The Baptist Confession of Faith 1689
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· 7 viewsOverview of paragraphs 1 & 2, Chapter 8, Christ The Mediator from The Baptist Confession of Faith 1689.
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Christ The Mediator
Christ The Mediator
Chapter 8, Paragraphs 1 & 2
Chapter 8, Paragraphs 1 & 2
Paragraph 1.
It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, in accordance with the covenant made between them both, to be the mediator between God and man; to be Prophet, Priest, and King, the Head and Savior of His Church, the Heir of all things, and the Judge of all the world. To the Lord Jesus He gave, from all eternity, a people to be His seed. These, in time would be redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified by the Lord Jesus.
Introduction:
Chapter 8 is titled Christ the Mediator. I will be going over paragraphs 1 and 2.
The key items I hope you understand when we are done are:
What is a mediator
Why do we need a mediator
What three offices does Christ hold and what are their functions.
When was Christ ordained to be the mediator?
Who is the Head of the Church?
If Christ was not married, then what is his “seed”?
1. It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, in accordance with the covenant made between them both, to be the Mediator between God and man
Remember in the last chapter, we talked about the Covenant of Redemption.
1. It was the eternal covenant between the persons of the Trinity.
2. Laid out their roles in the self-glorification of God and the redemption of God’s elect.
3. The Father was to elect a people and give them to the Son (His seed)
4. The Son was to redeem those given
5. The Spirit was to apply the benefits of Son on their behalf and indwell in them.
Well, Christ was chosen. He too is elect or Prime Elect. Chosen by the Father, from before the foundation of the earth to be the Savior. We also read of Christ being the chosen of God and in whom God delights in the New Testament Scriptures often with allusions to the Old Testament (John 6:27; 1 Pet. 2:4-6). Christ is the prime elect of God, and all the believers have been elected in Him and when they come to faith, they become united with Him.
John 3:16 ““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
This verse is a summary of the gospel. God’s motivation towards people is love. God’s love is infinite, and He expressed it with the sacrifice of His “One and Only” Son.” KJV uses begotten and NIV uses one and only. The greek used is “Monogene”, means “only begotten” or “only born-one”. Unique, one of a kind.
We must also realize that the New Covenant is so much better because Christ is our mediator and high priest. Christ is our guarantor that this covenant will not fail. He has pledged Himself for the maintenance and fulfilment of its promises, as our mediator.
In all of the mediatorial offices, Christ is the perfect Mediator. Perfect Prophet, Perfect Priest and Perfect King. The Father established each office for our redemption. It pleased God to ordain Christ as our Prophet, Priest and King.
Isaiah 42:1 (ESV)
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.
John Gill shows it from Targum as “Behold my Messiah”. God chose or preordained Christ before the foundations of the earth to be the Servant, the Lamb slain for redemption of man.
this character of "elect" may respect the choice of the human nature to the grace of union with the Son of God; which was chosen out from among the people, and separated from them for that purpose; and was preordained to be the Lamb slain for the redemption of man, and appointed to glory; and likewise the choice of Christ to office, to be the Mediator between God and man; to be the Saviour and Redeemer of the Lord's people; to be the Head of the church, and to be the foundation and the corner stone of that spiritual building; and to be the Judge of quick and dead: and with him, as such, was the Lord "well pleased, or delighted"; with his person; as the Son of God; and with all his chosen, as considered in him; with what he did as his servant; with the righteousness he wrought out; with the sacrifice he offered up; and with his sufferings and death, through which peace and reconciliation were made with God for sinners:
How much did it please God to appoint a Mediator to be the Savior and Prophet, Priest & King for His chosen people? How much does God love man?
He sacrificed His only Son! It pleased Him to do this. That is infinite love.
1 Peter 1:19–20 (ESV)
but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you
God’s redemption of sinners through the precious blood of His Son was always part of the divine plan of salvation; here he seeks to comfort them with the knowledge that Christ’s sacrifice unfolded as part of God’s eternal plan.
(compare John 1:1 and note). Earlier in the letter Peter reminds his audience that the OT prophets anticipated salvation (see 1 Pet 1:10 and note)
2. to be Prophet,
Old testament prophets were given the word of God to proclaim to the people, making these men mediators. Christ not only proclaimed the word of God, but He is the Word of God (John 1:1). He not only says the word but reveals it in His own Person.
