If any should regard the phrase "in the likeness of men" as meaning no more than He

became like a man but was not actually, this next phrase corrects such an idea. Scripture

talks about the "days of His flesh" (Heb. 5: 7), and in the eyes of all who saw Him He

was a real man; His humanity was no pretence.

The Apostle continues, "He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross"

(8). Here we come to the lowliest depth of His humiliation. Both the main verb and the

participle here are aorists, and participle explanatory. He humbled Himself in becoming

obedient unto death, and not a noble death at that, but the degraded one that was reserved

for slaves and criminals.

In recording that He deliberately yielded Himself in obedience to such a death, the

Scripture clearly teaches, as it does elsewhere, that the Lord Jesus Christ is more than

man, for death is the ultimate end of all men, whether they will it or not. They have

no choice in the matter, but our Saviour asserted "no man taketh it (life) from Me, but I

lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again"

(John 10: 17, 18).

This atoning death is the very centre of God's redemptive purpose and the whole

Divine plan of the ages rests upon it. This is the main object of the Lord's seven steps

downward from the glory that was His before Bethlehem. "The wages of sin is death",

and those wages must be paid if ever these two monstrous things, sin and death, which

directly oppose all God's purposes, are ever to be eradicated. There was no other way for

this to be achieved, and we may be sure that, had there been one, God would have taken

it and avoided the great cost to Himself.

We now trace the seven steps upward of the Son of God from the lowest depth to the

highest heights which places Him as Lord of the universe.

"Wherefore also" (dio kai) could be translated "that is why", the rest that follows

being the consequence of such sublime renunciation. This is a vindication of all the

obedience involved and is the completion of the glorious story.  "Highly exalted"

(huperupsoun) is kept uniquely for this exaltation of the Savior, literally "hyper-exalted".

Quite a number of commentators think there is a contrast here with His pre-incarnate

state. In which case they assert that He is finally raised to a higher position than He had

before Bethlehem. This is the logical end of interpreting, as so many do today, "thought

it not robbery to be equal with God", as a prize which Christ might have seized for

Himself, but did not do so.

This view brings many difficulties which conflict with other passages of Scripture;

the chief being that the pre-incarnate Christ could not have been God in the fullest sense.

In some respect He must have been inferior. This goes right against the general tenor of