Philippians 2:1-11--Christ's Example of Humility

Christ's Example of Humility
2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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Paul encourages the Philippian believers to not just make their Christian walk about themselves, but to come together as the entire Body of Christ and show encouragement, comfort from love, fruits of the Spirit, affection and sympathy in a way that united them to each other and would show Paul and others that they are united by Christ--in this Paul says that his joy would be complete.  As Christians we are not to act in a way that is selfish for to be "selfish" is to be controlled by the flesh and the flesh is opposed to the Spirt and the Sprit is opposed to the flesh.  You cannot be controlled by both the flesh and Spirit at the same time.  Paul reminds them that since they cannot be controlled by selfish ambition, they should always put others and the needs of others above their own needs and desires in the same way that Jesus did when He humbled Himself as a man even to death on the cross so that by His death He might become the ransom for many.

But in God's economy, the humble will be exalted, but the proud will be made low and will be humiliated.  So it will be with us that if we are humble and lowly of heart like Jesus and have the same kind of meekness that He exemplified that one day we too will be rewarded by our Father in heaven who see everything (though this should not be our goal in being who God calls us to be).  In fact, we probably won't even care about our own state and status in heaven because it seems like all attention and focus of everyone and everything in heaven and on earth and under the earth will be focused on Jesus.  It is His great name that will be exalted above every other name and it is at His great name that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that "Jesus Christ is Lord" to the glory of God the Father.  We have the opportunity to say those words and mean them in the here and now