Day 9
In the Likeness of Men

[Christ Jesus] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

Philippians 2:6–7

Having gained an appreciation of the supreme height from which Jesus descended, we now see in Paul’s teaching the first steps of His noble humiliation in becoming one of us.

Although Jesus was equal with God, He “did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped.” The Greek word translated “equality” (isos) describes things exactly equal in size, quantity, quality, character, and number. The first step in Christ’s humiliation was His willingness to not hold on to His equality with God. Although He did not cling to it, there is no question that Jesus claimed it and that the people who heard Him knew He claimed it. John wrote, “The Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:18). Many today desire to deny the deity of Christ, yet even His worst enemies, the apostate religious leaders, understood full well the significance of His claim: “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God” (10:33).

Although He possessed all the rights, privileges, and honors of being God, Christ didn’t regard them as things “to be grasped.” Our Lord proved that loftiness of calling is not something to be held tightly as a prized possession, to be selfishly exploited, or to be never set aside for the benefit of another. Our God looked down on wretched sinners who hated Him and willingly yielded His privileges to give Himself for their sake. The incarnation expresses both the mercy and the unselfish nature of the Second Person of the Trinity.

Instead of clinging to His equality with God, Christ “emptied Himself” (Phil. 2:7). The Greek verb translated “emptied” (kenoo) gives us the theological term kenosis, which is the doctrine of Christ’s self-emptying (a significant aspect of His incarnation). The verb expresses His self-renunciation—His refusal to cling to His advantages and privileges as God as He descended into a humble, human state.

Yet at no time did He empty Himself of His deity in exchange for humanity. He is coexistent with the Father and the Spirit, and for Him to have become less than God would have meant the Trinity would have ceased to exist. Christ could not become less than who He truly is. He retained His divine nature while giving up the following privileges so that He could descend to the desperate level of unworthy sinners.

Shortly before His earthly mission came to a close, Jesus prayed, “Glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:5). Christ gave up the glory of a face-to-face relationship with God for the muck of this earth. He relinquished the adoring presence of angels for the spittle of men. He sacrificed the shining brilliance of heaven’s glories and emptied Himself. On a few occasions during His earthly ministry, the supernatural fullness of the glory of Christ came through, such as on the Mount of Transfiguration (see Luke 9:28–36). You can catch glimpses of Christ’s glory in His miracles, attitude, and words, as well as at His crucifixion, His resurrection, and His ascension. But Christ emptied Himself of the continuous outward manifestation and personal enjoyment of heavenly glory.

Our Lord also emptied Himself of His independent authority. He completely submitted Himself to the will of the Father and learned to be a servant. Philippians 2:8 says that He was obedient, and we see that illustrated when He said in the garden, “Not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39). “He learned obedience from the things which He suffered” (Heb. 5:8) and affirmed that He came to do His Father’s will (see John 5:30)—not His own.

Jesus also set aside the prerogatives and expression of His divine nature, voluntarily limiting His divine attributes, though He did not cease being God. For example, He remained omniscient—He “knew what was in man” (2:25). He was still omnipresent—though not physically present, He saw Nathanael under a tree (see 1:45–49). While He didn’t give up any of His deity, He did give up the free exercise of His attributes, limiting Himself to the degree of not even knowing the time of His second coming (see Matt. 24:36).

It is impossible for us to fully understand the divine riches that belong to Christ, yet He gave it all up: “Though He was rich, yet for [our] sake He became poor, that [we] through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). Christ was so poor that He said, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Matt. 8:20).

God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf” (2 Cor. 5:21). As a result, Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46); He experienced alienation from the Triune God of whom He was part. As He anticipated the completion of His work, He asked the Father to restore that preincarnate glory and relationship (see John 17:4–5).

When Christ emptied Himself, He not only gave up His privileges but He also took “the form of a bond-servant” (Phil. 2:7). Paul again used morphe to indicate that Christ took on the essential character of a servant. His servitude was not theatrical or make-believe. He didn’t just put on the garment of a slave—He actually became one.

As God, Christ owns everything. But when He came into this world He borrowed everything: a place to be born, a place to sleep, a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee in and preach from, an animal to ride on during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, a room for the Passover, and a tomb to be buried in. The only person who ever lived on this earth who had the right to everything on it wound up with nothing. That was the incredible destiny of the One of whom it is written, “All things came into being through Him; and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:3).

Christ’s instruction and example of service for us is clear. After washing the disciples’ feet, He said, “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you” (13:14–15).

Christ’s service to sinners took the form of total identification. Paul said that He was “made in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7). He was given all the essential attributes of humanity, thus He became like us. He was a genuine human, not just a facsimile. He was more than God in a body—He became the God-man, being fully God and fully man. And like a man, Jesus was born and increased in wisdom and physical maturity (see Luke 2:52).

When Jesus became a man, He took on the nature of man in his fallen and weakened condition: He hurt, He wept, He hungered, He thirsted, He tired, and He died. He was burdened with the results of man’s fall.1 When Christ took on human nature in its fallen character, it was with one significant element eliminated: sin. Jesus was “tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).

Daily Challenge

Although Christ never sinned, He felt the results of the fall when He became one of us. Jesus “had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest” (Heb. 2:17). As we press on in our journey to know and be conformed to Christ, we can come confidently before Him in prayer, knowing that He completely understands our human weakness.