This passage is loaded with wonderful truths about our Lord Jesus. In verses 1-4 Paul shares how Believers should be living amongst one another. They should be interested in helping others in need not just themselves. In verse 5, he focuses the attention to the issue of the attitude of the heart, humility. The Believer should have the same attitude as Christ Jesus. He describes what this attitude looks like for the reader by taking them through Jesus=92 example of being a servant by willingly humbling Himself for God The Father and others. Today, we will be focusing our attention this aspect of Jesus=92 humility in verses 6-8.
Verse 6, starts out by clarifying for the reader Who Jesus is. He is God. The beginning of the verse states that Jesus “existed in the form of God”. In the Greek grammar “existed” is a participle in the indicative present active tense. This lets us know that the Jesus is continually existing in the form/nature of God. It is here from where Jesus begins. This is pivotal for the reader to understand because the verse is stating the fact that Jesus is God.
Next, we see the tremendous humility of Jesus. Even though He was God, He did not consider Himself equal to God The Father. This was still while He was presently in heaven with power and authority before coming to earth. This is demonstrating that humility is deeply rooted in His character. This humility is not based on insecurity but understanding. This is understood by the following key words “regard” means to make a decision after weighing the facts or circumstances and “grasped” actually means plunder, something taken by force as in battle. Being One of the persons of the Trinity, Jesus, by thinking through the facts of the circumstances concerning The Trinity, did not want to take anything from The Father. One can see the love He had for The Father. Love superceded any desire for oneself to achieve over another by force, 1 Cor. 13:4-8.
In verse 7, we see, it is Jesus personally removing His authority and coming to earth in the form of a man. The word “emptied” means literally to remove the content of something or figuratively to deprive of power. It is in the indicative aorist active tense which means that it “describes a fact, occurring in the past and the subject is doing the action” and followed by the pronoun “himself” adding emphasis to the subject. This verse, also, is demonstrating His pre-existence by stating “being made in the likeness of men”. In the previous verse His nature of being God was established. This being stated clears up any confusion that might arise that Jesus was created like you or me. He is pre-existent and not created. These verses proclaim that Jesus is God and came in the form or likeness of a man, His creation. In the next verse we will see the remarkable beauty of Jesus’ love for The Father by His obedience and for mankind.
In verse 8 we see the degree of faithfulness and humbleness of Jesus. In the Greek the verb “humbled or make low” is also in the indicative aorist active tense. The pronoun “himself” follows the verb adding emphasis that Jesus humbled Himself personally from the position of authority He had as God of the universe. He willingly did this. Also, He did not cease from being God for the time He was here in human form, but only from His position of authority. He came in obedience to The Father’s will, John 3:16. He put His total trust and dependence in Him. The verse continues to state that He was obedient from the moment the decision was made until His death. His death was severe. It was a brutal death on the cross which involved extreme physical pain with the tearing of His flesh, humiliation by being crucified naked for everyone to see, and all of mankind’s sin placed on Him which ended in physical death.
This was The Creator of the universe, God Himself, that came to the earth in the likeness of a man to take the penalty of death for mankind with His own life. Did He have to do this? The answer is no. He willingly decided to do this so that we could live again and be with Him for eternity.
The following three verses states how God The Father put Jesus in the supreme position of authority and freely gave Him the name that is above all names. He was raised from the dead. The Father restored Jesus’ authority and power and this so that every knee would bow or worship Jesus, and would confess Him as The Lord to the glory of God The Father. Just by the fact that The Father desires that Jesus be worshiped is further equating Jesus as God. The scriptures are clear that there is only one God of the universe. This is a mystery to us as to how God can be one and yet three individuals at the same time (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) but the scripture is clear about this.
Paul describes to us Jesus’ beautiful example of love, humbleness, obedience, and faithfulness and tells the Believer this is the same attitude that they would have in their hearts. He shows the magnitude of Jesus=92 character. The Creator of the universe becoming in the likeness of His creation. The One Who is Ruler becomes One Who is ruled. The Master becoming a servant. The depth of this truth is magnificent.
Father by Your Spirit, please, deepen this truth about Your Son in our hearts and minds. Help us to grasp this truth about the state of His humbleness and cause the same attitude of love and compassion to live in us, Lord God. We love you!!!
love Daniel
