I Am the Way #2 — Stephen Kaung

Philippians 2: Christ’s Humility and Exaltation

Let's turn to the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter 2. We'll read from verse 1 and we'll read through verse 11. Philippians 2 verse 1. Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if there is any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and one mind.

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond-servant and coming in the likeness of man.

And being found in the appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name.

But at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in heaven, of those on earth, and of those under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Let's have a word of prayer. Lord, we thank you, praise you. Once again, you gather us unto yourself. We thank you. It is your delight to reveal yourself in our hearts. We ask you to open our hearts' understanding.

We pray as your word comes through, we will respond. Lord, we do pray that you open our understanding toward your words. And we indeed will see yourself. Lord, draw us. And we will quickly run after you.

We commit our time to the Holy Spirit, in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. We thank the Lord for this time. Again, again, the Lord gathered us unto himself. I have a sensing that this kind of gathering is indeed very rare.

Particularly as we live at the end of this age. If we can gather in this way in his presence, we indeed treasure such time. And we look to the Lord that in such time as we are together, he will speak to us and he will reveal himself to us.

And we desire that he will gain all that he desires to gain for himself. And what we share at this conference is what the Lord declared about himself. And he said, I am the way, the truth and the life.

Christ as the Only Way to the Father

And no one can come to the Father except through me. Brothers and sisters, our destination is the Father himself. In the Father's house, there are abundant provisions. But we are all like the prodigal son, we are wandering far away from the Father's home.

And we wish there will be an inward awakening in all our hearts. And we realize when we are away from home, we have nothing to eat. But in the Father's home, there is abundant supply of everything. And let us awaken that we have a desire to return to the Father's house.

Our Father, our God, he is our final destination. Apart from him, we have no other destination. If we are to go to God himself, we are to go to the Father himself. We have to have a way. And we noticed yesterday that man tried to find their own ways to arrive at that destiny.

The way of the religions of the world is the way of their own good works. They think they can come to the Father. And we know that way indeed is no way. I believe before we came to know the Lord, we all tried that route once.

And we discover the way of the traditions of the Father, that is not the way either. Even though our forefathers, by revelation, they walked in this true path. That way they walked indeed was the way to the Father.

But as we receive the traditions from our fathers, we just follow those that they left for us to do. We see that this path is not the way either. We also mentioned yesterday that we want to follow the letters of the Word itself.

As though everything we do, we have scriptural basis. And those that we do, they are all external, nothing that is really inward. And the letters we observe, bring us to death, not bring us to life. So when you read scripture, we notice in the Bible there are instructions.

And we notice in scripture, in Bible, there are examples. So the most accurate way to do is simply follow the example in the Bible and instruction we find in the Bible. So we think if we do it this way, we for sure will find the way back to the Father.

But in our experience, we discover one thing. We can observe accurately the letters of the Bible. And we can follow and copy the examples we find in the Bible. And after we have do what we think we should do, it is so unlike what is written in the scripture.

For example, we see the truth of the church. And so we want to organize a church. And so we try to establish that church according to God's Word and also the pattern we see in God's Word. But if the church is not by birth through the Spirit, but it is something that we create for ourselves out of the Word of God.

And so we will discover what we have created is not the church, but an institution. And it will not bring us to the Father. For us to go to the Father, there is but one way. There is no choice. Apart from this way.

And all the other way are no way. And you will end up somewhere else. And when we really have the Lord Himself, and when He Himself is that way for us, if we are going to the Father, you cannot just simply walk by instruction, by the truth that we understand.

You have to have an intimate relationship with this Lord Himself. When we know the Lord, and when His light comes into us, and that light will bring us to the Father. And so therefore yesterday we shared that Jesus Christ is the way.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way of the Lord

This morning we will share another aspect. The way of Christ. Yesterday we shared Christ is the way. And today we will share the way of Christ. We know in Luke chapter 3, and one who was in the wilderness, and he was preaching the word of repentance.

And just like the scripture says, there is a voice raised up in the wilderness. And he was there to prepare the way of the Lord. And he straightened to pave the way. And he will smooth the way. And he will remove the mountains and smooth pave the way.

And he will straighten all the crooked places. And every mountain will be made low. And he was there to prepare the way for the Lord. And he was preparing the way for the redemption of God. And we know this voice was the voice of John the Baptist.

And he was the forerunner of the Lord Jesus. And he came to prepare the way for the Lord. We know because of sin, and morally we have been degenerated. And just like the valley, and there are many valleys there.

And so when John the Baptist came, he will fill up all the valleys. Because we sin. So our self will are like big mountains. And they are there hindering us from knowing the Lord. And all these big mountains and small mountains all will be removed.

