One writer suggests a method for meditating something like this
1. First practice the presence of God. Focus your attention on his inescapable presence, his intimate nearness. Issues of time, place, etc, are secondary, but not unimportant. The rule is to do whatever is most conducive to concentration.
2. The second step is to peruse ie read, repeat, write out, etc (if it is Scripture). We don't want just to learn things but to get these things to take hold of us.
3. Using your imagination can help. Use your senses. Reflect deeply on the truth; brood over it; absorb it, soak in it, as you turn it over and over in your mind.
4. The final steps can be summarised: pray, personalise, praise, practice. Meditation must always lead to adoration and celebration. Further, commit yourself to acting in line with your meditation.
I mentioned last week a series of subjects for meditation suggested by Puritan writer George Swinnock and we looked at the first of those - God's nature and attributes. We went to Psalm 145 and from there meditated on four Gs - God's greatness, his goodness, his glory and his grace.
Another subject Swinnock suggests is what he calls the states of Christ. We ought to think about Christ, of course, and one way that we can do that is to think about what theologians call his states. The danger is that if we do not discipline our thoughts we will just be vague in our thinking. If I say "Jesus of Nazareth" or "Jesus Christ" what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of some picture you've seen in a children's Bible or some portrayal you've seen in a film. Perhaps you just think of him as a baby in the manger or dying on the cross. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever but we must discipline ourselves to think of Jesus in the ways that he is described to us in Scripture. One way we can do that is by considering the states of Christ.
Sometimes when we think of a person's state we differentiate it from their condition. So someone found guilty in a court is in a state of guilt or condemnation. That is usually followed by a condition of being in prison and all that follows from that. In theology the states of Christ are generally considered as including the resulting conditions, in fact it is the conditions that tend to stand out more prominently than the states, although it is the states that are more fundamental.
Christ's states are his humiliation and exaltation. We could speak of three states - pre-incarnation glory, humiliation, exaltation - but theologians tend to refer to two states - humiliation, exaltation - because we are thinking of him as the God-man, which he is only after the incarnation. The two states can themselves be divided up to some extent.
Humiliation. Christ's humiliation is made up of his actual incarnation so that he is conceived in Mary's womb and born, then there is his life of suffering as a boy, as a man and then there is his death on the cross and his burial. When he lay in the grave borrowed from Joseph of Arimathea he reached the very lowest point in his humiliation.
Exaltation. Christ's exaltation begins with his resurrection from the tomb. Six weeks later he ascended back into heaven from where he poured out the Holy Spirit. He now sits at God's right hand and intercedes for his people. He has the highest place. From there he will one day come to earth again in glory.
In the state of humiliation Christ was under the law, not only as a rule of life but as the condition of the covenant of works. He even came under the condemnation of the law.
In the state of exaltation he is free from the law, having met the condition of the covenant of works and having paid the penalty for sin.
It is helpful to think of it as being something like a staircase or a pair of staircases. On one side steps descend down and down to the grave; on the other side they rise again, step by step, to the point where Christ has the name above every name and every knee bows to him.
The best passage we can turn to to help us with this is Philippians 2:1-11. There Paul urges unity and humility in Philippi and says in the opening verses of Chapter 2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
And then to drive home his point he says in verse 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. And so he holds up the Lord Jesus Christ as the supreme example of humility. He then briefly describes his humility in verses 6-8. He may well be quoting a hymn current at that time and that he has raised to the level of Scripture. He cannot leave it with his state of humility, he must complete the story which he does more briefly in verses 9-11, which speak of the exaltation of Christ. Let's think then together of the states of Christ. Let's meditate on them. (I should say here that I have been greatly helped here by Berkhof's Systematic Theology)
1. Meditate on the humiliation of Christ
In Philippians 2:6-8 Paul says of Jesus that being in very nature God, he did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, that refers to his incarnation. Paul goes on to speak of him being made in human likeness and says (8) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!
Let's meditate on the various aspects of his humiliation then - the actual incarnation so that he is conceived in Mary's womb and born, then the life of suffering and finally his death and burial. The New Testament has a lot to say about all these.
