Page 8...The P o rtla n d O bserver...F e bru ary 12, 1992
Portland Observer
Scripture o f the Wheti
RELIGION
John 3:16
Insight on the Word: It’s Not Hard To Be Humble, When You Know the Greatness of Christ
BY MICHAEL LINDSEY
Dean of North Portland Bible College
The Bible text fo r next week's
Sunday School lesson is Philippians
2:1-11. We encourage you to study this
scripture carefully-it is one o f the most
important doctrinal statements in the
New Testament. Then plan to attend
Sunday School this week and discuss
the truth with other Bible students. You'll
be glad you did!
This whole quarter (December
through February) we have been study­
ing a sample of the many songs and
prayers in the Bible. In particular, the
last two weeks we have examined two
prayers given by the Lord Jesus him­
self: the well-known “ Lord’s Prayer,”
a model for us as believers; and the
“ High-Priestly Prayer,” offered to the
Father on the night he was betrayed.
At first reading in our King James
Versions, this week’s text might not
seem to be a song or prayer at all. Un­
fortunately, the translators of the KJV
did not use poetic convention (form) to
translate the poetic Scriptures, though
they knew which passages were origi­
nally poetry. In our scripture, the verses
6-11 were probably an excerpt from a
hymn of praise to Christ Jesus, used in
worship by the early church. The Apostle
Paul quotes from hymns in other epistles
as well (1 Tim. 3:16; 2 Tim 2:11-13).
To get the proper feel of our text, I
would encourage you to read it in the
NIV or the NRSV translation.
Paul did not insert this hymn of
praise just to argue some doctrinal is­
sue; that was seldom his style. Rather,
he was giving practical advice to the
Philippians church in their situation,
and using the Person of Christ as a
marvelous illustration. When we get
involved in doctrinal questions, let’s
make sure we understand what differ­
ence it m akes-in our own lives, and in
our churches and community.
Paul knew there had been some
disagreements in the Philippians con­
gregation, which were serious enough
to trouble the whole group (Phil 4:2-3).
He wanted to teach them the virtue of
humility, a vital character trait of Chris­
tian people: “ in lowliness o f mind let
each esteem other belter than them­
selves” (2:3). To the Greek culture,
humility was not a virtue at all. It was a
sign of weakness, a defect from the
proper virtues of courage and self-as­
sertiveness. To the disciples of Christ,
humility expressed their dependence
on God, and their desire to build other
people up, honestly and unselfishly.
Today’s culture has given us a
flood of books and TV specials on self
Volunteers Needed
Interested in Community Development in Northeast Portland? The
Northeast Genesis Project needs your help!
We need volunteers interested in:
1. Community Service
2. Fundraising
3. Community News Letter
5. Board Participation
Please call Rose Marie Davis @ 281 -8976 any time.
ThePrucfentia!ÎÏ>
Jim Werner
District Agent, 19 Years Service
11300 N.E. Halsey, Suite 100
Portland, OR 97220
Residence: 503-771-6113
M allory Avenue
Christian Church
D
i s c i p
l e
s
o f
C
h
esteem and assertiveness training, which
I believe parallels the Greek pagan
culture of Paul’s lime. We are told to be
strong, to love ourselves, to be asser­
tive, to look out for “ Number 1.” Some
of this may be necessary for those who
have been systematically abused and
deprived of their dignity by the society.
Unfortunately, this cultural norm often
becomes a convenient pretext for greed,
irresponsible lifestyles, even racist
propaganda and violence. We won’t
find the solution to these social prob­
lems in more self esteem classes; we
need to learn the Biblical pattern of
humility under the protection of the
Almighty God.
Paul told the Philippians that they
needed to be different from the sur­
rounding world—they should consider
others’ needs as well as their own, and
work to meet them (2:4). This is the
message we still need today: * ‘do noth­
ing out of selfish ambition or vain
conceit” (2:3, NIV). Ambition doesn’t
have to be selfish, if we see our own
success as a means to bless others, not
just glorify ourselves. We have the
negative examples of unprincipled lust
for money and power in the corporate
empires of America, and we see thou­
sands of people now losing their jobs as
a direct result.
But Paul set before his friends in
Philippi-and before us as w cll-a posi­
tive example of power and glory, tem­
pered and strengthened by humility.
He bids us look carefully at the Person
of Christ Jesus, to observe his “ mind”
or attitude (2:5), and to be like him. He
uses a hymn of praise which the Philip­
pians probably knew well, to sum up
teachings about Christ which we can
confirm from the Gospels and other
epistles as well.
From the very beginning, Christ
existed “ in the form of God” (2:6).
This “ form” (Greek morphe) means a
manifestation of reality, not just ap­
pearance or resemblance. In other words,
before he came to earth in human flesh,
the Son was really and fully God, with
all the majesty and glory and adoration
of the heavenly hosts which he de­
served as God.
Yet he “ thought it not robbery to
be equal with God.” This word is unique
in the Greek Scriptures (both Old and
New Testaments), but its meaning can
be seen in related words, and in its use
here. The word for “ robbery” here
means “ something to be grabbed, or
seized by force, or held onto.” The
hymn asserts that Christ did not think
he had to hold onto his position and
prerogatives in glory; he took his es­
Enjoy a Delectable Irish
Stew While You Benefit
Northeast Portland
Senior Citizens!
Annual Creole Gumbo
Dinner at Immaculate
Heart Church
You can honor St. Patrick and touch
a bit of the blarney stone on March 14,
1992, from 2-6 p.m. Bill McCormick,
owner of Jake’s Famous Crawfish, will
provide an authentic savory stew. En­
tertainment includes Irish balladeer Peter
Yates.
The festivities take place at the
Hollywood Senior Center, 1820 N.E.
40th Avenue, in Portland.
