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 But all they have are historical documents that were “colored” by those agendas.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!
The Arnold Journey 