Archived Daily Manna | Rejoice Fellowship | A mission to release people to rejoice in the world.

Message: We have taken small bites of Philippians 2, because in their eagerness to glorify Christ, countless Christians — including teachers and preachers — gloss over it and, thus, misunderstand the nature of Christ. Christ is and always was “fully God,” in one sense, but the term is confusing and leads to impossible mental anguish. Possibly, we cannot comprehend perfectly the nature of Jesus. But we are certain that He did not retain all aspects of divinity, because the Bible tells us this in plain language. We discussed one benefit we derive from appreciating Jesus’ human nature in the preceding verses. We gain a gut-level certainty of God’s empathy for our difficulties and suffering, knowing that He has suffered them exactly as we do, in faith (as opposed to knowledge) of eternity. Jesus rides a donkey The King of Humility riding a donkey. Today we see a second benefit, which is Jesus’ mission as a role model for us. We cannot really have the same attitude as God; we are not alike. The wisdom of God is “unsearchable.” But we can emulate the attitude of Jesus. And, in a word, this attitude is “obedience.” Time and time again, throughout the four Gospels, we see Jesus praying to the Father for guidance. And, we may surmise, He prayed for such guidance many other times, which were not recorded. We then see Jesus following the Father’s instructions “to the point of death, even death on a cross.” His humility was absolute, his obedience was unfailing. And we can immediately see how extreme His obedience became. We understand the power of our own urge to avoid extreme pain and death. We know Jesus felt it exactly as we do, for in the Garden of Gethsemane, he is fearful of His torture and death, and prays that he might avoid it: Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death . . . and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:38-44.) In Luke, we are told, “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. (Luke 22:44.)” Jesus feared torture and death to the point He “sweated blood,” and prayed that He would not have to do it. But he did do it. His perfect obedience to the Father outweighed His fear. The outcome was never actually in question. There is no actual drama; we might surmise that Jesus knew what the answer to His prayer would be, for He repeatedly predicted His death and resurrection. Why, then, are these verses included in the Gospels? To inform us. Jesus was not some emotionless, fearless automaton. He felt fear and anguish. The verses are there to highlight the power of His obedience. Paul then urges us to adopt two primary attributes of Christ: obedience and humility. These are not attributes of God. These are human attributes. They define the attitude of human beings towards their Creator, an attitude which God has commanded of us; and, more to the point, has demonstrated to us by sending His blessed Son to live with us.