Made In The Likeness of Men
Philippians 2:5–11
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
INTRODUCTION
Perhaps there was no real consideration of consequence, I mean he had not spoken to her but to her husband. No doubt she had never entertained the idea that her husband would lie to her, but she had questions nonetheless.
It didn’t seem to take much persuading, she believed what she was told and up until that point there was no one else around that said anything to the contrary, so she resisted, at least for a moment. The consequence was no doubt serious, after all, her husband told her so, but doubt slithered into her mind.
But when she “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit and did eat, and gave also to her husband with her; and he did eat” (Gen 3:6).
If there was one verse of the entire Bible that man could have done without, its Genesis 3:6.
This changed EVERYTHING. Literally, EVERYTHING.
Of all the verses of the Bible that the peddlers of modern translations have deleted from modern versions of “what god said”, I found none that removed this verse. A verse that I personally could do without.
But nothing would make sense otherwise.
It is the verse that refers to what is known as ORIGINAL SIN. This is where it all began. Rebellion in the heart, first of the woman, deceived by that serpent, that Dragon, “called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Rev 12:9); But then the man, “with her” when she took of the fruit.
It was the MAN who was told directly from God his maker not long after he was formed from the dust of the ground and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. God walked with Adam in the cool of the day and those words respecting the Tree of Conscience, (for that is what it is, Con-Science I.e “With Knowledge”, the Lord making its understanding much plainer so we don’t mess it up, as the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” (Gen 2:9));
It was to Adam God said;
Genesis 2:16–17
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
And death came, not physical death, not yet, but the only death that matters most, the Spirit.
From this point on to this day, man is born “dead in sin”.
Speaking of the work of Christ, the Bible says;
Ephesians 2:1
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Three verses later;
Ephesians 2:4–5
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
And again;
Colossians 2:13
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
And again, affirming the logical reality of Christ sacrifice for mankind;
2 Corinthians 5:14
14 … because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
What now?
God created the entirety of the universe for the existence of mankind, for relationship with him and that he may eternally share in the joy of the Lord, but now man is eternally separated from God. Like Satan, man is in rebellion against his creator. And that, almost from the beginning.
God did not leave man to his own accord. Yes he banished man from the garden, lest they take of the tree of life and live forever in rebellion, and consideration far worse than death, but God spoke of hope from that very chapter where man hopelessly fell.
Turn there;
Genesis 3:14–15
14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Though the reference to the ‘seed of the woman’ is not completely clear in this passage, the thought moves forward beyond Abraham to Christ, for only Christ can bruise the head of the serpent;
Galatians 3:16
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
A time would come when a Saviour will enter into the world to save mankind from himself.
From the time of Adam until God was manifest in the flesh, God was teaching the world of the coming of the Just One (Acts 7:52) who will take the sin of the world upon himself through his own sacrifice for sin (Heb 10:12), “that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor 5:21).
While Adam and Eve clothed themselves with fig leaves, God will “make them coats of skins” (Gen 3:21), teaching from the first that it will be by the shedding of innocent blood they shall be covered.
Jesus is that “innocent Blood”, who was “MADE IN THE LIKENESS OF MEN”, for the SALVATION OF MAN.
THE ANGEL OF GOD
Philippians 2:5-6
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
Before he was “MADE IN THE LIKENESS OF MEN”, he was indeed “in the form of God” and is seen as the Angel of God in the Old Testament.
It was the Angel of God that wrestled with Jacob
Genesis 32:24–30
24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. 27 And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
It was the Angel of God who led the people of God through the Wilderness;
Exodus 14:19
19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
Spoken of as The Lord by Moses, each time the Angel of God moved or set down;
Numbers 10:34–36
34 And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp. 35 And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. 36 And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel.
It was the Angel of God who appeared to Joshua as “The Captain of the Lords Host” after he crossed Jordan. Here we see the Theophany of Christ in its clearest form;
Joshua 5:13–15
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? 14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15 And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
But the comfort of knowing God is with you through fiery trial is given the msot extreme example in Daniel 3;
Daniel 3:22–27
22 Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. 27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king’s counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
THE HUMILITY OF CHRIST
Philippians 2:7
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant,and was made in the likeness of men:
The passage of Philippians 2 begins with the charge of humility among the brethren, in doing so Paul employs the humility of Christ as our example.
Philippians 2:3–7
3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus…
A mind that is for the sake of others…”let each esteem other better than themselves”.
There was a time in which the eternal Son of God, “who, being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation…”;
From God to man, Christ the Son was made in the likeness of men.
The ONLY one of all history that has the right to exalt himself to the highest degree, does the opposite, and humbles himself to be as man is, for the sake of man.
“Thought it not robbery to be equal with God”,
Though there was always a “distinction in person and inequality in respect of office”, writes 17th Century theologian John Owen, “Christ doth not in the least take away equality and sameness with the Father in respect of nature and essence[1]
Christ knew who he is, he showed who he is to the world, he was crucified for presenting himself as God manifest in the flesh, he did not try to hide it and the Jews knew this.
John 10:32–33
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
IF Christ was trying to hide his “equality with God”, he did not do a good job of it.
Turn to Matthew 26
Matthew 26:63–66
63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. 66 What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death.
Some 33 years earlier, an angel appeared to a woman, a virgin, to tell of the birth of a King. Turn to Luke 1
It is not often that angels prophesy of the birth of men of renown to the women that would bare them, the last that I can recall was Sampson who destroyed more of the enemies of God’s people in his death than in his life.
It was Isaiah, some 700 years earlier, who first told of the conception of “God with us”, to a virgin. Since that time it was a shame for any woman to be unmarried, for who can tell if they might be the vessel through which Immanuel would be born.
