Read: Philippians 2:5-11 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God . . . emptied himself . . . (vv. 5-7)

The Greek doesn't say "though in the form of God." It says "being in the form of God." You might read it to say, because Christ was in the form of God he emptied himself. Self-emptying is his nature. It shows what it means to say that God is love (1 John 4:8).

In The Life You've Always Wanted, John Ortberg writes: "In ancient Greek myth, Zeus and Hermes came down to earth for a brief time disguised as poor slaves. They did this to fool human beings, to get a reading on the level of homage people pay to the gods. When they found out what they wanted to know, they threw off their rags and revealed themselves in all their Olympian splendor. They took on the outward form of a servant, but that was just a disguise. When Jesus came in the form of a servant, he was not disguising who God is. He was revealing who God is" (p. 146).

Is it any wonder, then, that the Bible condemns all human grasping and strutting and sneering of any kind. It so goes against everything that God is. It's the opposite of Christ's attitude.

Prayer: O God, may the mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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