Soteriology ST309 LESSON 04 of 24 H. Phillip Hook, ThD. Experience: Dallas Theological Seminary, ThM and ThD This is the fourth tape of twenty-four on a series on soteriology by Phillip Hook. In the last lecture we were working on the person of Christ as it relates to the work of Christ in soteriology. And we were talking about how God involved Himself in time and in history by sending His Son into the world. And there are three great passages of Scripture that refer to this process of God sending His Son in a theological way; two of them we looked at in John 1 and Hebrews 1. I d like to begin the lecture today by looking at the third passage in Philippians 2 where Paul, in dealing with one of the problems in the church, comes to deal with the illustration, of a way of thinking, that is crucial to Christian living. And that way of thinking is the mind of Christ that is revealed in the incarnation. Paul writes in Philippians 2, as he s talked about some of the problems, the possibility of differences in the church in verse 4: Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind or this way of thinking among yourselves, which you have in Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped or to be lawfully attained. But emptied himself, He poured Himself out, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. In this passage Paul starts in this explanation of a way of thinking, the kind of thinking of Jesus Christ, with Jesus Christ who was in the form of God. The word form there is morphe, and it simply refers to the very nature of what God was; and then he adds a thought to that expression of the deity of Christ. He did not count equality with God a thing that had to be hung onto or to be lawfully attained or to be grasped. In other words unless Paul is trying to say, If you missed the point that Jesus is God, I m adding a point that there wasn t anything about being God that 1 of 8
He lacked or that He needed to hang onto, He possessed all that it was. But possessing all of that, He poured Himself out, He emptied Himself, and took the form of a servant. And here we again have the same word. Just as He was God, He became man in exactly the same way, just as much man as He was God. Being born in the likeness of man and being found in outward appearance. Looking just like a man He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, the death of the cross. Now what Paul is trying to say here is that Christ, in love in seeing what s best for man didn t look at what He was and say, I can t become a man, but He loved so much He poured Himself out to become a man. Now that word poured out or emptied there is the word kenoun that has been debated much down through church history. And since this is not a course in Christology, we won t extensively look at it, but I d like to mention two or three things that it does not mean. It does not mean that Jesus emptied Himself of His deity or that He poured out some of His deity because, obviously, throughout the Gospels Jesus exercised the knowledge of God, the power of God, the nature of God. In fact, the very thrust of John 1 and Hebrews 1 is that Jesus was God in the flesh, manifesting what God is really like. We beheld His glory ; we beheld what He s like. Therefore, Paul is not saying that He lost deity or He gave up His deity. Others have tried to interpret this in various ways, each of which has some value. Some have said He temporarily gave up the use of some of His attributes. Others have said he veiled His deity so that He might be manifest as a man. Probably the best way is to simply say that in emptying Himself, Jesus limited Himself in whatever way it was necessary so that He, as the Son of God, might walk among men as a man without revealing in any way all that He was as deity so that He might fulfill all that He might be as a man. In my own thinking, I find it easiest to illustrate this passage by turning to two passages elsewhere in the New Testament in the Gospels. One is in the return of the Lord from the Mount of Transfiguration where He has revealed Himself to three of His disciples. And I feel that what happened there in the Mount of Transfiguration was the reversal of the emptying that Paul described here, because as Peter refers to this in 2 Peter 1, he says, We saw him in the holy mountain; we beheld all that he was. And what Peter is driving at is that the veil that seemingly was over His deity is poured back and in a few moments these three disciples, who were promised that they would see the kingdom of God and His power, saw the Son of God in all that He could be. 2 of 8
Probably the other illustration that beautifully illustrates Philippians 2 is found in John 13 in the Upper Room Discourse where Jesus, in eating this last Passover meal with His disciples, looked about Him and saw that no one had taken time to wash their feet. Probably they had been in such a hurry to get the best seats that many, if not all of them, may not even have removed their shoes in their hurry to be first or greatest in this Passover feast. And so Jesus, in the middle of the feast, stood up, laid aside the robe that showed Him to be master and teacher, and He girded Himself with a towel and He washed the feet of His disciples. Now foot washing in the world of the New Testament was one of the lowest or worst jobs that was possible. It was given to the lowest servant in the house to wash the feet of those who arrived to visit on any day in a home. And so Jesus lays aside the robes that manifest Him to be their master and their teacher and He takes the towel, He takes the outward form of a servant, and He does the work of being a servant as He washes their feet. And He comes to Peter and Peter says, Lord, you can t wash my feet. And the Lord said to Peter, If I don t wash your feet, Peter, you ve no part with me. And the reality of the love that is there in that work of cleansing is the heart of what is at stake in the incarnation, that Jesus poured Himself out that He might become a man so that the result of that humanity might be the expression of God in the flesh that would die for the sins of all men. And so in the very beginning of dealing with the work of God and