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THE PERSON OF CHRIST: He humbled Himself

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THE WORDS OF THE BIBLE, THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPURES, AS FOUND IN THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER 2, VERSE 7

 “But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men”.

 The structure of Philippians 2:5-11 is determined by the punctuation.  The passage consists of just two sentences, divided into seven sections as follows:

(i)    Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
(ii)    Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
(iii)    But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
(iv)    And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
(v)    Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name:
(vi)    That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
(vii)    And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

There is a symmetry about these statements: 

The first and seventh correspond: the mind of Christ in eternity, then the mind of all created beings as they enter eternity.
(i)  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
(vii) And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The second and the sixth: Christ conscious of His equality with God, then all creation conscious of it and recognising it by bowing the knee.
(ii)  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
(vi) That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

The third and the fifth: Christ making Himself of no reputation, then God the Father ensuring that His name or reputation is acknowledged.
(iii)  But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
(v)  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name:

The fourth and central statement:  The meeting-point of it all, the central event of time and eternity, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(iv) And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

We come now to the phrase “but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men”:

BUT
 This reminds of the previous statement, “Thought it not robbery to be equal with God”.  Despite His claim He gave up what that claim resulted in.

 The expression “made Himself of no reputation” is defined by the following two phrases, “took the form of a servant”, and “was made in the likeness of men”.  In other words, He made Himself of no reputation by doing two things, (i) taking the form of a servant, and (ii) being made in the likeness of men. This explanation is demanded by the parts of speech which are used here for “made Himself” and “took”.

 The words “made…of no reputation” are a translation of the verb “kenoo” which means “to empty”.  This has led some unbelievers to invent the Kenosis Theory, saying, blasphemously, that He emptied Himself of His Deity. 

THIS CANNOT BE TRUE BECAUSE:
1.    God changes not as to essence.  “I am the Lord, I change not”, Malachi 3:6. “But Thou art the Same”, Psalm 102:27.   God is immutable, Hebrews 6:17.  If the Son was God before, He is ever God.  If He is not God now, He was never God.

2.    As we have seen, the word “being” does not simply mean “existing”, but subsisting, or always existing.

3.    He took upon Him the form of a servant, so He added the servant’s form to what He was before, thus retaining the form of God.

4.    It is said of Him even now, that “In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, Colossians 2:9.

5.    The words “I and My Father are one” were spoken by Him when He was here in manhood, John 10:30.  The fact that the Jews immediately took up stones to stone Him for blasphemy, verse 31, shows that they understood His words to be a claim to Deity.

SO WHAT DOES “EMPTY” MEAN?
 Since the expression is expanded by the next two phrases, we may say He emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant, which involved being made in the likeness of men.

 Another way of reaching a conclusion about the phrase is to note the corresponding ones in the remainder of the section, which speak of His exaltation.

 To be given a “name which is above every name”, involves being given reputation.

 The fact that this name is given to Him by God the Father indicates it is a deserved reward.

 Every knee shall bow, thus giving to the Lord Jesus His deserved reverence.

A SERVANT EXPECTS NONE OF THESE THINGS, NOR CAN HE DEMAND THEM
 In heaven, there was the reputation of God-hood; the reward of His Father’s love; the reverence of the heavenly host.

 WHEN A SERVANT AND A MAN HE DID NOT DEMAND THESE THINGS AS HIS RIGHTS, EVEN THOUGH AS EQUAL WITH GOD HE COULD HAVE DONE SO.

We see this from the gospel records, and from the things predicted of Him, which came to pass:
No reputation
 He was known as Jesus of Nazareth, yet Nathaniel voiced the common view when he said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” John 1:46.
 The prophet said  that He would be “despised and rejected of men”, and that it would be true of Him that “they esteemed Him not”, Isaiah 53:3.
 He plied His humble trade for many years as a carpenter, Mark 6:3, and “the carpenter’s son”, Matthew 13:55.
 When He was crucified, He was “reckoned among the transgressors”, Luke 22:37, as if a criminal.  This is part of what is meant by “death of the cross”.  To die on a cross was the ultimate disgrace, the very opposite of reputation. 

No reward:
 When He was presented to the Lord in the temple at the age of forty days, His mother brought the offering of the poor, Luke 2:24; Leviticus 12:8.  As the apostle wrote, “Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor”, 2 Corinthians 8:9.

  In Psalm 22, we find it predicted that He would be deprived of the company of His God; of answers to His prayers; of deliverance from His troubles; and of the respect a human being ought to receive.

 The prophet Daniel foretold that He, (despite being Messiah the Prince), would be cut off and have nothing, Daniel 9:26 margin.  And so it came to pass.

