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NASB | Philippians 2:7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Philippians 2:7 but emptied Himself [without renouncing or diminishing His deity, but only temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His rightful dignity] by assuming the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men [He became completely human but was without sin, being fully God and fully man]. |
Bible Question:
Had Jesus been God's begotten son, he would be have been equal to him in strength. Jesus was taken for investigation, insulted, beaten, whipped, mocked and crucified without defending himself or being defend by his Father, as the gospels narrate! Not one of Jesus' followers or disciples defended him! The gospels depict a picture of Jesus as the weakest human who ever lived on earth! His mockers said to Jesus, "If thou be the son of God, come down from the cross,"(Matt.27:40). Their challenge was justifiable. Of course, he failed to meet the fefiance! In his weakest wakness, he could not meet the minimal requirements of being God's son! |
Bible Answer: You wrote: "Had Jesus been God's begotten son, he would be have been equal to him in strength." And He was: "Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was." --John 17:5 You wrote: "The gospels depict a picture of Jesus as the weakest human who ever lived on earth!" Yes, He was depicted as the suffering servant Isaiah, seven centuries before, prophesied He would be: "For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him." --Isaiah 53:2-3 You wrote: "Jesus was taken for investigation, insulted, beaten, whipped, mocked and crucified without defending himself or being defend by his Father, as the gospels narrate!" ...which was the whole purpose for which Jesus came to earth: "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him." --Isaiah 53:4-6 "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 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 And he willingly laid his life down to pay for the sins of Christians. He wasn't UNABLE to come down from the cross; he was UNWILLING to disobey the Father: "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." --John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." --John 10:14-15 "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." --John 10:17-18 Tell me, Isaac: who in existence would have the authority not only to lay down one's own life (on one's own initiative), but then, following death, to take it up again? Jesus claimed to be God." What your Muslim contacts seem not to understand is that the crucifixion was no accident, but the very means by which the Son of God bore the sins of His people. Your Muslim contacts claim that he is a weak man. Ask them how weak a person has to be to bear the holy, infinite, and unrelenting wrath of God for every sin committed by every one of God's people from the beginning of history to the end of it? The Jesus of Christianity is no wimp. --Joe! |