Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage…
Philippians 2:6 NIV
In Very Nature God
The Nature of Things (formerly, The Nature of Things with David Suzuki) is a Canadian television series of documentary programs. It debuted on CBC Television on the 6th of November 1960. Many of the programs document nature and the effect that humans have on it, although the program’s overall scope includes documentaries on any aspect of science. The program “was one of the first mainstream programs to present scientific evidence on a number of environmental issues, including nuclear power and genetic engineering”.
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It has been said that if it waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. Every species is marked by its own nature – scientists use morphology, genetics, reproductives, and other characteristics to determine each species. The apostle Paul may not have understood all of this science, but he understood that Jesus was by nature, God. So he writes, in Philippians 2:6: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage…” I often wonder at what point did the disciples understand that Jesus, their rabbi and friend, was fully God. Was it in His unique teachings, so different from the thinking of the world? Maybe it was the fact that they never saw sin in Him – not in his actions, attitude or words. Maybe it was His miracles, or His compassion, or His close relationship with the Heavenly Father. What really matters is that they recognized Him as fully God, and worshipped Him as such. We are called to recognize this as well. Jesus is uniquely God, and by His grace, we can have the relationship with our Creator Jesus that alone brings peace, hope and joy.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley