The True Christmas Spirit

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Philippians 2:5-8 NIV

But what about Christ? Isn’t He part of the Christmas spirit? Not really! Except for a few token nativity scenes here and there, our society has pretty much removed the Lord Jesus from Christmas. This holiday has become so secularized within our culture that a person can get caught up in the Christmas spirit without a single meaningful thought of Jesus.

The Mind Of Christ
The true spirit of Christmas, of course, gives Christ His rightful place. This does not mean more manger scenes and more sacred carols. It means more of the mind and attitude of Christ. To catch the true Christmas spirit is to be characterized by the self-giving spirit of our Lord. This is hardly possible for a non-believing, non-Christian world – even at Christmas time. But it is possible for the true Christian because the life of Christ is there, and this life is empowered by the Holy Spirit. Philippians 2:5-8, quoted at the beginning of this article, tells us that it is the Christian’s responsibility to let the mind or attitude of the Lord be reproduced in us and characterize us. To have the attitude of self-denial and self-sacrifice is to have the mind of Christ. This is the true, biblical Christmas spirit.

The reason for the writing of this great doctrinal passage of Scripture was a common problem in the early Church. Many of the Philippians were being selfish and proud and looking out only for themselves (Phil. 2:3-4). Sound familiar? The Philippian problem is a contemporary problem. Self always seems to be our top priority. No wonder God chose to include Paul’s letter to the Philippians in the Bible. This is God’s Word to us today as much as it was to the Philippians. Let us hear what He says to us.

We are to exhibit more togetherness and love for one another (2:2). To do our own thing and be independent from other believers is not scriptural. We are to look out for the interests of our brothers and sisters (2:3-4). To ignore or put down other members of the Christian community is unscriptural. We are to reach out and love those with whom we find it hard to get along (2:2; 4:2). We are to strive for unity of mind and spirit and purpose with those believers who do not see everything our way (2:2; 1:27). This is not easy, but it is very scriptural. The true Christmas spirit involves much self-denial, self-sacrifice and self-giving.

The supreme illustration of what it means to give of oneself in the interests of others is the example of the eternal Son of God. He gave up the glory and majesty of heaven – for us (2:6). He identified with the human predicament by becoming Man – for us (2:7). He voluntarily gave up His hold on life and died – for us (2:8). Every step of the path of our Lord was a further surrender of what was His by right. This is the mind or attitude that is to characterize the Christian. How can I push for my own “rights” after reading Philippians 2:5-8? To have the true spirit of Christ is a far cry from having the Christmas spirit!

The Essence Of Christ
As mentioned above, this portion of God’s Word has great doctrinal significance. Contained in these few short verses is the doctrine of the incarnation. That God became man is surely the story of Christmas. Because Philippians 2:5-8 has often been misunderstood, it is important that we examine these verses closely. The first phrase of Philippians 2:6 tells us that Jesus did not begin being God at Bethlehem, nor did He stop being God at Bethlehem. “Being in very nature God” conveys the truth of His always being God. As an illustration, we could say of Michael Jordan, the world’s greatest basketball player: “Jordan, being in very nature an athlete, led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships.” Jordan didn’t become an athlete while playing for the Bulls: he was an athlete before that, and is still an athlete – in his very nature or “essence.”

Because the eternal Son was God in the very essence of His being, He had all the external manifestations or effects or “equalities” of Deity. There was no glory or majesty of God that was not His. The second phrase of verse 6 shows us His marvelous self-giving attitude. The eternal Son did not consider these external manifestations of Deity something He had to grasp or hold onto like a treasure. He put aside these glories (but not His essence) in order to come to us. The word “equality” in the phrase “equality with God” is really the plural, “equalities.” It means the outward signs or manifestations of being equal with God. The insignias of Deity were voluntarily laid aside by the Son of God when He came to earth.

He emptied Himself (2:7). The eternal Son never emptied Himself of His Deity, but only of the outward manifestations of that Deity. Coming to this planet, He stripped Himself of His heavenly glory and majesty. There was no Christmas card halo around the head of that perfect Baby in the manger. But what about His divine attributes – being omnipotent (having all power), omniscient (having all knowledge), and omnipresent (being present in all places)? Did the Son of God empty Himself of these qualities when He came into this world? No! These attributes are inherent in the very nature and essence of God, and in no way did the eternal Son stop being God at the Incarnation.

The Lord Jesus voluntarily gave up the use of His divine attributes for Himself, but He did not empty Himself of them. Throughout the Gospels we catch glimpses of our Lord using His divine attributes in the interest of others. His omnipotence is seen in His power over disease when He healed the sick, over death when He raised the dead to life, over the demonic when He exorcised demons, and over disaster when He calmed the sea (Lk. 8). His omniscience is seen, for example, in His foreknowledge of the exact details that were to take place in His future – His suffering, rejection, death and resurrection (Mk. 8:31). He knew who would betray him (Mt. 26:21-25). He knew Peter would deny Him exactly three times before dawn (Mk. 14:29-30). He knew His death would be by crucifixion (Jn. 12:32-33). He knew his ascension would follow his resurrection (Jn. 14:28-29).

What about the Lord’s omnipresence while He was here on earth? Although this concept stretches our finite minds, the Scripture indicates that even this attribute was not given up at His incarnation. For example, in Matthew 18:20 Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.” Although this statement is usually applied to His presence among us now, remember that He said it in the present tense then – while he was bodily here on earth. Of course the body of our Lord was in only one place at a time, as is His resurrected body now. If we strip the Son of God of His omnipresence because He took on a body at His incarnation, we deny Him an essential part of His Deity forever – because Jesus lives today, bodily! We will see our Lord Jesus in person some day, and yet He is in our midst now. He is omnipresent. The eternal Son has always been omnipresent. This is the Christian doctrine of the omnipresence of God: all of God in all places at all times.

The Nature Of Christ
Philippians 2:7 indicates that at His incarnation the Son of God took the “very nature of a servant and was made in human likeness.” God took on manhood. Notice the link with the beginning of verse 6. He always had the very nature of God, but He took on the very nature of man. The idea is not that He gave up one nature to take on another nature, but rather that He took on the nature of man in addition to His being God. Jesus was, and is, fully God and fully man. He is not 50% God and 50% man; He is 100% God and 100% man. The Son took on “the very nature of a servant” and surrendered Himself totally to the will of the Father (Mt. 20:28). “Being made in human likeness” means that He was a real and genuine man with all the essential attributes of humanity – except for the sinful nature (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Jn. 3:5; 1 Pet. 2:22). But the expression “human likeness” further implies that He was not simply and merely man – it safeguards His continued Deity; He was the incarnate Son of God.

There was nothing unusual about our Lord’s appearance when He walked on this planet. “Being found in appearance as a man” (2:8) means that He ate and spoke and dressed like the men of that time, place and culture. He was like a king who takes off his royal robes temporarily, and puts on the clothes of a peasant to identify and empathize with his people. The Lord’s glory and majesty and kingship were veiled for a time.

As the perfect Man and Servant, Jesus gave obediently of Himself for others to the point of death by crucifixion (2:8). This is the mind or attitude that is to characterize the Christian. This is the true Christmas spirit that we are to seek after and show forth – not just at Christmas time, but at all times.

By David Reid