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Philippians 2:5–8
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
We have been considering the incarnation and its consequences for the person and natures of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the key passages for the incarnation is Philippians 2:5–11, and it will be helpful for us to consider it as we think about biblical Christology and how it is summarized in the Definition of Chalcedon. Today we will look at verses 5–8.
In looking at the relationship of the two natures in the one person of Christ, we are thinking of what theologians have called the hypostatic union. The human nature and the divine nature of our Savior are united in the one divine person—the one hypostasis—of the Son of God. What does that mean? Chalcedon says that the union occurs “without confusion, without change.” The two natures are not mixed together to produce some third kind of nature, and neither one of them changes such that either nature has lost or gained attributes that are not intrinsic to it. Dr. R.C. Sproul writes: “The divine nature of Christ during the incarnation was fully divine. Christ did not give up any divinity when He took upon Himself a human nature. . . . And when the divine nature adds a human nature, the human nature does not lack any of its humanity. Christ’s human nature is fully human.”
Philippians 2:5–8, however, says that Christ, being in the form of God, “emptied himself” when He was born in the likeness of men. Does this mean that He gave up at least some of His divine attributes in the incarnation? Some thinkers have answered yes, advocating what has been called a kenotic Christology, one in which the Son of God divested Himself of particular divine attributes. (The word kenotic comes from the Greek term kenos, which means “empty.”)
Kenotic Christology is heretical for two main reasons. First, it gives us a Savior who is less than fully God, and one who is less than fully God should not be worshiped. Second, a Savior who is less than fully God is unable to represent God’s interest in salvation, so reconciliation between God and man cannot be achieved. What, then, does “emptied himself” mean in Philippians 2:5–8? The next clause, “by taking the form of a servant,” tells us. The idea is not that the Son of God gave up anything but that He added to Himself a true human nature—the “form of a servant.” In the incarnation, the Son condescended to us; He came down from heaven, not surrendering His deity but taking on our nature forever.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
If the deity or humanity of Christ changed in any way when the Son of God assumed a human nature, then we do not have an incarnation but something else entirely. The miracle of the incarnation is that the Son of God became man without losing anything of His deity, and only if that is true can He adequately represent both God and man for the sake of our salvation.
For further study
- Psalm 91:1
- 2 Corinthians 13:4
The bible in a year
- Psalms 25–27
- Acts 20:17–38
- Psalms 28–32
- Acts 21