Christmas: "... God reached out to lay hold of human flesh and take it upon Himself so that He might appear as a man on the earth."
This is the true story of Christmas!
By Rick Renner
The phrase “made himself of no reputation” comes from a form of the Greek word kenos, which means to make empty, to evacuate, to vacate, to deprive, to divest, or to relinquish. Because it was impossible for God to appear to man as God, He had to change His outward form. The only way He could make this limited appearance as a man was to willfully, deliberately, and temporarily let go of all the attributes we usually think of when we consider the characteristics of God. For 33 years on this earth, God divested Himself of all His heavenly glory and “…took upon him the form of a servant…” (Philippians 2:7).
The phrase “took upon him” perfectly describes that marvelous moment when God reached out to lay hold of human flesh and take it upon Himself so that He might appear as a man on the earth. The words “took upon him” are from the Greek word lambano, which means to take, to seize, to catch, to latch on to, to clutch, or to grasp. This word lets us know that God literally reached out from His eternal existence into the material world He had created — and took human flesh upon Himself in “the form of a servant.”
Not only did God become man, but a “servant.” This word “servant” is from the Greek word doulos, which refers to a slave. Paul used this word to picture the vast difference between Jesus’ preexistent state and His earthly life.
Paul went on to say that Jesus “…was made in the likeness of men.” The phrase “was made” is the Greek word ginomai, which means to become, indicating that this was not Jesus’ original form, but it became His new form. This clearly describes the miracle that occurred when God became a man. Jesus had always existed in the form of God, not the form of man. But taking upon Himself human flesh, He was formed in the womb of the virgin Mary and became a man.
God literally took upon Himself the “likeness” of a man. The word “likeness” is the Greek word homoioma, which refers to a form or resemblance. This refers not only to Jesus’ being made in the visible likeness of men, but also in the human likeness of men. In other words, when Jesus appeared on this earth, He came in the actual form of a man and was just like man in every way.
Jesus was so completely made in the “likeness” of men that Hebrews 4:15 declares He was even tempted in every way that men are tempted. It says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
So we see that when God the Father sent His Son into the world, Jesus left His heavenly home and took upon Himself human flesh. And because of this great exchange, He has stood in our place; He has felt what we feel. Even today, He is touched with the feelings of our infirmities, and He intercedes for us with great compassion as our High Priest (see Hebrews 7:25).
At this time of the year — whether we celebrate on December 25 or January 7 or some other day — we are prone to think of Jesus as a Baby in a manger in a Bethlehem stable. Certainly that was true, but we should never forget that His birth in Bethlehem was not Jesus’ beginning. It was merely the moment of His brief appearance in His eternal existence.
Jesus was willing to shed all His visible attributes and dress Himself in the clothing of a human being, manifested in the flesh as a little Baby in Bethlehem. But that Baby was the eternal, ever-existent God Almighty, who came to us in human flesh so that He could dwell among men and purchase our salvation. That is the true story of Christmas!
