The Form of a Servant
The word for "form" in this phrase is the same as the word for "form" in verse six, morphe. When we studied this word before we noticed that it means the "external appearance." Those who have taken the position that morphe must mean "the essential unchanging nature of a thing" find themselves in great trouble here. I would like for one of them to explain how a being can exchange one unchanging nature for another unchanging nature. This explains why some have said Jesus "emptied" by adding. I would also like to hear what the "unchanging nature" of a servant is. The passage does not say "the form of a man," but that of a servant. We know that angels are servants as well as men (Heb. 1:14). Furthermore, the nature of a man is not that of a servant exclusively, since not all men are servants (Luke 16:19, 20). It is apparent that morfev has to do with the appearance of a thing not its essential nature.
Jesus did not come in the splendor and glory of the Word of God. Neither did He descend in the radiant light of an archangel. The Son of God did not come riding a charger at the head of an immense army as would King David. His birth was not attendant with the flourishes of trumpets and the chiming of bells. His entry to His capitol was upon the foal of an ass. His appearance was ordinary and unbecoming. His hands were rough as a mason's and his feet were dusty and callused from walking everywhere He went. The measure of His life is summed up in these words, "The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). Our Lord came in the role of a servant and never left that role during the extent of His sojourn upon the earth. He did not claim or demand what was rightfully His, but suffered as a poor, homeless Jew.
Jesus did not use any of the powers, demand any of the privileges, or exercise any of the prerogatives of His divine status. He came as one under authority dependent upon His Father who sent Him (John 5:19, 30; 8:28).
Was Made in the Likeness of Men
The word "likeness," homoioma, means: the shape, image, similitude, or resemblance of a thing. The Servant resembled a man.
While it is true that "likeness" does not always indicate "sameness" the issue of whether or not Jesus really took on human nature is dealt with in other passages. In Hebrews 2:14-17, the writer says of Jesus, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same ... wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren in all things." Philippians 2:7 is an affirmation that the Eternal Word was made flesh, that is, human in nature.
Being Found in Fashion as a Man
Not only did Jesus look like a man, He acted like a man. I believe that Paul is telling us that Jesus lived a real human experience. The word "fashion," schema, refers to the manner of life. Men not only saw in Jesus the form and bearing of a man, but one in the state and relations of a human being. The servanthood of Christ involved not only the manifestation of human nature but a real human experience. Jesus lived life as a man. Of Him Paul wrote, "Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered; and being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation to all of them that obey Him" (Hebrews 5:8, 9).
He Humbled Himself and Became Obedient
Paul does not end his description of the service of the Word, his synopsis of the human existence of the Son of God, with only a consideration of its appearance and experience. Paul describes it in its character when he says that the Word "humbled himself and became obedient unto death."
Onward Rejoicing, John B. Daniels, Associate Minister
