Usurping God

The kings and emperors of this Age exalt themselves and seek power over others in contrast to the Servant of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the role of the ‘Suffering Servant’ described in the Book of Isaiah. He did not attempt to grasp the “likeness of God” as Adam did or seize the Throne of Caesar. Instead, he humbled himself and submitted to a shameful death on the Imperial Cross. Therefore, God exalted him above all others.

Christ’s humility and sacrificial death are incompatible with the ways of Satan and his human servants. The “Man of Lawlessness,” for example, will never sacrifice his life “as a ransom for many.” Instead, he will “exalt himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped” when he seats himself in the Sanctuary of God. His purpose is to replace Jesus as the leader of the Church and cause many believers to abandon the true faith - (Mark 10:45, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).

[Rugged Trail - Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash]

Similarly, the “Beast from the Earth,” the “False Prophet,” uses supernatural signs and economic control not for the betterment of humanity, but to compel men and women to swear allegiance to the “Beast from the Sea.” The worship that belongs to God alone will be given instead to the idolatrous image of the “Beast,” just as the ancient Babylonian king demanded of his subjects:

• “You will fall down and venerate the image of gold, which I, Nebuchadnezzar the king, have set up. And whoever will not fall down and venerate my image will be cast instantly into the burning furnace of fire” - (Daniel 3:5-6).

• “It was given to him to give breath to the image of the Beast, that the image could both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image to be killed.  And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and that no man could buy or to sell except he that had the mark, the name of the Beast or the number of his name” - (Revelation 13:5-17).

It is the same with the rulers, presidents, emperors, and kings of this age who seek power over others and their adulation. They impose their authority not to serve, but to be served by their subjects, and they use force and deceit to impose their self-serving agendas. However, Jesus of Nazareth chose a radically different road – Sacrificial service for others.

Christ’s example becomes the pattern for his Church to emulate, a pathway shunned and despised by unregenerate men and politicians. In the relevant passage of Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, the Apostle describes how the Son of God “poured himself out” in death for others, and its practical implications for us, his disciples.

Paul presents Jesus as the supreme example of how we must live. In “lowliness of mind,” the Messiah counted others “better than himself, not looking to his things, but to the things of others,” thus deferring his needs, rights, and desires to those of others.

God exalted Christ to reign over the Universe, not because of his inherited “right” to rule or his superior political ideology, but because he sacrificed his life for the benefit of others in obedience to God:

• (Philippians 2:5-11) - “Be thinking this among you, that even in Christ Jesus. Who, commencing in the form of God, considered being like God something not to be seized, but instead, he poured himself out, taking the form of a slave, having come to be in the likeness of men. Having been found in fashion as man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death on the cross. Therefore also, God highly exalted him and granted him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of beings heavenly and earthly and under the earth, and every tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father, even God.”

The Letter to the Hebrews expresses the same idea by describing Jesus as the Author of our faith who, “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The passage from Hebrews echoes Isaiah’s description of the ‘Servant of Yahweh’ who was “put to grief” for others - (Hebrews 12:2):

• “Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has put him to grief. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his seed, he will prolong his days, and the pleasure of Yahweh will prosper in his hand” – (Isaiah 53:10).

In his Letter to the Philippians, Paul contrasts Jesus with Adam by using language from the latter’s disobedience described in the Book of Genesis, and from the description of the “Servant of Yahweh” in the Book of Isaiah.

Jesus did not attempt to seize God’s “likeness” or otherwise usurp Him as Adam did. Instead, the Son of God submitted to an unjust death. Adam was created in the image of God but grasped at the Divine “likeness” through his transgression. In contrast, the Nazarene embraced the will of God and suffered the consequences.

Christ “did not consider being like God something to be seized.” He did not demand the worship or loyalty that belongs to God. This clause echoes the story of the “Serpent” who beguiled Eve in the Garden of Eden and thereby overcame Adam and condemned all men to death - “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil” - (Genesis 3:5).

The first Adam chose disobedience and self-will. The Greek noun translated as “seize” in Philippians means “plunder, booty,” something taken by force. In contrast, Jesus chose not to seize God’s likeness. He willingly and with knowledge embraced the path that led to his unjust death.

CHOOSING HUMILITY

Instead of exalting himself, Jesus became Yahweh’s “Servant” by “pouring himself out and taking the form of a slave <…>. He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” The passage from Philippians includes several allusions to the so-called ‘Servant Song’ of Isaiah. For example:

• (Isaiah 53:7) - “Hard-pressed, yet he humbled himself, nor opened his mouth, as a lamb to the slaughter is led.”

• (Isaiah 53:12) - “Therefore will I give him a portion in the great and the strong shall he apportion as plunder because he poured out to death his soul, and with transgressors let himself be numbered, Yea, he the sin of many bare, and for transgressors interceded. Behold, my Servant prospers, he rises and is lifted up and becomes very high.”

Jesus fulfilled his Messianic calling by “pouring out his soul” for others, not by leading a violent revolt against Ceasar and his legions. We as Christ’s disciples are summoned to adopt the same attitude - To seek nothing from self-interest or for “empty glory,” and certainly not to cease power over others.

This “mind of Christ” is incompatible with the ideologies and ambitions of politicians and empires. The Roman Empire killed Jesus in its desire to usurp God’s sovereignty and destroy his designated king. Paul called his gospel the “Word of the Cross,” a message incomprehensible to the would-be Caesars of this fallen world order that is destined for destruction – (1 Corinthians 1:18-24, 2:6-8):

• “We speak wisdom, however, among those who are mature, yet a wisdom not of this age nor of the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing. We speak God's wisdom in a mystery that has been hidden, which God marked out beforehand, before the ages, for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age had known, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

We demonstrate the teachings and life of Jesus by submitting to the will of God as he did. To be his disciple means serving others, not lording it over them or seeking their adoration. Unlike the Man from Nazareth, the “Beast from the Sea” will use economic control to impose his will on peoples and nations, and he will employ his authority to “wage war on the saints” – (Revelation 13:1-10).

Likewise, the “Man of Lawlessness” will use “signs and lying wonders” to deceive those men and women “who receive not the love of the truth.” However, along with the rest of the “rulers of this age,” the “Lawless One” also will “come to nothing” – (2 Thessalonians 2:8-10).

We are called to defer to others instead of insisting on satisfying our wants and demanding our privileges. We are called instead to “deny ourselves, take up the Cross,” and follow the Slain Lamb “wherever he goes.” We must overcome the Devil “by the blood of the Lamb, through the word of their testimony, and because they love not their lives unto death” – (Matthew 16:24, Revelation 12:11, 14:1-5).

To “become great in the Kingdom of God” we must first become the servants and “slaves of others,” just as Jesus did when he “gave his life a ransom for many” and died on the Cross to reconcile men and women to their Creator. For our sake, he was “obedient unto death,” even the shameful death of crucifixion, a road rarely traveled, and one held in contempt by the political rulers of this sinful world – (Mark 10:43-45).

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SEE ALSO:

• His Victory and Reign - (Jesus triumphed over his enemies through his Death and Resurrection, therefore, he now reigns from the Messianic Throne)

• The Supreme Ruler - (Jesus now reigns supreme over the Kings of the Earth, and he is shepherding the nations to New Jerusalem)

• Servant or Conqueror? - (Jesus rejected Satan’s offer of unlimited political power and instead chose the way of the Suffering Servant and an unjust death)

• Sa Victoire et son Règne -  (Jésus a triomphé de ses ennemis par sa Mort et sa Résurrection, par conséquent, il règne maintenant depuis le Trône messianique)