Philippians 2:5-8 & Colossians 2:9
There has been a lot of rewriting of
American History in recent years. It is amazing how much clarity is claimed
from a distance of two centuries! The claim is made that those closest to the
events were too clouded by their agendas to accurately record what happened. We
don’t have any agenda, or so the modern claim goes, so we are in a better
position to clear up those forced social, political and economic agendas and
really understand what happened. But all they have are historical documents that
were “colored” by those agendas. How are they able to filter out what really
happened from such tainted sources? How do they keep their own agenda (and we
all have a point of view that taints what we see and say) from overwhelming
their reinterpretation of these historical events? They don’t!
Paul the Apostle wrote much of the New
Testament. He was, if you remember, one of the people who opposed Jesus’
followers immediately after the Resurrection. We don’t know if he was part of
any of the opposition during Jesus life, but we read of him popping up within a
couple of years. He was a bit younger than Jesus was, perhaps seven years or
so.
Paul had every reason to continue to oppose
what Jesus said about Himself, but he didn’t. Instead, Paul writes profoundly
about the nature of Jesus, being God and man. He does that in the two passages
for today.
In Colossians Paul says in very straight
forward terms that everything that constitutes Deity is present in Jesus.
Nothing is left out. If I were to say that everything that constituted a python
lived in you, I would back away because I would not want to be squeezed to
death. Paul writes, that in Jesus, everything that God is, resides there.
In Philippians, Paul discusses in a more
detailed way what happened when Jesus took on a human body. The heavy theological
content is used by Paul to teach us about how we are to act toward each other.
We are to be humble, willing to serve. But in the process of teaching about
humility toward each other, Paul teaches us about Jesus.
Paul writes that Jesus adds the nature of a
human being to the nature He already had, the nature of God. To do this Jesus
had to not consider what He wanted, but what was best for us. He had to take
selfishness out of the picture, not that He was ever selfish.
Many volumes have been written on these
verses, so I won’t expound much more. If you have questions about Jesus’ Deity,
and especially these verses, may I suggest this article. It is not the best, but it will get you started. It is rather
scholarly, and filled with content, but for those who want more, it will help.
A word of caution. Remember that everything
on the internet is not true! Many of the “scholarly” articles out there start
with the bias that dismiss Scripture and Jesus’ intervention in history. They
downplay our sinfulness and God’s grace in buying us back from sin. So be
careful as you search. Ask your pastor for guidance in what to read. Pray!