Thursday

Related Verses
Phil. 2:6
6 Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped,

John 14:28
28 You have heard that I said to you, I am going away and I am coming to you. If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

Jude 11
11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain and have rushed out in the error of Balaam for reward and have perished in the rebellion of Korah.

Rom. 1:5, 9
5 Through whom we have received grace and apostleship unto the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles on behalf of His name,
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers,

Rom. 16:18, 26
18 For such men do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own stomach, and through smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
26 But has now been manifested, and through the prophetic writings, according to the command of the eternal God, has been made known to all the Gentiles for the obedience of faith;

Matt. 4:10
10 Then Jesus said to him, Go away, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.”

Matt. 20:28
28 Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

Acts 6:2
2 And the twelve called the multitude of the disciples to them and said, It is not fitting for us to forsake the word of God and serve tables.

Related Reading
The Word of God tells us that the Lord Jesus and the Father are one [John 10:30]. In the beginning was the Word, just as in the beginning there was God. The Word was God, and this Word created the heavens and earth. With God in the beginning there was glory. It was an inapproachable glory, the glory of the Son. The Father and the Son are equal, equipotent, coexisting, and existing simultaneously. But there is a difference in person between the Father and the Son. It is not a distinction in intrinsic nature but in arrangement in the Godhead. The Bible says that the Lord did not consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped (Phil 2:6)…The Lord’s equality with God is not something that He assumed by force. It is not an assertion or a usurpation because the Lord had the image of God in the first place. (CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” p. 141) 

—

Philippians 2:5-7 forms one section, while verses 8-11 form another section. The first section is on Christ emptying Himself. The second section is on Christ humbling Himself. The Lord lowered Himself twice, first in emptying Himself in His deity, and then in humbling Himself in His humanity. When the Lord came down to earth, He emptied Himself of the glory, power, position, and image in His deity. As a result of His emptying, those without revelation did not recognize Him and would not acknowledge Him as God, considering Him merely as an ordinary man. In the Godhead the Lord voluntarily chose to be the Son, submitting Himself to the authority of the Father. Hence, He said that the Father was greater than He (John 14:28). The Son’s position was a voluntary choice of our Lord. In the Godhead there is full harmony. In the Godhead there is equality, yet it is happily arranged that the Father should be the Head and that the Son should submit. The Father became the representation of authority, and the Son became the representation of submission. 

The Lord’s submission is not a simple matter. The Lord’s submission is more difficult than His creation of the heavens and the earth. In order to submit He had to empty Himself of all the glory, power, position, and image in His deity. He also had to take on the form of a slave. Only then could He receive the qualification of submission. Hence, submission is something created by the Son of God. 

When the Lord came down to earth, He dropped authority on the one hand and picked up submission on the other hand. He set His heart to become a slave, to be restricted in time and space as a man. But this is not all. The Lord humbled Himself, becoming obedient. The obedience in the Godhead is the most wonderful thing in the whole universe. He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, a painful and shameful death. In the end, God exalted Him to the highest. 

Because the Lord created submission, the Father became the Head to Christ in the Godhead. Both authority and submission were established by God…With Christ there is the principle of submission. Those who accept submission are accepting the principle of Christ. Hence, those who are filled with Christ will be filled with submission. 

Today many ask, “Why do I have to submit?” They also ask, “Why do I have to submit to you? I am a brother, and you are a brother.” Actually, men do not have a right to say such things…Christ represents submission, a perfect submission, just as God’s authority is perfect authority. Today some think they know authority, but they do not know submission. (CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” pp. 141-143) 

Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 47, “Authority and Submission,” ch. 5