5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
(Philippians 2:5-8)
Let us consider the great depths to which the Son of God descended. Jesus Christ, the King of Glory, lowered Himself so that we might be raised from the depths of sin and death.
Who was it who humbled Himself? The Scripture above says that Jesus was in the form of God. This word “form” refers not just to the physical appearance, but essentially to the inward nature and character. To say that Jesus was in the form of God is nothing less than saying that He is God. This testimony of Christ is confirmed throughout the New Testament. He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), the exact imprint of his nature (Hebrews 1:3). Such is the character of God, holy in every attribute, that it is impossible for any man to be the exact imprint of his nature and not be God. No one can exhibit all of His divine attributes without being God Himself. Thus, Jesus, who was in the form of God, is God. He is the King of Glory, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, the object of worship of all creation.
Yet Jesus Christ, the Son of God, made Himself nothing. He became a man. It is impossible to fathom what it means for the Creator of the universe to become a creature. It has been said that had Jesus chosen to become an angel, it still would have been a leap of infinite humility, for the Creator would become a creature. But what Christ became was lower than angels (Hebrews 2:7); He became a man. However, He did not cease to be God, but He added humanity to His deity. His humiliation was not that His deity was stripped from Him; His humiliation was that humanity was given to Him. He was made in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3). This is not to say that Christ Himself was sinful, but that He was born in man’s flesh as it has been corrupted by sin. Jesus, like all men, was subject to temptation, pain, and illness. How great is His humiliation that He became man.
Jesus not only lowered Himself in becoming a man, but He came taking the form of a servant. Formerly, Jesus had sat upon the throne in heaven, the object of worship of all creation (Isaiah 6:1-7; John 12:41). The splendor of His holiness caused the holy angels to cry out in worship and the sinful prophet to cry out for death. Yet, when Jesus became a man, He also became a servant. He came to earth as the promised Messiah, the Christ, but He was not treated as such. He very well could have come as the son of a king, and grown up as royalty, but instead Jesus was born in a manger, in a stable with animals. As He lived on earth, those around Him did not see the King of Glory; they saw a man like themselves. Instead of worshipping, they ignored Him, or even reviled Him. Christ came to the world not to be served, but to be a servant (Mark 10:45). While He served men often, He was first and foremost the servant of His Father. “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34). He came to serve His Father, to do His will. We see the culmination of Christ’s servitude in Gethsemane; when He anticipates the Cross, He prays, “not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). At the Cross, we see the great end of Christ’s descent.
He died. Have you ever stopped to think about this sentence? Jesus DIED. The King of Glory, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, the Beginning and the End, the firstborn of all Creation, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace; HE DIED. The death of Christ completely overshadows all of these previous acts of humility. The Son of God, who has always existed in glorious splendor, died. It could only make sense that at the moment Jesus Christ died upon the Cross, all of creation suddenly stopped and marveled. The King of Glory died. The Creator of all things died. Almighty God DIED. Let us marvel at this and worship.
He died because of the sins of man. This is the reason the Son of God descended and hung upon a cross. He died because apart from His own death, all men would suffer the wrath of God for their sin against Him. It was for our sake. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). He bore the penalty for sin, so that we would be free from it. The King of Glory gave His own life that we might have life. Had Jesus not died upon the Cross, all men would be without hope, facing imminent destruction at the hand of Almighty God.
How low did Jesus descend? What was the extent of the punishment He took for men? In Deuteronomy 28, the people of Israel proclaim all the blessings that are to come upon the one who obeys God, and all of the curses that are to come upon the one who is disobedient. Consider the following Scriptures:
15“But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. 16Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field… 19Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. 20“The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. 21The Lord will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it… 45 “All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you.
(Deuteronomy 28:15-16, 19-21, 45)
13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”
(Galatians 3:13)
Such is the Great Descent of Christ. Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of Man, suffered the wrath of Almighty God for the sins of the world. He was crushed at the hand of His own Father (Isaiah 53:10). He descended from His throne in glory to the Cross at Calvary, and all for our sake. Charles Spurgeon so rightly describes that “as you cannot reach the height from which [Jesus] came, you cannot fathom the depths to which He descended.”
9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
(2 Corinthians 8:9)
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