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of the glory attached to this morphe, and took upon Himself a human body, in order that
He might bear the penalty of sin, namely death, in the place of His children. That glory
was veiled by His humanity, but on one occasion (the Transfiguration) it shone through
and overwhelmed the three disciples who were with Him.
He not only condescended to make the great step downwards from the throne of glory
to the frailty of human body, but deliberately chose the status of a slave and finally
yielded Himself to crucifixion, the shameful death of a criminal and in that death He was
"made sin (or a sin-offering) for us Who knew no sin" (II Cor. 5: 21). The Lord laid
upon Him "the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53: 6). He was the One "Who His own self bare
our sins in His own body on the tree . . . . ." (I Pet. 2: 24).
This, praise God, was not the end of the story. He was raised from the dead and
"highly-exalted" (a unique word). Before the crucifixion He had prayed to the Father
"glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the
world was" (John 17: 5). This prayer was abundantly answered, for He is now in that
glory which was His before Bethlehem, the One Who was the Logos and was God
(John 1: 1); He Who was and is the Image of the invisible God. The goal of Him is to be
manifestly acknowledged as LORD, the Supreme One, by the whole universe, including
His enemies and all who oppose His rule. This is not only to His glory but also that of
the Father.
We conclude with some recent words of Professor T. A. Thomas on the "emptying"
of the Lord Jesus Christ:
"Whatever effects His incarnation may have had upon our Lord, they can in
no way be construed as diminishing from His absolute Deity. He was God
incarnate, God manifest in the flesh, in full possession of all the attributes of
Deity. Anything less than this is completely out of accord with the picture that
we have of Him in the inspired inscripturated Word."
It is indeed refreshing to read this at a time like the present when there is so much
false teaching concerning the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is truly "our
great God and Saviour" (Titus 2: 13 R.V.) now supremely exalted.