Apostle Paul calls believers to be united and humble:
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Phil 2:1–4, NIV)
Humility is an important virtue that was despised in the Greco-Roman world. Pride and selfishness are the opposite of humility.
Paul gives the ultimate example of humility: the sacrificial life of Jesus Christ who was equal to the Father, yet He humbled Himself in such a way that He not only accepted our human nature, but lived as a servant and died for us on the cross to save humans from slavery to sin and death. He cites a powerful poem:
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 [ekenōsen], 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. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil 2:5–11, ESV)
In this extraordinary story of Christ, it is stated that Jesus “emptied himself” (v. 7, ekenōsen). The NIV translators put it in these words:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing [ekenōsen] by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! (2:6–8)
How to understand the phrase that Jesus “emptied” Himself? Did He empty His divinity at the time of incarnation? Our passage is the “accidental” text where Paul explains that believers need to be united in Christ and humble. Paul admonishes them to consider others more worthy than themselves, to value and appreciate them. He gives the ultimate example of humility: Jesus’ incarnation, service, and death on the cross. Be humble like Jesus! He was equal with God, but He emptied Himself; that is, He humbled Himself and became a man, became a servant, and finally a living sacrifice when He died for humanity. It is a breathtaking narrative of Christ’s life.
The meaning of kenōsis becomes clear when one studies the context of each occurrence in the New Testament. This term is used five times and only by Paul (besides our text, see Rom 4:14; 1 Cor 1:17; 9:15; 2 Cor 9:3). Let us overview them and study diligently what they have in common:
• Romans 4:14: “For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value [lit. “to empty, make void”] and the promise is worthless.”
• 1 Corinthians 1:17: “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied [lit. “to make void”] of its power.”
• 1 Corinthians 9:15: “But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive [lit. “to empty, make void”] me of this boast.”
• 2 Corinthians 9:3: “But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow [lit. “to empty, make void”], but that you may be ready, as I said you would be.”
From these usages of the term “emptied,” it is evident that the word has a consistent figurative or symbolic meaning. It is a figure of speech, and in relationship to Christ, it indicates that “He humbled Himself” in an ultimate way and an unthinkable manner. Thus, the meaning of the phrase that Jesus “emptied Himself” means that He put aside the benefits of His divinity and humbled Himself by being nothing—namely, becoming the suffering Servant on behalf of humanity. He did not empty His divinity, but emptied Himself of the privileges of His divinity. In practical terms it meant that Jesus Christ: (1) left His privileged position of authority and dignity in heaven, (2) abandoned His glory, (3) took upon Himself our human fragile nature, (4) served others unselfishly as a servant of the Lord, (5) lived in poverty among unprivileged people, (6) and sacrificed His sinless life in death on the cross for our sins. In addition, (7) He came to live on earth as a human person in total dependence upon God. Christ willingly set aside the use of His divine power to help Himself, to employ independently His divine strength. It was decided that He would not use His divine power for Himself, but to demonstrate that the first Adam could have obeyed God. This explains why Satan tempted Him to employ divine power to prove His divine Sonship by changing stones into bread. It was a real temptation for Jesus to help Himself in that deeply troubled situation (for us, of course, it would not be a temptation because we have no such power). Christ totally submitted to the will of His Father and lived a life of obedience (Heb 4:15–16; 7:25).
In the history of the Bohemian kings is a story about Bohemian King Václav (Wenceslas) IV during the Medieval Ages (fifteenth century) that nicely illustrates the point. King Václav liked to disguise himself in the form of a poor peasant and live like a beggar mingling with people in order to know what they thought and said about the king. Was he still the king when he was dressed like a peasant? Yes, even disguised in poor dress and barely recognizable, he was still the king. Similarly, during Jesus’ humanity and His humble actions of sacrificing Himself for humans when He took upon Himself a human nature, He never for a moment ceased being God nor did he give up His divinity. He was always and at the same time God!
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1 Letter 83, 1895, from Ellen White to her son James Edson White, published in part in Ellen G. White, That I May Know Him (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1964), 338; and in full in idem, Manuscript Releases, vol. 21 (Silver Spring, MD: Ellen G. White Estate, 1993), 393.