Jesus
Is Nothing
He took the place of
entire subordination, and gave God the honour and glory which is due to
Him. And what he taught so often was
made true to Himself: “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” As it is written, He humbled Himself,
therefore God highly exalted Him.”
Listen to the words in
which our lord speaks of His relation to the Father, and see how he unceasingly
He uses the words not, and nothing, of Himself. The not
I, in which Paul expresses his relation to Christ, is the very spirit of
what Christ says of His relation to the Father.
“The son can do nothing
of Himself” (John v. 19).
“I can of My own self do nothing; My judgement is just because I seek not Mine own will” (John v. 30).
“I receive not
glory from men” (John v. 41).
“I am come not
to do Mine own will” (John vi. 38).
“My teaching is not
Mine” (John vii. 16).
“I am not
come of Myself” (John vii.28).
“I do nothing
of Myself” (John viii. 28).
“I have not
come of Myself, but He sent Me” (John viii. 42).
“I seek not
Mine own glory” (John viii. 50).
“The words that I say, I speak not from Myself” (John xiv. 10).
“The word which ye hear is not Mine” (John xiv. 24).
These
words open to us the deepest roots of Christ’s life and work. They tell us how it was that the Almighty God
was able to work His mighty redemption work through Him. They show what Christ counted the state of
heart which became Him as the Son of the Father. They teach us what the essential nature and
life is of that redemption which Christ accomplished and now communicates. It is this:
He was nothing, that God might be all.
He resigned Himself with His will and His own powers entirely for the
Father to work in Him. Of His own power,
His own will, and His own glory, of His whole mission with all His works and
His teaching,-of all this He said, It is not I; I am nothing; I have given
Myself to the Father to work; I am nothing, the Father is all.
This
life of entire self-abnegation, of absolute submission and dependence upon the
Father’s will, Christ found to be one of perfect peace and joy. He lost nothing by giving all to God. God
honoured His trust, and did all for Him, and then exalted Him to His own right
hand in glory. And because Christ had
thus humbled Himself before God and God was ever before Him, He found it
possible to humble Himself before men too, and to be the Servant of all.