Jesus, In the Form of God and Equal with Him Philippians 2:6

As he continued to give instruction to the church in Philippi, Paul the apostle told them to “Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus”. They were to “allow” Christ's mind to be in them, however, they needed further instruction as to what “Christ's mind” was. Paul shares more with them in chapter two and verse six of Philippians where he wrote:

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

The verse begins, “Who, being in the form of God,...” To begin his explanation as to what “Christ Jesus'” mind was, Paul stated the position from which Jesus came - “being in the form of God” which shows his exalted state. Jesus was in the “form” or “external appearance” of God which coincides with the gospel of John in chapter one and verse one which says,

“In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.”

For better understanding about “Christ's mind” the Philippians were to think about the highly esteemed position that Jesus held when He came to the earth.

The verse goes on to say, “...thought it not robbery to be equal with God:” For anyone to make him or herself “equal” which means “identical in quantity and quality” “with God” is not only presumptuous but also incredibly rude unless, that is, the person is God. Jesus did not think it “robbery” which means “a thing to be seized upon or to be held fast or retained” “to be equal with God”. That's because He is God, and when the Philippians began to think in the manner that Jesus' thought, they had to begin by considering that vastly superior position that He held before He came for the sake of others.

Paul the apostle knew by the Holy Spirit that the best way to help the church members in Philippi to understand how they were to be humbled before others was to show them how Jesus was. If they were ever going to really have the “agape” love toward one another, they would have to begin by humbling themselves in the manner that Jesus did. Jesus was highly exalted, lifted up, and vastly superior to anyone because He was and is God. Yet, in this exalted state, He humbled Himself and came to save us. As we ponder Paul's words perhaps it will help us to allow our minds to imagine the position that Jesus held before He came to the earth, and as we do, the measure of our “exalted” positions will diminish in light of how great God is.

Next time Paul tells the Philippians what Christ did to identify with us, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow...there is more...

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