And because we sin, and our thought life become very crooked. And all our thought, our intent are nothing but sin. And the Lord will straighten this thing for us. Because we sin, and our emotion ups and downs.

And high and low. And the Lord will smooth and pave that way. So when John the Baptist was preaching, and they accepted this preaching of repentance. And they also received John's baptism of repentance.

This is about preparation for the way of the Lord. So when the Lord came, those who received the Lord, majority of them were disciples of John the Baptist. Because they are already standing on the place of repentance.

And so it was easier for them to receive the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Today we receive our Lord. And also we experience this kind of preparation. How can we really believe in the Lord Jesus? If there is no repentance, then there will be no way to receive the Lord Jesus as His Savior.

So the work of the Holy Spirit in our heart, and the first work He does is work of repentance. And to allow us to discover, all of us in the past, we are unacceptable to God. And even the past, we thought they were good.

And we are all accomplishments. We all have to see with the light of the Holy Spirit, that all of this should be repented. And when we are brought to repentance by the Holy Spirit, we are also brought to the place of true repentance by the Holy Spirit.

Then the Holy Spirit will bring us to believe unto the Lord Jesus. This is how we came to know the Lord. This is the process we came to know the Lord. And you remember in John chapter 10, He said, I am the door.

Those who do not come through the door, if they came in any other way, they are thieves, they are robbers. I am the door. So when we enter into salvation, and we enter into the door, the door is the Lord Himself.

Christ the Door and the Way of Christian Progress

But we remember, today after we enter into the door, that is not the end. And once we enter into the door, there is still a journey ahead of us. So in Colossians 2, verse 6 and verse 7, it says, therefore having received Christ Jesus, it says, so we walk in Him.

And in English, a little bit clearer. The Chinese translation is a little bit too good. In original it says, since we have entered into the door, and that means now we must walk in Him. So the Lord is not just the door, He is also at the same time the way.

Then when you enter into that door, and now we must walk in Him. And we must be rooted in Him. In one sense we have been rooted, deeply rooted in Him. Just like last night, our brother shared about that great oak.

Just like our brother shared about that big tree. And we have to deeply rooted. And we are deeply rooted in Christ. But also there has to be a building up. And also being built up in Him. So brothers and sisters, and so we should not think that once we believe in the Lord Jesus, we have arrived.

But this is but a mere beginning. And now we begin our walk in Him. And we need to be rooted in Him. And we need to be built up in Him. So brothers and sisters, when you are there choosing the way, for example you are going to a certain place.

So you try to choose a way to get to your final destination. So before you start on your journey, you will try to figure out what kind of way is this way I am about to choose. Is this way to that place a big highway or is it a small way?

Is it a highway or is it a low way? Is it an easy way or is it a hard way? So before we make our journey, we want to study the nature of that road we are about to take. So today we are to walk the way of Christ.

Brothers and sisters, remember we are to walk in His way, the way of Christ. He is our way. So before we walk this way of Christ, we have to find out what is this way of Christ. Is it a broad way or is it a narrow way?

Is it an easy way or is it a difficult way? Is the way a long way or is it a short way? What is the nature of this way? What are some of the features we find in this way? Is it a cement way or is it a way of dirt?

So this we have to find. So this morning we would like to consider together what is this way of Christ. Or in other words, the way that He leads for us to walk in, what this way is like. In my own way of thinking, when we come to this way of Christ, where we can find a good summary of this way is to be found in Philippians 2.

Christ’s Divine Nature and His Voluntary Emptying

And this passage in Philippians 2, we find how this way began and how this way ended. So let's look at Philippians 2. And we'll begin with verse 6. Verse 6 says, He being in the form of God. This being in the form of God.

Those who know Greek, this is a very special term. We see the human being. What is the nature of this being? What is the inner nature of this being? Nature is forever the same. Nothing can affect it. This is the original nature.

So He has said He is our Lord. What is His original nature? That is forever. That is unchanging. He existed in the form of God. The word form. In the original Greek, there are two ways of conveying this word form.

The word form here is morphine. It refers to that form which cannot be changed, which forever, eternally,.

Remains the same. No matter where,.

At any circumstances, this form remains the same. For example, man is man. That cannot be changed. You're always a human being. Even though today you became a Christian, you still did not change to God.

You have divine life in you. You can be one with Him in spirit, but you are never God. That cannot be changed. In this age, it is this way. In the coming age, it is the same way. And the eternal age remains the same.

