Seizing God's Likeness

Satan and the Rulers of this Age exalt themselves and usurp Divine prerogatives in contrast to the true Servant of God, Jesus Christ.

Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the role of the ‘Suffering Servant’ described in the Book of Isaiah. He did not attempt to seize the “likeness of God” as Adam did or exploit his position as God’s Messiah to exercise power over others. His sovereignty is radically different than the governments of this fallen world. Rather than subjugate his subjects or kill his enemies, Christ endured a shameful death on the Imperial Cross for friend and foe alike in obedience to his Father; therefore, God exalted him above all things.

[Photo by Luke Mollet on Unsplash]

Christ’s “obedience unto death” is incompatible with Satan’s methods and schemes inflicted on humanity by his human servants. The “Man of Lawlessness,” for example, would never sacrifice his life “as a ransom for many.” Instead, he will “exalt himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped” when he seats himself in the Sanctuary of God - (Mark 10:45, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).

Similarly, the “Beast from the Earth,” the “False Prophet,” uses supernatural signs and economic control, not for the betterment of mankind, but to compel men and women to swear allegiance to the “Beast from the Sea.” The worship that belongs to God alone will be given instead to the idolatrous image of the “Beast,” just as the ancient Babylonian king demanded of his subjects:

• “You will fall down and venerate the image of gold, which I, Nebuchadnezzar the king, have set up. And whoever will not fall down and venerate my image will be cast instantly into the burning furnace of fire” - (Daniel 3:5-6).

• “It was given to him to give breath to the image of the Beast, that the image could both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and that no man could buy or to sell except he that had the mark, the name of the Beast or the number of his name” - (Revelation 13:5-17).

It is the same with the rulers, presidents, emperors, and kings of this age who seek power over others and their adulation, and all too often claim the endorsement of God. They impose their authority not to serve, but to be served by their subjects. As did their overlord, the “god of this world,” they are determined to usurp the one true God and appropriate His prerogatives to advance their agendas - (2 Corinthians 4:4):

• “You said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, <…> I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the Most High. Yet you will be brought down to Hades, to the uttermost parts of the pit” - (Isaiah 14:13-15).

Jesus chose a very different road, sacrificial service for others, the path feared by unregenerate men and despised by self-seeking politicians. In the relevant passage of Philippians, Paul describes a man who “poured himself out” in death for others, and he presents Christ as the supreme example of how we must live. In “lowliness of mind,” Jesus counted others “better than himself, not looking to his things, but to the things of others,” thus deferring his needs, rights, and desires to those of others.

God exalted Christ, not because of his inherited “right” to rule or “equality with God,” but because he sacrificed his life for the benefit of others in obedience to his Father:

• (Philippians 2:5-11) - “Be thinking this among you, that even in Christ Jesus. Who, commencing in the form of God, considered being like God something not to be seized, but instead, he poured himself out, taking the form of a slave, having come to be in the likeness of men. Having been found in fashion as man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death on the cross. Therefore also, God highly exalted him and granted him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of beings heavenly and earthly and under the earth, and every tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father, even God.”

In the passage, Paul contrasts Jesus with Adam by using language from the latter’s disobedience described in the Book of Genesis, and from the description of the “Servant of Yahweh” in the Book of Isaiah.

Jesus did not attempt to seize God’s “likeness” or otherwise usurp His sovereignty as Adam did. Instead, the Son of God submitted to an unjust death at the hands of the World Empire. Adam was created in the image of God but attempted to appropriate the Divine “likeness” through his transgression. In contrast, the Nazarene embraced the will of God and suffered the consequences.

Christ “did not consider being like God something to be seized.” He did not demand the adoration to which only God is entitled. This statement echoes the story of the “Serpent” who beguiled Eve in the Garden and thereby overcame Adam and condemned all men to death - “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil” - (Genesis 3:5).

