Attitude....
Philip. 2:5-11 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
[6] Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
[7] but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
[8] And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
[9] Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
[10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
[11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Just prior to this passage, Paul has been exhorting us treat each other with humility and love. Now he turns to Jesus. It is as if he is saying if you want to know how to behave then copy someone who modelled it. And as well as illustrating his point about love and humility Paul also treats us to a wonderful statement about the relationship between the Father and the Son.
Jesus’ nature is that of God. The trinity of Father, Son and Spirit is one of the most incredible concepts in theology, and it is hard for us to get our heads around the three-as-one reality of the God-head. But we need to understand that all three are divine, all three are God, all three have incredible stature. Yet the nature of the Trinity is not of power and hierarchy, but of live. The trinity is a model for the community we try to form in the Church. They love and serve each other. Jesus shows this here. He is God, but does not seek the stature that comes with it. Instead he serves. There is no ego-fuelled competition going on.
The divine became man. When it was required the Son came down from heaven and suffered here on Earth for us. There is no task too small for him – his pride does not get in the way of serving. He is willing to go the whole way, sacrificial love, in order to love us.
The Son is exalted. Not by himself, but by an other, by someone who has recognised what he has done. In humbly serving the Father, he finds himself exalted by the Father.
In our communities we must learn to be people who do not compete with each other for power, be willing to live lives of sacrificial love and to honour others for what they have done in serving us. That way we will learn to act without selfish ambition, or vain conceit.
[6] Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
[7] but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
[8] And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
[9] Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
[10] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
[11] and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Just prior to this passage, Paul has been exhorting us treat each other with humility and love. Now he turns to Jesus. It is as if he is saying if you want to know how to behave then copy someone who modelled it. And as well as illustrating his point about love and humility Paul also treats us to a wonderful statement about the relationship between the Father and the Son.
Jesus’ nature is that of God. The trinity of Father, Son and Spirit is one of the most incredible concepts in theology, and it is hard for us to get our heads around the three-as-one reality of the God-head. But we need to understand that all three are divine, all three are God, all three have incredible stature. Yet the nature of the Trinity is not of power and hierarchy, but of live. The trinity is a model for the community we try to form in the Church. They love and serve each other. Jesus shows this here. He is God, but does not seek the stature that comes with it. Instead he serves. There is no ego-fuelled competition going on.
The divine became man. When it was required the Son came down from heaven and suffered here on Earth for us. There is no task too small for him – his pride does not get in the way of serving. He is willing to go the whole way, sacrificial love, in order to love us.
The Son is exalted. Not by himself, but by an other, by someone who has recognised what he has done. In humbly serving the Father, he finds himself exalted by the Father.
In our communities we must learn to be people who do not compete with each other for power, be willing to live lives of sacrificial love and to honour others for what they have done in serving us. That way we will learn to act without selfish ambition, or vain conceit.
posted by Gordon at
8:02 am
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