Thank God forever we are man. That cannot be changed. And the new word is schema. This word also means form. And this form can be changed. How? We, this human being, when we are born, we are like a baby.

And then as we grow, we become children. And then when we grow further, we become teens. And then when we grow, we become adults. And then we grow further, we become old age. And we are forever changed.

But even though there is change, we remain human. The human remains the same. And it's not that when you are a baby, you are a monkey. And then when you grow, you become something else. You become Galileo.

And after you fully mature, you become man. There is change. Even though you change, you cannot change morphine, the original nature that's in you. So this verse tells us what our Christ, what was his original form.

He was God. In the form of God, he was God. What God is like, so is him. So all the nature of God dwells in him. All the fullness of God dwells in him. So when someone reads the book of Colossians, he tells us that all the fullness of God dwells in him.

All the fullness of God dwells in him. In other words, father and son are one. They have the same nature. And can never be changed. There is no hierarchy. One is higher, one is lower. And they are all called equal.

And so he existed in the form of God. In other words, he is God. And further, we cannot consider it robbery. To be equal with God. He was equal with God. Because he was God. This equality is not because he robbed it.

So when the scripture put it this way, there must be a reason. Because there was once, we know there was someone who desired to rob God's glory. And if we read Ezekiel 14, and that morning star, that beautiful creature, why you have fallen?

Because your heart desires. I want to ascend. I want to ascend to the highest place. I want to be part of the council of God. And I want to be equal with God. Because this morning star has this desire.

So as a result, he was driven out from the throne of God. This, we believe, is the origin of Satan. Often people ask, why did God create Satan? Our God did not create Satan. He is the creator. Our God created an angel.

But our Lord created was the, our angel. And he is the cherubim before God. It could be one of the most, the first creation of God ever created. And he gave much gift. And much duty. And high position.

But this, our angel, and the age before, and the pride enter into his heart. The creative desire to be equal with the creator. And therefore, he made himself Satan, an adversary of God. But brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus, he is God's son.

His equality with God was not something he grasped. It was his original privilege. So this is our Lord Jesus Christ. He is full with God. There is no need for him to rapt it. It is his original right and privilege.

And let's now find what is his way. This is by the beginning. His beginning because he is God. He was equal with God. And he was receiving all that is due God, all worship and everything that is due God.

But the Bible tells us but he made himself no reputation. And Chinese has a very refined translation. Indeed, Chinese is a very civilized society and race. And so when we translate Bible into Chinese, it is a very refined translation.

But when it comes to this, he made himself no reputation but it is not deep enough, not heavy enough. The feeling is not all there. But in original we are told even though he was God himself, even though he was equal with God, is not something to be welcomed.

But he emptied, willingly emptied himself. It is he himself emptied himself. And he emptied himself voluntarily. Brothers and sisters, this emptying, indeed he emptied of all. All that can be emptied, he emptied of all.

But there are things that cannot be emptied. Under the words, he emptied himself. He emptied all his rights, all his privilege as God to be worshipped, to be praised, to be adored. He emptied all that.

But because he is God, he cannot empty his deity. Because that is his original nature. That is his original nature. So when our Lord became flesh, he is the Word and the Word became flesh. It cannot be just because he came into flesh, therefore he is not the Word.

He emptied of his glory, of his honor, all his praise, all his worship, and his position. So when our Lord was on this earth, and even though he put on the form of man, but he remains God. So he is the only man, God-man in the whole universe.

Because he is Emmanuel, and he is God and man in him. Brothers and sisters, our Lord emptied himself. Why he emptied himself? And this emptying of himself was not something forced on him. It was not because demand was imposed on him.

It was all voluntarily, using human words.

The Son’s Willingness to Fulfill the Father’s Purpose

It's possible that in the eternity past, only God was there. Because God is self-existent. Before creation, before the creation of angelic beings, and not even before creation of man. Within the Godhead, using human words,.

As though there is a council within the Godhead. And in fellowship, as a fellowship, the Father said, I indeed love my son. How can I express my love for my son? And if there is love, love seeks an expression.

And you cannot say, I love you, and there is no expression of that love. If there is love, love will find a way to express that love. God is love. And therefore, he also has the object of that love. And he loved his son.

And he said, I want to create all things for my son. I'll give all things to my son. To show that I loved him. This is the reason why God created. Because our God knows everything. For example, the wisdom of our God.

And he sees the end from the beginning. Because with him, there is no time. And so God, Father and Son, they know. As he thinks of creating of everything for his son. And he knew beforehand things will happen.

And he knew beforehand that they all endure or rebel. It is not that he predestined that he should be fallen. But he has full knowledge to know. Because our God knows everything. He not only knew that they all endure or rebel.