He first came to the husband of Elizabeth to encourage Zacharias of the birth of John, who would “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Lk 1:17), then Gabriel went to Mary.
Luke 1:26–38
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. 38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Here we have the culmination of a plan set forth long ago to save man.
“…by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin”, by one man shall also come redemption from sin;
Romans 5:18–19
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
The account of Luke tells of that which began long ago in the garden, the fulfilment of God’s plan to rescue all who desire to be rescued.
Galatians 4:4–5
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
THE SALVATION OF MAN
Philippians 2:8
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
The predicament of mankind was and is impossible.
For centuries mankind has invented ways by which he may SAVE HIMSELF, and enter an eternal hope of joy and peace.
Even to this day tombstones are engraved with the hope “REST IN PEACE”, carrying forward the trust that this will be the case.
Funerals of godless unbelievers continue to portray the notion that the recently departed are in a “Better Place” in order to bring a vain hope to those yet to die.
Encouragement is given that is reserved ONLY by those who will NOT GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR SIN, whom God will not “bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Eccl 12:14), those who will NOT be remanded in hell until the judgment of the Great White throne spoken of in Revelation 20:11-15.
They speak of fellowship with those recently dead. They speak of hope to those yet living in their sin. The Priests of modern paganism from the Catholic to the Cauldron, encourage those still living even to pray to dean family members as if they have ears to hear.
Jonah 2:8
8 They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
Even though matters Spiritual and the reality of heaven or hell is denied by the godless culture of the western world, the sensible people of the world know instinctively that there is a continuation after the death of the body. BUT THE PREDICAMENT REMAINS.
“I know it is of a truth; But how should a man be just with God?” (Job 9:2)
Job 25:4–6
4 How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman? 5 Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. 6 How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?
HOW?
Philippians 2:8
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
It would be God who will pay for the sins of mankind, and all who desire God will by saved by him, all who do not fear God will be judged by him.
Jesus said;
Mark 10:45
45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
God has made a perfect and just way to have eternal fellowship with those who desire to have fellowship with him. The Son of God had become a “ransom for sin”.
The garden had witnessed the rebellion of Adam and so separation from God through that rebellion came upon man, but God made a way from that time that man who desires to have fellowship with God, may come to him.
The Gospel was indeed preached unto Adam. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness, so it would be to all who looked forward to the cross as we look back.
He WAS MADE IN THE LIKENESS OF MEN, for THE SALVATION OF MAN
Philippians 2:8
8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
THE HUMILITY OF MEN
Philippians 2:9-11
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
There is now and always was one thing that stands in the way of eternal life for many, for most. There is an engine that drives man down the broad way that leads to destruction, it was there in the garden, it was there at the downfall of Lucifer, it was there at the Tower of Babel and it is here in the hearts of men today, PRIDE.
As To DESCRIPTION;
Pride is the very image of the devil. Thomas Boston[2]
Pride is the oldest sin in the universe, and shows no signs of growing weaker with age. John Blanchard[3]
To be more specific as to its nature;
Pride is the idolatrous worship of ourselves, and that is the national religion of hell. Alan Redpath[4]
The simple logic of Vance Havner respecting pride, he simply said,
“The man who thinks he is too big for a little place is too little for a big place”.[5]
As to its ESSENCE
Consider two anonymous quotations;
“Pride is the mask of ones own faults”
“It is the devil’s masterpiece to make us think well of ourselves”
A clear understanding from God’s perspective is given by Anglican Priest John Cliford Cockerton, who said;
“Pride, in the religious sense, is the attitude of autonomy, of self-determination, of independence of God.[6]“
It was Dutch Reformed Pastor Andrew Murray, who gave understanding to the single hindrance against the salvation of men, he wrote;
A man needs above all to be saved from what is the root of all sin—his self-will and his pride.[7]
While Christ Jesus, the Son of God, God the Son, made himself of no reputation to condescend to man to save mankind, it is mans self exultation that will prevent any hope of eternal life.
“The proud man lives half-way down the slope to hell” wrote George Barlow.
Beloved, pride is the weight to will pulls him down and must be cut off.
Almost all of the problems of our lives are caused by pride. Pride hinders relationship across the board. Pride makes a man take no responsibility, all he does is right and good and all the problems of life are the cause of others. It is the victim mentality of a godless world and it is the cause of most of our trials in life.
It was the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson who wrote, “Most of the shadows of this life are caused by standing in one’s one sunshine”.
My friend, Christ is God who humbled himself and was MADE IN THE LIKENESS OF MEN to save you, will you not humble yourself to be saved?
A time is soon coming that all people of the world will exalt Christ. His name will be lifted up and every knee will bow.
God does not force love, his sacrifice simply reveals it.
Philippians 2:9-11
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
[1]. John Owen, The Works of John Owen, ed. William H. Goold, (Edinburgh: T&T Clark), 12:171.
[2]. John Blanchard, The Complete Gathered Gold: A Treasury of Quotations for Christians, 2006, 503.
[3]. John Blanchard, The Complete Gathered Gold: A Treasury of Quotations for Christians, 2006, 503.
[4]. John Blanchard, The Complete Gathered Gold: A Treasury of Quotations for Christians, 2006, 503.
[5]. John Blanchard, The Complete Gathered Gold: A Treasury of Quotations for Christians, 2006, 503.
[6]. John Blanchard, The Complete Gathered Gold: A Treasury of Quotations for Christians, 2006, 504.
[7]. John Blanchard, The Complete Gathered Gold: A Treasury of Quotations for Christians, 2006, 505.
0 Comments