Lilac Ministries

Bible Study Lessons

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Scripture: Philippians 2:5-13; John 3:14-17

Topic: Christ did not cling to equality with God

Christ did not cling to equality with God. In other words, Christ “set aside the privileges of deity” (The Message). He relinquished “godness” (am I coining a term?) in order to accomplish the goodness of the Father’s will. Paul points out that God continues to work within US, as well, so that we may want - and work for - what pleases the Father. And it seems that what pleases the Father has a lot to do with our placing value on other people and acting with others’ needs and interests in mind.

Christ didn’t relinquish “godness” in order to condemn or “point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was” (The Message). Rather, Christ took on the world’s badness in order to set things right.

Christ didn’t “just say NO” to clinging or grasping. Nor did Christ suffer with the goal of proving that the Father was and is the boss. Jesus explained (Luke 11:24-26) that “when an unclean spirit goes forth from a man” - that is, when a person “says NO” to evil - the spirit is likely to return to the person with “seven other spirits more evil than itself.” “Saying NO,” it seems, is not enough. We must “say YES” to something. And Jesus “said YES” to the Father’s will - and that will included atonement for every sin of the world, in every day and age, and reconciliation of the world to the Father.

We often sing that “Christ, who died, shall be satisfied.” And it seems that, all too often, Christ’s “satisfaction” is presented as a guilt-laden responsibility placed upon the tiny shoulders of individual Christians - we must strive to be good, since “Christ did so much for me.” Christ DID do so much for us, but the same hymn explains, very simply, that the will that is to be satisfied, the goal that is to be accomplished, is that “earth and heaven be one.”

We have God’s power, God’s Spirit, helping us to want and to work toward God’s kingdom. In our tiniest spheres of daily influence, we can attempt to create “heavenly,” affirming, “YES” circumstances by acting in accordance with spiritual whispers and leadings.