BIBLE DIGEST - Number 65                                          August 1996

EQUALITY WITH GOD - NOT TO BE STOLEN!

By Allon Maxwell

 

 

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, (note - "grasp" = "steal") but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11 RSV)

 

The verses quoted above, have often been assumed to support the belief that Jesus pre-existed His human state, either as part of a tri-une Godhead, or as the spirit being of Arian theology.

Such a conclusion is too casual by far. This assumed pre-existence is in direct conflict with other Biblical claims that Jesus was, and still is, a REAL MAN.

Of course there are many who say they believe in the pre-existence of Jesus, who also say that they believe that Jesus really is a man.

But how could this be possible? And how could it be logical? Consider the following questions :-

*        Has any other man ever eternally pre-existed before his birth?

*        Has any other man ever had an eternally pre-existent mind in an outwardly human body?

*        Could you ever truly believe that such a being was really a man ...... just like us ?

 

It is surely much more logical to conclude that if NO OTHER MEN have ever existed in another state before their birth, then a being who did pre-exist, is NOT and never can be exactly like us! The intellectual differences resulting from a pre-existent state, carried into a present conscious existence, are totally irreconcilable with true humanity!

What then is that verse quoted above really saying?

We start in John's first epistle.

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life , is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides for ever." (1 John 2:15-17 RSV)

Now compare John's summary of the sources of temptation, with what happened in Eden.

From Genesis 3:1-7

*        "(The serpent) said to the woman, “Did God say, ’You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?” ..... God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God." ( a promise of equality with God ! )

*        "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, (the lust of the flesh)

*        and that it was a delight to the eyes," (the lust of the eyes).

*        "And that the tree was to be desired to make one wise," (the pride of life)

*        "She took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate."

 

(Adam and Eve tried to steal an impossible "short cut" to equality with God!)

Now compare Luke's version of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.

From Luke 4:3-12

*        "The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” (the lust of the flesh)

*        And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, (the lust of the eyes)

*        and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours.” (the pride of life)

 

Jesus rejected the devil's offer of authority. After all it really belonged only to God. And it was an authority which was already promised to Jesus by God ..... (the other side of the cross, and death, and resurrection!)

Unlike Adam and Eve, Jesus refused to attempt to steal that "short cut" to power and glory.

Jesus turned away from the devil's temptation and committed himself irrevocably to walk the hard, narrow road to our salvation.

"Jesus answered him, "It is written, ’You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'”

Now we are ready to look again at those verses in Philippians.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God,” ..... Just like Adam, Jesus was also made in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27) "being born in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:7)

But unlike Adam, when presented with the "short cut" to equality, "(He) did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped (prematurely)"

Instead, when faced with temptation, he refused to elevate Himself to the higher status offered by the devil. He had been "born in the likeness of men" and He refused to be anything but a man !

"(He) emptied himself" of all human ambition for recognition, status, power and authority. (The KJV says "He made Himself of NO reputation.")

This is something Jesus did as a man ..... not something He did before He was born!

Instead of taking "the place of honour" at the feast (Luke 14:8) he chose to "take the form of a servant."(cf Luke 22:27 & John 13:3-17)

Instead of grasping prematurely at the devil's offer of the throne, he chose to wait for God's time. "He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:8).

This man who, like all other men, had His beginning with His conception and birth, humbled Himself there in the wilderness. His whole life was one of humility and service. And at the end, He humbled Himself one more time by accepting without complaint, the totally undeserved and unjust death penalty reserved for common criminals. He "became obedient unto death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:8)

"Therefore (because of His human obedience) God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name, which is above every name, (by giving Him the glory that had been planned for Him before creation John 17:5) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)

CONCLUSION

Lest we lose sight of it in our preoccupation with the other theological issues, the real question posed by these verses in Phillipians is this:

*        Will WE, like Adam, attempt to grasp at (steal) our own "short cut" to equality with God, by making our own laws for behaviour? Or will we, like Jesus, humble ourselves to live by God's laws?

*        Will WE now bow down before this MAN, who God has highly exalted, and confess Him as LORD ?

*        Will we love this man and obey Him? (John 14:15)