men being servants, this situation is impossible with
men; no one has so done but Christ. He says at the supper (Jn 13,
13-14): "Ye call me, Teacher, and, Lord: and ye say well; for so I
am," and yet I am among you as a servant. And in another place (Mt 20,
28), "The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister."

9. From these explanations Paul's meaning must have become clear. His
thought is: Christ was in the form of God; that is, both the essence
and the bearing of Deity were his. He did not assume the divine form
as he did that of a servant. He was, I repeat it; he was in the form
of God. The little word "was" expresses that divinity was his both in
essence and form. The meaning is: Many assume and display an
appearance of divinity, but are not themselves actually divine; the
devil, for instance, and Antichrist and Adam's children. This is
sacrilege--the assumption of divinity by an act of robbery. See Rom 2,
22. Though the offender does not look upon such conduct as robbery, it
is none the less robbing divine honor, and is so regarded by God and
angels and saints, and even by his own conscience. But Christ, who had
not come by divinity through arrogating it to himself, but was divine
by nature according to his very essence, did not deem his divinity a
thing he had grasped; nor could he, knowing divinity to be his very
birthright, and holding it as his own natural possession from
eternity.

10. So Paul's words commend Christ's essential divinity and his love
toward us, and at the same time correct all who falsely assume a
divine form. Such are we all so long as we are the devil's members.
The thought is: The devil's members all would be God, would rob the
divinity they do not possess; and they must admit their action to be
robbery, for conscience testifies, indeed must testify, that they are
not God. Though they may despise the testimony of conscience and fail
to heed it, yet the testimony stands, steadfastly maintaining the act
as not right--as a malicious robbery.

But the one man, Christ, who did not assume the divine form but was in
it by right and had a claim upon it from eternity; who did not and
could not hold it robbery to be equal with God; this man humbled
himself, taking upon him the form of a servant--not his rightful
form--that he by the power of his winning example, might induce them
to assume the bearing of servants who possessed the form and character
of servants, but who, refusing