Learning to Submit

Introduction

Well, good morning. So good to see you this early on a Sunday morning. I know that it’s a challenge for some of us to get up and around so early to get ready and to be here on time. And I want to express my appreciation for you making that worthwhile effort to be here and to be here on time this morning. I was almost late myself. I got trapped in the bathroom. You might ask, how could that happen? Well, I got dressed, had my tie and my jacket on, went in and looked in myself in the mirror, and just couldn’t pull myself away. But I’m glad I did because I don’t want to be late, because this is a very good sermon.

And what it truly means to be humble.

And that is humility. But really, when we talk about Christian humility, we’re talking about something else. It’s not just talking about someone who has a self-inflated view of their looks or of their talent. Christian humility is more. Christian humility really has to do with the concept of service. If you have your New Testament, go with me to the book of Philippians, chapter 2.

We’re going to talk this morning about learning to submit. Humility and submission go hand in hand. They’re really the same concept. You could argue that humility is the state of mind, submission is the carrying out in true action of that state of mind. It comes as no surprise to any good Bible student that submission, humility is an oft-repeated subject in the New Testament. To be a Christian is to be humble. To be a child of God is to be submissive. You cannot separate those. So much so that if you are lacking, truly lacking in the humility of mind and in the submission of service, then you need to be questioning whether or not you’re truly a child of God. Because a child of God, by its very definition, is one who looks like his or her father.

And God is humble. And God serves. That’s the illustration we find in Philippians chapter 2, where again we read in verse 1, therefore, if there’s any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind. Let’s pause there and think about those concepts. If there is any consolation, any encouragement, any fellowship, any affection, if there is anything real about who you are in your essence as a Christian, Paul says, then this is how it will be born out, having the same love, being of one accord, and of one mind. That phrase being of one accord literally means to be joined in soul.

What Paul here in other places in his epistles to these churches is trying to get us to understand what church really is. That church, as we understand it, is not some kind of building, some kind of physical structure, but it’s also not just some group of people that we go to church with. That it is not simply just a vehicle for our corporate worship. Now it is that, but it’s much more than that. That this assembly of people are one. That we are to be of the same mind. That does not mean that we agree on every aspect of our lives. But we’re still one. That we are of one accord, we are of one soul and mind.

So that, how will that be borne out? Verse 3, let nothing, in your mind at least, underline, circle and highlight the word nothing. The exclusiveness of that does not need to be lost. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others. Paul says, this is what it’s like to be a child of God. This is what it’s like to be a part of the family of God. True humility. This morning, let’s talk about learning to submit. You know, it’s one thing to read those words, to read those commandments that say, do this, be humble, be submissive.

Don’t look out for your own interest. Look out for the other guy. Put the other guy above you. It’s one thing to read those things. It’s a whole nother thing to put those things into practice. And to put them into practice with such universality that we could truly say that nothing that I do is done in selfish ambition or in conceit. How do I learn to submit? How do I learn to be that child of God, that brother or sister in Christ to others? If I only had a role model, if I only had someone who had exhibited those characteristics, and not just exhibited them partly, but of someone that I could truly look at and say, there’s somebody who did nothing, absolutely nothing, out of selfish ambition or conceit.

Paul gives us just that role model, just that example. And so with the remainder of this lesson, let’s look at Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 through 11 at our role model, at our example of submission, of our example of humility. And we’re going to see that Christ exhibited four characteristics of a submissive mind. And they’re the characteristics that Paul said that if you’re truly a child of God, this is how you’ll look. This is the mind that you will have. Philippians 2 verse 5 then says, let this mind, after saying, to fulfill my joy, to be like minded, to be joined in the soul, to be of one accord, do nothing from selfish ambition and conceit. Look out not only for your own interest, the interests of others.

1. A Submissive Mind Is Selfless

He now says, here’s how you do it. Verse 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. The first characteristic of a submissive mind, and notice that Paul says this is where it starts. Let this mind be in you. Let this mindset, we might say, or this attitude be yours. The attitude of Christ. Selfless is the first step in humility and submission. It must be. Because true submission, true service will never be carried out by those who think of self. And so he says, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. The selfless attitude of one, it says, of Jesus. Who being in the form of God.

The New King James says, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. That’s maybe a little bit difficult of a translation there. The idea of robbery literally means the idea of grabbing something. We think of that of robbery. Somebody runs into a store and grabs something or runs into the bank and grabs a bank of a bag of money. There’s that idea of robbery, of clinging, grabbing, selfishly grabbing on to something. With that definition of robbery in mind, it makes sense where it says that Jesus did not consider it robbery. He didn’t selfishly hang on to that thing. Being in the form of God. You and I have absolutely no idea what that must have been like, what that must be like to be God.

To be in the form of God. If we talked about humility, humility begins with God. Do we realize before we even get to the point of Jesus coming in the flesh, we have to begin in talking about how God, even the Father, humbled himself to even create us. How he humbled himself to communicate to us. The very fact that he would open up the portals of heaven and speak a word to such lowly creatures is humility. And then the patience of a rebellious people.

The sin problem came into the world in Genesis chapter 3. We know that the cross is the answer to that sin problem. Well, then why didn’t the crucifixion take place in Genesis chapter 4? Why not immediately fix the problem? I don’t know that I have all the answers, but maybe part of it was for God to demonstrate that this was going to be a universal problem. It wasn’t just an Adam and Eve problem. Maybe that’s Paul’s point in the book of Romans. For all sin, not just Adam, everybody, before you point the accusatory finger at Adam and Eve in the garden and say, Thanks a lot, realize you did no better. I did no better. Every person born who lived to that age of accountability, whatever it may be, did the exact same thing and rebelled against God.

But what did God do? God kept talking to his people, kept communicating, kept carrying out his plan to redeem us to himself. Humility.

2. A Submissive Mind Serves

Flesh and blood. And not only that, he says, who made himself of no reputation, and taking the form of a servant and coming in the likeness of man. So a characteristic of two characteristics of a submissive mind is number one, it’ll be selfless. What does it mean to not think of yourself, to do nothing out of selfish ambition and conceit? Look to Christ. And then the selfless mind will be a servant’s mind. A submissive mind serves. He took upon the form of a servant. It would have been humiliating, an humbling experience for deity to come and become the Roman emperor. But he didn’t do that. It would have been a step down from that for the Son of God to come and partake of flesh and be a procurator or a governor of some territory.

But he didn’t do that. Humbling more would have been to maybe to be a great general of an army. But Christ wasn’t that.

He himself would say he came not to be served, but to serve. Exhibited and personified in taking that towel and girding himself and getting on his hands and knees and washing his disciples’ feet. I think sometimes we unnecessarily softened that message. Because we think, well, you know, back in ancient times, in that dry, arid time, the washing of feet was common. That you’d wash your feet when you come into someone’s house, or maybe a servant or someone would wash your feet for you, and we think, well, that was a cultural thing. It’s not like washing somebody’s feet today. I mean, you think about just washing somebody else’s foot today. No. There is no cultural situation that softens what that really was. Their feet smelled just like ours do.

In fact, theirs would have been dirtier than ours. It still required getting upon your hands and knees and taking somebody’s smelly, sweaty, dirty foot in your hand and washing it. Peter understood that. That’s why he objected to the whole process. But here is Jesus washing the feet of these twelve men. And by the way, don’t miss this point. One of those twelve was Judas.

Jesus knew that. And he washed the dirty feet of his betrayer.

That’s what a servant does. A servant serves. And so the question is, let’s make some application here. Are we doing that? Are we that type of person? Let each one of us look not only for his own interest, but also of the interest of others. Hold your fingers here and go to Romans chapter 15. We must understand. Jesus teaches us this example, and let’s make two applications about the example of Christ. Number one is this is not necessarily an equal relationship. In other words, Jesus’ example doesn’t teach us this is how it works. Okay, all right. I’ll wash your feet. But you got to wash mine too. Is that what Jesus said? That’s only fair. In Romans chapter 15, the apostle Paul, in talking again to congregation and congregational situations, says this.

Romans 15 verse 1, we then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. There’s no equality of outcome there. There’s no, okay, I’ll look out for your interest, but this only works, you know, if you look out for my interest. I’ll scratch your back, but you’ve got to scratch mine. That’s not a biblical principle. That’s not how this family functions. That’s not humility. That’s not submission. That’s not service to say, I’ll do for you, but you’ve got to do for me. Where would we be if that was the attitude of Christ? If Christ said, okay, but what am I going to get out of this?

Or this is kind of a one-sided relationship. I’m doing all the work here. The servant’s heart never asks that. And again, maybe that’s something lost on us culturally, is what it’s truly like to be a servant. And we’ve kind of softened that by just using the word servant. The word that’s translated servant in our New Testament, most of the time, should really be translated slave. Because in a slave relationship, there is no equality of outcome. The slave is doing all the work and getting very little in return.

That’s not what a slave says. The slave says, I’ll mop the floor and do the dishes today, and I’ll be back tomorrow to do it again. And what else do you need? The second point we need to get from the Christ’s example. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Christ has always put forth as our example, as our role model of service, of submission, of humility and love. Love as Christ has loved you and gave himself for you. We recognize the high bar that has been set by Christ. And we might ask ourselves, how can I love that way? And we may set that bar unnaturally high to prevent ourselves from actually having to do anything. I may have used this illustration before, but we think about the idea of Christ.

I love as Christ love, I served as Christ love, and immediately our mind goes to the cross of that ultimate sacrifice that He gave His life for ours. And we make up our mind. I’m to do that for others. Okay. I’ll do that. If the occasion arises, I’ll give my life for yours. And we can sound noble in doing that. And I can proclaim in front of witnesses and being video and audio recorded so it can be verified, and everybody can know. Ken made this pledge that if anybody ever walks into the South Bumby congregation, pulls the pen on a grenade and rolls it down the aisle, I’ll fall on it for you. That’s how I can love as Christ love. And I can make that bold proclamation because I feel pretty confident it’s never going to come up.

And so I still get credit for making the proclamation, but I never really had to do anything. Don’t misunderstand me. Don’t dismiss the cross as the greatest symbol of love. But when you read those passages that say, serve as Christ served, be humble as he was humble, love as he loved. Maybe next time, in addition to thinking of the cross. Think of him getting on his hands and his knees and washing somebody’s feet. Because that will come up. And that’s a real way in which you can serve. Every day. And understand this that service, true submission and service, is active rather than passive. And what I mean by that is it seeks ways to serve. James says to visit the fatherless and the widows. He didn’t say, sit and wait until the widows call you.

Until the orphans knock on the door. He said, You go and visit. Jesus, example of service teaches that that we are to be actively looking. And it’s amazing. Whether we’re talking about prospects for evangelism or whether we’re talking about prospects for service, it’s amazing of the opportunities that will arise out of thin air when you begin to look for them. That’s the way life is. Nobody drives a certain model of vehicle until you buy that model of vehicle. And then you see them everywhere, don’t you? That happened to you. You buy a car, and all of a sudden now everybody’s got one. Look at that. It’s because you’re now looking. Those cars were there before, but you just weren’t looking for them. Now you’re tuned in to that and you’re seeing them everywhere.

3. A Submissive Mind Requires a Sacrifice

The same is true of opportunities to serve. If you get tuned, if you begin to look for them and have the servant’s mind and heart, you’ll be amazed. Oh. Where did all these things come from? I never knew there were many orphans and widows. I never knew there were as many needs until I began to look for them. Verse 8 of Philippians chapter 2. The third characteristic of a submissive mind is that he is not going to just serve in a selfless way, but it requires a sacrifice. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself. He became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Sacrifice. Sacrifice means giving up. And this may be where we balk a little bit at the concept of truly being submissive, of truly doing nothing out of selfish ambition and conceit.

To truly mean it. Do we really mean it? Of sacrifice that not looking at my own interest. You see how all of that plays really into the definition of sacrifice. Not looking out for your own interest, but for the interest of others. That’s sacrifice. The true mind of humility and submission says, no matter what. Isn’t that the New Testament pattern, beginning in Acts chapter 2, through the early principal parts of the book of Acts, that those people gave. They didn’t give out of their excess. It says they sold possessions. And many of them, Barnabas included, came and laid the entire amount at the apostles’ feet. Sacrifice. Where do we draw the line? Stories told about two good friends. They’d been lifelong friends walking down the road one day, passing the time just talking.

One friend says to the other, you know, we’ve been friends a long time. Would you do anything for I’d do anything for you? If you had two million dollars, would you give me half of it? My friend says, You know I would. You’re the closest friend I’ve got. If I had two million dollars, I’d give you a million. Walked a little further down the road, and the fella said, if you had two brand new Cadillacs, would you give me one of them? Without a thought. If I had two brand new cadillacs, I’d give my best friend one of those Cadillacs. Went a little further down the road, and the friend asked another question. He said, If you had two cows, would you give me one of them?

4. For the Glory of God

A friend said, Now hush your mouth. You know I got two cows. You see, it’s different. When it’s real. To say, I will really sacrifice to put you first. He became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. The last characteristic that Christ exhibits for us in humility and submission is found in verses 9, 10, and 11. Therefore, God highly exalted him and has given him a name that’s above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. Those in heaven and those on the earth and those under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now we might have the tendency to read that and say, well, that’s why Jesus did it.

He made that temporary service, selfless attitude, sacrifice, because he knew that he would finally be glorified. He knew there was a reward. There was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. No. Remember, he was already in the form of God. He already had that. Why did he do that? Jesus would say to the Father prior to his death, glorify your Son, for I am glorifying you. Jesus did these things not for his own glory, but for the glory of God. That every tongue should confess and every knee should bow was not a selfish motive for Jesus to do what he did. It was a motive to glorify God. The book of Ephesians. Turn over to Ephesians chapter 5.

Wives submit to your husbands. But back up a little bit to chapter 5, verse 21. And a more general statement is made where it says, submitting to one another. We all have the responsibility of submission. It’s not something that fits to certain class, a certain sex, a certain group. Submitting to one another, but he goes on to say, submitting to one another in the fear of God. Every relationship obligation that Paul speaks about in the book of Ephesians is couched in our service to God. Whether it’s husbands to wives, wives to husbands, children to parents, parents to children, slaves to master, master to slaves, it’s all do this because of God. Submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Conclusion

How can I do these things for you? When you’re not doing them for me. How can I do these things for you? And I’m getting nothing in return. Because I’m not doing them for you.

That God may be glorified. That the body of Christ might grow.

Dear God and Father in heaven. We marvel at your power and your majesty. As we bow before your throne this morning, we cannot contemplate why you would love us so much. Why you would humble yourself to communicate to us, to be patient with us, and to send your son to be so horribly treated. But we thank you and love you for your sacrifice, for your selflessness, for your service.

Bless us in our service. Open our eyes to the opportunity, multiply the opportunities that we have to glorify you in serving one another. We love you. And we thank you, Father. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.