Jesus

Most scholars believe these verses were a hymn of the early church. Likely Paul did not compose the words but used a familiar hymn to make his point. This passage puts the Incarnation in such simple, eloquent words that it highlights the stunning condescension that Jesus’ love for us required and that He willingly undertook. He chose to humble Himself in order to reach us because we could not reach Him.

He who “lives in unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16) was willing to approach mankind so that frail humanity could see the glory of God “in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:5).

“He has revealed the invisible God, hidden behind a veil of flesh so we would not have to hide our faces from the unapproachable light” (Pursuing the Christ, December 3).

Preincarnate Jesus—Jesus before He took on a man’s frame and was born in Bethlehem—was equal with God. There was no hierarchy among the three co-equal persons of the Trinity. They were three in such perfect harmony that they were one. Preincarnate Jesus was not less than the Father, so He did not obey the Father. He did not depend on the Father for power or wisdom. He was equal.

Not only was He equal in authority and power, but He was also the same in nature. He was one with the Father. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1, emphasis added). He was exactly like the Father in every way. Everything about Him was equal to and identical to the Father. Yet, He did not cling to His position.

Instead, He “emptied Himself” (NASB, ESV);” “[He] did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage” (NIV).

His own choice; His own action. Just as Jesus proclaimed “No one takes it [My life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again” (John 10:18). He knew what it would take to save us, and He did not flinch.

He took—again His own action and choice—the nature (“the nature or character of something, with emphasis upon both the internal and external form”) of a servant. A servant!

If the King of kings had taken the nature of an earthly king, that would have been a stunning act of condescension. If that were the story, we would be marveling at His unfathomable act of humility.

He did not take the form of an earthly king. He took the form of a servant. Breathtaking. Incomprehensible. Incalculable.

“I wonder what must that moment have been like. When heaven’s great Treasure shed His kingly grandeur and donned mere clay, did the angels for a moment hold their breath and look on in astonishment? When He who was from the beginning took upon Himself the form of a servant, did the eternal realm halt—just for a heartbeat—and stand speechless with wonder? When the King of kings exchanged His majestic robes for swaddling clothes, surely it was the most beautiful, awe-inspiring moment in all eternity.

      “On earth, it was a little-noticed event. A young peasant couple and a few poor shepherds were the only witnesses to an ordinary birth in an ordinary place at an ordinary time. No pomp or ceremony. No grand announcement to a waiting crowd. No dancing in the streets.

      “In the heavens, that which looked ordinary from the earth was the spark for unparalleled celebration (Hebrews 1: 6). It was something never before seen and never to be seen again—when the King became a servant” (Pursuing the Christ, December 1).

He “made Himself nothing” or He “emptied Himself.” The very God of the universe, by whom all things were created and through whom all things hold together, divested Himself of His rights and privileges to move from “God for us” to “God with us.”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. . . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1–4, 14).

Of what did He empty Himself? What did He lay aside? He did not divest Himself of His nature as God. He has always been and will always be God. He laid aside His status but not His nature. He gave up His authority and power as God and became obedient to and dependent on the Father. Not because He had to but because He chose to. He chose to because that is the extent of His love for us. No other reason.

I explored this in my Bible study Power in the Blood of Christ:

“Jesus, in becoming fully man, was also fully God. I am not saying that He was not God, only that He surrendered some aspects of His own, rightful authority in order to live in complete obedience to the Father. Actually, He does say that He left behind some aspects of His position and then took them up again. 'I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began' (John 17:4–5). Does He not clearly state that He received orders from the Father, so indicating that during His incarnation the Father had authority over Him? And does He not say that there was a glory He once had, does not currently have, and will have again?

      “Look at Acts 2:22: ‘Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.’ While in His incarnate state, Jesus never took credit for the power that produced miracles, but always said that the Father’s power was operating through Him. As man, He laid aside His own independently operating powers to make Himself completely dependent on the Father. He claimed that He only did what His Father showed Him. If Jesus retained His preincarnate state and knew as God, then why would the Father have to show Him anything? . . .

      “It seems easier for us to recognize that He was fully God, but we have a hard time grasping that He was fully man. If He retained all of His divine prerogatives and authority in His man-form, could He have been tempted? Because God cannot be tempted. Would He have ever been tired or hungry? Because God never slumbers or sleeps and has no need that earth could meet. Why did He say He 'can do nothing of Himself'? Because God can do all things.

      “I am not saying He was only man, but that He was fully man. . . . He laid aside His glory, His own independently acting power, and His authority in order to become flesh."

He humbled Himself. Again, His own choice. No one humbled Him. He humbled Himself. Humble—to go from a high position to a low position. The physical act of bowing enacts an inner attitude of humility.

Examine with me the idea of Jesus bowing. He bowed before the Father in worship. He bowed to us, not in worship, but in condescending love.

I have a little gaggle of grandchildren. They about come up to my knees. I don’t want my grandchildren to know my knees. I want them to know my face. So my grandchildren can know my face and look into my eyes, what will I have to do? I’ll have to kneel down, come down to them, and seek out their faces so they can know my face. Love that comes down.

That’s what Jesus did. He humbled Himself.

In humbling Himself, He became obedient. Remember, preincarnate Jesus was equal with the Father and had no need to be obedient. But Jesus who humbled Himself became fully obedient to the Father.

Do you ever bristle at someone acting as though you should obey them? Don’t you want to say, “Hey! You’re not the boss of me!” Do you resist humbling yourself? When life humbles you, don’t you do everything you can to hold your position rather than surrendering to the humiliation? Our human nature resists humbling above all else. Jesus came to free us of that poison pride that so often acts as a toxin in our lives. And He did it by humbling Himself.

King Jesus lowered Himself from the universe’s highest position to earth’s lowest place. He became the Father’s obedient servant. In obeying the Father, He served humanity. In Matthew 20:28 Jesus said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.”

He became so radically obedient that He died the most savage death of the lowest criminal—death on the Cross. His most humbling event laid the groundwork for His exaltation.

God raised Him from the lowest place to the highest place, and gave Him the highest name. The King who bowed for love’s sake is now the One to whom we bow.