Let’s look at Philippians 2:1-11 and a bit more. All
quotes ASV
Philippians 2:1If there is therefore any exhortation
in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any
fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and
compassions, 2:2make full my joy, that ye be of the
same mind, having the same love, being of one accord,
of one mind; 2:3doing nothing through faction or
through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each
counting other better than himself; 2:4not looking
each of you to his own things, but each of you also to
the things of others. 2:5Have this mind in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus:
- In this chapter Paul talks about humility and
Christ-like character. Christ is the great example for
all men to follow. Paul then goes on to describe the
walk and glorification of the man Jesus.
Philippians 2:6who, existing in the form of God,
counted not the being on an equality with God a thing
to be grasped, 2:7but emptied himself, taking the form
of a servant, being made in the likeness of men;
2:8and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled
himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the
death of the cross.
- Jesus didn’t sin, acted perfect yet he didn’t grasp
for becoming a god on earth serving his own wishes,
verses 6-7. This is vast contrast to the mighty men
described and prophesised in Ezekiel 28:2, 13-16 and
Isaiah 14:12-15. They were indeed very less than Jesus
but acted as much more. Jesus’ humility is an example
for us and we are asked to try our best to follow. The
Greek translated form is ‘morphe’. According to
Strongs Concordance, this can be translated in several
ways as shape, appearance and likeness. James 1:13-15
tells us that God can’t be tempted but men are tempted
by their sinful nature. Jesus was a man like you and
me, ‘a fruit of David’s loins’ (Matthew 1:1, Luke
2:52, Acts 2:30, Hebrews 2:7), believers confirmed
that too (John 11:22). He had trough the Holy Spirit
an upright Godfearing character (Acts 10:38), God
through the Holy Spirit was his father and Virgin Mary
his mother, he had a sinful nature because of his
flesh but he didn’t obey it, his body encouraged him
to sin but he didn’t obey it (Isaiah 53:9-12, Hebrews
2:14-18, 4:15). This we could never do, but we are to
strive to be like him to the best of our abilities
(Romans 7:18-25, Philippians 2 whole chapter). He was
a humble servant towards God all the way, even to his
painfilled death.
Philippians 2:9Wherefore also God highly exalted him,
and gave unto him the name which is above every name;
2:10that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven and things on earth and things
under the earth, 2:11and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father.
- The Bible is full of references to the resurrection
and exaltation of Jesus by his God. The man Jesus
struggled with fear before his death yet he uttered to
his God ‘let not my will, but thine be done’ (Matthew
26:39). After his death, Peter quoted Psalm 16 of
Jesus’ words to his Father ‘thou wilt not leave my
soul unto Hades, Neither wilt thou give thy Holy One
to see corruption’ (Acts 2:27), Jesus had been in the
land of the death (Isaiah 53:8-9). The resurrection of
Jesus is a very essential part of the Gospel (John
10:14-15, Romans 6:1-9, 10:9, 1 Corinthians 15:12-18).
Jesus, after his death and resurrection is described
as the firstborn of the death and ruler of the kings
of the earth and the one that bought us to be priests
unto HIS God and Father, God himself in Revelations
1:5-6. In Revelations 1:17-18 Jesus’ described as the
first and the last, the one who has been death but now
is alive. How is he firstborn of the death?
Revelations 3:14 calls him the beginning of Gods
creation. The Greek translated beginning is ‘protos’.
According to Strongs Concordance, this can be
translated as both first in importance, before (Gods
creation) and as the beginning. If we stick to the
first rendering, it says that Jesus is first of the
creation, the most important/prominent of the created.
1 Corinthians 15:15; 23 says that God raised up Christ
as the first, then those that are Christ’s will be
raised. So Christ is the first one of the new immortal
creation that God offers us to be part of through the
Gospel just as John 1:12-13 and 2 Timothy 1:10 states.
Jesus knew he would be raised and glorified and he
knew the one that gave him that power (John 5:30,
20:17).
Christianity has historically had a serious problem
with this ‘extra God’ Jesus. They made false tradition
to deal with it and killed and tortured those that
told another doctrine. Tradition had made it
impossible for most to understand the simple teaching
that Jesus was and is what he is because of God’s will
and Jesus’ obedience. ‘Therefore doth the Father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it
again’ (John 10:17). It’s stated simply in Acts, he
‘went about doing good, and healing all that were
oppressed of the devil; for God was with him’ and he
‘is ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and
the dead’ (John 5:26-30, Acts 10:36-42). It’s in this
light we make the logic conclusion of John 17, that
God and Jesus are one through Jesus’ obedience just
are we are to be one with each other with Jesus in
faith. God will always be the God of Jesus (John
20:17, 1 Corinthians 15:28). Although Jesus wasn’t in
existence as a being in the Old Testament (hence the
absence of the Son, no verses saying; “Behold Abraham,
I have the three personalities God the Father, God the
Son and God the Holy Spirit yet I’m one God”), he was
there in God’s plans. It’s through Jesus that the
faithful old covenant Jews will be resurrected
(Hebrews 11:39-40). The proper view to look at Jesus
is as our Mediator and Highpriest (1 Timothy 2:5,
Hebrews 8:1-13). To us, God and Jesus are equally
essential for our salvation. God because he’s the one
that made Jesus and us, Jesus because he’s the means
of salvation God has provided for us. 1 Timothy 2:5
simply puts it: ‘For there is one God and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus’. If only
these trinity people would see how their unlogic
assumptions fail the test of 1 Corinthians 15:22-28.