Christ, we must see that God breaks the line. He does not allow the natural to reign but He intervenes and supernaturally brings His Son into the world. The virgin birth is the explanation of how this can be. The purposes of the incarnation are many. Just to refer to a few in the book of Hebrews, for example, in chapter 1 as we ve noted, Jesus Christ became a man to reveal God to man. In 2:9 Jesus became a man that He might die for man (in 2:10) that He might learn through suffering. That s one of the most profound statements found in all of the New Testament. And then, in verse 14, that He might destroy the power of Satan in death. And then in verses 16-18 of chapter 2, that He might be a sympathetic and merciful high priest, that He might share with us in our problems in a sense so that He might say, I understand. I ve been there. Mark quotes the Lord (in 10:45) as becoming a man so that He might serve and give His life as a ransom in the place of many. In Luke 19:10, it said that He s come to seek and to save that which is lost. And in John 10:10, He s come that those that are lost might have life. Now these are all various insights; it s not pulling together 3 of 8
everything that the New Testament says, but it s trying to bring together some of why Jesus, the Son of God, eternally present in the place of God, the presence of God, was willing to become a man so that He might accomplish for us eternal salvation. Anselm in the eleventh century wrote a book, which we ll refer to a little bit later in the course, Why the God-Man? in which he shows the logical necessity that God in order to redeem man had to send His Son to be a man, to die as a man, in order that He might redeem man. Anselm draws some thoughts from this that I m not sure necessarily follow, but the heart of the planning of God in redemption was to provide a sacrifice who was one of them, who could infinitely atone for the sins of man. In order to be that sacrifice Jesus had to be sinless, a pure sacrifice; in the Old Testament, a lamb that was to be offered had to be right. In fact, the Passover lamb was chosen several days in advance of its sacrifice, and it was observed during those days so that it might be known to be a perfect lamb. There s many who feel that the days of the last week of the life of the Lord parallel that of the Passover lamb, that on the day of the triumphal entry He is marked out for death, and then in that last week of His life, as He s examined by many of the groups, as He gives His last messages to His disciples, He becomes the examined and shown to be perfect Lamb of God. But, for example, in Hebrews 4, the writer of Hebrews speaks of the nature of the Lord, Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest who is unable to be sympathized with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are. And the translation here says, yet without sinning. And the real emphasis is yet, sin apart, His temptation was total, yet it did not come from that source which is sin but, in this context, the one who became flesh and lived without sin. Paul describes Him in 2 Corinthians 5:21: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Jesus is the only man who ever dared throw out the challenge that He threw out in John 8:46, Which of you convicts me of sin? As we ll note later on again in the course, this is the same word that s used in John in the Upper Room Discourse where the Lord says, When the Spirit of God comes, He will convince the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. That very work of the Spirit of God that gives demonstrable evidence, convinces of sin and righteousness and judgment; that word is the same word that the Lord uses here and throws out the challenge, Which of you convinces me of sin? 4 of 8
Peter describes the Lord in 1 Peter 1:18-19 as the lamb without blemish and without spot. The Lord in His lifetime not only was pure, sinless, but He also fulfilled hundreds of prophecies of the Old Testament but three in particular that I d like to note. In Deuteronomy 18:15 Moses said that there would be a prophet coming after him, greater than he was, to whom the people would listen. When Jesus and John started their preaching ministry, this was one of the prophesies that they were examined over. In John 1 the Pharisees, scribes, the leaders in Jerusalem, sent messengers down to John to ask him who he was. One of the questions they asked him is, Are you that prophet? And John said, No, he wasn t the prophet. The prophet was the one who was coming. And Jesus in His ministry fulfills the prophetic office. He represents God before the people. He is God s spokesman to the people. And you see this ministry, for example, being fulfilled in Matthew 5:6-7 where Jesus comes in the Sermon on the Mount and speaks of the Law but then He adds to it, not a change in interpretation but a realization for the people that the Law didn t simply mean an outward obedience to a few rules but that it meant all that it could be. For example, Jesus said, Thou hast heard it said of old time, Thou shalt not kill, but I say unto you that whoever says to his brother, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Now what the Lord was doing wasn t adding to the Old Testament in any sense of new truth but saying that what the Old Testament really meant, the people of that day were missing. They were saying they were very righteous because they didn t kill anybody with the sword. But at the same time many of the people would have destroyed the Pharisees, others in particular their neighbor verbally with their self-righteousness, with their condemnation. And the Lord was saying, you ve missed the Law if you ve missed the heart of what it says not only in its explicit statement but in its meaning. So that Jesus fulfills very really the prophetic office. He fulfills the office in edifying or building up the church in His epistles in Revelation 2 3. He speaks of comfort in John 14 as He speaks to His disciples before His departure. But He s God s spokesman, God s messenger, fulfilling the prophetic office as well He fulfills the priestly office. This was predicted in the Old Testament, for example, in Psalm 110 that Jesus would be a priest forever, or Messiah would be a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. And the book of Hebrews is written to the fulfillment of some of this prophecy so that they might realize that Jesus was superior to all of the prophets, the priests, all that have gone 5 of 8
