Joshua and Judges: Circumcision of the heart, part 4. Jos 5:2-3; Col 2:8-11; Php 2:6-7.

Title: Joshua and Judges: Circumcision of the heart, part 4. JOS 5:2-3; COL 2:8-11; Php 2:6-7.

 

Announcements / opening prayer:

 

The indwelling of the divine fullness in Him is characteristic of Him as Christ, from all ages and to all ages.

 

Hence the fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Him before His incarnation, when He was 'in the form of God' (Php 2:6).

 

Fullness of the Godhead before the incarnation:

 

Php 2:6 who, although He existed [huparcho = being before and after the essence of God] in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped

 

We must now consider carefully the word "robbery." [thing to be grasped; NASB]

 

"thing to be grasped" - a`rpagmo,j [harpagmos] = robbery, to seize. "A thing unlawfully seized" or "a treasure to be clutched and retained at all costs."  

 

The Greek word has two distinct meanings. "a thing unlawfully seized," and "a treasure to be clutched and retained at all hazards." When a Greek word has more than one meaning, the rule of interpretation is to take the one which agrees with the context in which it is found. The passage which we are studying is the illustration of the virtues mentioned in 2:2-4, namely, humility, and self-abnegation for the benefit of others. If our Lord did not consider it a thing to be unlawfully seized to be equal with God in the expression of the divine essence, then He would be asserting His rights to that expression. He would be declaring His rightful ownership of that prerogative to express His deity. In other words, He would not be seizing the expression of divine essence unlawfully but rather would be asserting His right to express divine essence. This meaning will not do since asserting one's right to a thing is not to partake of an attitude of humility.

 

However, if our Lord did not consider the expression of His divine essence such a treasure that it should be retained at all costs, that would mean that He was willing to waive His rights to that expression if the necessity arose.

 

And that necessity did arise. That truly is the essence of humility and considering others as more important than Himself. This is the proper meaning.

 

ISA 53:2

He has no stately form or majesty

That we should look upon Him,

Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

 

So we put together an expanded translation performed by Wuest.

 

Php 2:6

Who has always been and at present continues to subsist in that mode of being in which He gives outward expression of His essential nature, that of Deity, and who did not after weighing the facts, consider it a treasure to be clutched and retained at all hazards, to be equal with Deity (in the expression of the divine essence); [expanded; Wuest]

 

JOH 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 

It dwelt in Him during His incarnation - clothed with a body.

 

JOH 1:14

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

1JO 1:1

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life

 

The fullness of the Godhead dwells in His glorified humanity in heaven.

 

HEB 1:3

And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high

 

HEB 1:8

"Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever,

And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom.

 

The fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him in a bodily way, clothed with a body. This means that it dwells in Him as one having a human body. This could not be true of His preincarnate state, when He was 'in the form of God,' for the human body was taken out by Him in the fullness of time, when He became in the likeness of men, when the Word became flesh.

 

Php 2:7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

 

Instead of asserting His rights to the expression of the essence of Deity, our Lord waived His rights to that expression, being willing to relinquish them if necessary. He did not consider the exercise of that expression such a treasure that it would keep Him from setting that expression aside, and making Himself of no reputation.

 

The word for "form" is the same as in verse six and so it refers to an outward expression of an inward essence, in this case, true humanity. In the sentence the decision to take upon Himself the form of a slave is a decision that occurred before He emptied Himself, in other words, it was the taking on the form of a man that necessitated the emptying.

 

The word "taking" tells us that this was not true of Him before the incarnation.

 

In verse six He was in His preincarnate state expressing Himself as Deity. In verse seven He expresses Himself in incarnation as a bondslave.

 

MAT 20:28

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

 

Instead of giving outward expression of His deity to the angels in His preincarnate glory, He gives outward expression of His humility in becoming the servant of mankind. The one expression was set aside so that the other could become a fact.

 

This form, not being identical with the divine essence, but dependent upon it, and necessarily implying it, can be parted with or laid aside. Since Christ is one with God, and therefore pure being, absolute existence, He can exist without the form. This form of God, Christ laid aside in His incarnation.

 

"Emptied Himself" - He set aside the outward expression of His deity when expressing Himself as a bondslave.

 

It was the outward expression of the essence of His deity which our Lord emptied Himself of during the time when He was giving outward expression of Himself as a bondslave. But the emptying Himself of the expression of Deity is more implied by the context than stated specifically by the verb "emptied." When our Lord set aside the expression of Deity in order that He might express Himself as a bondslave, He was setting aside His legitimate and natural desires and prerogatives as Deity. The basic, natural desire and prerogative of Deity is that of being glorified. But when Deity sets these aside, it sets its desires aside, and setting its desires aside, it sets Self aside.

 

When the Lord emptied Himself of the expression of His deity, He set Self aside. This fits the context of the passage. He regarded the plan of salvation; He regarded you and me as more important than Self.

 

We cannot any of us imagine what it is like to set aside the expression of deity. The restraint is beyond our comprehension. However, to restrain our own expression of self for the service of others is comprehensible. And by this I do not just mean the restraint of sinful expressions, but the sacrifice of legitimate expressions of self for the service of others. This is one of the greatest Christ-like attitudes that we can possess as we are conformed to His image.

 

A great illustration of this is when our Lord washed the feet of the disciples, appearing before them as a servant.

 

JOH 13:4 rose from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself about.

 

Seated at the table as Master and Lord of the disciples is illustrative of His preincarnate glory giving outward expression of His deity.

 

Our Lord seated at the table, the Master and Lord of the disciples, is illustrative of Him in His preincarnate glory, giving outward expression of the glory of His deity to the angels.

 

Laying aside His garments and taking the towel is illustrative of Him taking the outward expression of a servant in His incarnation.

 

Our Lord, girded with a towel, and washing the feet of the disciples, is illustrative of His taking the outward expression of a servant in His incarnation. His outer garments laid aside for the time being, point to His setting aside the outward expression of His preincarnate glory while He expressed Himself as a bondslave.

 

The fact that He was still their Master and Lord while kneeling on the floor doing the work of an oriental slave, speaks of the fact that our Lord's assumption of humanity did not mean that He relinquished His deity.

 

He was just as much God while on earth in His humiliation, as He was before He came and as He is now. His act of taking His outer garments again, tells of the resumption of the expression of His glory after the resurrection.

 

JOH 13:12 He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you?

 

JOH 13:13 "You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.

 

JOH 13:14 "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

 

JOH 13:15 "For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.

 

JOH 13:16 "Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master; neither is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.

 

LUK 22:24 And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest.

 

LUK 22:25 And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called 'Benefactors.'

 

LUK 22:26 "But not so with you, but let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant.

 

LUK 22:27 "For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

 

If Christ is perfect essence, and He is, and the expression of Himself as humanity is as a servant, as such as it is, this is the only expression of humanity as God's perfect essence would have it, and therefore it is the only true essence of humanity, making everything else a lie. And it is also true that everything else will eventually be completely destroyed. So then, we consider the true essence of our salvation and deliverance, and the true meaning of circumcision of the heart which occurred directly at the moment of salvation and we have to ask, "Why do we live the way that we do?" Do we do so for rewards, for glory, to be admired, to get extra blessings from God? Or do we live the way we do because it is the only true essence of humanity as God has determined, and this we know because it was what God was when He wrapped Himself in a human body and took upon Himself a true human essence. He expressed that essence and revealed the true human essence. All others are fabrications and lies.

 

Php 2:7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.