This God is my God!

 Have this mind in you, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

(Philippians 2:5-11 ESV)

We studied these verses in Bible Study last night. At first I was a bit skeptical, although I was assured 'it was gonna be good'. I know these verses. I practically have them memorized. This is one of the more well known parts of scripture.... I find it difficult to separate myself sometimes from what I know and look at it with fresh eyes. .... Not so last night!

Wow! Is the the only way I can describe the meeting last night. Wow! We talked about the opening verses of the chapter, looked closer at some of the phrases and thoughts contained, thought about what it meant to be 'in the form of God', compared thoughts about how our Lord is both completely God and completely man- so mind bending! But the point that did it for me was the discussion between two brothers about the phrase 'a thing to be grasped at'.

In the King James Version (which I grew up using- and it didn't harm me one bit!) it says 'He thought it not robbery to be equal with God'. And a comparison of the different translations and the original greek (who are these people who have time to study the Bible in the original greek, I'd love to know how they do that!) brought about the discussion that there are two thoughts comtained in this phrase. The first was the more well known one, at least for me. It wasn't robbery for Jesus to think He was God, because He was. He is. He wasn't being blasphemous or a liar or a lunatic- He was and is equal with God, He is God. In our minds 1 + 1 + 1 = 3; but in God's math 1 + 1 + 1 = 1. Our minds and souls are bent through sin, so our math is also, but God is perfect and, tho I don't understand it completely, His math says that He and the Son and the Spirit make one God.

There was a second thought highlighted by this phrase and this is where my 'wow' moment came in. 'A thing to be grasped at'. We've all seen little kiddies 'grasp' at toys and hang unto them in a death clutch screaming if someone tries to take it away. We've heard of men and women who 'grasp' at success, or 'grasp' at relationships or 'grasp' at money. We grasp at being 'gods'- I am my own god, how often have we heard that? My Lord didn't 'grasp' at being God like grasping at a treasure- He already was God. And even more than that, He didn't 'grasp' at deity and the perks that go along with it. He freely gave it up. Not His deity, don't mistake me- even when he was first conceived, first born, when he was a little boy, a teenager, a young man, a dying man, a dead man, even then He was still God. But everything that goes along with being God- the praise of thousands of angels, the honour and glory, the beauty of heaven, perfect communion and relationship with the rest of the Trinity- He left all of that and willing took on the body of a man, along with all of the pains and sufferings and sadnesses and temptations that we go through, He was tired and sore and thirsty and hungry. All of the dirt of being a man He felt, right down to the point of dying, and right down to one of the most excruciating forms of death ever invented- crucifixion.

Wow! No wonder the next verses declare- wherefor God has HIGHLY exalted Him and given Him a name ABOVE EVERY OTHER NAME, that at His name EVERY knee will bow, of things in Heaven, things in earth and thing under the earth and EVERY tongue will DECLARE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD to the glory of God the Father. On that day- God will be perfectly and completely glorified in His Son and in the sacrifice that He made!


This God is my God forever and ever! He shall be my guide even unto death
Psalm 48:14