 No reverence:
 It is true that the wise men worshipped Him when He was a baby, as did the shepherds, but Herod, pretending to wish to worship Him also, in reality sought to slay Him, Matthew 2:16.

 The men of Nazareth, not having anything to charge Him with as to His life among them for so many years, nonetheless took Him to brow of the hill to cast Him over the top, Luke 4:29.

 The men of Jerusalem took up stones to stone Him on more than one occasion, John 8:59; 10:31.

 When on the cross it came to pass as was written, “All they that see Me laugh Me to scorn”, Psalm 22:7; Matthew 27:39-44.

 In the language of the parable He told, the husbandman said, “They will reverence my son”, but they took him outside the vineyard and killed him, Matthew 21:37-39.

FORM OF A SERVANT:
 Just as “form of God” means really and manifestly God, so form of servant means servant in reality and manifestation.

 The reality manifested itself clearly during His life here.  Mark’s gospel especially concentrates on this; the key verse of his gospel is “For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many”, Mark 10:45.

THREE THINGS THAT MARK A TRUE SERVANT ARE FOUND TO PERFECTION IN CHRIST:

(i)  Subjection:
“The head of Christ is God”, 1 Corinthians 11:3.

   “My Father is greater than I”, John 14:28.  This is not to say that the Father is greater morally, or essentially, but because He is not in flesh as Christ is.  The Father has not self-limited Himself in that way as Christ has.  This statement would be pointless, and redundant, if the Lord Jesus were a created being.  John writes to prove the Deity of Christ, so it is part of that aim.  The Lord Jesus said in the Upper Room, (after having washed the disciples’ feet, taking the servant’s place), “the servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him”, John 13:16.

(ii)  Service:
 He could say with confidence, “I do always those things that please Him”, John 8:29. 
 His claim was “I am among you as He that serveth”, Luke 22:27.
 He said as He came into the world, “Lo, I come…to do Thy will, O God”, Hebrews 10:7.

Submission: 
 By taking the place of Servant of Jehovah, He willingly gave up His will in favour of His Father’s, as we know from His words in Gethsemane, Luke 22:42, “not My will, but Thine, be done”.
“Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered”, Hebrews 5:8.
“But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do”, John 14:31.
“I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This commandment have I received of My Father”, John 10:18.
“For even Christ pleased not Himself”, Romans 15:3.
“For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me”, John 6:38.

THE PERSON OF CHRIST-His Pre-incarnate state

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There are several Scriptures which tell us something about the Lord Jesus before He took manhood.  Each passage looks at the matter from a different perspective, bearing in mind the context of the passage, and the consequence that is to be forthcoming as a result of what is written. 
Every passage of Scripture may be looked at by considering first the Context, then the Content, and afterwards the Consequence, in terms of the truth it conveys, and also in terms of the practical response God is looking for from us.  No passage of Scripture is without consequence, for God has said:

“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven,
and returneth not thither,
but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud,
that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth:
It shall not return unto Me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it”,
Isaiah 55:10,11.

It is the believer’s responsibility to have an intelligent grasp of the content of Scripture, considered in the light of its context and setting, so that the consequence God is looking for is achieved.

We now turn to the epistle to the Philippians chapter 2:5,6:

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:”  Philippians 2:5,6.

THE CONTEXT:  the apostle is urging the Philippians to unity; to like-mindedness; to the love of the same things; to not act in strife and vain-glory; to be lowly in mind; to concern for others, verses 2-4.  What better example can he give than that of the Lord Jesus?  He had everything that would give Him reputation, yet made Himself of no reputation.  He was not proud, needing to be humbled, but nonetheless humbled Himself even to death on a cross, the most shameful and ignominious death of all.

THE CONSEQUENCE:  “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”, verse 12.  Of course the salvation of our souls is entirely of God, “for by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves:  it is the gift of God:  not of works, lest any man should boast”, Ephesians 2:8,9. 

The verse in Philippians 2, however, refers to the salvation from wrong thinking that the apostle discerned the Philippians needed.  If they imitated Christ in their thinking and acting, they would be saved from their current faulty attitudes, and be enabled to live more Christ-honouring lives.

THE CONTENT:

THIS MIND…WAS ALSO IN CHRIST JESUS
 Christ Jesus is a title reserved until He had returned to heaven.

 To the apostle, the exaltation of Christ is a foregone conclusion.  Just as Isaiah began his song in Isaiah 52:13-53:12 with a reference to the exaltation of the Servant, before he went on to speak of His humbling.