Old Testament prophets spoke about things beyond themselves. Much about the future concerning Christ. When Christ prophesied, He spoke about Himself.
Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.
the Messiah, and which is the Lord Jesus Christ, who answers to all the characters: he was a prophet in every sense, who brought a revelation of the divine will, taught the way, and explained the Scriptures of truth perfectly, and foretold things to come; he was raised up by the Lord God of Israel, and was anointed by his Spirit, and sent by him, and that to the people of the Jews, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Moses was a mediator between God and the people of Israel, and Christ is the Mediator between God and men; Moses, under God, was an instrument of redeeming the people of Israel out of Egypt, and Christ, he is the Redeemer of his people from sin, Satan, and the law, and all their enemies
3. Priest
Old testament priests offered sacrifices, presented before God. Christ is our Priest and both makes the offering and is the ofrfering. He offers Himself as the perfect sacrifice to satisfy the demands of God’s justice.
He is the perfect priest, our Great High Priest, whose sacrifice is offered once for all.
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
Paul explains there is only one God and only one way for men to approach Him and that is through the Man who was God in the flesh, Christ Jesus.
Psalm 110:4 (ESV)
The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
The LORD has affirmed by oath that the Messiah will be a Priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. The people of the Messiah will have an eternal High Priest. Melchizedek was the king of Salem (Jerusalem) and priest of the Most High God (Gen. 14:18; Heb. 7:1).
Years after he ruled in Jerusalem, David and his descendants ruled there.That ancient unity of priest and king in one person will be reunited in the Messiah, a fact which necessitates the end of the line of Aaron’s priesthood. This is precisely the point of the writer to the Hebrews, who four times said Melchizedek is a type of Christ (Heb. 5:6; 6:20; 7:17, 21). As a Priest Jesus sacrificed Himself by His death on the cross (Heb. 7:27–28; 10:10). Not in Aaron’s line (cf. Heb. 7:11–18), He is the eternal High Priest (cf. Heb. 7:21–26, 28) of the New Covenant (cf. Heb. 8:13; 9:15). Because He is also the promised Davidic King, both offices are united in one Person.
Hebrews 5:5–6 (ESV)
So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 7:21–24 (ESV)
but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.’ ” This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.
The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but He holds his priesthood permanently, because He continues forever.
4. King
In the old testament we saw that kings come and go. Some were good and some were bad. Now in the New Covenant, God ordained Christ as the King of Kings, Lord of lords, the ultimate King to whom the Father has given all authority in heaven and on earth.
Psalm 2:6 (ESV)
“As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
Christ is King; he is King of saints, and is acknowledged by them; and it is for their great safety and security, their joy, comfort, and happiness, that he is set over them: he is called by his Father "my King", because he who is King of Zion is his Anointed, as in Psa 2:2; and his Son, his begotten Son, as in Psa 2:7; his firstborn
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
As King David understood in 2 Samuel 7:13-16, there would be a “future Son” who would rule forever. Mary, though surprised she would be the mother of this King, also understood the prophecy, that the promised Messiah would be King, and is so with Christ Jesus.
5. The Head and Savior of His Church
The head controls everything. Christ controls the church and we are to live in submission to him.
He is also our savior, the church’s Savior. He bought the church, paid for the church with His own blood, gave His life to save the church.
The framers of the confession make it a point that Christ is the savior of the church and not savior of the world.
And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Paul is showing God’s power placed in Jesus Christ. 1. Raised Him from the dead and seated Him at the right hand in the heavenly realms. 2. Placed all things under His feet. Adam lost his headship over creation when he sinned and Christ was made Head over all creation and finally 3. He is head over the church. The church is His body.
For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
6. The Heir of all things,
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
7. And the Judge of all the world.
because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
Verse 27 tells us to seek the LORD, then in verse 30 the KJV uses God has “winked”, meaning has not yet judged. He has ordained Christ as Judge and has set the day where every man will be judged by Him who has not sinned.
