“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus…”
(Phil. 2:5)

Pride says: “I will go up!”
Humility says: “I will go down!”

Christ, the supreme example of a servant, humbled Himself and came down. Jesus is the second person of the trinity—He is eternally God. Although He existed in form as God, He was willing to let go of the heaven’s throne and come down to earth. He came down and was willing to humble Himself to die for our salvation.

Look at how the Scripture says it. Notice how each step is a further step down.

He Existed as God

“…who, although He existed in the form of God,”

He Let Go of His Grasp on Heaven’s Throne

“…did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,

He Became a Servant

“…taking the form of a bond-servant,”

He Humbled Himself

“…Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself …”

He Lived Under Authority

“…by becoming obedient to the point of death, “

He Died —on a cross

“…even death on a cross. “

The last and lowest step was the cross. The cross was a cruel and violent death. It was publicly humiliating and excruciatingly painful. He went down, down, down.

One day every knee will bow down before Him. For those of us who know Him as Savior, we have already bowed down before Him and called Him “Lord.”

Since He was willing to come down and bend His knees to serve others, we must follow His example.

If we lift our heads in self-seeking pride, we act like we don’t know Him. When we bend our knees to serve others, we give evidence that we have bent our knees before Him.