Series: The Theological Blueprint — Study 16 (Study Edition)

"He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name." — Philippians 2:8–9

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED...

  • What does "in the form of God" mean in Philippians 2?
  • What did Jesus refuse to grasp — that Adam grabbed?
  • Why does the exaltation begin with "therefore"?

TWO CHOICES IN TWO GARDENS

1 The Bible's whole story swings on two decisions. In Eden, a man made in God's image was offered a shortcut: "you will be like God" — and he grasped (Genesis 3:5–6). Reaching for equality with God, he lost everything: the garden, the crown, life itself. Every page after that is waiting for a second man, facing the same choice, who chooses the other way. Philippians 2 is the apostolic hymn about that second choice — and reading it against Eden's backdrop, as Paul wrote it, unlocks every line.

2 Read Philippians 2:5–7. "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant." Weigh the key words. "Form" (morphē) is status language — outward condition and standing, as its twin proves: "the form of a servant" is not a servant-nature but a servant's station. The Messiah — God's true Image (Study 03), the Son at the Jordan crowned with the spirit — held godlike status: God's own representative, bearing God's authority. And "a thing to be grasped" (harpagmos) is seizure language: plunder, a snatching. There stood the choice: exploit the exalted status for himself — the Adam move, the devil's wilderness offer (Study 12) — or pour it out in service.

1, 2. (a) What did the first man grasp at, and what did it cost? (b) What do "form" and "grasped" mean in the hymn?

THE DESCENT: HE EMPTIED HIMSELF

3 He chose the opposite of Adam. "He emptied himself" — not of deity (the text never says so) but of self: privilege poured out, status laid down, "taking the form of a servant." Watch the staircase descend, step by deliberate step: form of a servant — born in human likeness — humbled himself — obedient — to the point of death — "even death on a cross" (2:7–8): the lowest rung the ancient world knew, the slave's death. Where Adam, in paradise, reached up to seize godhood, the second Adam, from honor, climbed down into obedience. John shows us the hymn in action: knowing "the Father had given all things into his hands," Jesus "rose from supper... and began to wash the disciples' feet" (John 13:3–5). Highest standing; lowest service — that is the mind of Christ.

4 And his obedience was rendered to someone: "obedient to the point of death" — obedient to his God (the creed of Study 13), in Gethsemane's words: "not my will, but yours, be done." The hymn is not describing a divine person's temporary inconvenience; it is describing the second Adam's real, costly, human choice — the choice that answers Eden: "as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19; Study 14).

3, 4. (a) What did he empty himself of — and how far down did the staircase go? (b) To whom was the obedience rendered?

THE "THEREFORE" THAT CROWNS THE STORY

5 Now the hinge on which the entire hymn — and the gospel — turns. Read Philippians 2:9. "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name." Therefore: the exaltation is the consequence and reward of the obedience. And every verb belongs to God: God exalted; God bestowed (echarisato — "graciously gave") the name. If the Son were already the Most High, nothing could be bestowed — you cannot be given what is inalienably yours, nor promoted to what you eternally occupied. The "therefore" only works in the Blueprint's story: the faithful man, tested and obedient unto death, is raised and rewarded by his God — "you have loved righteousness... therefore God, your God, has anointed you beyond your companions" (Hebrews 1:9). Grasping lost the crown; obedience won it.

6 What name was bestowed? The verse says: "the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (2:9–11). The bestowed name is the title Lord — the investiture of Psalm 110:1 (Study 01's adoni), "God has made him both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). Paul is quoting Isaiah 45:23 — Yahweh's own oath, "to me every knee shall bow" — now administered through the exalted man: Yahweh's sovereignty exercised through his enthroned Son, the shaliach bearing the Sender's authority (Study 07).

5, 6. (a) Why does "therefore... bestowed" require the Blueprint's story? (b) What name was given, and from what Old Testament oath?

THE HYMN'S LAST LINE — AND ITS FIRST

7 And where does all the bowing and confessing finally land? Read the hymn's closing phrase, because it is the Shema's signature on the whole poem. Read Philippians 2:11. "...every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." The universal homage to the exalted Lord terminates upward — on the Father, the only true God, who exalted him. The hymn that began with a choice between grasping and serving ends with the servant crowned and the Father glorified: the exact architecture of 1 Corinthians 15:28 — all things under the Son, and the Son himself subjected, "that God may be all in all" (Study 19).

8 Do not miss why Paul wrote it all down: "Have this mind among yourselves" (2:5). The hymn is ethics before it is theology — the pattern for your own two-garden choices. Every day offers the Adam option: grasp status, exploit advantage, serve self. And every day the second Adam's staircase stands open: empty yourself, take the towel, obey your God down into costly love — and trust the "therefore." For the promise attached to his crown is attached to his family's too: "The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne" (Revelation 3:21). The way down is still the way up.

7, 8. (a) Where does every knee's homage finally land? (b) What does "have this mind" ask of your daily choices?

📖 KEY SCRIPTURES IN THIS STUDY

Philippians 2:5–11 · Genesis 3:5–6 · John 13:3–5 · Luke 22:42 · Romans 5:19 · Hebrews 1:9 · Acts 2:36 · Isaiah 45:23 · 1 Corinthians 15:28 · Revelation 3:21

💬 SHARING THIS TRUTH

A way in: "Two men, two gardens, two choices — one grasped and fell; one refused to grasp and was crowned. Want to see the hymn about it?" Discussion questions:

  1. "What does 'the form of a servant' teach us about 'the form of God'?"
  2. "Why does the exaltation begin with 'therefore' — and what does 'bestowed' rule out?"
  3. "Where does every tongue's confession finally land (2:11) — and what does that preserve?"

✅ IN REVIEW

  • Adam grasped at equality with God and fell; the second Adam refused to grasp — and served.
  • "Form" is status language; he emptied himself of privilege, not deity — down to the cross.
  • "Therefore God exalted him and bestowed the name": the crown is the reward of obedience.
  • The name is Lord — Yahweh's homage administered through his enthroned man.
  • Every knee bows "to the glory of God the Father" — and the hymn's pattern is yours to walk.

For the full evidentiary treatment, see the complete Study 16 in this archive.

Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one — and the man who would not grasp his glory has been given the name above every name: every knee will bow to the Son, every tongue confess him Lord — to the glory of God the Father.