That is the subject of the second class. Who is Messiah? Christology seeks to answer that question. Not just who He is, but what is His nature? Divine? Deity? And how can we know? Class starts tomorrow, and in preparation I just finished 100 pages in the first text, "The Person of Christ." But that isn't really what I am focused on right this minute.
The focus of my thoughts right now are on a passage from the Bible, specifically, Philippians 2:5-11.
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
It is part of our weekly meditation requirements, to read and ponder over this passage, and let the Holy Spirit speak to us through it. I have read it several times already. What really stands out to me right now is the nature of Yeshua. He had a right to call Himself equal with God. But He didn't.
How many times in the course of our lives do we have the right to bring attention to a status or a position? I'm the boss. I have such-and-such a degree. I'm whatever. I'm Batman. And whether it is true or not, deserved or not, there was someone who truly had the right to say, "Yeah? Well, I'm God. Top that." And He didn't say a thing.
We are called in Philippians 2 to "have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Messiah Yeshua." It wasn't even that He didn't claim what was rightfully His. It had never even occurred to Him that it was His right. He "did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped." I know that I don't have that attitude yet, because I constantly have to tell myself that I am called to give up my rights. I won't be there until I stop thinking it's my right to begin with.
The focus of my thoughts right now are on a passage from the Bible, specifically, Philippians 2:5-11.
5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
It is part of our weekly meditation requirements, to read and ponder over this passage, and let the Holy Spirit speak to us through it. I have read it several times already. What really stands out to me right now is the nature of Yeshua. He had a right to call Himself equal with God. But He didn't.
How many times in the course of our lives do we have the right to bring attention to a status or a position? I'm the boss. I have such-and-such a degree. I'm whatever. I'm Batman. And whether it is true or not, deserved or not, there was someone who truly had the right to say, "Yeah? Well, I'm God. Top that." And He didn't say a thing.
We are called in Philippians 2 to "have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Messiah Yeshua." It wasn't even that He didn't claim what was rightfully His. It had never even occurred to Him that it was His right. He "did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped." I know that I don't have that attitude yet, because I constantly have to tell myself that I am called to give up my rights. I won't be there until I stop thinking it's my right to begin with.
We should all be His bond-servants, even batman! :)
ReplyDeleteCaught that, did 'ya? :-) Batman has a been a theme over the last couple of days. We took the kids to Six Flags Magic Mountain where the DC Superheroes run rampant through the park.
DeleteAnyway, my thoughts went even deeper than being His bond-servant. They were about being EACH OTHER's servants. We have to ask ourselves why did Messiah not even think about His right to claim equality with God? Why did He empty Himself? And really, to whom did HE become a bond-servant? And He did it for us. He certainly didn't do it for Himself. One could make the argument that He did it for the Father, in order to bring glory to Him. But this passage says that the glorification of the Son is what brings glory to the Father, and that would make even the concept of bringing glory to the Father somewhat selfish, which He wouldn't do.
No, His humility and submission had to be for us, out of His love for us, and desire for us to be reconciled to Him. And as a result, He modeled for us the kind of humility and servant-leadership that we are to have to each other.
Don't hear me say that He didn't bring glory to the Father, He did. Don't hear me say that He wasn't obedient to the Father, He was. But what I am saying is that while we are definitely the bond-servants of Yeshua Ha Mashiach, we are just as called to become the bond-servants of one another.
When Yeshua quoted from Leviticus 19:18, saying, "וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ" v'ahavta l'rayacha camocha, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself, I think that this is what He meant. Whatever right you think you have to place yourself in some position over and above your brother and sister, forget about it. I had the right to claim equality with God and set myself over you, but I didn't. In the same manner should you give up that right.
I believe that in doing so, we are, in fact, becoming His bond-servant, even as we become the bond-servants of our neighbors.
וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ: