Mar 8
Brett Yonker opens the Word in Philippians 2 and instructs us on how to have the mindset of Christ to walk humbly and love others well.
Scripture References
1.Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2.then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3.Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4.not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.5.In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:6.Who, being in very nature2:6 Or in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7.rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature2:7 Or the form of a servant,
being made in human likeness.8.And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!9.Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
God’s Final Word: His Son
1.In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2.but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3.The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4.So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
The Son Superior to Angels
5.For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father”1:5 Psalm 2:7?
Or again,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son”1:5 2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chron. 17:13?
6.And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”1:6 Deut. 32:43 (see Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint)
7.In speaking of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels spirits,
and his servants flames of fire.”1:7 Psalm 104:4
8.But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever;
a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
9.You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.”1:9 Psalm 45:6,7
10.He also says,
“In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11.They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
12.You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.”1:12 Psalm 102:25-27
13.To which of the angels did God ever say,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet”1:13 Psalm 110:1?
14.Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
The Word Became Flesh
1.In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2.He was with God in the beginning. 3.Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4.In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5.The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome1:5 Or understood it.
6.There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7.He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8.He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9.The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10.He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11.He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12.Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13.children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14.The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15.(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”) 16.Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17.For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18.No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and1:18 Some manuscripts but the only Son, who is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah
19.Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders1:19 The Greek term traditionally translated the Jews (hoi Ioudaioi) refers here and elsewhere in John’s Gospel to those Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus; also in 5:10, 15, 16; 7:1, 11, 13; 9:22; 18:14, 28, 36; 19:7, 12, 31, 38; 20:19. in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20.He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21.They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22.Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23.John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ”1:23 Isaiah 40:3
24.Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25.questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26.“I baptize with1:26 Or in; also in verses 31 and 33 (twice) water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27.He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28.This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
John Testifies About Jesus
29.The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30.This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31.I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32.Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33.And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34.I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”1:34 See Isaiah 42:1; many manuscripts is the Son of God.
John’s Disciples Follow Jesus
35.The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36.When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37.When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38.Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39.
“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40.Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41.The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42.And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter1:42 Cephas (Aramaic) and Peter (Greek) both mean rock.).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43.The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
44.Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45.Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
46.“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47.When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
48.“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49.Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
50.Jesus said, “You believe1:50 Or Do you believe…? because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51.He then added, “Very truly I tell you,1:51 The Greek is plural. you1:51 The Greek is plural. will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’1:51 Gen. 28:12 the Son of Man.”
Brett Younker
Brett Younker is a pastor, worship leader, and songwriter at Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia. His heart is to help people see and know Jesus in a real way through preaching, teaching, music, or just hanging out. Over the last decade, Brett has helped carry the heart of Passion Music and the Passion Movement to the world, calling a generation to live for the glory of God. Brett has helped write many songs the Church is singing, including “Build My Life,” Fall Like Rain,” Christ Our King,” God, You’re So Good,” “Holy Ground,” “Worthy of Your Name,” and many others. He also hosts a podcast called Jesus Songs that explores the stories of some of the songs we sing each week in church. Brett and his wife, Aynsley, have three kids and a dog named Sgt Pepper.