Pursuing Veritas

This post originated with a message from Arise Church.

In this scene from the show Turn, George Washington accepts the British surrender at the end of the American Revolution. This was the moment that solidified Washington’s status as perhaps the Father of our nation. Everywhere you look, the United States remembers George Washington. He graces the one-dollar bill and the quarter; our capital is named after him, as is one state, countless counties and cities, and at pretty much at least one street in every city in America.

Modern historians have been less likely to overlook Washington’s faults (he owned slaves and wasn’t always as principled as folklore makes him out to be), but on balance Washington continues to be lauded today. No one is perfect, but George Washington seems to have been a uniquely qualified person for a particular chapter in the history of the world. And perhaps THE reason that Washington’s example has endured is the characteristic he exhibited like few others in history: his humble surrender of tremendous power.

Numerous times in his life, Washington voluntary gave up power and prestige. Following the British surrender we just saw, numerous people wanted to make Washington king; instead, he retired to his farm. Six years later, when the young republic needed a leader to serve as President, Washington came out of retirement—but then voluntarily stepped down again after eight years, once more relinquishing power. Again and again, Washington voluntarily humbled himself and surrendered relatively unparalleled power and authority.

There’s an example in George Washington for each of us—a humble servant to whom we might look, from whom we can draw inspiration (perhaps whom we might wistfully look at as we vote this coming fall). But Washington’s humility is also an example for us in a different way—for He should remind us of someone who humbly and unexpectedly surrendered even more power than that of an early American President. Quite simply, the example of George Washington should remind us of the humble surrender of Jesus.

You see, Jesus was likewise in a position of tremendous power—being the divine Son of God and all. But even as He might have leveraged that power, He humbly surrendered it, even to the point of becoming human. That’s the story that Scripture tells us—and that’s what we’re going to dig into in this post as part of our series God Is. It’s a question that all of us must answer: who is God? What is He like? And should I follow Him? In this series, we’re hoping to better answer those questions—to better understand who God is and what He has done in our world.

To make sense of this, let’s look at Philippians 2. Philippians is a letter—written by an early follower of Jesus named Paul. And in this letter, Paul is calling the church at Philippi to live a life worthy of the Good News of Jesus. And in the midst of his call, Paul writes this in Philippians 2.6-11:

…who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (ESV)

Maybe you’ve heard those words before. This is what’s known as the kenosis hymn because that’s the Greek word for what Jesus did in verse 7: He emptied himself; He surrendered His power. Now, it’s possible that Paul is actually quoting an existing song in this passage, one that’s based on several parts of the Old Testament book of Isaiah. But wherever the words of this hymn came from, they reveal something astonishing: that the Son of God—who eternally possessed equality with God the Father—surrendered His power, privilege, majesty, and glory in order to become human.

Look at that again: Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, [that is, Jesus, who was divine, who was a member of what Christians call the Godhead] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [that is, He didn’t demand or expect that He remain in that position forever] but emptied himself, [He humbled Himself, stripping Himself of the fullness of His powers and privilege] by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. [how did He do this? By becoming human.] Like George Washington, Jesus intentionally and purposefully laid down His power—He surrendered it—He humbled Himself and took on a lowly position.

This is a message that would have been completely shocking in the ancient world. To an ancient Greek or Roman, maybe (maybe) the gods visited earth to accomplish great feats or to procreate—but they would never stoop to be a dirty, powerless human! And today, this is a message that remains somewhat shocking and unique. In Islam, God speaks to humanity, but doesn’t become human. In Hinduism, the gods appear—sometimes in human form—but never as human. In Buddhism, you can attain godlike state, but as an escape from the suffering of humanity.

Only in Christianity does God surrender power like this. Only in Christianity does God eat, drink, work, weep, and suffer like us. Only in Christianity does God become one of us. Only in Christianity does God humble Himself.

So who is God? He’s a man—in Jesus, He’s someone who has surrendered Himself and become human. In Jesus, God became human…. Now, I know that might sound confusing and requires some complex theology, but don’t miss the forest for the trees…. If you want to know who God is, if you want to get to know God better, if you want to better understand who God is and how you should live, look at God’s moment of surrender—look at Jesus. Because God is revealed in who Jesus is and what He has done. Let me explain further what I mean by that.

God is revealed in who Jesus is and what He has done. That means if you want to understand God, you should look at Jesus. Jesus is our window into understanding God because He is God. That’s the clear testimony of the New Testament, including verse 6: Jesus who, though he was in the form of God…. That is, look at who Scripture says Jesus is if you want a clearer picture of who God is. It’s like how you can sometimes get to know someone by getting to know one of their kids.

