A song of ascents
Numerous times throughout the Bible is the Lord referred to as "the most High". I think about this in contrast to the reference where it says Lucifer sought to "exalt [his] throne above the stars of God" (Isaiah 14:13). Were you to open your eyes in a crowded room yet be possessed of no memory whatsoever, all the rules that apply to society would flood in (assuming all you were lacking was memory—still retaining cognition, in other words). To be possessed of this kind of innocence and naivete in the world at large would be an interesting place to find oneself. However, if we awoke with no memory at all, without some vestige of peace or joy or love, life would be hell. I equate this tabula rasa with one aspect of holiness. Granted, mature holiness isn't just sinlessness but the ability to filter the minutiae of life through "the mind of Christ" (essentially, walking with Jesus; see 1 Corinthians 2:16, 2 Corinthians 10:5 ). The wavelength, I would say, the angels were on prior to their fall. But the rules still work. Gravity is either your friend or it isn't. But it doesn't change. And so, referring again to all those "rules", consider this. Not only was Lucifer innocent (as in holy), but he did understand. He understood the structure befitting angelic rank and file and all that—similar rules to which we abide by as humans. But we don't understand on that level. We would need, like, an extra lobe or two just to process it all.
"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: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:" (Philippians 2:5-6)
Let this mind be in you...
Do you ever think about the life of Christ? Broad question, I know, but think about it. Do you ever wonder, if maybe in the thirty plus years of His earthly life, He forgot what He was doing? I don't believe He would have but can you imagine were He as fickle of mind as we tend to be, how that would have fared for us as humans? Assuming you believe that along with God exist entities of spiritual, supernatural evil, I shudder at even the slightest possibility of one slipping between a thought of mine. I hate to sound fanatical but not one thought of Christ's was out of place. He didn't just obey His Father by healing the sick and upturning the tables; He thought along God's lines.
"But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." (2:7-8)
A quick aside, "sheer" and "shear" sound the same but mean something different. This is called a homophone. While they share the same Indo-European root—sker, meaning "to cut"—the former holds an Old English (newer than IE) connotation of "bright". Granted, in comparing and contrasting both Jesus and Lucifer, while one is "the Truth" and the other isn't in any way, each has an element of "brightness". And this is where, with reference to the Hapax, both all our wits and also the divine perspicacity of the Holy Spirit (something the devil doesn't have a substitute for) are necessary to remain on the right (correct) side of the mountain. Lucifer was only the "son of the morning" (Isaiah 14:12). Jesus is "the bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16) as well as "the brightness of [God's] glory". (Hebrews 1:3)
From the ground up
" Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said He at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee? And again, I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to me a Son? And again, when He bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him." (Hebrews 1:4-6)
See, there are no two ways around it. Jesus is who He is (now) because of what He went through (here). It wasn't enough to be born of a virgin or even to be crucified-then-resurrected. He had to fulfill each instance and interstice of the Father. Every single qualification and rule befitting an existent being both inside and out. Granted, He enjoyed it and also He was the only one able to do so. But unless that line was unbroken on the way up, there wouldn't have been any redemption for us at all. This is what Jesus accomplished in His body and this is why this:
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in Heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (2:9-10)