And he also knew beforehand that man will fall. And so as they were thinking about these things, there was time of consideration. How can we approach it? And then God the Son speak up. The Son said, Father, if this is your will, I want your will to be fulfilled.

I am willing to empty myself. I am willing to come to this earth to be a man. I want to reconcile the whole earth back to yourself. And to recover everything back to your original purpose for creation.

And so even at that moment, the Son was willing to give himself for this. And he was willing to come back to this earth. This is the reason for his emptying. If he is not willing to be empty of himself, then God's purpose will not be fully realized.

So the Bible tells us he emptied himself taking the form of a bond servant. Now this form is also morphic. It cannot be changed. Under the words, when our Lord came to this earth, he took upon himself the form of a servant.

He came from where he was equal with God. And he came to the lowest place possible. Because among men there is no lower place than a bond servant or slave. God has absolute rights. Whatever he desires to do, he does it.

And no one has the right to question him. And we find it in Romans 9. How about the potter can do whatever he wants without clay. And the clay has no right to protest. Our God has absolute sovereign right.

But a bond servant has no right at all. He gives up all his rights. And because our Lord desires to fulfill God's purpose, and he took upon himself the form of a bond servant. The nature is a servant nature.

And he went to stand in the place of a slave. And he gave all his rights. The purpose is for him to fulfill God's purpose. So we see when our Lord was on the earth. And there's one word he said repeatedly.

Out of myself I can do nothing. What the father does so the son do. Apart from myself I can say nothing. What I hear I speak. My time is not in my hand. My time is with my father. And he stood on the place of a slave absolutely.

That was his heart. He took upon himself the form of a bond servant. And becoming in the likeness of man. And the word became flesh. And in the likeness of man, this likeness of man is schema. Because when our Lord was born he was a baby.

And when he was 12 years old and when he went to Jerusalem he became the son of the Lord. And at age 33 he became a preacher. And so we can see that he came to this earth indeed to be a man. And so he came to this, he's not a performance.

When he came to be a man indeed he was like a man. So therefore he was 100 God but he was also 100 man. Being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself. Since he came to this earth to be a man so he identified where a man should be.

And so we can say our Lord Jesus Christ is that man who is after God's own heart. So in God's creation the mind of God for creating man that man is like Jesus. The first man Adam failed. And the second man on this earth he became the man that God is after.

What is man's place and attitude before God? It is obedient with a true heart. A humble himself. A humble himself means placed himself at the lowest place. Even though God created man above all the other creatures but he is still under God.

Today unfortunately we forgot our place. We always think that we are above all creation. But we have forgotten we are still under God. This is our place. So he humbled himself and become obedient. A true man his inward character is a character of obedience.

And he obeyed God to a point even a point of death the death of the cross and even the death of the cross. So brothers and sisters here we see how the way he came to this earth. His way is a way of emptying.

His way is a way to be a bondservant. And his way is a way of a true man. And his way is a way of humility and way of obedience. And his way is a way of self-sacrifice. And his way is the way of the cross.

The Way of the Cross Leads to Glory

This is the way our Lord walked on this earth. Of course this is nothing but the way. It's not the end. And so right here he kept decreasing himself So this way leads him to the glory. So the Bible tells us Then therefore God has highly exalted him because he humbled himself.

Then God exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. And every knee should bow. Those in heaven, those on earth and underneath the earth. Every time confess Jesus Christ is Lord. Our Lord has indeed have spoken.

After his resurrection shall not Christ suffer before into glory? And so we find his way is the way to the Father. And in his prayer in John 17 he is a Father. Now to go to you. Yes, I go back to where the glory which I share with you.

Because he is God. He came He came from glory. He came from the glory as God. And now he returned to the glory which he was he had it with the Father originally. As he went back he now entered into the glory which he shared with God before.

But he also entered into the glory which God is giving to him. Because he came to the earth and he accomplished redemption. He satisfied God's heart. And so God has given him a glory the glory of man.

And so when he returned to his Father he received double glory. Brothers and sisters This is the way of Christ. This is the way for each of us. The scripture says we are to walk in him. In Hebrews 10.

The New and Living Way Through Christ’s Flesh

Hebrews 10 verse 19. Therefore brethren having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way which he consecrated for us through the veil that is his flesh. The way to the holiest.

How can we go to God? On one hand it is through the blood of the Lord Jesus. If there is no blood we cannot approach God. Those who want to enter into the holiest place they will be burned by the fire.

So the high priest enters the holiest place once a year with blood and fear and trembling. But we thank God because of the Lamb Jesus Christ because of his blood and now we have boldness into the holy place.