Adam and Eve and thereby all mankind lost their
immortality because of disobedience (Genesis 3). God
is the source of life and the one that has the
immortality (Psalm 36:9, 1 Timothy 6:16). If you die
in your sins, your soul will die just as Adams did
(Genesis 2:7, 2:17, 2:22, 3:19, Ezekiel 18:4, Luke
13:1-5, Acts 3:23). As we are sinners, immortality is
offered to us through the faith in our mediator Jesus,
the Highpriest of the new covenant with Him that
raised Jesus (2 Timothy 1:10, 1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews
9:15, Hebrews 12:24). Jesus will return to us as a
mighty God by authority of the Father (Isaiah 9:6-7,
Titus 2:13), carrying Gods zeal as having a name above
any other. Although given a name above any other by
God, he’s still and will be in his bodily form
(Colossians 2:9 basically tell us of the divine
authority and might given to him) and he will return
to us in his bodily form (‘this Jesus, who was
received up from you into heaven shall so come in like
manner as ye beheld him going into heaven’) to judge
the world (Acts 1:11, 3:19-21, 17:31). He will reign
for 1.000 years in the Millennium Reign, and then he
will hand over the Kingdom of God to the Father, every
knee will bow for the Son to the glory of the Father,
(1 Corinthians 15:22-28, Philippians 2:9-11,
Revelations 20 and Isaiah 11 whole chapter). Note the
classic misinterpretation of Philippians 2:11. It’s
made by people that wilful or not, deny the Millennium
reign, the ‘seasons of refreshing’ for those that
repent (Acts 3:19) as well as a major blessing for
those that happen to be mortal during that reign
(Isaiah 65:20). None will confess Jesus as Lord
unwilling but at the end of the Millennium the last of
those that (at this time) refuse to obey Jesus will be
destroyed (Revelations 20:12-15) as God will be all in
all at this time (1 Corinthians 15:28). All this
blessing knowledge is given only to those that accept
the Bible as sole authority. Good thing we do, as the
Bible is our sole authority. We don’t rely on
information outside it.
So, Jesus is our high priest and mediator of ‘a new
covenant’ as Hebrews 8:1-13, 9:15 and 12:4 states.
Abraham did never see Jesus in person, but he saw him
as God’s promise (Genesis 12:1-9, John 8:56-58).
That’s what Jesus was originally, Gods wisdom and his
blessing promise (word) to his faithful. Abraham
wasn’t able believe in Jesus as a person, but he
believed and obeyed God, he was God’s friend and
therefore he will be raised through Jesus too. This
promise is also a great proof against the false
teaching of people going to heaven or hell after their
death. We see in verses like Job 3:11-21, Psalm 6:5,
Daniel 12:2, Acts 2:29 and 1 Corinthians 15:6, 18 that
death is a sleep. We see that confirmed by Jesus in
John 6:40, 54 and 11:22-27, where Martha had faith
that ‘God would give Jesus what Jesus asked of Him’,
she wanted him to resurrect Lazarus. The keyword in
the verses from John is the ‘resurrection at the last
day’. That’s what believers should look forward to.
Indeed translators should use punctuation correctly in
Luke 23:43 instead of supporting paganism. People will
awake and at the judgement seat of Christ (2
Corinthians 5:10), the responsible who hear ‘Christ’s
voice’ (John 5:25) will receive either reward (Psalm
37:29, Matthew 5:5, 5:10, Revelations 21:1-8) or gnash
their teeth in disappointment and desperation as Jesus
describes in parables (Matthew 8:12, 13:42-43,
Revelations 21:1-8). So repent, turn and live or see
corruption (Romans 2:7-9). However, the Gospel is
indeed much an offer than the threat mainstream neo
Christians preach today.
This is done through Jesus, a man that walked without
sin, our covenant. So the new covenant is a man, the
old was the Law. This was God’s Covenant with the
Jews. It required circumcision and obedience towards
strict laws. While the new covenant is a man it
requires something of us. We must be our calling
worthy (Romans 6:1-9, Galatians 6:1-9). Remember that
Jesus gave himself to select a peculiar people zealous
of good works (Titus 2:13-14). Attitude matters. The
false teaching of fiery hell requires that believers
get easy salvation however these teachings, fiery hell
and easy salvation are false. Of cause both teachings
are defended viciously but then again that shouldn’t
surprise us, as the truth is ‘everywhere spoken
against’ (Acts 28:22). When we look to what God want
to use us to, to co-rule with Christ on earth in the
Millennium reign (1 Corinthians 6:2, Revelations
20:4-6, for reflection the Book of Judges), it’s
obvious that salvation isn’t given to people with an
unworthy character. This is of cause not a message
people like to hear, just as the Jews stoned Stephen
(Acts 7), such a message is neither pleasing to
Universalists or main stream Hell-believing Christians
or to people in general that like the thought of their
love ones being resurrected on day or living in
Heaven. If you only read what you like to read and in
the way you like to read it (such as reading symbolic
language as literal or interpret verses open for it in
an unbiblical way), you can get a lot of messages out
of the Bible. That’s after all what most people do.
Yet Romans 9:11-28 tells us that the ‘the potter has
the right over his clay’ and it tells us that most of
mankind will go to dust or stay in it, as only those
that know of God’s will are accountable for the
judgement seat (Romans 2:12-16, 1 Pete 4:15-19, 2
Pete 3:4, see also Genesis 18:20-19:25, Matthew 10:15,
2 Pete 2:6, Jude 7 for people made accountable by
God’s will). It tells us that ‘Every scripture
inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in
righteousness, ‘that the man of God may be complete,
furnished completely unto every good work’ (2 Timothy
3:16-17). Indeed works, including humility is
essential. You don’t get anywhere without faith
(Hebrews 11:6) or without both faith and works
(Galatians 6:1-6, James 2:14-17).
God Bless