1. His incarnation. We've been thinking about this in recent weeks. Matthew 1:18-20 says This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
1 Who was incarnated? Not the triune God but the second person of the Trinity. He assumed a human nature. It is best to say the Word became flesh rather than God became man. All three persons were involved, however, it is clear. It is also clear that he must have pre-existed - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... I am come down from heaven he says (John 6:38) Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor (2 Corinthians 8:9). The pre-existent Son of God takes flesh and blood. It is a stupendous miracle.
2 Why was he incarnated? Some have argued that it is part of God's nature to come in this way but the best theologians usually accept that he came in order to redeem his people. Without the Fall it would not have been necessary.
3 What happened? It is not that the Word ceased to be what he was before. His essential being remained exactly the same after the incarnation. The Word certainly did not change into flesh. Rather the second person acquired an additional form, without in any way changing his original nature. He took on human nature, consisting of body and soul. The incarnation constituted Christ as one of the human race. His human nature came from Mary. He is from the same stock as we are.
It came about by a supernatural conception and virgin birth. The most important element in connection with Jesus's birth was the supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit. It was only by this means that the virgin birth was possible. The Spirit brought about his conception and sanctified Christ's human nature so that at its very inception, it was kept free from any pollution from sin. There is some mystery here but the virgin birth ensured that Jesus was not born with original sin.
2. His suffering. We ought to say a few things about this. It was
1 Lifelong. When we think of Christ's sufferings we tend to think of the last part of his life but his whole life was a life of suffering. He suffered repeated assaults from Satan, was often hated and rejected by his own people and was persecuted by his enemies. His loneliness must itself have been tremendously stressful and his sense of responsibility, a great burden. His sufferings simply increased as he came nearer and nearer to the cross.
2 Body and soul. The sufferings of Christ we must remember were not simply physical. He suffered also in his soul. It is tempting to emphasise one over the other but both need to be borne in mind. What happened in the Garden of Gethsemane points to the inward anguish he must have known.
3 Various causes. Ultimately the cause of his suffering was the fact that he took the place of sinners. There were proximate causes also such as the fact the Lord of the universe is occupying a menial position. He took the very nature of a servant as it is put here. Similarly, though he is pure and holy, he lived in a sinful, polluted atmosphere, daily associating with sinners, constantly being reminded of the greatness of the guilt with which he would be burdened because of the sins of those around him. Early on he would have begun to understand that being Messiah involved suffering and that would have added to his anguish. He knew what was coming. With this - the privations of life, the temptations of the devil, the hatred and rejection of his people, the mistreatment and persecutions he knew - all contributed to his sufferings.
4 Unique. Even what we think of as common sufferings were extraordinary for him. His capacity for suffering matched his ideal character as a man. No one could feel the poignancy of pain and grief and evil as he could. Along with his common sufferings came the suffering that arose from his being the sin bearer. What happened in the wilderness and Gethsemane and Golgotha was unique.
5 Temptations. Finally, under this heading we should say something about his temptations, which were so central. Hebrews 4:15; 5:7-9 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin. .... During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
It was only by entering into the very trials we face that Jesus could become a truly sympathetic High Priest and the perfect and complete Saviour he is. There is again some mystery here. How could a sinless Saviour be truly tempted? We don't know. However, we know he was tempted and that he did not sin.
3. His death and burial.
1 The extent of his death. When we speak of his death we mean firstly the separation of his body and soul but then in the Bible death is more than that. It can also refer to separation from God. It is sin that separates us from God spiritually and that leads to physical death. Sin means death. Death is the legal punishment of sin imposed by God. Jesus stood in the place of sinners and so on the cross suffered the punishment for sin - death and separation from God. Even in the midst of life, he was a man of sorrows but especially on the cross we see his eternal death for sinners. That is why it went dark and he spoke of God having forsaken him. He remained joined to God but he suffered an eternal agony in those short hours in his own person. His human nature inevitably felt forsaken although it is still my God and he is still praying.
2 A judicial death. It was important that Jesus should not die from a natural causes or an accident or by being murdered. He had to die under a judicial sentence. The Romans had a well developed system of justice by this time and the trial they pursued meant that on one hand that Jesus was truly shown to be truly innocent and on the other that his death was a punishment. Crucifixion was important too, a Roman form of punishment not a Jewish one. It was not to be carried out on Roman citizens but only on those the Romans considered the lowest of the low. By dying that death, Jesus met the extreme demands of the law. He died an accursed death, and thus gave evidence of the fact he had become a curse for us.
