Dividing Line between Spirit of Christ vs. antichrist: AMBITION

 ".... therefore necessary that we first study briefly the spirit
of Christ, so that we may know by contrast the spirit of antichrist. The characteristic of Christ is here seen to be humility. 

 

---He says of Himself,
Matthhew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.
Note well that when He came to earth He took upon Himself only the form of a servant. That does not mean that He did not serve, for He also said that He...
---Matthew 20:28 ...came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. 

He was in the beginning with God, and He was God (John1:1), yet He had the spirit of service. The mind that was in Christ was the same when He was in heaven that it was when He came to earth. 

The mind that was shown in His service on earth, when He went about doing good, ...the same mind that led Him to divest Himself of the glory and riches He had in heaven. He is the same “yesterday, and today, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).His must not be characterized by the spirit of self-seeking.
---Love, which is the bond of perfectness (Colossians 3:14),
“seeks not her own.” 1 Corinthians 13:5.

 
This is a far different spirit from what prevails among men.
The highest virtue known among men is for a man not to seek
that which is not his own. The common form of self-justifincation is, “I want nothing but what is due me; I simply want my
rights.”
---But that desire was not in Christ. He gave up His own. He
committed everything into the care of the Father, who “highly
exalted Him” (Philippians 2:9), because of the mind that was in
Him a sharp contrast with the spirit of antichrist.
Christ declared that His kingdom was not of this world,
whereas Satan claims the whole world as his own. See Luke
4:5-6. 

 

---Therefore he is called:2 Corinthians 4:4 ...the God of this world,

and: John 14:30 ...the prince of this world.
It is for this reason that in the 28th chapter of Ezekiel, Satan
is represented as the king of Tyre, while the nominal king is
called the prince of Tyre. When wicked men ruled they are
simply instruments in the hands of Satan, who is the real
ruler. He is king, while they are only princes. 

* This is the first indication of the spirit of antichrist,—thinking of self. 

 

Now we will learn to what extent Satan’s heart was lifted up, and what was the mind that was in him. 

Under the figure of the king of Babylon, he is thus addressed:
Isaiah 14:12-14 How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how are you cut down to the ground, which did
weaken the nations! For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the  north; I ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Note that Satan’s thought was all of self. The pronoun “I” is
most on his tongue.Ambition caused his fall.
 

Mark the contrast between Christ and Satan. ---Christ had everything by right, being God by nature, yet He resigned all. He emptied Himself, and thought only of others. 

---Satan had nothing of his own, but only that which was given

him, yet he designed to seize everything. He was a created being, yet he thought that he ought to be God, and that he could be. He would seize what his ambition craved, no matter what the consequences of others. This is the spirit of antichrist. 

Remember that selfish ambition is never satisfied. The man
who covets ten thousand pounds craves ten thousand more
when he has that.
---And so it would have been with Satan, if it had been possible for him to carry his mad ambition into effect, and become like God. He thought that this would satisfy him; but if he had got that, he would not have been content. Nothing would have done then but to put God out of the way, so that he could reign alone.
This is evident from what he really tried to do. When Christ
was here on earth, representing God to men, Satan constantly tried to kill Him.
What Satan tried to do on earth was just what he would
have proceeded to do in heaven, and if he had been allowed to
place his throne by the side of that of God. Indeed, he did not
hesitate to lift up his hand against the Most High in heaven itself, for we read:
Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels..." E.J. Waggoner