The Lord who Stooped Low

In a world obsessed with climbing ladders, building platforms, and making names for ourselves, there exists a radically different path to greatness. It's a path that defies human logic and challenges every cultural assumption about power, influence, and leadership. It's the way of Jesus—the way down.

The Ancient Hymn That Changes Everything

Hidden within Paul's letter to the Philippians lies one of the earliest Christian hymns ever recorded. Dating back to the very dawn of Christianity, this profound piece of worship reveals something shocking about the nature of God and the character of true lordship. Early Roman officials actually reported with bewilderment that Christians would gather at dawn to sing to Christ "as though He was a God."

What were they singing about? Not their feelings. Not their circumstances. Not even primarily about themselves. They sang about Christ's incarnation, His death on a cross, and His exaltation to the right hand of God. Their worship was relentlessly Christ-centered, focused on the One who descended from heaven's throne to a criminal's cross.

This ancient hymn, preserved in Philippians 2:5-11, presents a pattern of transformation that still echoes through the centuries: change comes not from self-improvement projects, but from imitating Someone worthy of imitation. We don't just become "better people"—we become more like Christ.

Have This Mind Among You

The foundation of Christian transformation begins in the mind. "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus," Paul writes. Our thoughts shape the trajectory of our entire lives. As Proverbs teaches, as a person thinks, so they are.

Here's the revolutionary truth: because of what Christ has done, we're not trapped in dysfunctional, selfish thought patterns. First Corinthians 2:16 declares boldly, "We have the mind of Christ." Not we're working toward it. Not we hope to achieve it someday. We have it—present tense, active reality.

But what does the mind of Christ actually look like?

The mind of Christ is not self-promoting. It seeks no position, power, or prestige. It doesn't exploit privilege for personal gain. Since our Lord, though fully God, did not cling to His divine privileges, how can we possibly justify our pride? If Christ—perfect and without fault—chose humility, what do we have to be proud of?

The mind of Christ sees servant leadership not as beneath dignity but as the highest calling. After all, if the head of the body can renounce His privileges and take on the role of a servant, even dying a slave's death, then no one in the Christian community should ever see serving others as beneath them.

The Path of Descent

Mindset must lead to action. And Christ's humble mindset led Him down a path marked by three revolutionary choices:

First, He did not grasp. Though He was the pre-existent, eternal God—fully divine in essence and appearance—He did not cling to His divine privilege. He never exploited His divinity for selfish advantage. Where the first Adam grasped at the fruit on the tree, trying to become like God, the second Adam hung on a tree, refusing to grasp at what was already His.

Second, He emptied Himself. Christ divested Himself of His divine attributes. He limited Himself to a human body. He made Himself of no reputation—the exact opposite of what everyone seeks today. He came as a helpless child, born to a teenage mother in a poor family, in a scandalous situation. He took the lowliest place and sought only to do the Father's will, not what would make Him famous.

Third, He humbled Himself. This Greek term literally means to make oneself as low as possible. Christ descended from the highest heavens to the lowest depths. He went from angelic praise to human humiliation, allowing the very beings He created to spit on Him, beat Him, and crucify Him.

Crucifixion wasn't just execution—it was humiliation designed to deter and terrorize. Victims were stripped naked, beaten beyond recognition, and hung beside busy roads as public spectacles. The eternal Son of God subjected Himself to the most degrading death imaginable, willingly.

This is what lordship looks like in God's kingdom—not towering statues demanding allegiance through fear, but a servant washing feet, a king wearing thorns, a Lord dying for His subjects.

The Reward of Obedience

But the hymn doesn't end at the cross. It crescendos in exaltation.

"Therefore"—this single word is the hinge upon which everything turns—"God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name."

The one who descended to the depths in death is now raised in dominion. Because of His self-lowering, the Father vindicated Jesus by raising Him from the dead and super-exalting Him to the highest possible place: the right hand of the Father in the highest heavens.

And God gave Him the name above all names. Not just "Jesus," but the revelation of who Jesus truly is: Yahweh. Lord. God Himself. The hymn waits until the very last line to reveal this thunderous truth: Jesus Christ is Lord.

This is a direct echo of Isaiah 45:23-24, where God declares, "Before me every knee will bow, and by me every tongue will swear." What the prophet said of Yahweh, Paul says of Jesus. The earliest Christians weren't just saying Jesus was a good teacher or a prophet—they were worshiping Him as God.

Every Knee Will Bow

The hymn concludes with a universal declaration: at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow—in heaven, on earth, and under the earth—and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Every being God ever created will acknowledge this truth. Every politician, every world leader, every dictator, every person who ever lived will bow before Jesus and confess Him as Lord. Every demon, every angel, every creature will declare it.

There are only two ways to bow before Jesus: in worship now, or in judgment later. There is no third option. The question isn't whether you'll acknowledge Jesus as Lord—the question is when, and in what context.

The Way Up Is Down

The radical truth of this ancient hymn is that the way up is down. The path to exaltation is descent in humility. In God's kingdom, greatness is measured not by how many serve you, but by how many you serve.

This isn't just theology to admire—it's biography to live. We're called to embody the same pattern: the mindset of humility leading to the path of descent, trusting God for vindication and exaltation in His timing.

Jesus is Lord—not because He demanded it, but because He earned it through suffering. He's different from every other lord the world has known. His lordship is expressed through servanthood, His power through weakness, His throne through a cross.

And He calls us to follow the same path: down.