 The Christ is the one central to God’s purpose in eternity, and He became Jesus to carry that purpose out.

 The challenge comes to the believer- “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time”, 1 Peter 5:6.

THE FORM OF GOD

 God, being Spirit, (John 4:24), has no physical shape or form.  The word form, therefore, refers to that which is non-material and non-physical.  The Greek word is “morphe”, and has been defined as “reality in manifestation”.

 In verse 7 we read of Him taking the “form” of a servant.  This is the same word “morphe”.  Now the outward appearance of a servant may vary, but the form does not, for it relates to what he is by constitution, not appearance.

 In verse 8 the word “fashion” is used.  This has more to do with outward display, and this may change as circumstances change.  So, for instance, Christ’s fashion as a man changed from being that of a baby, to a young child, a young man, and a fully grown man.  But His form remained constant.

 We may use the illustration of a tree.  A tree is a tree; that is its “morphe”.  But the fashion of a tree changes with the seasons.  In winter, laden with snow, or sparkling with frost; in spring, bursting into life with fresh green buds and leaves; in summer, laden with fruits; in autumn, with leaves turning fiery colours, and then falling in the wind.  The fashion has changed constantly, but the form has not.  It has always been a tree, but sometimes it is leafless, at other times leafy, and so on.

 So in eternity the Son of God manifested Himself as He really was, as God.  The only Ones to whom the manifestation was made then, of course, being the other Persons of the Godhead.

BEING:
It is important to notice the meaning of this word, for it helps us to understand the whole phrase.  Some verbs in English need a form of the verb “to be” added to them, in order for them to make sense.  For instance, we cannot happy; we have to say we are happy.  We cannot ill, we say we are ill.  But when the apostle writes “Being in the form of God”, he is not using a verb “to be in the form of”.  Rather, he is simply using the word “huparcho”, (which means to exist in a certain way), and then describing what way of existing it was.  “Huparcho…always involves a pre-existent state, prior to the fact referred to, and a continuance of the state after the fact”, W.E.Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. The words may be rendered, “In the form of God subsisting”. 
So we are being told here more about Christ Jesus than that He simply existed at any particular moment.  He eternally existed is the thought, and what He eternally existed as was the form of God. 

THOUGHT IT NOT ROBBERY TO BE EQUAL WITH GOD

 The apostle has emphasised to the Philippians the need to have a right mind about things, and now the supreme example of Christ is set forth.  If our mind is like His, then we shall be in line with the mind of God.

 Such was His confidence in His relationship with the Father, that to Him to share God’s attributes equally with Him was in no sense robbery, for they were His as the Son.

  For Christ to claim equality with God in no wise robbed God of glory.  When He was on earth the Jews implied that He was robbing God of His glory by claiming equality with Him, but they did this because they denied His Deity.  He showed plainly by His works, words and ways, that He was equal with God, even when here as a man.

EQUAL WITH GOD

To be equal with God means to have equal attributes to God.  We may say three things about the attributes of God, as follows:

They are underived attributes:

 He is the only Uncaused Being.  “From everlasting to everlasting Thou art God”, Psalm 90:2.

 He is the Cause of all things that have come into existence.  “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen.”  Romans 11:36.

 He is the basis of all reality, for He is the God of truth, and truth is that which corresponds to things as they really are.  “The God of truth”, Isaiah 65:16.

 He is self-sufficient.  “God that made the world…neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though He needeth any thing, seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things”, Acts 17:24,25.

They are unchanging attributes:

 He is perfect, so He never needs to change for the better.  “As for God, His way is perfect”, Psalm 18:30.

 He is infinitely holy, so He will never change for the worse.  “The seraphims…and one cried unto another, and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts'”, Isaiah 6:2,3.

They are unlimited attributes:

God is of infinite quality, being essentially good.  “Thou art good, and doest good”, Psalm 119:68.  In other words, God is not simply good in theory, but good in practice also.

God is of infinite duration, being eternal.  “Unto the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17.

God is of infinite presence. “Whither shall I flee from Thy presence?” Psalm 139:7.  God is “not far from any one of us”, Acts 17:27.

He is of infinite power, being omnipotent.  “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for Me?”  Jeremiah 32:27.  “For with God nothing shall be impossible”, Luke 1:37.

God is of infinite knowledge, being omniscient.  “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world”, Acts 15:18.  “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth”, 2 Chronicles 16:9.  This knowledge is not limited to the past and the present, for God has foreknowledge of all things; He does not have to wait for them to happen before knowing them.

