What is the kenosis?
The word "kenosis" comes from a single Greek verb in Philippians 2:7 — the word behind "made himself of no reputation" in older translations and "emptied himself" in newer ones. What that emptying included, and what it could never include, has been one of the most fiercely contested questions about the person of Christ.
The Word and Its Source
The term is borrowed from one verse and then built into a whole doctrine. One writer traces it back to its root and explains the movement the verse describes:
F. B. HoleThe word Kenosis is taken from the Greek word used in Philippians 2:7, translated "made Himself of no reputation" in the Authorised Version, and "emptied Himself" in the Revised Version, the latter being the more literal rendering. The passage tells us how our Lord Jesus — in the form of God and equal with God, without any "robbery" or "unlawful grasping" (as was the case when Adam aspired to be as God) — emptied Himself in becoming Man. That is, He divested Himself of all that made Him externally glorious until He was only known as the carpenter's son.
What He Laid Aside
He did not stop being what He was; He set His glory out of sight and took the lowest place available.
William KellyChrist is said to have been in the form of God; that is, it was not in mere appearance, but it had that form, and not a creature's. The form of God means that He has His and no other form... He, existing in this condition, did not think it robbery to be equal with God. He was God; yet, in the place of man which He truly entered, He had, as was fitting, the willingness to be nothing. He made Himself of no reputation. How admirable! How magnifying to God! He put in abeyance all His glory. It was not even in angelic majesty that He chose to become a servant, but in the likeness of men... In truth, as He was very God, so He became the most complete servant that God or man ever saw.
This is not an idea to admire from a distance. It has a face, and a life you can watch:
G. C. WillisCome and gaze on that manger. Do you know of any other kingly baby who was, of His own will, laid in a manger? Gaze on Him, "wearied with His journey," sitting on the well!... Watch Him as He hungers. Hear Him as He cries, "I thirst!" Listen, as He groans, and as He weeps. Remember, this is He who is equal with God, who existed in the form of God: "But He made Himself empty."
Where the Theory Goes Wrong
Some have taken the word "emptied" to mean He set aside His deity itself. Writers here reject that firmly and name it:
Arno C. GaebeleinHe gave up something which was His; He laid aside His outward glory. Some teach that He laid aside His deity. This is positively an unscriptural and evil doctrine. It is widely known in theological circles as the kenosis-theory, which is so dishonouring to our adorable Lord. He could never be anything else but the true God and the eternal life. He came down from the heights of eternal and unfathomable glory and took on a body prepared for Him, yet in that body He was very God.
Another writer answers the theory from a second angle — the incarnation enlarges our thought of Christ as Man rather than shrinking Him:
Frederick W. GrantAgain, when the apostle assures us in Colossians 1:19 that "it pleased all the fullness (of the Godhead — the whole Godhead) to dwell in Him," this is impossible to reconcile with the Kenotic view of self-contraction within the limits of mere manhood. We may indeed be very feeble in understanding what is meant by this, but it is not contraction at all — it is expansion of our idea of Christ as Man.
What Is at Stake
The practical damage of the wrong version is that it makes Christ's words unreliable:
F. B. HoleUnbelief has made great use of the word used in Philippians 2:7, "made Himself of no reputation," or more literally, "emptied Himself," building on it the theory that He divested Himself of knowledge so as to become a Jew with the notions of His time; and so they are able — so they think — to charge Him with error on many points. He did empty Himself, for Scripture says He did so... The theory of unbelief would rob Him of His glory, and us of any regard for His words — words which, He has just told us, will never pass away.
The Purpose of the Descent
The passage does not end at the bottom, and it was never written as pure theology. It was written to change how believers treat each other:
W. W. FeredayIt is important to notice the point of view from which the Lord's humiliation is spoken of in this chapter. It is not that He came to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, though that, blessed be His Name, is true; but that He humbled Himself in love, to serve. This is our pattern: "let this mind be in you."
Summary
- Down — Kenosis means self-emptying: the One in the form of God set His outward glory aside and was known only as a carpenter's son.
- Not down from deity — He laid aside the display, not the nature; the whole fullness of the Godhead dwelt in Him.
- Down to a manger — the emptying is visible in hunger, thirst, weariness, tears, and no place to lay His head.
- The counterfeit — the theory that He emptied Himself of knowledge makes Him capable of error and strips His words of authority.
- Up — He humbled Himself in love to serve, and that same mind is asked of everyone who follows Him.