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HOUSMAIL HM001
1998 EQUALITY WITH
GOD - NOT TO BE STOLEN! "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, 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." (Philippians 2:5-8 RSV) Note
that the RSV uses "grasped" where the KJV has "robbery". The
point Paul makes is that Jesus did not attempt to STEAL equality with God. The
primary THEOLOGICAL issue
is the implied comparison between Adam and Eve (and all the rest of us) .....
and Jesus. In
the dialogue between Eve and the Serpent, are contained the three elements of
temptation and sin, listed by John - "The lust of the FLESH, the lust of the EYES, and the PRIDE of life" (1 John 2:15-17) Eve
thought that: *
the tree looked good
for food (the lust of the flesh), *
it was a delight to
the eyes (the lust of the eyes), *
it was to be desired
to make one wise (the pride of life). And
under the subtle influence of the serpent, Adam and Eve tried to STEAL that impossible
"short cut" to EQUALITY
WITH GOD! (Genesis 3:5 "You will be like God") When
we compare what happened in Eden, with the temptation of Jesus in the
wilderness, we discover the same three elements. 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) In
contrast with Adam and Eve, Jesus rejected the devil's offer,
and refused the temptation to attempt to STEAL that attractive looking "SHORT CUT" to power and
glory (without the cross). "It is written, 'You shall worship the
Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'" (Luke 4:8) In
making that choice, Jesus "HUMBLED
HIMSELF" to obey His Father. He committed Himself,
irrevocably, to walk the hard, narrow road of obedience, which was God's
chosen path for His own perfection ..... and our salvation. (Hebrews 5:8-9) "Have this mind among yourselves, which is
yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, .....(Philippians 2:5-6) JUST LIKE ADAM, (Genesis 1:27) Jesus was also made a MAN
in the image of God. "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. He had been
"born in the likeness of men" and He refused to be ANYTHING OTHER
THAN A MAN! 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 was made in all
points exactly like us, (Hebrews 2:14,17) and who was tempted in all the same ways (Hebrews 4:15) 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) He
"emptied himself" of all human AMBITION for recognition, status, power, and
authority. (The
KJV says "He made Himself of NO reputation") All
this Jesus DID AS A MAN.....
It is NOT something
He DID BEFORE HE WAS BORN! "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
2:5-11) However,
in our preoccupation with those other theological issues, we must not lose
sight of the MAIN POINT. The
real question posed by these verses in Philippians is this: - We
have all made the same terrible mistake as Adam and Eve. We have all
attempted to grasp at (steal) our own "short cut" to equality with
God. We have all assumed the throne in our own lives, to make our own sinful
"laws" for behaviour. We have all fallen SHORT of the glory of God! (Romans 3:23) Will
we continue to bow down before the Devil ..... Or
will we repent of our sins and walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4) 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? (Philippians 2:10-12) Will
we LOVE this MAN, and obey Him? (John 14:15) THAT IS THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE PATH TO
GLORY! (Romans 2:6-7) Allon |