Paul Declares the Humble and the Exalted Christ Jesus
Part 1
Philippians
2:5-7 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself
of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men: KJVPaul’s ultimate goal for these Philippian believers is “unity of the Spirit” and in order to get them to this goal he has been declaring, describing, and detailing to them what their behavior among one another should be and how they are to see one another. Paul has already told them to be on one accord and have one mind, now he shows them the example that he and they as well as we believers today must follow by saying, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). What was it that permeated the “mind of Christ”? Humility was the over-riding attitude of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul knows that the only way for these Philippian believers and we believers today to reach the end goal of “unity in the Church”, that humility must be the desire of every member of the Body of Christ, that is, how he has just declared to them how they should view themselves and view others in the Church (Philippians 2:3). Paul knows that there will never be unity among believers if there are many seeking to be in the lead and always having their views heard, at the same time relegating others to the background, for this will only breed chaos, confusion, and controversy as he declared to the Corinthian believers who were allowing just that to happen in their fellowship when he said, “And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the Churches of the saints.” (1 Corinthians 14:32-33).
Therefore, Paul’s desire is to see them and us today thinking within ourselves as our Lord Jesus Christ did within Himself, for as it was written of Him as recorded for us by Dr. Luke through the words spoken by the Apostle Peter to the Roman Centurion and his household, “How God anointed {and} consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the [Holy] Spirit and with strength {and} ability {and} power; how He went about doing good and, in particular, curing all who were harassed {and} oppressed by [the power of] the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38) (Amplified Bible). This was the mind in Christ to only do good to humanity and to renew, reboot, and release all who were broken down by the devil, for our Lord Jesus was not concerned with status or style or did He desire the honor of other men, but His only desire was to please God the Father and finish the work that He gave Him to do. Paul declares in the very next verse the Divinity or Deity of the Man Jesus Christ. What Paul is doing here for the Philippian believers and we believers today is painting a word picture for us of true humility. Let me try and paint a picture in human terms that might illustrate for us the very low depth our Lord Jesus Christ submitted Himself to for humanity. Let us say there is a country ruled by one-man King Edger who has ruled for 75 years, however, King Edger realizes that his son is afflicted with some disease (sin is the disease of humanity) that can only be cured by him willingly allowing all of his blood to be drained from his body and pumped into the body of his son.
This is a weak and feeble human example of the humility shown by our Lord Jesus Christ for us as our Lord Himself said this speaking of Himself, “For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves” (Luke 22:27). Jesus Christ before His incarnation as Man was and continued to be the One and Only God that spoke all things visible and invisible into existence, yet He willingly subjected Himself to limitations (as a Man) of being in only one place at a time as before His incarnation, He was everywhere at the same time. Christ Jesus as a Man veiled, concealed, or covered up His Glory as Creator God in some way that we will never understand, for remember this conversation He had with Moses, “So the LORD said to Moses, ‘I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.’ And he said, ‘Please, show me Your glory.’ Then He said, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ But He said, ‘You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.’ And the LORD said, ‘Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.’” (Exodus 33:17-23).
Despite this being the essence or the inwardness of Jesus Christ Paul declares how He so humbled Himself in order to gain the prize of winning lost human souls into His eternal family, so Paul says He, “made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). The English phrase “made Himself of no reputation” is translated by one Greek word kenoo which means to make empty, that is, (figuratively) to abase/humble - make (of none effect, of no reputation, void), be in vain. In other words, in some supernatural way Christ Jesus the God-Man made all His inherent power as God and His equality with the Father to be neutralized for the time He was on the earth prior to His death and resurrection, but He never ever relinquished all His Inherent Power, Glory, and Majesty as God. Therefore, we see as the second member of the Holy Trinity our Lord Jesus Christ gave us the ultimate example of humility being God, yet becoming a Man, that is, making Himself like His own creation as it is written, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:14-17).
My own Personal Note: “Jesus became like us, so that we could become like Him.” (Hallelujah!!!)
“The general sense is that He divested Himself of that peculiar mode of existence which was proper and peculiar to Him as one with God. He laid aside the form of God. In so doing, He did not divest Himself of His divine nature. The change was a change of state: the form of a servant for the form of God. His personality continued the same. His self-emptying was not self-extinction, nor was the divine Being changed into a mere man. In His Humanity He retained the consciousness of deity, and in His incarnate state carried out the mind which animated Him before His incarnation. He was not unable to assert equality with God. He was able not to assert it.” Vincent’s Word Studies
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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