These, then, are the attributes, or qualities that Christ Jesus had eternally within the Godhead.  He did not think it robbery to share them equally with the Father and the Spirit.  Despite all this, and indeed because of all this, He was prepared to make Himself of no reputation, take manhood, and humble Himself to the death of the cross.  What He is in Himself gives character and value to what He did at Calvary.  It therefore gives us great confidence as we gather in His Name, for that Name is of utmost worth.

 

THE PERSON OF CHRIST- His Deity

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 One of the features of a local assembly is that it is a gathering in the name of the Lord Jesus.  “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together”, 1 Corinthians 5:4.

 This means that all that He is gives character to the gathering.

 It also means that His name is the authority we have for gathering as we do.  We must constantly ask whether our practices conform to the dignity of His person.  This will affect how we dress and behave as we come together.  there is no room for that which is casual , wheter in clothing, speech, posture, or attitude, when we come together for the solemn purpoase of honouring the name of the Lord Jesus.

 We should not make “gathering in His name” a slogan, as if we are a sect.

 There were those who claimed to be super-spiritual at Corinth, and said “I of Christ”, 1 Corinthians 1:12.

 His name is enough to get saved by, (John 1:12), so it must be enough to gather by. 

All of the four gospels go back to a beginning of some sort in their narrative about Christ:
Mark- the beginning of (the preaching) of the gospel.  God’s Faithful Servant.
Luke- the beginning of His earthly life.  The Sympathetic Saviour.  (Luke also gives Christ’s genealogy back to Adam).
Matthew- the beginning of the nation, (Abraham), and the Kingdom, (David).  Christ as The Seed, (Galatians 3:16), and the Sovereign.
John- the beginning of creation.  The Son of God.

THE DEITY OF CHRIST:

 He is Son of God in a sense different to angels, Adam, or believers, who are all called sons of God.  The sonship of believers is derived, His is eternal, and therefore underived.

 In John 10:30-36, the expressions “I and My Father are one”, “makest Thyself God”, and “I am the Son of God”, mean the same thing, and signify His Deity.  If this were not so, the Jews would not have attempted to stone Him for blasphemy.

 To be the son of someone or something in Bible times meant to share their nature.  “Son of thunder”, “sons of Belial (worthlessness), “son of perdition”, “son of man”.  As Son of God, the Lord Jesus shares the nature of God.  Believers are sons by adoption; He is un-originated and eternal.

 If it were not so, He could not be the Only-begotten Son, for He would not be alone, and that title indicates He is.

THE DEITY OF CHRIST IS A CENTRAL DOCTRINE:

 The apostle Paul described himself as “separated unto the gospel of God…concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord”, Romans 1:1,3.

“and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth from all sin”, 1 John 1:7.

“He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life”, 1 John 5:12.

“Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God”, 1 John 4:15.

“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God…on this rock”, Matthew 16:16,18. 

THE DEITY OF CHRIST IS A CONSISTENT DOCTRINE
 In Genesis 1:1 a plural noun, “God”, is used with a singular verb, “created”.  This can only be possible if the three persons of the Godhead are one.

 In Malachi 3:1- “I will send My messenger, (John the Baptist), and he shall prepare the way before Me“.  Yet in Mark 1:2 we read, “As is written in the prophets, ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee’“.  So to prepare the way before Christ is to prepare the way before Jehovah.  Again, in Mark 1:3, John the Baptist prepares “the way of the Lord”, meaning Jehovah, for this is a quotation from Isaiah 40:3.  But John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ.

 In Matthew 2:23 we discover that the child born is “God with us”.

 In Revelation 22:12,13 the one who comes quickly declares, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last”. But these are Divine titles, as found in Revelation 1:8; Isaiah 41:4; 44:6.
So at the beginning and end of both the Old and the New Testaments, the Deity of Christ is set forth in some way.  And this is true of all that lies between.

THE DEITY OF CHRIST IS A CONTESTED DOCTRINE

“He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son”, 1 John 2:22.

“And it (the little horn, a symbol of the Antichrist) cast down the truth to the ground”, Daniel 8:12.

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know it is the last time”, 1 John 2:18.

“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.  He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:  for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds”, 2 John 9-11.

THE DEITY OF CHRIST IS A DOCTRINE TO BE CONTENDED FOR
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith”, 2 Timothy 4:7.

“It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints”, Jude 3.

“If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins”, John 8:24.