The first Adam chose disobedience and self-will. The Greek noun translated as “seize” in Philippians means “plunder, booty, robbery,” that is, something taken by force, something that belongs to someone else. In contrast, Jesus chose not to seize God’s likeness and willingly embraced the path that led to an unjust death.

CHOOSING OBEDIENCE

Instead of exalting himself, Jesus became Yahweh’s “Servant” by “pouring himself out and taking the form of a slave <…>. He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death,” and not just any death, but “death on a cross.” The passage from Philippians includes several allusions to the ‘Servant Song’ of Isaiah. For example:

• (Isaiah 53:7) - “Hard-pressed, yet he humbled himself, nor opened his mouth, as a lamb to the slaughter is led.”

• (Isaiah 53:12) - “Therefore will I give him a portion in the great and the strong shall he apportion as plunder because he poured out to death his soul, and with transgressors let himself be numbered, Yea, he the sin of many bare, and for transgressors interceded. Behold, my Servant prospers, he rises and is lifted up and becomes very high.”

Jesus fulfilled his royal calling by “pouring out his soul” for others, not by leading a violent revolt against Ceasar and his legions or conquering nations and peoples. We as the disciples of this man are summoned to adopt the same attitude - To seek nothing from self-interest or for “empty glory,” and certainly not to cease power and dominate other men.

This “mind of Christ” is incompatible with the ideologies and ambitions of politicians and empires. The Roman Empire killed Jesus to seize God’s sovereignty for itself, and to destroy any competing claim that might threaten Rome’s sovereignty, power, or majesty.

Paul called the gospel proclaimed by Jesus the “Word of the Cross,” a message incomprehensible to the would-be Caesars of this age and the governing powers that are destined for destruction in the end – (1 Corinthians 1:18-24, 2:6-8):

• “We speak wisdom, however, among those who are mature, yet a wisdom not of this age nor of the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing. We speak God's wisdom in a mystery that has been hidden, which God marked out beforehand, before the ages, for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age had known, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

We demonstrate the teachings and life of Jesus by submitting to the will of God as he did. To follow him means serving others, not lording it over them or seeking their adoration and allegiance.

Unlike the Nazarene, the “Beast from the Sea” uses economic control to impose his will on peoples and nations, and he employs Satan’s authority to “wage war on the saints” – (Revelation 12:3-17, 13:1-10).

Likewise, the “Man of Lawlessness” performs “signs and lying wonders” to deceive those men and women “who receive not the love of the truth.” However, along with the rest of the “rulers of this age,” this “Lawless One” also will “come to nothing.” Seeking power of that kind will prove futile in the end – (2 Thessalonians 2:8-10).

We as Christ’s disciples are called to defer to others instead of demanding our rights and privileges. Jesus taught his followers to “deny themselves, take up the Cross,” and follow him “wherever he goes.” We overcome the Devil “by the blood of the Lamb, through the word of their testimony, and because they love not their lives unto death” – (Matthew 16:24, Revelation 12:11, 14:1-5).

To “become great in the Kingdom of God” we must first become the servants and “slaves of others,” just as Jesus did when he “gave his life a ransom for many” and died on the Cross to redeem men and nations. For our sake, he was “obedient unto death,” even the shameful death of crucifixion, a road rarely traveled, and one held in contempt by the rulers and regimes of this sinful world – (Mark 10:43-45).

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SEE ALSO:

• The Messianic Lamb - (The Slain Lamb is the Messiah in Revelation who overcomes and reigns over the Nations and the Kings of the Earth)

• The Great Cosmic War - (At the end of the age, Satan and his minions will launch an all-out cosmic war against the saints, the followers of the Lamb)

• The Ruler of Kings - (The faithful witness, Jesus, now reigns supreme over the Kings of the Earth and even over his enemies, and he is shepherding the nations)

• The Apostasy - (Paul warned the Thessalonians of the future apostasy which he linked to the unveiling of the Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Destruction)