We cannot begin to understand the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. It is unfathomable, it is deeper than we can imagine, it is undeserved and most of all, it was voluntary! In studying Philippians 2, that scripture cut me deep. I was reading the text and I had read it before but never understood it the way that God showed it to me recently.
Philippians 2:5-8: "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did
not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a
bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled
Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
What we see here is a great glorification of the selflessness of Christ. In order to get the complete effect of the power of this scripture, we must look at it from the perspective of Jesus and dissect it verse by verse.
Verse 6 says this: "who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a
thing to be grasped..."
When we understand that He existed, pre-existed, in the form of God, we understand how great the sacrifice is that He made. This phrase has been heavily debated, the Greek "morphe Theo i.e. the form of God means that Jesus' nature/essence is the same as that of God, the Father. This is a testament to His deity and His divinity. He is pre-existent and he shares/shared the same mode of divine existence as God (for a great treatment of this, see "The Incarnation" by Edwin Hamilton Gifford). His nature cannot change.
The thought is that the nature of something doesn't change although its appearance (schema) might. An example is wood. No matter if it becomes lumber for a house, a pencil for writing down your thoughts or a log for the fireplace...its nature is still the same, that of wood. So the nature of Jesus Christ is divine, He IS God in the person of the Son. The
bible says that Jesus Christ is the same YESTERDAY, TODAY and FOREVER. Jesus said of Himself, before Abraham WAS, I
AM! He has always been God!
Now let's look at verse 6b: He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped...
Equality with God is not speaking of equality in nature, that is obvious. John 1:1 says that Jesus, the Word, was WITH (face to face) with God and WAS (in His nature) God. The equality should be thought of as "an equality". This means that Jesus shared the same position/existence in glory that the Father did. The angelic choruses that God heard, He heard. The glory in heaven that God the Father received, He received. The beauty of the heavenly realm, He experienced. YET, he did not see that as an advantage or a "prize" ( Greek: harpagmos) and thus saw no need to grasp for it when it was time for Him to come to earth to carry out the redemptive plan of the Father. Therefore, he gave it up.
Verse 7: but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in
the likeness of men.
He emptied Himself, not of His Godhood but of that which was separable from Him...He left glory and His equal position in glory. He did so by taking the form of a bondservant. The bondservant position, i.e. that of a slave, is the lowest position that he could have possibly taken. He could have come as the king that He is, he could have come as an emperor or a great warrior...but he came as a slave! He gave up a King's glory to take a slave's wage.
Not only did He give up His kingly glory, He took the form of a bondservant. The same word, morphe, is used here for the "form of a bondservant". Which means that he took the nature of a servant all the while keep the nature of God! This is where we see the term hypostatic union come into play. The God-man, Jesus Christ, who took the form of a bondservant also maintained His God nature as well. Many will say that he emptied Himself of His Godhood, but I will disagree because if one person in the Trinity ceases to be God, then God ceases to be God because they are a unity.
He was made in the likeness of men, took on the appearance of man and lived among us. John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. He was not a spirit as many have theorized, He was God in the flesh.
Verse 8: Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Here is where the sacrifice is greatest. Not only did Jesus give up His kingly glory, not only did He take on the lowest possible form that He could...He was obedient to God the Father Who sent Jesus for one purpose, to give His life as a ransom for many. He says in Mark 10:45 that the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve. He was obedient to the point of death, EVEN the most humiliating death known at that time...death on a cross.
Do you see what I see here? I see Jesus Christ as the supreme example of self-renunciation of rights and humility. The greatest example of humility that the universe has ever known. We are to emulate His example. Reading this particular passage makes me realize how disobedient that I am, how selfish I can be and how inadequate I am. Thank God that my sufficiency is not within me but it comes from Christ! He gave up a King's glory to take a slave's wage. Who am I to ever be selfish or deny God or say no to a task that God has given to me? God bless you and it is my prayer that we would all realize Christ's great sacrifice and be more giving and selfless as we seek to be imitators of God and as we are constantly conformed to His image.
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