He Emptied Himself

-Introduction

-When a person gives some thought to the incredible power of the Godhead it is truly

  awe inspiring.

     -Ps 19:1-3

     -Gen 1:26 – notice the plural – “us,” “our”

            -Gen 1:1 – The word translated “God” is actually a plural word.

-Whether we are thinking about the Father, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, we are overwhelmed with

  their Greatness, Power and Goodness.

-The fact that all three brought about the plan of redemption for mankind – even though we didn’t

  and don’t deserve it – is truly amazing.

-Of course that plan led to Jesus leaving His heavenly home, taking upon himself the form of

  mankind, living a perfect life and dying on the cross of Calvary for our sins.

     -Truly, the “love of Christ…passeth knowledge” (Eph 3:19)!

-Old Testament Prophecies

-There are many, many prophecies throughout the Old Testament regarding the coming of Jesus

  and the things that would be accomplished through Him.

     -In those prophecies, God’s people during the O.T. times were given hope with a glimpse of

      great blessings to come.

-One such passage is Isaiah 11.

     -First of all, we know that this refers to Jesus because of Rom 15:8-13.

     -peaceable kingdom, a rest provided, a gathering of God’s people, deliverance, a way

       provided (Isa 40:3), blessings for the Gentiles – all through Jesus

-For this particular lesson, let’s focus on vs 2-3.

     -Here we’re told that “the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him”.

     -wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, fear of the Lord

     -Questions:  Why would the Spirit rest on Jesus and why would this be correlated with these

                         particular attributes?  Didn’t Jesus already have these on His own?

-Philippians 2:5-8

-We should be in awe of the sacrifices that Jesus made for our benefit.

-When we consider this greatest example of humility we usually think in terms of Jesus leaving

  His heavenly home and taking “upon him the form of a servant”.

     -However, could it be possible that there was much more involved in the process?  Perhaps.

-vs 7 – “made himself of no reputation” (KJV)

     -“emptied Himself” (NASB), “made himself nothing” (NIV)

-Could it possibly be that Jesus, in taking on the form of man, “emptied Himself” of some of His

 Divine attributes?

     -very important: Never did Jesus sever Himself from His identity of Deity.  That’s not the

      question being considered.  Jesus was always Deity and always will be.  The question is this:

      Did Jesus possibly empty Himself of some of His Divine attributes when taking on man’s form?

-Some Other Passages Considered

-Again, Isaiah 11:2-3 attributes the wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and fear of the

  Lord with the Spirit being upon Jesus.

     -Didn’t Jesus have these attributes without the Spirit?  Or, did He lay these aside?

-"The spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him.  This is a reference to the Holy Spirit's coming

  upon Jesus at His baptism (Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32).  While Isaiah will

  discuss and enlarge upon this theme in later passages, here he lists six characteristics of the

  Spirit, characteristics with which He endows the Branch" (Hailey, Homer, A Commentary
        on Isaiah, Religious Supply, Inc., 1992, pg 121).

-Luke 2:46-49, 52

     -Jesus’ understanding at a young age may not have been because of Divine attributes but because

  of good, old-fashioned teaching, studying and learning.  (see also Heb 5:8 – “learned he…”)

-vs 52 – How can somebody in the fullness of Divine attributes increase “in wisdom and stature,

        and in favour with God”?  Had He emptied Himself?

-John 3:34

     -What would be the purpose of endowing Jesus with the Spirit if He already had all of the same

       attributes as the Spirit?

     -Matt 3:13-17

            -“Some think that this symbolized the great fact that Jesus was henceforth to be permanently

              in union with the Father and under the influence of the Holy Spirit…(Matt 4:1)” (Boles, H.

              Leo, 1936, A Commentary of The Gospel According to Matthew, Nashville, TN, Gospel

              Advocate Co, pg 92.  [Boles gave no additional evidence either for or against this statement.]

-Matthew 12:24-28

     -In this passage, false accusations are made about the source of Jesus’ power to cast out demons.

     -notice vs 28 – Jesus said He was casting out the demons by the “Spirit of God”.

-Acts 10:36-40

     -In verse 38, the anointing of the Spirit is connected to the power Jesus miraculously demonstrated.

-Conclusion and Summary

-Again, I’ll present this in question format – “Is it possible that Jesus laid aside (emptied Himself of)

  some of His attributes when taking on the form of man?  I think it is possible.

     -I hope you will consider these ideas, ponder them and study more about this.

-If it is possible that Jesus laid aside some of His Divine attributes, doesn’t that add even more

  significance to the statement “he humbled himself” (Phil 2:8)?

     -Wouldn’t that indicate even a greater burden of responsibility carried by our Saviour?

-When we think about all that He did for us, we should be strongly motivated to do more for Him!

-We begin that process with obedience to the Gospel:

     -Believe (John 3:16, 8:24), Confess (Matt 10:32, Rom 10:9-10), Repent (Acts 17:30, Luke 13:3,5),

       Be Baptized (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38)

-We continue that process by living faithfully – Rom 6:4, Eph 4:22-24, John 8:31-32

     -Have you remained faithful?  If not, confess your shortcomings, repent of your wrongs and pray

       to God for forgiveness – 1 John 1:7-9, Acts 8:22-24