Wanted: A Church of 'No Reputation'

 By Janet Mefferd - Posted at Substack:

Published March 31, 2026

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Phil. 2:5-8)

Bible verses frequently pop into my head, sometimes out of nowhere.

Yesterday, the Phil. 2 passage above was what popped into my head, and I’m so glad it did. After I re-read it in context and meditated on it, I had two thoughts: 1) What a great passage to read in the run-up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday; and 2) What a devastatingly convicting passage, especially for American Christians in our day.

Here was the fruit of the mind which was in Christ Jesus, as outlined in that section of Scripture:

• He was God Incarnate, yet made Himself of no reputation

• He took the form of a bondservant

• He humbled Himself

• He became obedient to the point of death, even a heinous death by crucifixion

Consider the implications for us. If God’s only begotten Son made himself of no reputation (elsewhere described as “emptying Himself” of the rights and privileges of His deity), then how much more should we, as sinners, be humble? If Jesus came to be a servant (see also Mark 10:45), then we should be servants. If Jesus humbled himself, so should we. And if Jesus was obedient to the point of death, then we must be obedient to the point of death – assuming that death for the sake of Christ would, in fact, be required of us.

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