Philippian Bits – 2:6

For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

2:6   who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

This verse is pregnant with truth, with mystery, and as we have been considering in this portion of Philippians, the humility of the Lord Jesus. Every time I try to understand the depths He plummeted to simply become one of us, a created being, to walk in a sinful, fallen world, to identify with those who have rebelled against His goodness, I come away from my time of meditating with two outcomes.

Confusion

How can I relate to One who is willing to “come down”, to self humble to such a degree. Rarely have I had the internal desire to humble myself amongst my equals, since I prefer to walk in a show of ability, of noble character, but in reality in an inflated ego and deluded in my pride.

And yet I know our next verse is going to describe even further self humiliation of the One who made me, but we need to consider this initial step of becoming a man for today.

To step away, or better yet, to step down from the eternal position, honor, glory and authority of the Godhead and plunge to the earth as a blood and flesh creature, dependent on fallen man, and in the midst of a subjugated people that have rebelled against your will is not only incomprehensible, but completely without precedent.

No one does this! NO ONE!

When I think of the term “holy”, I typically consider the concept of sinlessness, of sanctification, of being set apart, and all of this is true. Yet tucked away in this term is the concept of “otherness”. He is holy, we are not. He is of an “other” nature. Separate from us, and yet seeking us out. He is of the character that is not restricted, affected or limited by ego and pride, for He is everything we like to think we are, and yet much more.

• He is in control – We are not
• He understands the situation – We do not
• He has the knowledge to make informed decisions – We do not
• He has the wisdom to undertake the actions required to fulfill His will – We do not

I say much more, for with our existence, and our desire to be considered more than we are by rights, we tend to boast of abilities and character that is not in the realm of truth. Out of this comes a severe insecurity, and a haunting realization that we are much less than what we try to display to others who are struggling with the same debilitating condition. But with Him, all of His perfections must also provide absolutely no insecurities, no need of boasting or requiring commitments from others to maintain a position out of fear of losing the right. He is stable, without any “shadow of turning”.

And He came down to live with us, a man that describes Himself as “gentle and lowly”.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

The term gentle is interesting, and provides one additional slant to our discussion this morning. Meek is defined in BDAG as “not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance, gentle, humble, considerate, meek“

In His short time on this earth below, as He described Himself as gentle, this descriptor becomes so beneficial to my thoughts this morning. He walked amongst us, and was not overly impressed by a sense of one’s self importance. This is an act of divine decision, for He is of GREAT importance, the greatest of importance to all on this blue ball. And yet He did not dwell on this truth, but thought of Himself to be equal with us.

Who does this? NO ONE!

Thankfulness

A sense of awe and thankfulness attends my thinking, no matter how my comprehension settles on this truth. In this middle of my ruminations, I ask Why? Why do that which is beyond our comprehension? This is the out flowing of a character that is holy, He is not of our ilk, but a loving, kind and gentle God who seeks out those who would crucify Him. He is beyond our comprehension, and His love for each of us is beyond our understanding.

Consider the One who stepped down from a position we cannot imagine, practiced a mindset of humility, and do likewise!

He is good, and His life amongst us, when considered, is a tremendously great challenge. And this great challenge includes our willingness to die to our lies, die to our self importance, die to our pride, die to our self. Die to self so I can live unto God. Humility, a sense of gentleness and a consideration for others will be the fruits that will naturally blossom from this death.

Follow Him, for He is the perfect example!

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