The day of judgment is fixed by God in his eternal purposes, and is sure and certain, and will come, though it is not known by men or angels; and this is a reason why God will have the doctrine of repentance everywhere published, both to Jews and Gentiles, since all must come to judgment: and the day for it is appointed by him. the whole world will be judged, and every individual in it, good and bad, righteous and wicked; and this judgment will be a righteous one; it will proceed according to the strict rules of justice and equity, and upon the foot of the righteousness of Christ, as that has been received or rejected by men, or as men are clothed with, or are without that righteousness:
Paragrapph 2
The Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being true and eternal God, the brightness of the Father’s glory, of the same substance and equal with Him;
Who Made the world, and Who upholds and governs all things which He has made,
did, when the fulness of time had come, take upon Himself man’s nature, with all its essential properties and common infirmities, with the exception of sin.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit coming down upon her and the power of the Most Hight overshadowing her, so that He was born to a woman from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of Abraham and David, in accordance with the Scriptures.
Thus two whole, perfect and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion;
So that the Lord Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, yet He is one Christ, the only Mediator between God and man.
Proof Text
9. The Son of God, the second person in the Holy Trinity, being true and eternal God, the brightness of the Father’s glory, of the same substance and equal with Him;
Who Made the world, and Who upholds and governs all things which He has made,
did, when the fulness of time had come, take upon Himself man’s nature, with all its essential properties and common infirmities
Christ has two whole, perfect, and distinct natures that are joined together in one person. They are inseparable.
The Son of God took on human nature and body, while not laying aside His divinity...Godhead and manhood
It is God alone Who governs and controls all that takes place in time. But the Bible declares that the Lord Jesus has this right and does this, therefore, proving His deity. To uphold and govern all things means to carry history to its appointed end. It means that He is the Sovereign controller of all things. All things He carries by His will to fulfill His purpose.
Common infirmities and Human Nature: God has no beginning, Jesus was born, God has no body, Jesus has a human body. He aged, He had emotions, ate, drank and slept, none of which God does.
John 1:1–3 (ESV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
The Word was with God in a special relationship of eternal fellowship in the Trinity. The Word is eternal; the Word is in relationship to God (the Father); and the Word is God.
The Word has always been in a relationship with God the Father.In eternity past the Father (God) and the Son (the Word) have always been in a loving communion with each other. Both Father and Son are God, yet there are not two Gods.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The same word, of whom so many things are said in the preceding verses; and is no other than the Son of God, or second person in the Trinity; for neither the Father, nor the Holy Ghost, were made flesh, as is here said of the word, but the Son only: and "flesh" here signifies, not a part of the body, nor the whole body only, but the whole human nature, consisting of a true body, and a reasonable soul; and is so called, to denote the frailty of it, being encompassed with infirmities, though not sinful; and to show, that it was a real human nature, and not a phantom, or appearance, that he assumed: and when he is said to be "made" flesh, this was not done by the change of one nature into another, the divine into the human, or the word into a man; but by the assumption of the human nature, the word, taking it into personal union with himself; whereby the natures are not altered; Christ remained what he was, and became what he was not; nor are they confounded, and blended together, and so make a third nature; nor are they separated, and divided, so as to constitute two persons, a divine person, and an human person; but are so united as to be but one person
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
the text, which is to be understood of the deity, eternity, and immutability of Christ, and refers to the passage in Exo 3:14. "I am that I am--I am hath sent me unto you", the true Jehovah; and so Christ was before Abraham was in being, the everlasting I am, the eternal God, which is, and was, and is to come: he appeared in an human form to our first parents before Abraham was, and was manifested as the Mediator, Saviour, and living Redeemer, to whom all the patriarchs before Abraham looked, and by whom they were saved:
from all eternity he was the Son of God, of the same nature with him, and equal to him; and his being of the same nature proves his eternity, as well as deity, that he is from everlasting to everlasting God; and is what he ever was, and will be what he now is: he is immutable, the same today, yesterday, and for ever; in his nature, love, grace, and fulness, he is the invariable and unchangeable I am.
He was concerned in the creation of all things out of nothing, as the efficient cause thereof; he was set up from everlasting as Mediator; and the covenant of grace was made with him, and the blessings and promises of it were put into his hands before the world began; the eternal election of men to everlasting life was made in him before the foundation of the world; and he had a glory with his Father before the world was
10. With the exception of Sin.
He was truly as God desired man to be. He truly did only that which is pleasing in God’s sight
For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The person sending is God, who gave the law weakened by the flesh, against whom we have sinned: and who is righteous, pure, and holy: which considerations enhance his grace and goodness, in the mission of Christ.
