Who, being in very nature
God,
did not consider equality
with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! Philippians 2:6-8
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! Philippians 2:6-8
Jesus’
form or nature was/is/always will be God.
The Greek word used here for nature
is “theos,” reserved specifically for the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus is equal in the Trinity.
However,
Jesus became nothing or emptied himself when he decided to be born on earth.
The Greek word for making himself
nothing is “theoo” which means Jesus put aside certain qualities of God
like omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence in order to be in a human likeness.
He
humbled himself to be a man, stepping down from the perfection of heaven to enter
the imperfect world of mankind.
Jesus always held the title of God. He was always God in that sense. But, he emptied
himself of those Godly qualities which would have given him an advantage as a
human. Jesus wanted to live fully as a
human, living in three dimensions, impacted by gravity, feeling pain and bleeding
like the rest of us so he could die for us on the cross.