Phil. 2:5-8; 1 John 1:1-4, No Reputation

·        Station #2: but (He) made Himself of no reputation.

Jesus was God visiting mankind.  But most of us would say Jesus did not exactly live like a “God.”  He did not act in an “all knowing” (omniscient) way (Mk. 13:21).  There were things He did not have authority to do, which could only be done by His Father (Mt. 20:23).  He was weary at the end of a long day (Jn. 4:6).  Yet John said we beheld His glory (Jn. 1:14) and He manifested His glory (Jn. 2:11).  John knew that Jesus, the One he looked upon, handled and heard was truly the Word, God who became flesh (1 Jn. 1:1-4; Jn. 1:14).  So what did it take for God to become Man?

The answer to this rests in a truth that is assumed in our passage and throughout Scripture, the truth that God is triune (one God in three Persons).  We will not speak to this in this passage but we must acknowledge this in order to answer our question.  It begins when God the Son made Himself of no reputation or emptied Himself.  Let us consider the phrase in v7.

o   But: In exact contrast to grasping for equality or considering it robbery to be equal with God the Son did this.

o   He: This was a voluntary act on the part of the Son.  As the song (They Could Not, by Claire Cloninger/Ron Harris) says, when at last they took what willingly He gave. 

o   Emptied/made Himself of no reputation:

Of what did Jesus empty Himself?  Did He give up His deity?  Emphatically we say NO!  He was Immanuel, God with us (Mt. 1:21).  As Thomas said, He was “my Lord and my God” (Jn. 20:28). 

Did He give up His divine attributes?  Again we must insist this is not the case.  When John said He manifested His glory (Jn. 2:11) he was speaking of the miracle of “water to wine.”  This was a clear demonstrate of Jesus’ ability as Creator.  In no way did Jesus cease to be God. 

The Scriptures indicate Jesus gave up the right to use His divine attributes and powers whenever He determined.  Rather He submitted himself to His Father, seeking to please the Father and facilitate His Father’s plan (John 5:30).  Thus we see that though He was rich, for our sakes He became poor (2 Cor. 8:9).  He yielded up His glory except to manifest it as the Father willed.  Jesus did not make His earthly life easier by performing a miracle now and then.  When Satan tempted Him to turn stones to bread to satisfy His hunger Jesus refused, choosing rather to live by the Word of His God and Father (Matt. 4:4).  Jesus did not hold tightly to His position of Deity but emptied Himself of the right to use those attributes except at the Father’s discretion.