He also has given us a new and living way. In the Chinese Bible he opened to us a new and living way. Dedicate. Just like when you build a new road there is no road from this place to that place. And now a new road was built.

So they will dedicate that road. After they dedicate that road now it is free for you to travel. So on this earth the Lord Jesus dedicated a road for us. And he prepared that way for us. And this way he paved this way he is the inaugurator of this way.

Just in a desert he opened a way for us. Now And now he wants to walk in this new and living way. So brothers and sisters this way is our way. The way he walked is the way he lead for us to walk in it.

Because this is the way the way to the Father. So when the Lord was on this earth he called his disciples he said if anyone desire to follow me must deny himself pick up his cross and follow me. Unless you do this you are not worthy to follow me.

Fallen sisters The way the Lord walked the way that he paved for us is the way to the Father. Today if we desire to be to go to the Father we have to walk the way he once walked. What is this way? This way the way of self sacrifice.

You have to deny yourself you have to deny yourself you have to take up the cross and follow our Lord. This way is through the veil in the Old Testament Between the holy place and the holiest there is a veil a thick veil is a division between the holy place and the most holy place.

And God's glory dwelt within the veil in the holiest. But there is a barrier the veil was there. And so God's glory was veil. And the holy place we do not see God's glory. The holy place we have to have the lamp stand.

Without the lamp stand then that place will be dark. And the outer court we have the natural light from the sun. But God's glory is within the holy veil There is a veil because no one was worthy to behold God's glory.

Because if anybody see God's glory he will be struck to death. This veil the Bible tells it. The Bible says this veil is his flesh. So when the Lord came to this earth he was just like that veil. One side of the veil faced God's glory.

And on the other side of the veil it excluded everyone from God's glory. Our Lord Jesus in his flesh it was only him who always was before his father's face because he was a sinless man because he is a holy perfect man.

On earth he was that one man who can be in the face in the presence of his father. And he was always with his father. On the other hand because on earth he was such a perfect such a holy person and so he testified to us none of us are qualified to behold God's glory.

So when the Holy Spirit came the Holy Spirit convicted us of our sin of righteousness of judgment. Righteous because our Lord Jesus he went to the father because only him can go to the father. Because of his righteousness he is fit to be with the father.

But his righteousness condemned us. So sometimes in our song we hear doctrinally questionable. So sometimes his righteousness becomes our own righteousness. But his righteousness condemned us. And the more we see his righteousness the more we see our own unrighteousness.

So his righteousness qualifies him to be our representative. So what we put on is Christ himself who is our righteousness. So on this earth he was just like that veil. When he came to be a man on this earth on the Mount of Transfiguration he returned to glory because he is qualified.

Self-Denial and the Cross in the Believer’s Life

Now brothers and sisters there is no way for us. But thank God and he went down from the mountain and he went to Calvary and he exit from Calvary. Veil was rent. So when our brother our Lord Jesus hang out of the camp and when he shout that word it is finished.

And the veil and the temple was rent from top to bottom. And now the way is open. He opened dedicated that way for us. Brothers and sisters So today what prevent us from beholding his glory is our own flesh.

It is self life. That is why the Lord said we have to deny our self pick up our cross and follow him. Self sacrifice is a willingness. Because of his love so constrained us we are willing to lay down our own life.

He exist with God is that something that he grasped from. And he was willing to empty of himself. We this human beings whatever we have is but very small. Even whatever we have we need to empty of all.

We have to have a desire to deny our self. And then the Holy Spirit arrange our circumstances. And he will prepare cross for us to bear. Brothers and sisters don't create your own cross. Cross is to be prepared for you by the Holy Spirit.

In your everyday life and everyday in your ordinary encounter whether it is people or the things you do and Holy Spirit is arranging all things and he is there arranging for you big and small crosses.

And he does it according to your needs. And he also do it according to the measure of grace he has given to you. And he will prepare that cross. But you have to have a desire and a desire a willingness to deny your own self life.

But if you don't desire to deny your self and when the cross comes it will be too heavy for you. And you will escape the cross. And you will preserve your own self life. And this that you discover you are not on that way.

And you have escaped from that one way. But you have a heart of self sacrifice. When the cross comes and the Lord will come to you and say my burden is light and easy. And you will find the increase of his grace in you.

And step by step you walk in the way of the cross. Until we are crucified on that cross. But that is but a way. But that is not the final destiny. But the end the final destiny is glory. If today we are willing to deny our self and follow the cross one day and one day he will bring many sons to glory.

The Narrow Way to Eternal Life