Seven Steps of the Lord’s Humiliation

Seven Steps of the Lord’s Humiliation -II

Bible Verses

Phil 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 

Jesus,  (6)  Who, existing in the form of God, did not 

consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped,  (7)  

But emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in 

the likeness of men;  (8)  And being found in fashion as a 

man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, 

and that the death of a cross.

                                           
              
                                          Words of Ministry

                                (Part 2 of 2)

Verse 8 continues, "And being found in fashion as a man, He 

humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that 

the death of a cross." When Christ became in the likeness of 

men, entering into the condition of humanity, He was found in 

fashion as a man by men. The word fashion implies the outward 

guise, the semblance. What Christ looked like in His humanity 

was found by men to be in fashion as a man.

Being found in fashion as a man, Christ humbled Himself. 

First He emptied Himself by putting aside the form, the 

outward expression, of His deity and becoming in the likeness 

of men. Then He humbled Himself by becoming obedient even 

unto death. Christ was God with the expression of God. 

Although He was equal with God, He put aside this equality 

and emptied Himself by taking the likeness of men. This 

indicates that He became a man through incarnation. Then, 

being found in the appearance of a man, He humbled Himself. 

This means that when He was a man, He did not insist on 

anything. Rather, He humbled Himself to the point of dying on 

the cross. This is Christ as our pattern.

Humbling Himself was a further step in emptying Himself. 

Christ's self-humbling manifests His self-emptying. The death 

of the cross was the climax of Christ's humiliation. To the 

Jews this was a curse (Deut. 21:22-23). To the Gentiles it 

was a death sentence imposed upon malefactors and slaves 

(Matt. 27:16-17, 20-23). Hence, it was a shameful thing (Heb. 

12:2).

The Lord's humiliation involves seven steps: emptying 

Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness 

of men, humbling Himself, becoming obedient, being obedient 

even unto death, and being obedient unto the death of the 

cross.

Seven Steps of the Lord’s Humiliation-I 

      Bible Verses 

Phil. 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 

Jesus,  (6)  Who, existing in the form of God, did not 

consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped,  (7)  

But emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in 

the likeness of men.  

Words of Ministry 

(Part 1 of 2)
In verse 5 Paul says, "Let this mind be in you which was also
in Christ Jesus." The Greek words translated "let this mind
be in you" can also be rendered "think this in you." The word
"this" refers to the counting and regarding in verses 3 and
4. This kind of thinking, mind, attitude, was also in Christ
when He emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, and
humbled Himself, being found in fashion as a man (vv. 7-8).
To have such a mind requires us to be one with Christ in His
inward parts (1:8). To experience Christ, we need to be one
with Him to such an extent, that is, in His tender inward
feeling and in His thinking.

Verse 6 says, "Who subsisting in the form of God did not
regard equality with God a thing to be grasped." The Greek
word rendered subsisting denotes existing from the beginning.
It implies the Lord's eternal preexistence. The word form
refers to the expression, not the fashion, of God's being
(Heb. 1:3). It is identified with the essence and nature of
God's Person and thus expresses His essence and nature. This
refers to Christ's deity. In verse 6 Paul tells us that
Christ did not regard equality with God a thing to be
grasped. Although the Lord was equal with God, He did not
consider this equality a treasure to be grasped and retained.
Rather, He laid aside the form of God, not the nature of God,
and emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave.

Verse 7 goes on to say that Christ "emptied Himself, taking 

the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of men." When 

Christ emptied Himself, He laid aside what He possessed--the 

form of God. The word form in verse 7 is the same word as 

used for the form of God in verse 6. In His incarnation, the 

Lord did not alter His divine nature, but only His outward 

expression of the form of God to that of a slave. This was 

not a change of essence; it was a change of state. The word 

"becoming" indicates entering into a new state. According to 

verse 7, Christ became in the "likeness of men." The form of 

God implies the inward reality of Christ's deity; the 

likeness of men denotes the outward appearance of His 

humanity. He appeared outwardly to men as a man, but inwardly 

He had the reality of deity.