Tickets arc S5 and are available at
Project Linkage, 2200 N.E. 24th, and
the Hollywood Senior Center. They
can also be purchased at the door. Pro­
ceeds benefit Project Linkage and the
Hollywood Senior Center. Both pro
grams help Northeast Portland seniors
to retain their independence and dig­
nity .yin their own homes.
For information call 288-8303 or
249-8215.
A d v e rtis e
r is t
FU N ERA L
Sunday School
Morning Worship
Tuesday Bible
Study and Prayer
Inter-racial Congregation
A lle n Tem p le
4236 NE Eighth Avenue
(corner of 8th & Skidmore)
Portland, Oregon 97211
(503) 287-0261
Phillip S. Nikon Pastor
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Bible Study
9:30 am .
Morning Worship
10:45 am .
M en’s Training Leadership
Women’s Bible Class
5:00 pm.
D IR E C T O R S
Evening Worship
6:00 pm.
Attended nursery for all
services
W ednesday prayer m eeting
Minister Gregory Fobbs
and bible study
7:30 pm.
Radio Ministry Each Sunday, 11:00 AM - KBMS
288-1092
R E S T O R IN G
N E W T E S T A M E N T C H R IS T IA N IT Y
521 1 N. W illia m s P o r tla n d , O r. 9 7 2 1 7
Jesus Christ Is Salvation
M t O livet
baptist C hurch
Union Avenue Baptist Church
5029 N. E. MLK Jr. Blvd.
Portland, OR 97211
Telephone Number - 287-8344
Study Phone: 2 8 9 -1 9 1 1
Has moved Sunday services to
Stone Tower Church,
N.E. Sandy Blvd. & 30th
He that is too good to realize that he need to be saved, cannot be
helped. But he that recognize he has a need, can be helped.
Worship Services 8:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.
Church School 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Bible Study, Wednesdays, 116 N.E. Schuyler
10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
Are you a friend of Jesus?
Do you want Jesus to be your friend?
We want to be your friend and would love to have you as our
friend.
Radio Ministry each Sunday, 8:00 a.m. on KBMS
A Teaching Church With A Reaching Ministry
Dr. James E. Martin, Senior Pastor
Pastor. Rev James CE. Faulkner
Everyone is welcome to this church, (the body of Christ).
There is a place and a work here for you.
Themes W h atever you're going to do
fo r th e Lord, do it now
I Peter lv .1 1
Church Office 116 N.E. Schuyler St.
(503) 284-1954
Rev. A. G. May, Pastor
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SUNDAY SCHEDULE
503/281-2836
8101 N. Fiske Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97203
Sunday Service
10:45
Sunday School
9 :3 0
Bible Study
6 :0 0
Evening Service
7 :0 0 P.M.
NE M A L L O R Y
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Cleodus Vann
Church P h o .» : 2 8 9 -0 1 4 7
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VANN & VANN
"Come to me oil you who are
weary and heavy laden and I
will give you rest"
spectacle and ridicule from pitiless on­
lookers. For the Jews, it had the added
shame of being a sign of God’s special
curse, a death by hanging (Deut. 21:23).
But he obeyed the Father’s will, and
accomplished his divine purpose, by
that death on the cross.
“ Wherefore,” for this reason, “ God
also hath highly exalted him,” by the
resurrection (Romans 1:4) and ascen­
sion to heaven (Heb. 1:3). The glory
which followed the humiliation of Christ
demonstrates the virtue of humility for
Christ’s followers. For the Father gave
him “the name which is above every
name,” (literally, from the Greek), which
can only be the name Yahweh, the Lord
God Almighty. Only God should be
worshipped, and confessed as L o rd -
and now God has bestowed that honor
on his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ!
The Word says to us today, if we
call ourselves “ followers” of Jesus Christ,
that we should follow in the steps o f his
humility. When we see the needs of
others, we ought to seek out the Father’s
will, and then do it, no matter what the
co st Such humility will often not be
honored among humanity, but the Fa­
ther will reward us in his perfect way.
“ Humble yourselves therefore, under
the mighty hand of God, that he may
exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6).
Jesus Loves You!
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9:45am
11:00am
7:30pm
Enjoy the atmosphere and flavor­
ful cuisine of Southwestern Louisiana
at Immaculate Heart Church’s annual
chicken and seafood Creole Gumbo
Dinner.
Date: Saturday, February 29,1992
Time: Noon until 8:00 p.m.
Place: Immaculate Heart Church
Community Center
2926 N. Williams Ave.
Portland, O R 97227
Cost: Adults $7.00; Children un­
der 12 $3.00
For tickets, call Bonnie...287-3724
or send check to Immaculate Heart
Church, 2926 N. William, Portland,
OR 97227.
sential glory as a truth, something he
could not lose by becoming a human
being.
So he “ made himself of no reputa­
tion,” which is a misleading translation.
We would better translate it, “ he emp­
tied himself,” he gave up all the trap­
pings of glory in heaven, so that those
who saw him would not recognize his
divinity: “ he hath no form nor comeli­
ness; and when we shall see him, there is
no beauty that we should desire him”
(Isaiah 53:2).
He did this by taking on “ the form
of a servant,” again, the manifestation
of reality-a real Servant, “ in the like­
ness o f men.” No one would have sus­
pected by his appearance that he was
anything more than a man. Jesus did not
use his divine attributes to force people
to receive his kingdom and believe his
message. His miracles were always at­
tributed to God the Father; he was con­
tent to minister as God’s Servant.
Then “ he humbled himself,” even
further, by submitting to the will of the
Father for the sake of the human race.
He was “ obedient unto death,” which
was necessary for our salvation, and
“ even the death of the cross. ” We today
simply don’t feel the horror of such a
death. It combined some of the worst
torture known to man, with the public
è