Jesus assumed the form of a slave even though he was equal to God

The idea that we are servants, we are slaves, we are totally dependent on the Will of God, is part of the whole context of the Gospel. And that is why the apostle Paul always considered himself precisely as a servant and as a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ. In almost all of his epistles the apostle Paul identified himself as Paul the servant, doulos of Jesus Christ.

For example in Philippians chapter 1 verse 1, Paul introduces himself this way: "Paul and Timothy, servants, doulos" right? which is the Greek word for slave, "doulos of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, etc. Paul at all times considered himself a mere slave of the Lord because he wanted to emphasize that idea that his life was Totally at the Father's disposal for whatever God wanted to do with him, he saw himself as a mere instrument.

What's more, he called himself said to be one of the greatest sinners who did not deserve to serve God because he had persecuted the Church. He says that he considered all things as garbage in order to know Jesus Christ better. He considered himself dead to the world and because he wanted God to fill and possess him, and to express himself fully through him.

As John the Baptist told the Lord Jesus Christ, that it is necessary for Christ to increase and for me to decrease or for us to decrease for Christ to be magnified, and that attitude is what Paul certainly exemplified in his own life, and that we too are supposed to that we exemplify. Every servant of God must be distinguished and must be distinguished by a posture of complete surrender to the Will of the Lord, of almost crawling on the ground in a sense to please the Father.

And when I say that, remember that at some point I am also going to be talking about the great dignity that God assigns us, and that is another part of this teaching as well. But at the first level, our attitude must be one of complete service, complete surrender, complete subjection to the Will of the Father and of not ruling ourselves.

And not only that, but even if we have done everything and carried out tremendously heroic acts, and we have given our whole lives to the Lord, and we have been greatly used by God for great advances for the Kingdom of God, even after Having done all those things, our stance should be one of: you know what? I have not done much. Compared to what God has done for me it is nothing. We always have to be like lowering ourselves.

Not in a compulsive, negative, psychological, low self-esteem, depressed attitude, but rather a healthy recognition that in reality, ultimately, we do nothing except what God allows us to do, and that Many times God allows us to do things in His Kingdom because of His great generosity, mercy and goodness, not because we deserve the privilege of doing something for God because in reality we do not even deserve that.

And not only did Paul consider himself a doulos, a slave, a mere servant of Jesus Christ and he invited us to ourselves, and he also invites us through the Word to assume that same attitude, but Scripture also, Scripture He calls us to meditate on Jesus Christ also, who did the same in His own life and who became a mere servant of God.

You remember the famous passage from Philippians chapter 2 where in verse 5, Paul says: "Let there therefore be in you this feeling" that attitude of which that parable of John 17 speaks, "this feeling that was also in Christ Jesus, who Being in the form of God, he did not regard being equal to God as something to cling to, but he emptied himself by taking the form of doulos, taking the form of a slave, taking the form of a servant, made similar to men; and being in the Doulos status humbled himself, making himself obedient to death, and death on the cross. " Don't you see a reflection of that same attitude here?

The Lord Jesus Christ himself in His own ministerial-spiritual journey assumed that form of a slave even though he was equal to God, that is why he says: he did not take being equal to God as something to hold on to but rather he let go, he took that attitude of dispossession of separating of His greatness and His total dignity, and to become a mere man, not a mere man but in the form of a man, and of a servant, a character who was totally surrendered to the Will of the Father. And Paul says: may there be in you that same attitude that was in our Lord Jesus Christ who became a slave of God even though he was equal to God.

And we are going to see that in a sense that is our own situation, because God has made us greatly worthy, He has made us members of His family, He has made us members of His inner circle of friends, but we also have to understand that, apart from That is, we are God's servants, we are ultimately God's slaves and we must not lose sight of that fundamental condition that should be the basis of our life.

God bless you and we will continue to take advantage of this illustration in our next meditation.