Let It Go

“who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” (Philippians 2:6)

A couple of thousand years before Elsa sang “Let It Go,” Paul wrote about how Jesus loosened His divine grip on what it means to be God and came to our rescue. From his prison cell in Rome, the apostle makes it absolutely clear to his friends back in Philippi that the resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter from Nazareth is 100% God. But he goes on to write how Christ dropped it like it was hot in submission to His heavenly Dad in order to serve you and me. Was Jesus God? You betcha. But He let it go.

Paul is in the middle of one of the most beautiful and powerful passages in the entire Bible. He’s encouraging the followers of Jesus to step back and think of all that our Savior has done for us. There’s no doubt about our “encouragement in Christ…comfort from love…participation in the Spirit…affection and sympathy” (Phil 2:1). Remember all He’s done for us. Remember all He’s doing for us. Got it? Got it! Since all of that is a stone cold, lead pipe lock, we must get over ourselves (Phil 2:2). Nothing would make the apostle happier. Stop selfishly fighting to be number one and work your tail off for those around you. We can do this because God has pulled off a miraculous mind swap between Jesus and us (Phil 2:3). And a sure sign that we now possess Christ’s purpose and attitude is when we release our kung fu grip on our so-called rights. Let it go.

But let’s back up just a bit. Before Jesus empties His hands of His very godliness, Paul leaves no wiggle room about who He is and what He is. “He was in the form of God” (v6). The ESV translators gives us “form” when the apostle uses the Greek term  morphe. This word only appears three times in the entire New Testament. It can certainly mean shape, figure, and external appearance. That’s exactly what Mark describes when those boys ran into the risen Jesus on their long walk back to Emmaus. “He appeared in another form (Gr. morphe) to two of them as they were walking in the country” (Mk 16:12). But a better understanding of morphe deals with character or the intrinsic nature of something or someone. That’s the idea behind uses number two and three that we find here in Philippians 2:6-7. This is a picture of Christ BEFORE He left His heavenly paradise to dive into the big steaming pile of sin we made of His creation. According to Robertson, “In His reincarnate state Christ possessed the attributes of God and so appeared to those in heaven who saw Him. Here is a clear statement by Paul of the deity of Christ.” 

“He was in the form of God” (v6). It’s a powerful reminder that from square one the big story of Scripture is that Jesus is God. The Second Member of the Trinity didn’t just magically appear for the first time in a Bethlehem feed trough. He’s been around a long time. I mean a REALLY long time. Like forever. Jesus’ best buddy John pulls back the curtain of heaven for a glimpse of the eternal Christ whom he calls by the nickname the Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (Jn 1:1-2). Christ was there before the beginning. He was right there with His Dad. He was and is God. If there was a mic for John to drop back in the first century, I’m sure he would have. 

Just in case you think John had an inflated opinion of his best Friend’s eternal divinity, there’s plenty of other evidence to support the idea. Jesus Himself said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (Jn 8:58). Horrible grammar. AWESOME theology! If you want a jaw dropping description of Jesus as God, check out Paul’s description over in Colossians. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation…For in Him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col 1:15, 19). If we want to know what God looks like, just take a gander at Jesus. The Father was stoked to make sure every bit of what it means to be God is in His Son. And in one of his notes to the Corinthian church, Paul simply and bluntly states “Christ, who is the image of God” (2Cor 4:4). Jesus had a firm grasp on His Godness.

If that’s not enough proof for you, check out why Christ’s enemies put a contract on Him.  “This is why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God” (Jn 5:18). They were certainly mad that Jesus was breaking their rules about what you could or could not do on Saturday. But they ordered their hit on Him because He saw Himself as God. “The Jews answered Him, ‘It is not for a good work that we are going to stone You but for blasphemy, because You, being a man, make Yourself God’” (Jn 10:33). Jewish leaders didn’t want Jesus out of the way because He was such an awesome teacher. It wasn’t because He ran miraculous MASH units and healed hundreds. They got their undies in a bundle because this uneducated Preacher from the boondocks had the audacity to claim He was God Eternal in the flesh. 

But something amazing happened back at the heavenly palace. The Son of God “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” (v6). Just because He was and is God, Jesus didn’t put His divinity in a death grip. The phrase “a thing to be grasped” is actually one Greek word, harpagmos. It paints a picture of that which is held onto by force. Something seized and held. An object of held and gripped tightly. An item forcefully taken and retained. Think of a football player covering the ball with two hands as the defense tries to rip it from him. While coaches are all about ball security, Jesus didn’t give a hot hoot about God security. He held it loosely. Christ was in willing submission to His Dad. “The Father is greater than I” (Jn 14:28). That’s just one of many statements Jesus made describing His willingness to do whatever His Father asked Him to do. And if that means loosening His holy hold on His divine attributes, so be it. He let it go.

Paul’s point here is that once God executes our mind swap with His Son, we need to let it go as well. If Jesus is God and didn’t put the death grip on His divinity, what right do we have to hang onto our place or privilege? Who are we to play God and demand our way? Whenever I get cocky and think I’m God’s gift, I need to slow my roll and take a look at how the One who truly was God’s Gift saw Himself. He let it go. And I should to. Stop trying to weasel my way to places of influence. Quit leveraging relationships to work the system to my advantage. Stand down from using people to get what I want. Since He was God, Jesus had every right to do anything and everything He wanted. Instead, He let it go. If it’s good enough for Elsa, it’s good enough for me.