I do believe that He was the I AM during His time on earth ...but I also believe that 'when He came' He laid all His power and glory down.
I think this is shown when He said :- "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?" Matt 26:53 . His own power was laid aside, it had to be...as He was the second/Last Adam while here... He passed the Adam test in the wilderness temptation. He took back victoriously all that Adam had lost...and the death blow to the devil, of that victory was on the cross.
GINOLJC, to all. Yes the Lord Jesus is the GREAT "I AM" of the OT (Spirit) and the NT (spirit) in flesh as a man in his "OWN" image that was to come, (see Romans 5:14b).
I notice you said, "
I admit I don't really understand this thread much". anytime a child of God is in doubt about anything is to TEST the spirit by the SPIRIT, meaning the word of God. for the apostle said, 1 Thessalonians 5:21 "Prove all things;
hold fast that which is good". may I help you out. you're correct about the Lord Jesus laying down his power, ... well, what if we say that he veiled his powers. same as saying laying down, but without removing his power, meaning not openly showing them because he "WILLED" NOT to show them openly. by not openly showing them, he set the example for us to follow. "HE HUMBLED" himself when he was in flesh. according to the record in book to the Philippians 2:7 "But
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men". made himself is an act of his will. understand, most people don't know or fully understand the "WILL" of God. God willed not to use his power while in flesh and blood. let me give you an example of his will in his working. scripture, Matthew 6:3 "But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth". STOP and think for a moment. your left hand and your right hand is your hands... right. but how can you not know what both are doing. how? it's an act of your will not to know. let's see this Godly principle in action by God himself. scripture, in the new covenant that God made with us today, he said this, concering the new covenant. Jeremiah 31:34 "And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity,
and I will remember their sin no more". hold it, how can all knowing God "not remember". just as in Matthew 6:3 it's the Godly principle of the ACT of one's "WILL". here, God willed not to remember. just let that settle in. also in Philippians 2:7, "he made HIMSELF of no reputation", meaning it was an act of his will NOT to be of
no reputation. meaning, NOT to show his powers openly.
Now knowing that, to help you understand God as a man, (in flesh), hence the topic. staying in the record of the Philippians, now at verse 6 Who, being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God". without going into any details, I'll make it plain. the word "form" here is key in understanding God in flesh. definition time, FORM, this word can be used internally and externally to describe the schema of a things or a person. Form,
G3444 μορφή morphe (mor-fee') n.
1. form.
2. (intrinsically) fundamental nature.
KJV: form
Root(s): G3313
here this word "form" identifies our Lord fundamental nature. remember he put on flesh, so what is his nature before he put on flesh? answer, Spirit, and John 4:24a states... God is a Spirit. and there is ONLY ONE GOD. so, the Lord Jesus is the Spirit, meaning GOD. but how as God in flesh? answer, the root of G3444 μορφή morphe is G3313 μέρος meros (me'-ros) n. 1. a
portion. notice it's not a verb, nor an adverb but a noun. and a
portion means "share" and not divide. so our Lord Jesus is the "EQUAL SHARE" of himself in flesh as the Philippians record states, "equal with" and not equal to" big difference. because equal with means the same one person, if equal to that means another separate person as some mistakenly assume, and that want fly. because, Isaiah 46:5 "To whom will ye
liken me, and make
me equal, and compare
me, that
we may be like?". this verse just eliminated another separate "PERSON" in the Godhead, which is no other. also this verse do the same, Isaiah 40:25 "To whom then will ye
liken me, or shall
I be equal? saith the Holy One". see, John 1:1 is correct as in its use of the word "with". John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the
Word was God". with here complement Philippians 2:6 as being Equal "
WITH". so the Lord Jesus is God as the equal of himself "shared in flesh. and that word "share" indicate another of one self, simply put, the sharing of ONESELF is called being an "OFFSPRING", which our Lord is.
hoped that helped, be blessed.
