Sermon Idea: We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, who is the mediator between God and man.
Introduction: There is no greater question in life than, who is Jesus Christ? The answer to the question is determinative, not only for the meaning of our life now but for the fate of our life into eternity.
The importance of this question is pressed upon us by Jesus himself, when he asks the disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is? (Matt. 16:13)
Jesus praises Peter’s answer, and so we know it is exemplary for us, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16)
In the Gospel of John, Thomas makes an equally praiseworthy confession when he sees the risen Christ and says, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
Jesus, who was born of Mary in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph, and lived among his disciples in the most mundane and human ways, is confessed to be the Son of God. This is why, throughout the New Testament, Jesus Christ is worshipped as God.
How to faithfully make sense of and articulate biblically these two realities: Jesus is a human being, and Jesus is a human being, who is the Son of God, preoccupied the early church’s thinking and worship for centuries.
Unfortunately, many attempts to understand who Jesus is and what it means for him to be the Son of God lacked biblical faithfulness. Very early, some attempted to say that Jesus was divine but only appeared to be human. This is known as Docetism because it comes from the Greek word “to appear.”
Others wrongly suggested that Jesus was a faithful man who eventually became the Son of God. This is a form of adoptionism in which the man Jesus becomes the Son of God because of his faithfulness and righteousness.
Some suggested that Jesus was fully divine but did not have a human mind or soul. In other words, Jesus is divine and has a body but is not fully human.
Perhaps the most famous error came from a man named Arius, who taught that the Son was a created being somewhat divine but most certainly not co-eternal and co-equal with God. The famous expression of Arius was, “…there was when the Son was not.”
The consequence of each of these errors is grave. These are not matters of biblical interpretation where people in good faith can disagree. These are matters of our salvation, for only a savior who is fully God and fully man can redeem fallen humanity and be the mediator between God and man.
As division over the identity of Jesus Christ continued, it became clear that what was needed was a way to speak about God and of Jesus Christ in a manner that is faithful to all the Bible teaches. Four ecumenical councils in the 4th and 5th centuries were called to articulate the language of how to speak of God, the Holy Trinity, and Jesus Christ as one person with two natures. The Council of Nicaea in 325 and the Council of Constantinople in 381 focused on the doctrine of the Trinity, while the Councils of Ephesus in 431 and Chalcedon in 451 clarified an orthodox view of Jesus Christ.1
This morning I want to put Philippians 2 in the context of what took place in Nicea in 325 and Constantinople in 381. The result of the Council of Nicaea was not only the condemnation of Arius but also a positive articulation of the Christian faith known as the Nicene Creed. It is hard to overstate the importance of this creed. It is a succinct summary of the Christian faith that faithfully articulates what the Bible teaches and is a helpful aid to reading the Bible well.
We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and was made human. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried. The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end.
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life. He proceeds from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He spoke through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic church. We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and to life in the world to come. Amen.
(*catholic here means “universal.” It refers to the church in every place throughout every age. It does not refer to the Roman Catholic Church)
This is how the church talks about God. This is our language. It’s a beautifully faithful summary of Scripture.
Philippians 2:5-11 is one of the key texts of the New Testament for a proper understanding of who Jesus is because in just a few verses it speaks of the one Lord Jesus Christ as both equal to God and in the form of a human being.
Last week, we saw how Paul appeals to the journey of Jesus first in heaven before the incarnation, then in his humiliation as a human, and finally to glory in heaven. This serves as a support for the life in which we are called to live as a church. We are called to live humbly with one another as we seek to be unified in the gospel. Jesus is the pattern and the power for us as we pursue humility.
Now that we have done that, we can come to the text again and learn all we can about our Lord Jesus Christ. As we follow the text, beginning with Christ’s eternal glory, to his humiliation in the form of a servant, to his exaltation in heaven, we will see that we believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, who is the mediator between God and man.
I.) Our Lord Jesus Christ is fully God (2:5-6)
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 (Php 2:5–6)
The point of verse 6 is to tell us what he didn’t do. Being in the form of God, he did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped. This point alone, though, makes obvious positive claims about who Jesus is with two related phrases: form of God and equality with God.
What does Paul mean when he says that the Son was in the form of God? When we hear the word form, we think of some type of visible appearance. It refers to the glory and status of someone divine.
To speak of the Son as being in the form of God is to attribute God’s glory and majestic status to the Son. The Son is the radiant glory of God.
The only way one can be in the form of God and equal to God is to have the same nature as God. Two texts which state explicitly that the Son is of the same nature of God are Hebrews 1:2-3 and 1 John 1:1.
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. (Heb 1:2–3)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (Jn 1:1)
It is because of passages like these and many others that led to the Nicene Creed’s confession that our Lord Jesus Christ is God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father.
The key affirmation that the creed clarifies is that the Son is of the same being as the Father. The Son is not a similar being or a similar nature and essence. No, being in the form of God and equal to God, the Son is of the same essence as the Father.
Being equal to God, of the same essence as the Father, means that the Son is not
1.) a created being or
2.) a lesser being
The Bible teaches us that the Son of God is the agent through whom the Father created all things. The Son is not a creature, he is the creator!
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (Jn 1:3)
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Heb 1:1–2)
The Bible’s teaching on the relationship between the Father and Son is not creator and creature. The Bible teaches us that there is one God who eternally is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The three persons of the one God share all things in common. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal in God’s perfections. They are equal in glory, majesty, and honor. The only distinction we make is when we discuss their eternal relations as Father, Son, and Spirit. What do I mean by eternal relation?