It’s always fascinating for me to meet the parents of my friends—because so often, not only do we look like our parents, but we often share other characteristics with them…. When my friends meet my dad, they almost always say, “you are so much like him!” We look and sound the same, yes. But we have similar senses of humor, tones of voice, and favorite sports teams. We even have similar likes and dislikes when it comes to food—once, on a roadtrip to St. Louis from where we were living in Michigan, dad and I wrote a song about our favorite foods to the tune of “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music. I won’t regale you with the full rendition right now; but suffice it to say that we agreed on a lot of the same things. If you want to know my dad, you can look at me and get a pretty good idea of who he is. And if you want to know our heavenly Father, we can look at Jesus and get a pretty good idea of who He is. Like Jesus says in the Gospel of John (14.9): Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. If you want to understand God, look at Jesus.

This is particularly important when it comes to pushing back against the distorted ideas that we sometimes have in our heads about who God is. Most of us have picked up some less-than-accurate conceptions of God over the course of our lives. Whether from Church background, our parents, Sunday School, friends, movies, books, or somewhere else entirely, we tend to caricaturize who God is. He’s looks and acts like some version of our human ideas and preferences, rather than who He’s revealed Himself to be. But the best person to look at as we try to know God is Jesus. If you want to know God better, read the gospels—the accounts of Jesus’ life written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—get to know Jesus better. Look at God through the lens of Jesus. Interpret what you think the Bible says about God through Jesus. If you want to understand God, look at Jesus.

God is revealed in who Jesus is and what He has done. That means if you want to follow God, you should follow the example of Jesus. If you want to know what following God looks like, follow the humble example of King Jesus. Look again at verses 8 and 9: And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name…. Jesus’ humble obedience is our great example of how to live. It’s not enough to just look at Jesus—we have to live like Him too…. To quote Pastor Eugene Peterson: Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed… (Hebrews 12.1, MSG) Jesus sets the example that we should follow as we follow God.

It’s terrifying to be a parent. Not just because of all the things that you need to protect your kids from or prepare them for, but mostly because of how much your kids follow your example. My wife Hayley and I, we have little copies of us running around. Sometimes that’s good—like when Bree and Judah pickup my love of reading or my practice of hoarding books. And sometimes that’s less good—like when they learn my snarkiness and ability to roll their eyes. This is the other side of the “you can get to know my dad by knowing me” coin – my kids watch and mimic me. (Now, fortunately they have an awesome mom who helps smooth out all my rough and random edges, but she can only do so much.) My kids are constantly around me and watching me and following my example—and we should be doing the same with Jesus.

This is one of the reasons that engaging Scripture is so important: because it’s in Scripture that we get to be around Jesus—that we get to see the example of Jesus. That’s why we dig into the Bible so much as Christians. Because it’s by spending time in proximity that we can see and follow Jesus’ example for handling life. From Jesus, we can learn how to respectfully love those who are different than us; from Jesus we can learn how to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry; from Jesus we can learn how set boundaries in life; and of course, from Jesus we also learn about the importance of humility, how to humble ourselves and not think too highly of ourselves. As Christians, Jesus shows us the way—so follow His example.

God is revealed in who Jesus is and what He has done. That means if you want to please God, you should pledge loyalty to King Jesus.

As Americans, we’re not very good with the “following a king” thing (at least partially because of George Washington, really. Thanks George). We’d rather highlight our independence or (maybe) pledge allegiance to a flag, our constitution, or a political party. But pledging loyalty to a king is a very biblical concept. Throughout most of recorded history, loyalty to a king was a requirement for survival—you follow the king, you pay homage to them, or you suffer the oft brutal consequences.

In New Testament times, for example, those living in the Roman Empire were expected to swear loyalty to Caesar—with punishment and death awaiting those who would not. And it was in contrast to the Roman declaration that “Caesar is Lord” that early Christians said, “Jesus is Lord.” This is what Paul is pointing to in verse 11: in the future every tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord…. That is, there will be a time when everyone pledges allegiance to King Jesus or faces the consequences. Jesus—not Caesar, not any other king or political figure—is the one we follow; He’s the one to whom we pledge our primary allegiance.

Have you given your allegiance to King Jesus? If you haven’t, you should. He’s a good king, not a tyrant like King George.  I have some good news for you: you don’t have to try and please the King all on your own. You’ve messed up. You’ve failed to rightly understand God; you’ve failed to follow Jesus’ perfect example. But that’s okay. Not because it doesn’t matter, but because Jesus has already done the hard work for us through His death—death on a cross—and through His resurrection from the dead and defeat of sin and death. Jesus has won victory over everything wrong with the world. All you need to do in order to take hold of that victory—all you need to do in order to get right before God—is to trust in the work of Jesus and pledge your loyalty to Him. Will you humble yourself and do that?

George Washington humbled himself because it was the honorable thing to do; Jesus humbled Himself in order to take sin and death upon Himself and save us from our corruption. He humbled Himself to the point of death in order to free us from what’s wrong with ourselves and with the world. He died so that we can live—not as our old selves, but as true humans.