Chapter V – The Character of Christ: Equal With God
For let this disposition be in you, which is in Christ Jesus also, Who, being inherently in the form of God, deems it not pillaging to be equal with God… ouch (NOT) harpagmon (SNATCHing) hegesato (DEEMS) to (THE) einai (TO-BE) isa (EQUAL-things) The Truth of the Matter As we covered in the last part, Christ has evidently taken on many forms throughout His existence. His inherent form, however – the form in which He belongs – is that of God. Christ has, at this point in our study, not been said to be “existing before His physical birth.” However, it would be radically incongruent for God to take issue with man “changing the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of an image of a corruptible man” (Rom. 1:23,) and then turn around and say that His inherent form is the likeness of an image of a corruptible man. With this in mind, we begin to realize that the form of God cannot truly be the likeness of sin’s flesh (Rom. 8:3,) but something more fit to display God, a r...