Phil. 2:5-8; Col. 1:15-18, How God Became Man (2)

 Our passage tells us how the Son of God did this.

·       He did not consider equality with God robbery, or something to be grasped.  What is the Son had said, “I am God; I live in glory and majesty and I will not leave what is rightfully mind?”  Instead, this is what He said: And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was (Jn. 17:5).  Peter claimed to be an eyewitness of His majesty at the transfiguration when Jesus was arrayed in the glory that was rightfully His (2 Peter 1:16).  John said that Jesus became flesh and they saw glimpses of His glory, the glory of the Only Begotten (Jn. 1:14).  God does not share His glory with any other (Isa. 42:8). 

·       He made Himself of no reputation (He humbled Himself).  The Greek means literally that HE made Himself void, nothing, of no effect.  For clarity, here are some other places that word appears.  In Rom. 4:14 unbelief makes the promise “of no effect.”  There is a promise made, but if the recipients of the promise do not trust God and receive the promise, the promise still exists but it is of no effect.  Again, 1 Cor. 1:17 says that the wise words of men make the message of the cross to have no effect.  If a person says, I will do the best I can and try to please my Creator, this sounds reasonable.  But it is foolish.  A person is a sinner from birth and can do nothing to satisfy God’s righteous requirements.  In the Gospel of Christ, He has taken sin and the punishment for sin for all who believe.  If we accept this by faith, it “works” for salvation.  But if we follow the wisdom of the world, that says do the best you can, then the gospel is of no effect.  It will not “work” for you.  So, Jesus made Himself of no effect.  What does this mean?  Again, Scripture will not allow us to say He ceased to be God.  But rather, as we will see, He laid aside the use of His divine attributes and powers and submitted Himself to His Father.  God never sleeps and has no weaknesses.  Yet Christ, as a man, was tired, had to eat, and even experienced temptation. And yet, on occasion His glory was seen, the powers were evident, as His Father led Him.