This is not to be understood of "the law of the mind", in opposition to "the law of sin", which indeed is very feeble and impotent; man had a power originally of obeying the divine commands, but through sin he has lost his strength and power; and even a renewed mind cannot perform what it would, which is owing to the flesh, or corrupt nature; it has strong desires after holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God; but these desires cannot be fulfilled by it, and indeed without Christ it can do no good thing: nor is the ceremonial law intended, though this is weak, and there are many things it could not do; it could not expiate and atone for sin; nor remove the guilt of it, nor cleanse from the filth of it: But the moral law is here designed; this, though it can, and does accuse of sin, can convince of it, can curse, condemn, and condemn to death for it; yet it could not condemn sin itself, which is only abolished by Christ; it cannot restrain from sin, nor change a sinful nature, nor sanctify an impure heart; nor free from the guilt of sin, nor comfort a distressed mind under a sense of it, it cannot subject persons, or bring them to before God, or give life, or save from death; the reason is,
in that, or because
it was weak through the flesh. The weakness of the law is total and universal, it has no strength at all; though not original and natural, but accidental; it is owing to the flesh, or the corrupt nature of man: or rather the weakness is in sinful men, and not in the law; and the sense is this, that human nature is so weakened by sin, that it is incapable of fulfilling the law; the weakness of the law is not from itself, but from man: to this agrees what the Jewish writers (u) say,
Isaiah 53:9 (ESV)
And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Hundreds of years prior to Christ’s death, Isaiah here prophesied that Christ would indeed die and be buried (entombed). He gave up His soul on the cross between 2 thieves (wicked men). The tomb was purchased by a rich man, Joseph of Arimathaea. Also, He was removed from the cross by two rich men, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathaea and His tomb was then guarded by Roman Soldiers (wicked men), so to prevent the disciples from removing His body.
Aben Ezra observes, that the word במתיו, which we translate "in his death", signifies a structure over a grave, "a sepulchral monument"; and then it may be rendered impersonally thus, "his grave was put or placed with the wicked, but his tomb", or sepulchral monument, was "with the rich"; his grave was indeed put under the care and custody of the wicked soldiers; yet a famous tomb being erected over it, at the expense of a rich man, Joseph of Arimathaea, which was designed for himself, made the burial of Christ honourable: which honour was done him,
because he had done no violence: or injury to any man's person or property; had not been guilty of rapine and oppression, theft and robbery; murder and cruelty; he had not been a stirrer up of sedition, an encourager of mobs, riots, and tumults, to the harm of the civil government:
neither was any deceit in his mouth: no false doctrine was delivered by him; he was no deceiver of the people, as he was charged; he did not attempt to seduce them from the true worship of God, or persuade them to believe anything contrary to the law of Moses, and the prophets; he was no enemy to church or state, nor indeed guilty of any manner of sin, nor given to any arts of trick and dissimulation.
The following two proof texts I like because they are not ambiguous at all.
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me,
(another revelation in my walk and understanding of His Word, is that wether Jesus, “The Word” is talking directly to His disciples or through approximately 40 other writers of the Bible, He is truly talking to me)
Luke 1:35 simply shows that Jesus Christ, is the Son of God, and we already understand that God CANNOT SIN.
In John 14:30, Jesus explains to His disciples that his death or time on earth is coming to a close soon and it is Satan whom will be in Judas, the Pharisees, the crowd who will scream “crucify him, crucify him”.
Though Satan appeared in person to Him during the 40 days in the wilderness, attempting to tempt Jesus to sin, to no avail. The reprieve He has had since then has ended and Satan will be back at it…but Jesus will remain sinless and will be obedient to the Father, all the way to His death. Satan has no power over God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, or the Holy Spirit. He is being used by God to fulfill the scriptures.
11. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Holy Spirit coming down upon her and the power of the Most Hight overshadowing her, so that He was born to a woman from the tribe of Judah, a descendant of Abraham and David, in accordance with the Scriptures.
The virgin birth teaches that the mother of Jesus, Mary, was a virgin when she conceived the Lord Jesus in her womb. She did not have any intercourse with any man prior to giving birth to the Lord Jesus.
it was supernatural and a miracle, that’s why it happened only once in history. The God Who created all existence is able to create life without intercourse between a male and a female.
to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
True to scripture, both were actually Descendants of King David and the tribe of Judah.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
Mary, never “knowing a man”, a pure virgin, deserved the “And Behold” before being informed that she would have a child, the Messiah, none the less, still while never knowing a man. This fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
Again, fulfilling scripture the Holy Spirit would creatively bring about the physical conception of Jesus. The miracle of this conception and virgin birth of Jesus Christ was necessary because of Hs deity and preexistence. (See Isa 7:14, 9:6; Gal 4:4)
concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
12. Thus two whole, perfect and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion;
So that the Lord Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, yet He is one Christ, the only Mediator between God and man.
Chapter 2 we discussed that Jesus is fully God. We just went through that He is also fully Man.
That the Lord Jesus is now human is seen in the fact that He ascended bodily to heaven. The Bible says nothing about the Lord’s body disappearing and therefore, Jesus still possesses His glorified body. Furthermore, 1 Timothy 2:5 speaks of the “man” Christ Jesus being the mediator now. But obviously, Paul also knows that Jesus is God (e.g., Rom. 9:5; Tit. 2:13).
Proof Texts
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
there is but one God, who is the Creator of all men, and who, in a providential way, is the Saviour of all men; and in a way of special grace is the one God, the one covenant God of all men, Jews and Gentiles; for he has taken of the latter into the covenant of his grace, as well as the former, and has loved them with a special and distinguishing love, has chosen them in Christ to salvation, and has sent his Son to redeem them; and of these he calls by his grace, regenerates, sanctifies, adopts, pardons, and justifies;
a Mediator is of more than one, and has to do with two parties; and these at variance among themselves, between whom he stands as a middle person; his business is to bring them together, and make peace between them; and such an one is Christ: the two parties are God and his elect, who in their natural state are at a distance from God, and at enmity to him, and who have broken his law, and affronted his justice; Christ stands as a middle person, a daysman between them, and lays his hands upon them both; has to do with things pertaining to the glory of God, and makes reconciliation for the sins of the people; brings them that were afar off nigh to God, and makes peace for them by the blood of his cross, by fulfilling the law, and satisfying justice for them; in consequence of this he appears for them in the court of heaven, intercedes and pleads for them, is their advocate, and sees that all covenant blessings, of which he is the Mediator, are applied unto them, and preserves their persons, which are committed to his care and charge, safe to everlasting happiness; and this Mediator is the man Christ Jesus.
not that he is a mere man, for he is truly and properly God;or that he is a Mediator only according to the human nature: it was proper indeed that he should be man, that he might have something to offer, and that he might be capable of obeying, suffering, and dying, and so of making satisfaction in the nature that had sinned; but then, had he not been God, he could not have drawn nigh to God on the behalf of men, and undertook for them, and much less have performed; nor would his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, have been available to cleanse from sin, to procure the pardon of it, justify from it, make atonement for it, or make peace with God: the reason why he is particularly mentioned as man, is, with a view to the argument in hand, praying for all men; since he who is the Mediator between God and man, has assumed a nature which is common to them all: and this Mediator is said to be one, not so much in opposition to other mediators, angels or saints departed, though it is a truth, and stands full against them, but with respect to men; there is but one Mediator between God and all sorts of men, through whom both Jews and Gentiles have an access to God, and peace with him; and therefore prayer through this Mediator should be made for all.
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Christ Jesus, Paul said, is of the very essence (morphē) of God, and in His incarnation He embraced perfect humanity. Though possessing full deity Christ did not consider His equality with God as something to be grasped or held onto. In other words Christ did not hesitate to set aside His self-willed use of deity when He became a man. As God He had all the rights of deity, and yet during His incarnate state He surrendered His right to manifest Himself visibly as the God of all splendor and glory.
Christ’s humiliation included His making Himself nothing, taking the very nature (morphē) of a servant, and being made in human likeness (v. 7). These statements indicate that Christ became a man, a true human being. The words “made Himself nothing” are, literally, “He emptied Himself.” “Emptied,” from the Greek kenoō, points to the divesting of His self-interests, but not of His deity. “The very nature of a servant” certainly points to His lowly and humble position, His willingness to obey the Father, and serve others. He became a man, a true human being. “Likeness” suggests similarity but difference. Though His humanity was genuine, He was different from all other humans in that He was sinless Thus it is seen that Christ, while retaining the essence of God, was also human. In His incarnation He was fully God and fully man at the same time. He was God manifest in human flesh
I want this to be a question
the answer a fill in