Page 35 - Christology - Student Textbook

Study Section 8: One of the Ramifications of Jesus’ Incarnation; Kenosis
(emptying) of Christ

8.1. Connect.

Philippians 2:7 says that in Jesus’ incarnation, he “emptied himself” and became in the
likeness of a human being. We know that Jesus was 100% human and 100% God. The
question can be asked, “How can Jesus be totally human yet know everything and have
unlimited power? If Jesus was truly 100% human, then He had to “empty himself” of some
of his attributes of being God. In other words, He voluntarily laid down many of His attributes as
deity to become humanity.

Jesus had to learn as we all do. He grew in wisdom and stature which means he matured. As God,
He would already know everything, yet he had to learn as a human. But on occasion He would know
what people were thinking. And he healed people and calmed the storm. He displayed attributes of
deity, yet was human. Today we want to clarify what it meant for Jesus to empty himself when
becoming a man. Let’s get started…

8.2. Objectives.

1. The student should be able to discuss the various interpretations of biblical scholars on what
Phil. 2 means.

2. The student should be able to discuss the entire context of Philippians 2:1-11.

3. The student should be able to draw a conclusion on what the emptying of Christ really means.

Kenosis (emptying) of Christ (Philippians 2:5-8)

The emptying of Jesus Christ found in Philippians 2:7 is a crucial subject because our view of what
happened when Christ emptied himself will shade the way we interpret all of Scripture.

Discrepant Interpretation on Emptied (ἐκένωσεν)
Views on the emptying of Jesus Christ today are varied. Gottfried Thomasius, a Lutheran, noted that
“the Son could not have maintained His full divinity during the incarnation.” He went on and
90
mentioned some of the attributes which He did not give up on— “immanent divine attributes”
91
which are “absolute power, truth, holiness, and love.” Conversely, He mentioned those that He
divested as “relative divine attributes,“ namely; “omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.”
93
92
In a similar fashion, Peter T. O’ Brien notes that some like C. Gore, P. T. Forsyth and H. R. Mackintosh

90 Allison, Historical Theology, 381.

91 Ibid.
92 Ibid.

93 Ibid.

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