{"id":13619,"date":"2025-09-30T07:34:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-30T11:34:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/?post_type=oyb&p=13619"},"modified":"2025-09-30T07:34:07","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T11:34:07","slug":"he-came-down-the-ladder-of-love","status":"publish","type":"oyb","link":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/oyb\/he-came-down-the-ladder-of-love","title":{"rendered":"HE CAME DOWN THE LADDER OF LOVE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

\u201cWho, 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\u201d (Philippians 2:6\u20138 ESV).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Paul exhorts us to have the humble \u201cmind\u201d of Christ (v.5). To illustrate, he describes Christ\u2019s voluntary descent from heaven to earth. Though Christ was fully God, He did not cling to His divine rights. Instead, He \u201cemptied Himself\u201d by taking on the true nature of a servant and adding humanity to His divinity. From God to servant, from servant to man, from man to death, and from death to the shame of the cross\u2014He descended the ladder of love. For it was God’s love that sent Him to save us (John 3:16). Unlike Adam and Eve, who grasped at the fruit to be \u201clike God,\u201d Jesus, though truly God, did not grasp at what was already His. Where Adam\u2019s disobedience brought sin and death into the world, Christ\u2019s humility and obedience opened the way for righteousness and life. This section of Scripture is often called the Carmen Christi (\u201cHymn of Christ\u201d), and it stands as one of the great pillars of Christology, clearly affirming both His full deity and full humanity while magnifying His humility and obedience to the Father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are called to think and act with this same humble mindset. Our flesh wants to grasp for recognition, control, or comfort, but the Spirit calls us to let go and empty ourselves in love. When we follow Christ down the ladder of love\u2014surrendering our rights, obeying God, serving others\u2014we can trust that the Father will lift us up in His time, just as He exalted His Son. Let us stop striving for our own advancement and start embracing the way of humble obedience in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PRAYER: Dear Father, we thank You for sending Your Son to descend the ladder of love for us. Forgive us for the ways we have grasped for our own way. Give us the mind of Christ, that we may humble ourselves, serve one another, and obey Your will. Teach us to let You be the one who lifts us up rather than lifting up ourselves. In Jesus\u2019 name, amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWho, 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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"scripture-book":[1317],"scripture-chapter":[1335],"oyb_day":[1800],"location":[],"class_list":["post-13619","oyb","type-oyb","status-publish","hentry","scripture-book-philippians","scripture-chapter-1335","oyb_day-september-30"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb\/13619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/oyb"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13619"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-book","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-book?post=13619"},{"taxonomy":"scripture-chapter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/scripture-chapter?post=13619"},{"taxonomy":"oyb_day","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oyb_day?post=13619"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.garycombs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=13619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}