Philippians 2:6

Behold here the greatest example of humility, of lowliness and abasement, that ever the world was acquainted with: the mighty God became less than man!

To make. due estimate hereof we must first observe, What Christ was before his incarnation and humiliation, namely, the great and mighty God: for, says the apostle, he was in the form of God, and equal with God; that is, being the substantial form, and essential image of the Father, enjoying the divine nature, with all its glory, and all the ensigns of majesty which God himself had eternally and invariably. As to be in the form of. servant, signifies that he was. servant; so to be in the form of God, signifies that he was God.

And observe, 2. He was in the form of God, before he was in the form of. servant: And, being in the form of God, he thought it no robbery to be equal with God. Now if he thought it no robbery, it could be no robbery; and if no robbery, he must be equal; and if equal, he must be God by nature, as the Father is.

Learn hence, That our Saviour possessed that glory which is truly divine, before he assumed our nature as man: he had. peerage or equality with his Father in glory; the angels adored him im heaven before his incarnation on earth, Isaiah 6:1-2.

Observe, 3. What mighty abasement the holy Jesus, God blessed for evermore, underwent, when he humbled himself: He was found in fashion as. man; he took upon him the form of. servant, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.

Behold here the Son of righteousness under an (almost total) eclipse; he that was eternally beautiful and glorious, being the brightness of his Father's glory, was so veiled, clouded, and debased, in the day of his humiliation, that he appears not like. God, scarce like. man.

Note, 1. He took upon him the form of. servant: now this was. lower degree of condescension than the assuming the naked human nature; for. servant is not simply. man, but. mean man,. man in. low estate.

Lord! what abasement was here, that Christ, who was in the form of God, should degrade himself into the form of. servant, and take the human nature without honour, after it had lost its primitive innocency, after sin had blotted the original glory of it, and withered the beauty and excellency thereof!. inconceivable condescension!

Note, 2. He emptied himself, or made himself of no reputation, that is, in the day of his incarnaton he laid aside the robes of his glory, he emptied himself of that divine splendour and majesty which before he had; not by ceasing to be what he was, but by assuming something to himself which before he was not: the Son of God descended from his throne, and put on our vile mortality; he parted with his glory, that he might part with his life for our salvation.

Note, 3. He was made in the likeness of man, and found in fashion as. man; that is, he was truly and really man, made in the likeness of other men, without any visible outward difference: He was in all things like unto us, sin only excepted, Romans 8:3. He is said to appear in the likeness of sinful flesh, that is, in flesh that had the marks and miserable effects of sin upon it: not that Christ assumed sinful flesh, or flesh really defiled, by sin, but he assumed the human nature, attended with. whole troop of human imfirmities, which sin first let into that nature, as hunger and thirst, weariness and pain, mortality and death. By reason of which, though he was not. sinner, yet he looked like one, and they that conversed with him took him for one, seeing all these effects of sin upon him.

Lord, what. stoop was this! To be made in the likeness of innocent flesh had been much; but to be made in the likeness of sinful flesh, rebellious flesh, flesh, though not defiled, yet miseraably defaced by sin! O, what is this! and who can declare his humiliation!

Note, 4. The nature of this humiliation: he humbled himself; the word imports both. real and. voluntary abasement. Real: Christ did not personsate an humble man, nor act the part of one in. debased state, but was really and in very deed humbled, both in the sight of God and man: and, as it was real, so also was his humiliation voluntary. It is not said he was humbled, but that he humbled himself; he was willing to stoop to this low and abject state for us; and it was the voluntariness of his humiliation that made it so acceptable to God, and so beneficial and servicable unto us.

Note, 5. The degrees of our holy Lord's humiliation: he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Here we have the depth of Christ's humiliation specified; it was unto death, and also aggravated, even unto the death of the cross; he humbled himself, not only to become. mortal man, but. dead corpse; and that too hanging on. tree, dying the death of. malefactor. There was pain, shame, and. curse, in the death of the cross: Christ underwent the pain patiently, the shame meekly, the curse obediently, all of them willingly and cheerfully, that the justice of God might be satisfied, his wrath pacified, his majesty reconciled, death and hell vanquished and destroyed. Behold the trancendency of Christ's love to the children of men! Greater love hath no man than this, that. man lay down his life for his friend; but greater love had the Son of God than this, that he laid down his life for his inveterate enemies: he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.