To be humbled can mean having a flattering opinion of yourself corrected. That is not what happens to Jesus. His humiliation is the willing obedience of the Son who knows who he is and gives himself for those who cannot rescue themselves.
The Word
ταπεινόω (tapeinoō) means to humble or to lower. It can describe bringing someone low or humbling oneself. In Philippians 2:8, Christ is the one who humbles himself.
Paul names both the freedom of that action and its terrible depth. The Son’s obedience reaches a criminal’s death on a cross. This is more than modest behavior or a refusal to boast.
Range of Meaning
The verb’s setting matters. Matthew 23:12 warns that self-exaltation ends in humiliation and promises exaltation to the one who humbles himself. James 4:10 calls sinners to humble themselves before the Lord. First Peter 5:6 places believers under God’s mighty hand as they wait for his appointed time.
Christ’s humiliation and our repentance therefore belong together without being identical. Jesus does not repent of sinful pride. He obeys for sinners. We humble ourselves by relinquishing our claims against God and receiving his mercy.
Where You’ll Meet It
Paul writes:
“He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death —even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8, NET)
The preceding verses identify this obedient servant as the one in God’s form who takes our humanity. The following verses proclaim his exaltation. Read the whole movement before turning the sentence into advice about improving your attitude.
Peter’s appeal also has a pastoral setting: believers are to cast their cares on God because he cares for them (1 Peter 5:6–7). Humility under God’s hand is compatible with bringing him real needs. It does not require pretending that suffering is painless.
What Confessional Lutherans Hear
The Formula of Concord distinguishes Christ’s state of humiliation from his state of exaltation. The divine majesty belonging to his humanity through the personal union was his from the beginning. During his humiliation he did not always or fully exercise that majesty, though he could and did manifest it when he willed (Solid Declaration VIII.26).
His humanity itself is not the humiliation to be overcome. The risen Christ does not stop being human. He lays aside the servant’s lowly condition while retaining the human nature he assumed. That distinction preserves the reality of both his earthly lowliness and his continuing humanity.
The incarnation is therefore not a temporary reduction of God, followed by a return to being divine. See Morphē for the two forms in Paul’s passage and Hypsoō for the language of exaltation.
So What
When your own lowliness feels unbearable, Christ’s humiliation gives you more than an example of endurance. The one who stooped to the cross did so for you. His obedience answers the guilt that your own humility cannot remove.
You can therefore confess sin without defending your importance and ask for help without manufacturing strength. The mighty hand beneath which Peter places you belongs to the God who cares for you.