Just about every Christian has engaged in a political “conversation” or two in these last few months with a friend, family member or even a stranger. These discussions are usually more civil when they take place in routine settings such as dinner or through a thoughtful phone call. While these venues certainly can escalate and get tense, I think it can be safe to say that social media has been a breeding ground for such altercations. Regrettably, in some cases Christians can even be seen responding to others in a belittling or mocking way, causing divisions and raging a political war on the internet in the name of Jesus.

From slight disagreements, to awkward “agree to disagree moments,” to the point at which the Christian has gone too far and has hurt someone by their manner of speech or composure, the Christian can be both encouraged and informed that God has provided biblical truth to guide Christians in their every day interactions with others.

Some may need to consider backing off from time dedicated to political conversations and interactions on social media. This is a practical and sensical approach to the issue. More significant than a temporal change of habits is to learn and apply an enduring message about the very Person of the eternal Son of God who humbled Himself, not considering the glory that was rightfully His, but took on humanity and died the lowest deaths one could possibly fathom. This is the message of the incarnation of the preexistent and eternal Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul teaches the incarnation in the book of Philippians among Christians who have are having trouble retaining unity with one another, even when they are preaching the gospel (Phil. 1:12-20). In what is normally the center of attention in Christmas stories and plays, Paul places at center attention in Philippians 2:6-11 for the purpose of instructing Christians how to have unity focused on the gospel with other Christians.

Do you want to know how to engage in conversations with others you disagree with and still show them the love of Christ and not compromise your Christian testimony? Then feast your eyes on the beauty of incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, or as the Theologian Steven Wellum puts it, the Son of God Incarnate.

Paul begins the section in Philippians 1:27 with a call to unity resulting from Christians living a “manner of life worthy of the gospel of Christ.” A few verses later, (2:1-5), Paul connects this unity resulting from “a manner of life worthy of the gospel of Christ” by describing certain manners to put off (selfish ambition and conceit) and manners to put on (humility and counting others as more significant).

Should you find yourself in a conversation or even a heated debate with someone on a controversial topic, the key to the conversation is to not be selfish or conceited, but to be humble and consider the other person as more important than yourself. This is how you live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ, especially in these times when everyone (myself included) are so easily prone to sensitivity.

Sounds easy, right? Just read a verse that says to be humble and that’s it? On the one hand, yes, this verse is God’s Word and is sufficient for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). On the other hand, Paul gives us much more to put in our spiritual warfare arsenal. He invites us to feast on the doctrine of the incarnation and implores us to apply it to every time we are in need of a dose of humility. Paul transitions into the teaching of the incarnation imploring the Philippians to “have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 2:5).

“…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, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8)

There is a ton of wonderful theological insights that can be drawn from these verses and that can be applied to our lives. In order to properly ascertain the truth in it, we must promptly deny one of the common misconceptions that is associated with this passage and about the incarnation of our Lord.

This is the misconception that the eternal Son of God gave up, yielded, or lost any of His divine attributes in the incarnation. Since Jesus is God, has always been God, and will always be God (John 1:1), it is impossible for Jesus to have not possessed any of the divine attributes. He as God has always possessed the divine attributes. To not possess all the divine attributes is to not be God. The theory that Jesus lost or gave up some of His divine attributes stems from the Kenotic theory (Kenotic from the Greek word meaning “He emptied”).

Rather than teaching that Jesus emptied Himself of part of His deity (which is impossible because God cannot stop being God), this passage teaches the extent to which the lofty and worthy Son of God humbled Himself for our benefit. How then is this “emptying” to be explained? Paul clearly answers this immediately in the verse. This “emptying” is nothing more than a metaphorical expression to describe the manner of Christ’s humility that He underwent for our benefit. This becomes explicit in the verse, “but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant.”  The emptying was not losing His attributes but was humility but adding a human nature to His divine nature. This is the great and wonderful mystery of the incarnation. From this doctrine the New Testament teaches how Christ suffered for us and is our great High Priest. Here, Paul wants us to focus on the truth that before the Lord Jesus became incarnate, before He took on human flesh and became a slave, He was in heaven as the preexistent eternal Son of God. His attitude of considering others as more important than Himself is the attitude that Paul implores Christians to imitate in order to live a life that is worthy of the gospel of Christ.

In these verses, we are enriched by the wonderful truth of the humble attitude of our Lord Jesus Christ which He had in heaven before He became incarnate taking on actual human flesh on earth. It is this attitude of the preexistent eternal Son of God that Paul implores Christians to feast upon and exemplify. In heaven the Lord Jesus Christ considered us as more important than Himself. May we follow Christ’s example of humility toward others and make much of Christ.