before. And, for example, in chapter 5 of Hebrews: Every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices. He can deal gently with the ignorant and the wayward since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called of God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee ; as he says in another place, Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek. And then the writer goes on to show that this priest, appointed by God, did not need to offer sacrifice for His own sins but was, Himself, the sacrifice for the sins of others. In Hebrews 7:15, This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not according to a legal requirement concerning bodily descent but by the power of an indestructible life, for it is witnessed of him, Thou are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. On the one hand, a form of command has been set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law could make nothing perfect); on the other hand, a better hope is introduced through which we draw near to God. And it was not without an oath. Those who formerly became priests took their office without an oath but this One was addressed with an oath, The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, Thou art a priest forever. This makes Jesus the surety of a better covenant. And then the writer goes on in the last part of this chapter to show that He is a superior priest because He s an unchanging priest, able to save completely to the uttermost because He was perfect, not offering sacrifices for Himself, but One who could provide a complete and full redemption for man. And so, this One who is a Priest, then Himself becomes the sacrifice. The Lord as well fulfilled the kingly office so that in His life He fulfilled, or started to fulfill, some of those promises that were given in the Old Testament. God said to David in 2 Samuel 7 that He would have a king that would rule after him, an eternal king; David s great son. And, therefore, when Jesus came, He came as well to show that He was a king in the very prediction of His coming. In Luke 1:33, the angel says, And he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end. I imagine there s no way to really begin to understand some of the things that went through the mind of Mary in these moments and the days and years afterward when the angel said to her that she was going to have a son whose name would be Jesus (Joshua, 6 of 8
Jehovah saves), and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of His kingdom there will be no end. In John 18 when the Lord was questioned about His kingship, He was before Pilot; and Pilot said to Him, Are you the King of the Jews? (verse 33) and verse 34: Jesus answered, Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me? In other words, Jesus is probing Pilot, Is your question a real question? Do you really want to know or are you just speaking for others. Are you just asking as a judge? And Pilot answered, Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me; what have you done? Jesus answered, My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I be not handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from this world. The word that s translated from here is the Greek word that means out of. My kingship does not have its source, its roots, its foundation, in this world. And, therefore, what the Lord was saying is, Yes, I m a king, but not a king that s going to compete with you, Pilate, or even with Herod or with Caesar; but a king whose kingship comes out of another world, out of that world of God and whose kingdom someday will manifest itself in righteousness in this world and who will, as king, someday reign forever over all, that is, over not only the house of David but all of creation. Now if I may stop for just a moment and go back and look at what we ve done in looking at the person of Christ; He is God s intervention into history, into time. He poured Himself out that He might become a man; that He might manifest all that God is, that He might die but not just die as pointlessly or uselessly, not just another death but the death of a very special One. One who is God in the flesh and who has manifest Himself as God and now provides that infinite sacrifice for man. In anticipating the next step, I d like to ask you to do some thinking, because this One who became flesh died. What s the nature of that death? If you were to write one word over the cross that would make it meaningful for you, what word would you write? Very often the accusation is made that the cross doesn t make sense in the usual way it s explained, why would God spank someone else for the sins of man? If it s man who committed the sins, why doesn t He spank him? The heart of the cross has to be explained so that we can understand why the death of Christ fulfills all that God demands and yet so that it is an expression both of the love and the holiness of God. 7 of 8
We re going to look at a little bit of church history. We re going to look at some length at Scripture to see what Scripture has to say, but at this point the most important thing that I want you to do is to start asking the question, What s the cross really mean? Probably it s one of the most profound events in all of history; and yet when we try to think it through, is it really fair that if my children break a window, I call a neighbor s child over and say I m going to spank him so that my children will know that I disapprove or so that I can forgive my children? The heart of the cross isn t found or explained that way, but that s the way many would construe it. And yet this One who came to die came so that we might know and understand the love of God and the justice of God and then the forgiveness. And it s here that that key thought is, that part that s so important to beginning to understand what God has done. Christ-Centered Learning Anytime, Anywhere 8 of 8