For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
{Isaiah 9:6}

It is certain there is none like God, nor any that can be likened to Him.  “To whom then will ye liken God?  or what likeness will ye compare unto Him? (Isa. 40:18)” “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal?  saith the Holy One. (Isa. 40:25)”  “To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be like? (Isa. 46:5)”  Verily, one of the ways God has shown the beauties of His holiness is by the incarnation. 

The “same love”, “one accord”, and “one mind” the church is to have is dependent upon their Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.  The mind of Christ is the sufficiency of the members of His body to “be likeminded”. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” is one of the body of Christ’s godly mantras.  Yet, what is the disposition of this mind?  What constitutes His mind?  What is the fabric of such beauty?

The mind of Christ is a series of parts generated and understood from His faithfulness that flow from His essence.  The mind of Christ is a triad of thoughts.  1) Christ – equal with God, 2) Christ – made of no reputation, 3) Christ – obedient unto death.

Christ – Equal with God

Jesus Christ said “before Abraham was, I am.” (Jn. 8:58)  Jesus prayed to the Father, “glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” (Jn. 17:5)  Verily, the Lord Jesus Christ “was rich” (2 Cor. 8:9) “being the brightness of His glory” (Heb. 1:2) for His power extends to the “upholding all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:2).  “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” (Col. 1:16-17. 

Christ – Made of No Reputation

Herein shines the beauty of His holiness.  Such equality with God, such glory, such power was “made of no reputation”.  Christ veiled that “brightness of His glory”.  The glorious Son of God would not only “condescend to men of low estate” (Rom. 12:16).  He would do so in such an awful manner. 

His condescension, so great, impacts the soul as light crashing into darkness, or as the consciousness of ones own foulness.  His stooping is either “the savour of death unto death” or “the savour of life unto life.”  For those with eyes to see, we behold “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…and the Word was made flesh. (Jn. 1:1, 14).  When we cling upon Him with our sight we cannot but be changed, moved, stirred up, influenced, transformed.  Christ, equal with God made of no reputation: the longing for the world pining away in iniquity. 

“As concerning the flesh Christ came”.  God was made flesh.  Glorious splendor veiled with flesh and blood.  He came, thus we say, “though we have known Christ after the flesh” (2 Cor. 5:16).  “For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels, but took on Him the seed of Abraham (Heb. 2:16).”  The High Priest of God’s heavenly temple anointed in the dirty waters of the Jordan.  The Omniscient, Foreknower, Counselor learning obedience through suffering.  He who had the power of the world to come, but sought not His own fame and honor.  The Head of all things worthy of our service and ministering, came to serve and minister.  The form of God made in the likeness of man, made Himself of no reputation.  Oh, what would drive one to such “poverty“! 

Moreover, “why lies He in such mean estate?”  The Lord Jesus Christ wasn’t simply “the son given” or “made flesh”, but was “unto us a child is born”.  His estate reached to the depths of man’s weakness and fragility.  Jesus was “made of a woman”.  It was declared by the angels, “For unto you is born this day” (Luk. 2:11).  Israel’s leaders would question His deity, by criticizing His humanity, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph?”  Of course, they didn’t comprehend the scriptures that prophesied, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive…(Isa. 7:14).”  Although denied by Israel’s leaders, He was believed upon by foreign, Gentile wise men, “saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? (Matt. 2:2)”  The Christ, according to the flesh, was “born of a woman”.  He would be “conceived in Mary’s womb. (Luk.1:15)”  Verily, it wasn’t Mary’s womb that blessed the seed of the woman, but the seed that blessed her womb and “blessed was the fruit of her womb. (Luk. 1:24)”  To witness of the truth, to this end, He testified, “was I born”. (Joh. 18:37)

The depth of His condescension to such mean, low estate declares His glory.  The Creator being made.  The omnipresent held in Mary’s womb.  The Lord of glory, dweller of the heights of heaven’s courts, born in the “little” town of Bethlehem.  The possessor of heaven and earth with all the fulness thereof, yet no room for Him in the inn.  The Son of man made a little lower than the angels, furthermore rested in the feeding trough for animals, those creatures not made in the image of God.  The Captain of the heavenly host worshipped by lowly shepherds.  Christ born, made of a woman, but why?

Christ – Obedient unto Death

The end of His being made of no reputation would climax on the Cross.  The meanest estate wasn’t in His fragility as a “babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger” (Luk. 2:16), but in the Son of God, made sin, wrapped in sins swaddle, hanging on the Cross of Calvary.  The righteous for the sinner.  “God hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).”  He veiled His rich glory, became poor, that through His poverty we may be made rich in Him!

Certainly, the Lord of glory and the incarnation stands in stark contrast to the fading fashion of this world.  He humble, the world prideful.  He powerful, yet using that power for God’s purpose, the world ever-seeking power to use for their greed.  Through the cradle, life, and cross of Jesus Christ we clearly see that we can liken no one to Him, there is none to compare Him to, and none are found His equal. 

Therefore, for those that know not this Christ, I bring you glad tidings of great joy!  This glorious Christ has risen from the dead that you, yes you, may have peace with God, a judicial standing in Christ – righteous!  For He is able to forgive all your sins (past, present, and future) when you behold Him by believing Him.  For those that have trusted in this Savior, I bring you glad tidings of great joy too!  This glorious Christ came not only for you to be with Him, but for you to be like Him.  Truly, there is none that we can compare, be found equal, nor likened unto Him, but as such when we behold Him we are changed into His image.  Such glory, such condescension, such love, such humility, such gentleness, such strength, such no reputation awaits your gaze, awaits you to transform you – “Christ in you, the hope of glory!”