NOTES ON JOHN 1:1,2

THE ETERNAL EXISTENCE OF THE WORD
1:1    In the beginning was the Word- when the first thing that had a beginning began, then the Word already was.  This is a clear indication of His eternal existence.  That the Lord Jesus is meant is evident from verses 14 and 17, but John deliberately refrains from giving Him any personal name here, however, so that we may concentrate on His attributes.  A word is an expression of what is in the mind, so John is telling us that if God is going to be told out, it must be through Him who, because He is the Word, is able to perfectly express His mind. He is not a Word, one option among many, but the one and only discloser of the mind of God.
The use of the word “beginning” shows there is clearly a link with Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God create”, but whereas Moses is starting at the beginning and going forward, John is starting at the beginning and going backwards into eternity, before time was.  Thus John is telling us of One who is able to bring eternal realities within the reach of men.

THE DISTINCT PERSONALITY OF THE WORD
And the Word was with God- If the first phrase tells of the pre-existence of the Word before time began, and therefore indicates His eternal being, this phrase tells of His co-existence.  To be with God tells us much more than that the Word was in the presence of God, although this is true.  By using a preposition that indicates “motion towards”, John is informing us that the Word was actively towards God, concentrating, in eternal perfection, on Him. This gives us great confidence, for it indicates that there is perfect harmony between the Word and God.  Their interests are the same, and nothing disturbs their communion.  This being the case, believing in His name is a safe thing to do, for it forges a link with God that cannot be broken.  The fact that weight is given to both “Word” and “God”, is indicative of the distinct personality of the Word. 

THE SUBSTANTIAL GODHOOD OF THE WORD
And the Word was God- A clear statement as to the Deity of the Word.  Note that although there are distinctions of Persons in the Godhead, for “the Word was with God”, yet there is identity of essence, for “the Word was God”.  This expression assures us that the One who is pre-existent, and co-existent, is co-equal with God as well.  This truth is emphasized not only in the teaching of the Lord Jesus, (see for instance John 5:17-29 and 10:30), but also in His miracles, which clearly demonstrated His Deity.  For example, He who had made the vine on the third day, Genesis 1:12,13, now acts on another “third day”, John 2:1, as He accelerates the lengthy process by which rainwater is made into the best wine, and thus manifests His power as Creator, with the result that His disciples believed on Him, John 2:11.

1:2    The same was in the beginning with God- John makes it clear that the truths stated in verse one were all true together at the beginning- there was no development or progress. It was not that He was the Word, and then was with God, and then was God, but rather that He who was with God, and was God, was this eternally, for the nature of God cannot change.  Deity does not develop, but is ever infinite.  “I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed”, Malachi 3:6. This statement by the prophet would have been a great comfort to the remnant in Israel as they faced four hundred years of change until Christ came.  Their preservation in those times is testimony to the unchangeableness of God.  We who wait for the second coming of Christ may likewise take heart.

THE CREATORIAL MAJESTY OF THE WORD
1:3    All things were made by Him- Having stated fundamental truths as to the nature of the Word, John now indicates the way in which the Word showed Himself to be God, even by bringing all things into being, something only God can do.  Literally rendered, the verse reads- “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being which has come into being”.   John is writing about things coming to be that did not exist before- they are not revealed from their hiding-place. “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear”, Hebrews 11:3.  All things came into being by, or through, the Word when “He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:9.  It follows logically, then, that He is not part of creation. There are those who appeal to this word “by” to say that the Word was only a high angelic intelligence, who was used by God to make all things as His subordinate.  But in Romans 11:36 it is said of God that all things are through Him, (and the apostle uses the same word as “by” here), so on this theory of subordination, God Himself must be acting for another! This, of course, is impossible. 
Perhaps as he penned these words the apostle John thought of the language of Isaiah 44:24, “I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself:”.  Isaiah declared that the Lord, the God of heaven, had made all things by Himself, yet John, a sincere believer in the One True God, did not hesitate to say that the Word had made all things.  Since John was inspired by the same Spirit as Isaiah was, then we are forced to the conclusion that the Word is God, not only by the plain statement of verse 1, but also by the fact that He is Creator.
And without Him was not anything made that was made- there is no secret store of matter that derives its origin from some other power-source. Note how John puts things positively and negatively, (“all things were made by Him…without Him was nothing made”), in order that the truth might be hedged about on every side.  The first phrase “all things were made by Him”, might be thought by hostile minds to refer only to things, and not beings with life, leaving the way open to say that the Word was created first, and then brought things into existence. This second statement of the apostle instantly and conclusively disposes of such a blasphemous notion.  Everything that has begun to be, has done so through the Word, therefore the Word did not come into being, but ever is.

So it is that John establishes at the very beginning of His account of the life, death and resurrection of Christ, that He is indeed verily God.  As he brings his gospel to a close he assures us that “these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name”, John 20:31.