The very final part of the humiliation is the burial. Part of the punishment of sin is being returned to the dust, symbolised in burial. Jesus' body was kept from corruption but was buried. He went down into the earth. At the same time he took away some of our fear of the grave by going ahead of us.
2. Meditate on the exaltation of Christ
Philippians 2: 9-11 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Christ's divine nature is not capable of humiliation or exaltation. In the exaltation it is the God-man who passes from under the law and its curse. he exchanges a penal relation to it for a righteous one. As Mediator he possesses the blessings of salvation which he has won for sinners. He is crowned with a corresponding honour and glory.
Humiliation and exaltation are closely connected. His exaltation is the judicial result of his humiliation. As Mediator he met the demands of the law and so merited eternal life and so exaltation had to follow. Berkhof says that the exaltation has a threefold significance.
At each stage God declares that Jesus has met the demands of the law and deserves a reward
The first two stages point to what will happen to believers.
All the stages are important in bringing about the glorification of believers.
1. Resurrection. The resurrection is not simply Jesus coming back to life, his body and soul being re-united. No, he is the first-fruits of those who slept (1 Corinthians 15:20) the firstborn from among the dead (Colossians 1:18). With him the final resurrection has begun. He rose with an incorruptible and glorious body. He certainly appears to have new powers.
Christ's resurrection had a threefold significance
By it the Father declared that the last enemy had been vanquished, the penalty paid.
It pointed to what happens to every believer first spiritually and then literally
It is also connected to our justification, regeneration and final resurrection, as comes out in many places in the New testament.
Many attempts are made to explain away the fact of the resurrection but it is a stubborn fact of history that cannot be denied.
Some try to argue that it makes no difference whether Jesus literally rose or not. But if he did not rise literally the New Testament writers are liars and the crowning evidence that Jesus was who he is said to be is wiped out. This truth is one of the great foundation stones of the Church of God.
2. Ascension. The ascension receives less attention in the New Testament compared with the resurrection, probably because the resurrection is the real real turning point in the story of Jesus. In one sense, the ascension merely complements and completes the resurrection. It may be described as the visible ascent of the Mediator from earth to heaven, according to his human nature. it was not only a move from one place to another but included a further change in Christ's human nature. He now came into the fullness of heavenly glory. He was now perfectly adapted to the life of heaven.
The significance of the ascension is that it
Clearly embodies the declaration that Christ's sacrifice is a sacrifice to God acceptable to him.
Points to the coming ascension of all believers, who are already sat with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). They will one day be with him forever
Was also instrumental in preparing a place for those who are in Christ. It was necessary for the Son to go to the Father in order to prepare a place for his own.
3. Session at God's right hand. The New Testament speaks often enough of Christ being at God's right hand in heaven. John prefers to say the Lamb is in the midst of the Throne. When it says the Son is sat at the right hand of the Father it is picture language. When a man calls someone his right hand man we know what he means. The session marks the public recognition of who Jesus is. Calvin says it is like saying he has been “installed in the government of heaven and earth, and formally admitted to possession of the administration committed to him, and not only admitted for once, but to continue until he descend to judgment.” Sitting speaks not of ease but the fact his earthly work is now complete. In heaven Christ continues his mediatorial work.
As King he reigns from heaven. He rules and protects his Church by his Spirit. All powers in heaven and earth are under his command and he works to eliminate each last pocket of resistance
As Priest, he prays for his people and asks that his sacrifice be applied so that his people are justified and sanctified.
As Prophet, through the Spirit, he first inspired the New Testament and now illumines us so that we may understand it and meditate on it.
4. Second coming. Sometimes this is omitted from the stages in the exaltation but should be included. It is the final stage in truth. It is then that he comes to judge all. His coming will be physical visible. Its purpose is that the world may be judged and salvation for God's people brought to completion. he wicked will be sentenced eternal punishment and his people will be publicly owned and justified and will enter the perfect joy of the eternal Kingdom. It will signal the completed victory of Jesus Christ.