Consider John 1:14, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (Jn 1:14, NKJV)
“…begotten of the Father” is the language of eternal relation. The Son is the eternally begotten Son of the Father. This relation is timeless, it has no beginning and does not change. It is unique and totally unlike how humans beget children.2 The Father has never been without the Son. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father.
This is the truth confessed in the Nicene Creed: And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages…begotten, not made.
This may be hard to comprehend and that’s because it is incomprehensible! That does not make it any less true.
As part of my preparation this week I revisited an important book called On God and Christ by an early church father named Gregory of Nazianzus. I like what Gregory says about the incomprehensibility of this doctrine and if you’ll let him, I think he will help you too.
“If you make its incomprehensibility a ground for denying the fact, it is high time you ruled out as non-existent a good number of things you don’t understand, the chief of which is God himself…God’s begetting ought to have the tribute of our reverent silence. The important point is for you to learn that he has been begotten.”- Gregory of Nazianzus
Being of the same essence as the Father the Son is,
1.) Co-eternal and
2.) Co-equal with God
Our Lord Jesus Christ is fully God! He always was, is, and forever will be. Let us have firm confidence in the teaching of the New Testament, let’s adore and worship Jesus Christ as God from God, light from light, true God from true God.
Transition: Our Lord Jesus Christ is also fully man. Paul tells us Jesus did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped (Php 2:6) In other words, Jesus does not exploit his status for his advantage. What is important about this is that everything about the Son becoming a man is for us and our salvation. God did not need to become a man. We needed God to become a man. Jesus humbling himself is for us and our salvation.
II.) Our Lord Jesus Christ is fully man (2:7-8)
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Php 2:7–8)
With these verses, the eternal Son of God takes on human flesh, being born in the likeness of men. The emptying reference here is a simple reference to the Son’s majestic, divine glory being veiled by human flesh. Jesus did not empty himself of his divinity in any way. That would be impossible! The Son of God remains God fully, without change, as he takes on human flesh in the incarnation.
So when we speak of the incarnation, we just mean that the Son of God became enfleshed as the Gospel of John teaches us, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (Jn 1:14)
The word “taking” in verse 8 is important for us to understand what it means for the Son of God to become a human being. The Son was not transformed into a human being, but the humanity of Jesus Christ was added and united to the divine nature of the Son at the moment of conception.
The significance of this is that we believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, fully God and fully human. Jesus is not two persons, the Son of God and Jesus Christ. He is one person with two natures: a divine nature and a human nature. These two natures “…undergo no confusion, no change, no division, no separation.”3
The purpose of the Son of God taking on human flesh was for us and for our salvation!
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Phil. 2:8)
Sin corrupted everything about us, both our bodies and our souls. If we were going to be redeemed, we needed a savior who could redeem us from sin and death. Only by God taking on human flesh and becoming fully God and fully man in one Lord Jesus Christ made redemption possible.
The Son of God talking on flesh made death in our place possible. Remaining the Son of God while in the flesh made his sacrificial death powerful to conquer Satan, sin, and death.
14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery, (Heb 2:14–15)
Jesus’ humanity also qualifies him to be a faithful high priest who can help us when we’re being tempted.
17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Heb 2:16–18)
Have you considered how God becoming man was for us and our salvation? Have you trusted in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
Have you reflected on what grace it is to have a high priest who is able to help those who are being tempted?
Transition: Our Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He is one person with two natures, and because of his finished work on the cross is the one mediator between God and man.
III.) Our Lord Jesus Christ is the exalted mediator between God and man (2:9-11)
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. (Php 2:9–11)
What is crucial to see here is that God exalts the resurrected Jesus Christ by bestowing on him “the name that is above every name.”
Throughout the Bible, God’s name refers to his divine nature. God’s divine name is first revealed to us in Exodus 3:14.
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” (Ex 3:13–14)
YHWH is the personal name of God as revealed in Holy Scripture. What is interesting is that Israel would not say that name out of reverence for it. Instead, every time they saw the name YHWH in Scripture they would read ADONAI (Lord). In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, kupios (Lord) is the word that is used to translate God’s divine name.
In the New Testament to say that Jesus is Lord is the same thing as saying Jesus is the one and same God whose name is YWHW. At his resurrection, the one Lord Jesus Christ, fully and fully human, is given the name that the Son of God possesses being equal with God. He already possessed that name and all it entails as God, but now he recieves it as man. The one Lord Jesus Christ has the divine name. It is that Jesus is Lord!
Because our one Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, he is the mediator between God and man.
The Baptist Faith & Message makes a clear connection between Jesus’ exaltation and ascension into heaven with his office as mediator.
He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. ArticleII.B
Paul teaches us elsewhere that there is only one mediator between God and man.
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. (1 Ti 2:5–6)
The only way for sinners to be made right with God is through the work of the mediator between God and man, the Lord Jesus Christ. The question for each of us is, have I bowed the knee to Jesus Christ through faith? Is my relationship to God mediated by the Lord Jesus Christ?
One day every person will acknowledge Christ as Lord. He is worthy of this now and will be forever.
We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, who is the mediator between God and man.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is, “the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and was made human. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried. The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end.”
This is what we believe about Jesus Christ. This is what we confess. To the praise and glory of God.
1Steve McKinion, “Jesus Christ” in Historical Theology for the Church ed. Jason G. Duesing and Nathan A. Finn (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2021)
2R. Lucas Stamps & Tyler Wittman, “Christology” in Confessing Christ ed. Steve McKinion, Christine Thornton, Keith Whitfield (Nashville, TN: B&H, 2024) 17.
Nathaniel R. Martin 