In a world obsessed with climbing ladders and building personal platforms, the gospel presents a radical alternative. The Kingdom of God operates under an entirely different principle—one where the path to exaltation runs directly through the valley of humiliation.
Every kingdom in history has been built by men climbing their way to power. But the kingdom of God was built by a King who descended. From heaven’s throne to a borrowed tomb, Jesus did not claw His way to the top—He stooped low, took on flesh, and obeyed to the point of death.
Our culture celebrates autonomy as the ultimate virtue. “Be true to yourself. Break free from all constraints. No one has the right to tell you who you are or how to live.” This siren song of self-determination permeates every corner of modern life—from our entertainment to our politics, from our classrooms to our corporate boardrooms.
But Scripture presents a radically different vision. True dignity is not found in throwing off divine authority but in gladly submitting to it. The freest man is the one most fully bound to Christ. The Puritan writer John Owen remarked,
“Let us get it fixed on our souls, that this mind of Christ is to be in us, and let us be in the actual exercise of it, or we are none of his.”
As I’ve engaged with believers struggling to navigate today’s cultural minefields, I’ve found that the problem isn’t primarily behavioral but intellectual. We’ve absorbed more worldly thinking than we realize. The battle for holiness begins not with our hands but with our minds.
The Mind of Christ: Thinking Downward
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5)
Paul begins with the mind, not behavior. Why? Because what we think determines how we live.
Romans 8:5–6 makes this connection explicit: “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”
The direction of your life is determined by the disposition of your mind.
This renewal is not passive but requires aggressive spiritual warfare. As 2 Corinthians 10:5 commands, we must “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” The battlefield is between your ears.
Thomas Watson, that keen observer of the soul, noted: “A humble soul is emptied of all swelling thoughts of himself; he is poor in spirit.” The mind of Christ is a lowly mind, content to serve rather than be served. It is a mind that rejects the self-exalting patterns of this age.
The Astonishing Descent: Three Steps Down
Paul traces the breathtaking downward journey of Christ in three distinct movements:
1. He Released His Rights
As we read in Philippians 2:6, “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.”
Begin here: Christ is fully God. He existed eternally in the “form” (morphē) of God—not merely appearing divine but sharing the very essence and nature of God Himself.
Yet what did He do with this divine status? He did not clutch it as a weapon for self-advancement.
This stands in stark contrast to Adam, who seized for godhood (Genesis 3:5–6). Christ released His rights with open-handed humility. As Richard Sibbes profoundly observed: “Christ was never more lovely to God than when He was most abased for us.”
2. He Took On Flesh
Philippians 2:7 reads, “But emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”
Christ’s self-emptying was not by subtraction but by addition. He veiled His divine majesty under true humanity. John 1:14 declares: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
Stephen Charnock captured this marvel: “He who was clothed with light as with a garment, was now clothed with the rags of mortality.” He who upheld the universe (Hebrews 1:3) now took on the posture of a slave.
3. He Went to the Cross
“And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8)
The pathway of humility led not just to life among sinners but to death in the place of sinners. His was an active obedience in life and a passive obedience in death. Isaiah 53:3–5 had prophesied: “He was despised and rejected by men… pierced for our transgressions; crushed for our iniquities.”
John Flavel captured the significance: “The death of Christ is the life of our souls.” His death was not accidental or merely exemplary—it was the fulfillment of the eternal plan of redemption.
The Divine Vindication: Three Steps Up
The path of Christ’s humiliation leads directly to His exaltation. His descent was not defeat—it was the divine strategy for glory.
1. He Is Exalted Above All
“Therefore God has highly exalted him…” (Philippians 2:9a)
Notice the divine logic in that “therefore.” Because Christ humbled Himself, God exalted Him. In God’s economy, humility precedes honor (Proverbs 15:33). The cross comes before the crown. Suffering precedes glory.
Stephen Charnock observed: “The abasement of Christ was the ground of His advancement; He was crowned with glory because He was first crowned with thorns.”
2. He Is Given the Name
“…and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.” (Philippians 2:9b)
The “name” bestowed is not merely “Jesus,” which He already possessed. It is the title “Lord” (Kyrios)—the divine name associated with Yahweh Himself. Acts 2:36 confirms: “God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
3. He Will Be Universally Acknowledged
“So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
The reach of Christ’s lordship is universal:
- In heaven: All angels and saints will bow.
- On earth: Every human being will bow.
- Under the earth: Even demons and the condemned will bow.
The question is not whether you will bow to Christ, but when and how.
Five Imperatives for Cruciform Discipleship
What does this mean for us today? The cruciform life is not optional for the believer—it is the only life that follows Christ. Consider these imperatives:
1. Renew Your Mind
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)
We cannot live a cruciform life if we think with a worldly mind. Our thoughts must be shaped by Scripture, not by culture. The cognitive capture of the modern church by secular thinking has crippled our witness. We cannot think like the world and live like Christ.
2. Reject Status-Seeking
In Luke 22:26–27, Jesus rebuked His disciples’ status-seeking: “But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.”
The Son of God Himself took the lowest position at the table, modeling a greatness the world cannot comprehend. In a social media age that feeds on influence and platform, Christ calls us to seek service rather than status.
3. Resist Cultural Conformity
“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.” (1 Peter 1:14–16)
The call to holiness has always required swimming upstream. In an age when biblical values are increasingly marginalized, the pressure to compromise grows exponentially. Yet we are called to be “strangers and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11), citizens of a different kingdom.
4. Remember the Pattern
“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12)
Christ’s life sets the pattern: humility before honor, the cross before the crown, suffering before glory. The world says, “Lift yourself up.” Christ says, “Bow low and let the Father lift you.”
5. Recognize His Lordship
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Colossians 3:17)
Acknowledging Christ’s lordship is not merely verbal—it demands comprehensive surrender. No area of life can be walled off from His claim. Christ is not Lord of some—He is Lord of all.
The Call: Bow Now or Bow Later
Having seen the One who humbled Himself to death and is now exalted above every name, the call is urgent: bow now in joyful faith or bow later in forced submission.
“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed.” (Acts 17:30–31)
The Christ who stooped to save you now calls you to stoop in surrender. The One who wore the crown of thorns now wears the crown of glory. Bow low today, and you will rise with Him forever.
There is no safer place in all the universe than at the feet of King Jesus.
