In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
Philippians 2:5,6
We all have a beginning, middle, and end. There’s a start to everything in our life. It starts with our original birthday when we turn zero. There’s a start of school. A start to driving. A start to our first job. A start to a marriage. A start of having children. A start of retirement.
And just like there are beginnings, we also have ends. Times when things stop. School ends. You change jobs, or the job ends another way. You stop living in the house you’ve been in for some time. A car is traded in for another one. A marriage ends. And then there’s when this life ends.
While this start and end thing is all over our lives, God never experiences either. He is eternal, he has no beginning or end. Nothing starts or stops with him. He never changes.
When Paul talks about Jesus being in very nature the same as God, he’s talking about within his inmost being and character. This is who Jesus was, is, and always will be as God. From eternity past all the way to eternity future, Jesus has been the same in his nature. It’s who he is at the core of his being. It’s who he is without anyone or anything else.
Before his birth on Christmas, Jesus was God. And after his birth he stayed God. He didn’t step down from being God. From his birth, through his growth into a man, Jesus was and remained God. When he started his earthly ministry, he stayed God. When he was arrested, tortured, crucified, and died, he was still fully God.
When people question whether Jesus is God or not, this idea is one of the strongest proofs. There is no doubt that Jesus is God to the Apostle Paul. His words are just too clear and specific to be taken any other way. There’s nothing wishy-washy about what Paul says or how he says it.
And with all the unlimited and eternal power and authority that comes with being God, how did Jesus use it? Did he ever throw his weight around just to impress people? Did he put people under his thumb just to get his own way? Or to be shellfish in any way?
The short answer is no. When Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, he stayed 100% God. But he willingly set it aside. Jesus never abused his power in any way. He didn’t use it to show off or entertain. He didn’t perform miracles just to get a crowd together. He never did anything that would be against who he was.
Jesus didn’t hold onto his being God as something to be held onto. As something to be treasured. As something to be shown off. Jesus didn’t think of his being God as something to be held onto and defended at all costs.
Not everyone’s like this. Mary Ann’s grandmother was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR. The thing with being a member of the DAR is that you don’t do anything to join. Basically, all you have to do is to be born with an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War.
Well, Beula, yes, that was her name, thought this was a big thing. She always looked for an excuse to bring up her membership in the DAR. She just loved to talk about being a DAR member in good standing. And then, proud as a peacock, she’d bring out a book and flip through all 127-pages of history with you. And when it came to the part where one of her relatives actually fought in the Revolutionary War, she made sure that you weren’t asleep. She’d stick her considerable elbow into your ribs and say, “See! There he is.”
Now, there’s nothing wrong about remembering and celebrating the accomplishments of your family. It’s great to remember who they were and what they did. But it’s something all together different when you just bang-on about it all the time.
Jesus never walked away from telling people who he was. But he also didn’t try and jam it down people’s throats. He wasn’t shy about demonstrating his godly power to heal, feed, or raise the dead. But he never did it as a way to entertain or show off.
Jesus saw his purpose as something oh so much more than as an entertainer. Or as an entertainer. Or as a teacher. Or as a spiritual leader. He didn’t come to build an organization either.
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Matthew 20:28
Just take a shower in that for a minute. He, God from eternity past, came to serve and give. And not just give a little, but to give his life. He gave everything so that we might be rescued, ransomed back to God.
Now, that’s fixing the biggest disagreement of all.
Noodling Questions
Is there an area of life where God wants you to make a new start?
What things stop us from making a new start? Why?
How can we better cooperate with God at making the new starts he wants?