“…taking the form of a bondservant…”
Today we come to the third statement of our Lord’s decent from his glory as God.
“taking the form of a bondservant”
The word “form” here means “inner essence.” He came in his essence as a slave. He did not come as a King. He might have been born in a castle instead of a cradle. He could have come to Rome instead of Bethlehem. He could have been born of a wealthy and noble family but this was not his strategy.”For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (
Mark 10:45 ).Jesus’ plan was to come as an abject slave (the idea of the word “servant” in the Greek). Jesus graphically portrayed this mentality when we washed the apostle’s feet in John 13.
The word “taking” indicates that he did this willingly. He was not pressed into this service. He did it of his own volition. In verse six he existed in the “form of God”, here he takes on the form of an abject slave. What a contrast! He laid aside the medallion of his majesty to become an abject slave.
Principle:
Jesus, though he possessed the prerogatives of deity, in his humanity held a servant mentality.
Application:
The victim mentality of our day can be corrected by adopting the giving mentality of Jesus.
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