“Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God”

Paul presented in 2:5-8, the most powerful argument in the New Testament for Christ’s deity/humanity in the context of an argument for unity.

The step from undiminished deity into a human body is the first phase of Jesus’ humility.

“who, being in the form of God”

This is the first of seven steps downward by the sacrificial Son of God. These steps move from His undiminished deity to the death of a criminal on the cross. There is no human comparison to scale this step of Jesus. Oh, what a condescension!  We often think of the cross as a humiliation, but the incarnation was an enormous debasement from His capacity as God.

We could never say of Moses or Abraham that he was “in the form of God.” Jesus is the only person in time about whom this statement could be made. He was equal in essence with God. Never in eternity past was He ever nonexistent. He had an unbegun beginning, He lives in eternal life. He never began to be God; He always was God. He always had perfect righteousness; His righteousness was absolute. This is to name a few of His attributes. He shared all the essential attributes of God.

The word “form” does not mean shape but essence. It does not refer to the outward shape or outward form of a thing. Jesus was not identical to God—He was God in essence. He shares the very nature and attributes of God.

The word “being” refers to the original state of existence. In His original state, He was God. Now He was about to take on another state—humanity. His original state was that of God; now, He was about to stoop into a human body.

PRINCIPLE:

Jesus was willing to go through a massive humility by stepping from His deity into humanity.

APPLICATION:

If Jesus humbled Himself by stepping from His deity into His humanity, is it not incumbent upon us to humble ourselves? Is humility a core value in your thinking? Is it even a fragmentary value? It was the heart of the One we love.