but
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cruciform humility. And this leads into a section
24:30
where we need to be very clear with our listeners.
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The sources we are analyzing bring up highly charged modern
24:37
political and social topics, specifically targeting critical
24:40
race theory, intersectionality, and Marxism.
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I want to state clearly to you listening, that as hosts, we are
24:46
not taking a side or endorsing these views.
24:49
We are impartially reporting the arguments contained in the
24:51
source material. Right, we're just breaking down
24:54
what the author wrote. Exactly.
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The author draws a very sharp line here regarding contemporary
24:58
sociology. They argue that these secular
25:01
frameworks are fundamentally opposed to the mindset of
25:03
Philippians 2. According to the source texts,
25:06
these modern secular philosophies demand a focus on
25:09
earthly privilege, historical grievances, and power dynamics.
25:13
The texts argue that these ideologies divide people into
25:16
strict categories of oppressors and the oppressed based on
25:19
temporal status, things like race, class or gender.
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So it is a focus on external earthly categories.
25:26
Yeah, and the author posits that these systems encourage people
25:29
to grasp for power and demand restitution based on earthly
25:32
identity. Right.
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The critique in the text is that those systems divide people
25:36
based on earthly power dynamics. How do the sources contrast that
25:40
with the message of the cross? The sources argue that biblical
25:43
Christianity obliterates these worldly divisions entirely.
25:47
At the foot of the cross, the billionaire CEO and the unpaid
25:50
intern are both identically bankrupt centers in need of
25:53
grace. The ground is level at.
25:55
The completely level the sources assert that true unity is not
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achieved through a Marxist redistribution of power or
26:01
influence, but rather through the voluntary Christ.
26:05
Like laying down of 1's legitimate rights for the
26:07
spiritual good of others. It is a bottom up voluntary
26:11
sacrifice, not a top down forced redistribution.
26:15
The sources also issue severe theological condemnations.
26:19
They target the prosperity gospel, arguing that it
26:22
blasphemously treats Jesus as a cosmic bellhop to serve earthly
26:26
greed. They do not hold back on that.
26:28
Point They really don't. The author points out the sheer
26:30
absurdity of looking at a savior who impoverished himself to the
26:33
point of a bloody cross and then using his name to demand private
26:37
jets and massive bank accounts. And again, just to reiterate, we
26:40
are impartially reporting these critiques as the stated views of
26:43
the source texts. They also reject Arminianism and
26:46
Roman Catholicism. The basis of their rejection of
26:49
those theological systems is the assertion that salvation rests
26:52
entirely on sovereign grace without any human merit or
26:55
cooperation. This is what is known as
26:57
monarchism. As opposed to synergism.
26:59
Right. They argue against synergism,
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which claims humanity cooperates in salvation.
27:05
The sources state that the descent of Christ secure
27:08
salvation completely from start to finish, leaving absolutely no
27:12
room for human boasting or injected merit.
27:15
To say the human effort contributes to justification is,
27:19
according to the author, an attempt to grasp at the glory
27:22
that belongs solely to the last Adam.
27:24
Moving from the structural and theological to the deeply
27:27
personal, the texts outline very strict daily applications.
27:32
They take this massive cosmic event and drop it right into the
27:35
living room. It gets very practical here.
27:37
They demand that husbands must wash their wives with the Word,
27:40
sacrificing their own desires for her sanctification rather
27:43
than demanding to be waited on like tyrants.
27:45
They demand that church members stop the consumer mindset.
27:48
Where people threaten to leave a congregation the moment the
27:51
music style changes or their personal preferences are not
27:54
met. And for suffering believers, the
27:55
application is 1 of immense comfort.
27:58
When Christians face severe hardship, disease or betrayal,
28:01
they must realize that suffering does not mean God has abandoned
28:04
them. It changes how you view pain
28:06
entirely. They are to remember that Christ
28:09
their Lord walked a path that descended much lower than their
28:12
current pain. He knows the geography of
28:15
suffering intimately. I have to ask a practical
28:18
question here because this is where the rubber meets the road
28:21
for a lot of people. If a listener is facing severe
28:24
mistreatment at work or is in a deeply unbalanced, maybe even
28:28
emotionally abusive personal relationship, how do they apply
28:33
this extreme self denial without becoming a doormat?
28:36
We talked earlier about false modesty, but where's the line
28:40
between cruciform living and actively enabling abuse?
28:43
That is a sensitive and critical area of application.
28:47
The sources draw a firm distinction between Christ, like
28:50
voluntary sacrifice for the spiritual good of another,
28:53
versus enabling destructive sin. Because giving someone what they
28:56
want isn't always good for them. Exactly.
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Christ did not submit to the cross to validate the sin of his
29:01
murderers. He submitted to the Father's
29:03
will to secure salvation. In the same way, counting others
29:07
more significant means seeking their highest spiritual good.
29:09
And sometimes their highest spiritual good is not giving
29:11
them what they want. Precisely.
29:14
Sometimes seeking someone's highest spiritual good requires
29:17
confronting their sin, establishing firm boundaries, or
29:21
even involving civil authorities rather than passively enabling
29:25
their destructive behavior. That makes a lot of sense.
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True humility is act of concern for welfare, not passive
29:32
compliance with evil. Letting an abuser continue to
29:35
abuse is not loving them, it is allowing them to heap up
29:39
judgement on themselves. You can set a strict boundary
29:42
while still praying for their ultimate repentance and
29:44
salvation. That is the balance of
29:47
Tapenofrezoon. That distinction changes the
29:50
entire paradigm. It reframes humility as immense
29:53
strength applied for the benefit of someone else, rather than
29:55
mere weakness or a lack of spine.
29:58
We have covered a massive scope today.
30:00
We started in the proud Roman colony of Philippi, traveled
30:03
down the descending path of the Incarnation to the absolute
30:06
shame of the Cross, and brought that reality all the way back up
30:09
to our modern homes, workplaces, and churches.
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But the Descent is not the end of the narrative arc.
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No, it is not. The sources introduce a final
30:17
thought based on the immediate aftermath of this text, found in
30:20
verses 9 through 11. Because Christ willingly
30:23
embraced this total humiliation and obeyed the Father perfectly,
30:26
God the Father highly exalted him and bestowed upon him the
30:30
name that is above every name. The descent into the valley is
30:34
followed by an ascent to the highest peak of the universe.
30:37
The exaltation follows the humiliation.
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The Crown follows the cross. Precisely, and the sources tie
30:43
this exaltation to their pre tribulational premillennial
30:47
eschatology. Break those turns down for us
30:50
briefly. What does that specific timeline
30:52
mean for the reader? Pre tribulational means they
30:54
believe the Church will be gathered to Christ before a
30:56
period of global judgment known as the Tribulation.
30:59
OK. And premillennial.
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Premillennial means they believe Christ will physically
31:03
physically returned to earth to establish a literal 1000 year
31:06
reign of peace and justice before the final eternal state.
31:10
The core argument the sources are making here is that the
31:12
Christ who descended into the deepest shame will not remain A
31:15
hitter spiritual concept. He's not just staying in heaven
31:18
forever. No, he will physically and
31:20
literally return to this earth to establish his Kingdom.
31:24
The king who put on the peasant clothes is coming back in full
31:27
royal splendor. And that leads to a stark,
31:29
unavoidable conclusion for every single person, regardless of
31:32
their background or beliefs. It does.
31:35
The texts note that on the day of the Lord, every single knee
31:37
will physically and literally bow.
31:39
The text says in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
31:42
There are no exceptions. Everyone will bow.
31:45
Everyone, the question the sources leave the reader with is
31:48
not whether you will bow, but how you will bow.
31:50
Will you bow your knee to the Savior and grace today,
31:53
willingly accepting His sacrifice and yielding your
31:55
pride? Or will you be forced to bow to
31:57
the judge and cheer terror later when that authority is visibly
32:01
manifested? That is a weight you cannot
32:03
simply brush off. Thank you for joining us on
32:05
Reformed Thinking. We encourage you to look closely
32:08
at your own life in light of the texts we analyzed today.
32:11
Think back to that murky diagnostic landscape of human
32:14
relationships we talked about at the very beginning, when pride
32:17
creates fiction that seems impossible to fix.
32:19
Whether in your marriage, your office, or your church, remember
32:22
that the solution is not found in fiercely demanding your
32:25
rights or protecting your Dignitas.
32:27
The X-ray might be broken, but the objective historical reality
32:31
of the cross provides all the clarity we need.
32:33
The King took off his robes to serve.
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The question is, what will you do with yours?