What God Gave Up for Lent – Day 11

11. A Divine Exchange  

Foot Washing

He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him. (Isaiah 53:2b)

We see here the divine exchange. He Who angels and all manner of Heavenly Host fall on their faces before Him; He Who is the King of kings and Lord of lords, now has no stately form or majesty. Just looking at the Hebrew word for majesty, we catch a glimpse of what kind of majesty was given up. Some of the translations are: glory, honor, beauty, comeliness, excellency, and goodly, to name a few.

Consider Paul’s description of God and His dwelling: I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. (1 Timothy 6:13-16)

Move from the unapproachable light of Christ’s deity, to the humanity of Christ: Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8)

From immortality and unapproachable light; from glory, honor, beauty, comeliness, excellency, and goodly. These were the words that would describe His heavenly existence; but now as He walked the earth, apparently none of these characteristics were readily evident. Therefore there was no reason for us to look upon Him.

Why would He do this? Humility. Love. Two of the attributes of Christ that we see, if we choose to look. And two attributes of Christ which we can emulate, that others should see in us.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus… (Philippians 2:5)

Are you willing to make His attitude your attitude?

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